Our show in Fürth was on a Sunday. It’s a hard day to get people to come out to shows already, but it was also Mother’s Day. And it’s a hard day to get people to come to shows if you’re an out-of-towner at our level, and so far from home no less. That’s where our friend and opener on many of these dates, Jens, comes through yet again. Something like 75% of the people at the show were friends of his from nearby Nurnberg.

Jens makes music under the name “John Steam Jr.” He used to play a lot more punk and hardcore music, and is active in a scene that includes a lot of more straightforward folk-punk as well. This solo project of his seems to aspire to be a bit quieter, a bit more melodic, a bit more straight singer-songwriter — all while still retaining a punk ethos that’s willing to call out bullshit in the world and the people who support it.

Jens is all about “community not competition.” And it shows. I was getting some electrical noise in my signal chain for my guitars, and he intuited that I needed a ground lift. So he let me borrow a DI to use on the tour. He noticed that I needed to use a guitar strap for the electric guitar that I borrowed, so he brought one for me to use the next day. He noticed that a guitar stand would behoove me — so he provided one. And all of the best photos from this tour are from his little camera, snapping away as we hang out between soundchecks, sets, and meals. He talks the talk, and walks the walk.

Among his friends, we saw Julia Laura who opened up a show for us last tour, talking briefly about how to balance making music with making life in general. We also saw Eric from Jens’ band who we met playing a short solo set at BTM guitars last tour. We met Sabine who runs Kopf und Kragen — she has a history in Social Work and several decades of rock and roll under her belt. Timo behind the bar shared this is was one of his favorite shows in two years — and as a more of a hardcore/metal/punk drummer, that strikes me as a compliment of the highest order.

I dropped Jack and Dan at our little hotel room after load-out, then searched for street parking at midnight on a Sunday, finding a spot after twenty or so minutes. I soaked up the stillness of this old city of stone buildings on the walk home.