Reflecting on what has been more than a 5-show tour!

Hey,

I hope you’re doing well. I’m actually on the plane heading back to Montreal after what has been such an incredible week filled with magic, wonders, doubts, struggles, but above all, unforgettable and eternal new memories. 

Alex just came to see me at my seat, since yes, he’s in business class and I’m not, with two glasses of Johnny Walker, saying, “Let’s raise our glasses to what’s up for grabs and to having enough courage and guts to go and make it ours like never before!” 

As I shared with you last week, this tour truly embodied what we called the end of an era and the beginning of a new one! 

🎧 What I’m listening to

King Hannah

As we were checking in at our hotel in Cologne upon arrival for this tour, there were some people ahead of us already! We were all talking and in a great mood, truly looking forward to unfolding greatness and to leaving differently, as we just landed a few hours ago (something I’m sure Alex truly was looking forward to, as he woke up with so many question marks on his face following a crazy Air Canada Lounge improvised party!) 

And as we were all being quite loud and excited about being back in Cologne, a place that has been home for us during 10 weeks last year, Marcus noticed the people in front of us were a band he saw live at the Orange Blossom Special festival last summer called King Hannah, which I’m a big fan of, and which Felix (stage tech) and I planned on going to see the following night in Cologne if the pre-production day went smoothly and ended up early! What were the odds of simply being behind an artist I truly love and wanted to see live! 

As we introduced ourselves to them and started talking, they ended up mentioning they want to come to Montreal for an entire month hoping to get inspired for their new record! They kept on going, saying Montreal is their favorite city in the world and they can’t wait to be back! Love how this tour got started! This is just incredible! 

We shared about our church studio and how incredible it would be to have them come in to record their album…! Emails exchanged and here we are, close to being friends!!! Can’t wait to see them in Montreal this December and to show them around!!!! 

Feels like the Air Canada lounge vibe and spirit are hooked upon us and following us everywhere! Let’s keep it busy and active! What a tour thus far! 

📖 Reading highlight I’m pondering

“When we are crushed like grapes,
we cannot think of the wine we will become.”
- Rev. Henri J. M. Nouwen

I read that quote as we were getting ready for the Mezz concert in Breda. I really like to read inspiring things before getting on stage as it keeps me aligned with why we’re doing this, and more importantly, with what I would like to see happening during the concert! For us in The Long Shadows, it’s never about playing the songs well and making sure we’re properly following Alex’s signs and improvised sections changed, but about making sure people leave differently than how they came in! Not an easy task, especially after such a long and intense year where freedom and peace have both been fighting quite hard to gain their well-deserved seat back into our lives! 

It was the following day as I was driving the 9-passenger van to Cologne, and Jessie, a French video producer who jumped on the tour for a few dates as he’s working on a special project with Alex, decided to sit in the front with me to film me and the outskirts of the Netherlands and Germany. (Jessie filmed several official videos from Alex, like Lavender Sky, The Power of the Heart, The Hunter and a few others that haven’t been released yet). 

He started to ask me some questions about things Alex talked about the night before during the concert regarding how we struggled to be free, how forgiveness is a gift and how love isn’t a variable thing depending on circumstances, but love is and will maintain its form and nature regardless of how we feel about it. 

I told him that amazing quote I just read the night before. Freedom and truth are the twin sisters of love, and if you’re seeking them all to manifest themselves for real, without any compromises, they will crush you in a great and a beautiful way, especially if you’re patient enough to see what those three things can create in a heart and soul no matter what we’re going through...!  

🎧 Podcast I’ve Enjoyed The Most

Brooklyn Vegan - The Charlatans, Tim Burgess

Since this tour was properly designed around short distances as opposed to the last one in August where we drove from Budapest to Frankfurt and Veruno to Maastricht, we listened to a lot of music instead of podcasts...! 

So, as we ended up playing our last concert of the tour in Bocholt in Belgium and spent time with everyone who came, we left the venue 20 minutes past midnight for the hotel which was an hour away as we preferred to sleep closer to the airport, having a 10am flight from Brussels. At some point on the way there, as I knew this might happen, a complete silence invaded the van, replacing the excitement of this entire tour and last concert. Since my ears were still a little noisy and affected by all this crazy wall of sound we just shared with everyone that night, a podcast would do the job! 

This podcast is quite short, so it's perfect for the time left in this drive. I learned a lot about Tim’s art and approach to it, which was quite inspiring for me, especially as we still have work to do to finalize Alex’s album before the year ends...! I highly recommend it! 

📸 My Picture Of The Week 

I took that picture at the Yard Club on Tuesday afternoon as we were having lunch before starting to work on the tour pre-production! The vibe was to the roof! I wanted to immortalize this moment in order to share it with close friends at home...! Now I’m sharing it with you! Thank you for bringing so much joy and magnificence into our lives! 

As I shared with someone after a concert this week, there’s the family we haven't chosen, and there’s the family we build. 

We spent 10 weeks rehearsing in that place on a weekly basis and I never took a picture! 

💬 Shared in the Long Shadows Chat this week

Alex kept on filling this week’s chat with incredible stories he shared with so many of you during the tour…! So many beautiful pictures of him with so many of you with a short quote on how you discovered us, how you got involved more and more and how proud you are of being part of this humanity-driven community of great people...! 

Some people even shared about the depression they’re going through, about how scared they are facing crazy diseases, and even some in wheelchairs who hoped and prayed to be alive again for our concert. Alex always becomes emotional as he shares some stories with us in the van as we’re on our way to the hotel after a concert. Sharing things so deep, so personal, struggling between fears and courage, faith and despair, and how music plays such a key role simply is the precise reason behind why we’re doing all of this the way we’re doing all of this. 

How many times have we been gently kicked out of venues because it was too late, like leaving the Yard Club past 1:30 in the morning, not because we’re hanging out with you or filling each other’s photo app or social media profiles, but because we’re building something way greater than our own selves, because we’re aiming for something higher, greater, bigger, something we all believe in, something we don’t know how it comes to life and what its extent could be, but something we truly found ourselves defined by, as we all know there’s something much greater to this life than what we can understand of it. 

So many memories, conversations, moments, and hugs are going through my mind as I’m on the plane back to Montreal right now… makes me become emotional...! 

Let’s be great to one another! 

Your friend and Chief Operator, 
Jeff 

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