The black plague statue just after sunset.

Vajgar Lake was covered with a layer of dense fog as we drove into town. It was both spooky and beautiful. We arrived at our venue, Bar 69, with enough time to relax and eat the vegan snacks they provided for us, including fresh fruit, dark chocolate, and Bohemian Czech wine.

Jindrichov Hradec is not an easy town to pronounce for the Westerner (and it appears I can’t add the appropriate accents for the language, which is happening with many of my Czech posts). In the time it took to learn how to say it properly, I enjoyed a good snowfall, had delicious veggie spread with fresh bread, spoke only Czech with local shopkeepers, and learned about the ghost of the castle, she is referred to as the White Lady.

Bar 69 had gorgeous hand-carved wooden bar stools, tables, and benches, along with these amazing handmade light fixtures (below). It was underground in a cave and we soon discovered that many of the venues we would perform in on this tour would be underground. Jindrichuv Hradec was our first gig outside of Prague and we had no idea what to expect. We met our promoter, Petr, at the venue and he helped us bring our gear down the stairs where we settled in and enjoyed getting to know him.

The veggie spreads were like pâté and included mushroom, white bean, and garlic. I wish we had them here; they were fantastic and great for traveling!

My ground view while playing guitar.

My (rented) guitar and amplifier. I bring my own microphone to avoid getting sick. The house microphones often smell really awful too.

The ladies bathroom door. Notice green female with tail sitting on a toilet.

The day after the show we woke up to a steady stream of snow. We stood out in the cold under the snowflakes until we could no longer stand it and our toes were numb. It was striking in contrast to the pastel colored buildings and cobblestone streets.

The black plague statue in the snow.

As I looked over toward my husband/bandmate while playing guitar in the middle of a song, I saw a figure out of my peripheral vision that appeared to be sitting in the nook of the room, basically trapped there by the soundboard. I thought to myself, “wow that guy either really likes our music, or is stuck there for the entire show”. Later in the set, I looked over again to communicate a change in the song with Carlos. The figure was still there in my peripheral vision. I felt a calm energy from this male figure, as if he was happy to be there and was enjoying the show. As soon as we finished our set, I looked over at the actual chair and it was empty. There was no way the person sitting there could have escaped that corner until we moved the soundboard and some of our gear. It was my second ghost sighting within a week.

Olomouc is in the Moravian region of the Czech Republic. It is one of the larger towns outside of Prague and is host to the oldest university in Moravia and the second oldest in the Czech Republic. We performed in an underground art gallery with beautiful stonework and arches. Our promoter and host were both college students studying social work. They were good friends and we enjoyed exploring the city center the following morning with them after breakfast.

My first encounter with a ghost was also in Moravia. It was on my birthday in Sumperk while we were setting up our equipment for the show. I was sitting on the floor of the stage plugging in my guitar pedals and I felt a large presence sort of hovering over me. As I looked at my pedals, I could see this figure with his arms crossed standing at the front of the stage, out of the corner of my eye. When I looked up directly where I thought him to be, there was nothing. At first I thought it was the sound man because he was tall and it would make sense for him to come up to the stage, but he was at the back of the room with the soundboard. I got back to work and the figure appeared again. I got up and walked over to Carlos, who was also setting up his gear on stage. I told him I kept seeing something at the front of the stage and asked him if he saw it. He said he hadn’t and we both went back to work. After the third time of seeing this stern figure in my peripheral vision, I was freaked out. I looked up in that direction and after seeing no one there, I looked over at Carlos and he had seen it too.

We had a wonderful performance and everything went smoothly. He did not appear while we were playing and we didn’t see him again for the rest of the night. Out of the two ghosts, I prefer the one in Olomouc. Neither was frightening, but the one in Sumperk certainly made it clear that he was ready for us to get the show on the road.

When I started booking an Eastern European tour for my band, I really had no expectations, other than the conditions set forth in our rider. Even those were minimal: vegan dinner upon arrival, wine if possible, a bed to sleep in after the performance, and payment. Prague had a sense of safety to it because it’s a bustling metropolis, but once we were out on the open road, it was just us and our GPS. This was the first European tour in which we had a GPS and let me say that it was a breath of fresh air. We’ve traveled across the United States and Western Europe together sans GPS but having one this time took a lot of stress off of me, the navigator (aka the manager, the booking agent, the press agent, etc).

The Czech Republic is divided into two regions, Bohemia and Moravia. On my birthday, we had a gig in Šumperk, a ski resort village in Moravia. It was the first birthday, in over 10 years, that I didn’t perform as part of the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas. I hoped we would have a good experience in Šumperk for my birthday and as it turned out, it was one of my favorite shows of the tour. We arrived at our pension, a modest room with two twin beds, a kitchenette, and bath with shower, where we were able to contact our promoter for the evening. He met us and let us in so I could take a short nap. It was comfortable, clean, and quiet.

The venue, H-club, was huge compared to some of the places we had already played. It featured a cool art gallery and lounge on the first floor called Elektric.

Elektric Cafe & Gallery

The venue itself had a great sound system and was beautifully lit. We shared the bill with Czech bands, The Finally and Blackerfeed. We were greeted warmly, ate delicious pasta, enjoyed Czech wine, and had great conversations with members from both bands. The line-up was the best of the tour with all three bands having a similar melodic, hypnotic thread of psychedelia.

The Finally

Blackerfeed

Carlos, my husband/bandmate

We met our promoter, Jirka,  the next morning for a small tour of the village and lunch. Since it was off season for skiing and the weekend was upon us, things were pretty quiet and most of the shops were closed. Luckily, his Mom had a jewelry shop where all of the items were handmade and very unique. He got the key and let us in to shop! I purchased my mother a necklace, Carlos bought me earrings for my birthday, and Jirka gifted me with a necklace for my birthday. He was also kind enough to allow us to leave our equipment at the venue after the performance, so we stopped by to pick it up after lunch. I loved being able to go back to the venue for a view during daylight.

H-club

Jirka made me an espresso before we hit the road again.

I purchased an art book from the gallery and we gave Jirka a copy of our new LP. (photo credit: Carlos Jackson)

I honestly can’t wait to return to Šumperk. The drive was beautiful through the hills of Moravia and getting to know Jirka was such a treat. We made a friend we will keep in touch with and hopefully tour with in the future. It was also the first time I’ve seen a ghost. I’m serious. But that’s a topic for another post!