So, Iron & Wine played a show in Vienna this weekend. It's been on my radar for a while and earlier this week, I finally looked into tickets (and saw they were available online). Not willing to make the commitment (at three days out, it was still too far in advance for me), I sat on it... and, well, apparently I waited a bit too long, because it sold out. But when Thursday rolled around I decided I was going to go for it anyway...
I just recently locked in a long-term rental car, so I'm stoked to have wheels for the spontaneous travel urges! This little car is just what I need... nothing fancy, just something to get me to new places: a two-door hatchback 1989 Honda Civic... I call him Zsolt. Zsolt, the lightning bolt (I'll post a photo soon).
So, not really knowing what was in store, I packed my sleeping bag, longboard, snowboard and gear, some clothes, camera, a big bag of fruit... made a pot of tea, and hit the road. It wasn't the first time I drove such a distance without a ticket, and I'm sure it won't be the last.
I was incredibly lucky to meet Katrin (through CouchSurfing), a local Viennese girl, who helped me get a ticket to the show and let me crash at her place for the night in Vienna. She has a sweet flat right in the fifth district... a rad neighborhood and an easy metro ride from the venue. By the time I rolled into town, it was about showtime, so we hustled to the venue and arrived just as Sam Beam and company were taking the stage. The WUK is an art and culture center with dance studios, rehearsal spaces, workshops, and a sweet little concert hall. The venue only holds five-hundred people and Iron & Wine filled it to the brim.
The show was brilliant. Sam has an incredibly keen understanding of production... where art meets execution. He put together an awfully big band for such a simple sound, but every player has the right space and the balance is right on. I had never seen I&W before, and I'm glad I was in Vienna to experience it there for the first time. They played an array of tunes from all of their releases, including several from my favouite (The Shepherd's Dog) and some from the new disc too (Kiss Each Other Clean)... which I dig even more live.
Friday: I woke up early and decided to go snowboarding... I was out the door, dodging the rain, trying to make it to my car before the meter maids came 'round. I made it with a few minutes to spare and hit the road for Stuhleck, a recommended ski resort in the Alps, west of Vienna. I arrived just as the lifts opened and hit the hill. It was a peaceful day of riding... I can really get used to no lift lines and wide open terrain... but, still, it was no Vail or Beaver Creek. Semmering (mountain pass in the Northern Limestone Alps) is definitely a step up from Rogla, but I think I need to go a bit further west (to Innsbruck or even into Switzerland / France) before I can experience the gnar that I know from home...
In the afternoon, I drove to Graz, just for fun. Wow, I love it. The 2003 Culture Capital sits on the Mur River in Southeast Austria. It's a super rad city (my favourite Austrian city since Innsbruck)... plenty of green and a different feel than Vienna all around. I like Vienna, but Graz is more my speed... it reminds me of Ljubljana... somewhere around 300,000 people and just a cool feel. Loads of people are out on bikes, many more are walking dogs through the old town, making art near the river, or reading in the park... I really dig cities like this; I feel the Denver / Boulder scene in a European landscape... pretty much unbeatable.
I skated around town, spending a while in the park, and crossed the Mur to check out the Kunsthaus before it closed. The contemporary art museum is called the 'friendly alien' for obvious reasons. It's wild structure has definitely become a local icon (much like the Denver Art Museum, but even more bazaar). There will always be opposition to modern architecture like this, but I personally, appreciate the beauty of the beast!
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