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The Final Performance - San Sebastian, Spain
Awww man, the night has finally come. This marks the final performance from Jake's first ever Europe tour. We are all very sad to see this day come because we have had such a great experience thus far. So, let's go out with a bang! The venue tonight is a pretty small tavern style setup which holds maybe 100 or so standing. Intimate? Yup! Just how Jake likes it....bring them in close and personal.
After our insanely fun filled afternoon of walking around we were glad to have a few hours to spare before the show. Show-time tonight is...hold your breath...12am! Man, they really go late in Spain. We hooked up with a few of the promoters to take a short walk to...get this...the only restaurant in San Sebastian which has vegetarian dishes. Kaz is in love!
Just check out the scenery as the sun went down....just another perfect moment indeed.
How's that sunset on the beach? What should have been about a 10 minute walk, turned into about a 30 minute walk..we were just snapping away like paparazzi. And so we finally reach the restaurant which any ordinary tourist would never be able to find. This is one of those tucked away gems that you only dream about finding while on vacation. It was placed at the end of a surface street which was lined with 4 story brick buildings. If it wasn't for the large outdoor seating, you would never have known it was there.
Ordering here was a bit more challenging, and we figured it would be. Kaz was prepared to go full Pictionary style and draw what she could and couldn't have for the waiter. This of course turned into a huge joke between the four of us, and everyone had to draw their own "cow". The artistry is a little scary...at least mine was.
Jake and Mark placed an order for these amazing Stuffed Tomatoes with tofu and all kinds of healthy yumminess. Plus, Mark had stashed a Gluten Free bread roll from the other night...and busted that out for him and Jake to share. Too classic! Dinner and drinks came and we did one our of last toasts for a good show.
That last dish you see was desert. Some sort of fruit infused yogurt packed with fresh grapes and some strawberry syrup. It was better than it looks.
Well we managed to forget the time, and realized we only had about 20 minutes to get back to the venue before show time. Forgetting the time is easy when you are in San Sebastian...actually...I think that is the whole secret to this cities lifestyle. Forget Yourself and Enjoy.
On the walk back we saw some interesting...scenes.
How random is that, a VW bus in San Sebastian with a Hawaii logo on it...and we walked right by it.
As we made our way back into the venue, we could see that it was already super packed and still had a small line outside. We rushed Jake through the small crowd and down into the tavern style venue. Tonight we had a few special guests from Japan that came into town to see the show. Arigato! So good to see familiar faces, especially in a foreign country.
Jake took the stage to a standing room only crowd, and for the first time that I have experienced, people were actually sitting ON THE STAGE behind Jake. That's how intimate this setting was. Jake had a full set tonight, about 90 minutes, and I knew he was just going to nail it. He played a full set to a roaring crowd...and I mean roaring. Maybe it was the tight venue, but I swear you could probably hear this club from the street.
Tonight brought us one last surprise, and it was a big one. When Jake finished his regular set, the crowd cheered heavily for an expected encore. They got it and Jake played Ave Maria. What should have been the show, turned into a second encore. Ask and you shall receive! Jake played, for the first time ever in Europe....Crazy G!!!
For those of you that know this song, you know how energetic it is, and how the crowd participates. Well, instead of saying "Faster!" after each riff, Jake instructed the crowd to say "Andale!" - which in Spanish means "Faster - Let's Go! ". It was a total riot and was received with a major appreciation from the audience.
They would not stop cheering. Could it be? 3rd Encore? You got it. Jake settled in with, again, for the first time in a long time...and for sure the first time in Europe...he played "Something". The crowd was so into it that you could her "Ssshhhing" a few times as the ambient voices got a little too loud for comfort.
The set was finally ended when the house manager had to turn the lights on, because I don't think the crowd would have let Jake go. What a show. What a way to end it.
Tomorrow we travel to Bilbao, Spain to stay for one night....spend the day touring around...and head into the Guggenheim Museum to experience some of the Spanish artworks. Stay tuned for one last posting!
Here is Jake playing Sakura Sakura for the antzy crowd
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