Trip 2 - Prague and Cologne

And it's tour time again!!

I am at the airport, killing time waiting for my flight to Prague, Czech Republic this evening. The time is 4:45 AM and my flight leaves at 7:00 AM. I'm sure I don't need to tell you how excited I am.

So far Home Free and Jeffrey East seem to be enjoying this tour a lot. In show after show both they and the audience are singing, dancing and clapping for all they are worth, and I am positive tonight's show will keep adding to the list of shows that are mind-blowing, heart warming and joyful. 

I will be meeting up with a lot of friends in Prague, lovely people I've gotten to know through Home Free. My sister I've known her whole life, another friend I've known close to 30 years, some I've met several times before in several countries over the past 2,5 years since the first time Home Free came to Europe, some I've shared a room with before, some I've met once and some I will meet for the first time. We come from all over Europe; Sweden, Finland, Poland, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic and of course Spain (that's me). 

This show is a standing show, just as Stockholm was last week and just as Vienna was last night. I know Stockholm was epic, and I have heard that Vienna was even better so there is no doubt in my mind that Prague will be even more epic and better than those shows. I know all of us will do our best to make it so.

Tomorrow morning I will get on a bus, together with another Swede and 2 Finns, from Prague to Cologne, Germany for the show on Monday. I am looking forward to seeing the scenery along the way, and to get some rest. I've had a busy week and so far I've only slept 45 minutes tonight. I'm not a great plane sleeper, but I will do my best to get at least an hour of it on my 3 hour flight. 

Some of us are landing at more or less the same time so we'll kick everything off at the airport already. I see a lot of laughter and hugs in my near future. 

On the bus tomorrow I will write a blog to tell you all about tonight's show, and of course there will be one about the Cologne show on Tuesday. I'm so excited to write them! 

But now I will have my airport breakfast of champions - a banana, salt and vinegar crisps (chips for you US folks out there), black coffee and water - and watch a film. I've got another hour to kill before my gate is announced.

I wish you a fantastic day, I know mine will be. Have fun, love a lot, laugh much!

Love/

Carina

Home Free in Oslo, Norway

Right now I'm in Stockholm, Sweden, in our hotel lobby getting some well deserved rest after a very long day yesterday and an early morning today. Tonight is the second concert of the European leg of the Timeless World Tour, but I will tell you all about that tomorrow. Today's post is all about yesterday's concert in Oslo, Norway - my 8th Home Free show so far.

It was the first time for the Guys to perform in Norway and they loved it there. Not surprised. And let me tell you that Norway LOVED them! A lot!

The venue was a 1000 seated venue with 4 bars, as Tim kept telling us, and I believe we managed to get the best seats of the house on row 10 with the 9 rows in front of us being 2 steps below our floor level. Perfect view and perfect sound!

The guys are traveling with an opening act this tour so before we got to see and hear the brilliance of Home Free we were treated with the brilliance of singer-songwriter Jeffrey East. Let me tell ya'; if you ever get a chance to go see him live - Take it!! As Home Free fans we are used to their special connection with the fans during the show - Jeffrey East got that part down too, so funny!

Not only that; his songs were really good, his voice as well and last, but certainly not least, he has an awesome beard! Jeffrey East - remember that name! I will share live videos of him later on, but until then check him out on YouTube and Spotify and like him on socials. Jeffrey East

I had a chance to have a chat with him after the show and he is also a very gentle, kind and polite guy who is very excited to be on tour with the guys of Home Free. I'm looking forward to seeing him opening on every show I'm going to this tour! So keep your eyes open for the name Jeffrey East!

So, what about Home Free? They were absolutely amazing, as always but more! I have stayed away from watching any live video this past year because I wanted to be surprised on this first concert and boy are they getting better and better. This was also the first time they brought their special lights with them, and they are using a tour bus to get from show to show - just as they do in the States. We were told that the bus is enormous and sleeps 14, and has at least 1 microwave in a strange place.

I'm not going to get trough all the songs they did, but they did some songs I haven't heard live before and some I have heard. Some of the banter in between was new to me and some I've heard before, and it was as funny as always. I've mentioned before that going to a Home Free show isn't just a concert, it's a stand-up comedy act as well. I stand by that after Oslo as well!

They all look great and look like they are taking really good care of themselves, which is great because we want them around for a long time still.

The biggest cheer of the evening was when Timeless went into Try Everything, a song that means a lot to me for personal reason, and the roof probably lifted the ceiling a bit. Adam Rupp got a standing ovation with applauds that went on for a long time after his beatboxing solo - a well deserved tribute indeed. The talent of that freak of nature keeps blowing  my mind. I will never be able to understand the talent he's got. How one single man can sound like a complete drum set will forever remain a mystery to me.

Austin's wailing opening of When You Walk In was powerful, wonderful and dreamy. Seriously, that man got skills!

Rob's sweet and buttery voice in Go Rest High sent chills down my spine. In an extremely good way!

Chance's highs and lows with that raw, raspy and smooth voice hits home for me every single time. The choice of bringing him in is undoubtedly a great one. And yes, Tim, we are also so happy that he didn't join Pentatonix!

And then we have Tim, with his sarcasm and spot on humour, his rumbling low notes, his sweet high notes and his charm, who brings down laughter after laughter. He certainly didn't let us down this time either.

But the thing that gets to me most when it comes to Home Free are all the feelings I get within. Not only during the show, because that is to be expected with them, but that feeling when it was getting close to being our turn to do the VIP pic (we started VIP with the pics followed by signing). It's a feeling of excitement and expectations. It's butterflies in the stomach, it's rushing blood, it's brain going blank and it's love. So much love! One of the Fry sister's I'm traveling is described it as the fantastic feeling she gets before getting up on stage to perform. To me it's a feeling of going home after a long time being away.

If Home Free was a religion their live shows would be MY CHURCH!

Tonight's show is in a standing room only venue, so I'm looking forward to it for that reason, because I'm sure the energy will be very different. But I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.

Oh, and Europe finally got to meet Nate! Love him! Such a sweet and gentle guy! Home Free knows how to surround themselves with sweet people.

With that I'm going to end this post with a snippet of yesterday's My Church, because that's what I'm doing when I go to their shows. I'm going to My Church. Courtesy to my sister H for catching it on video and allowing me to share it with the world.

Love/
Carina

It's Tour Time

And so the adventures begin. I'm at the airport waiting to board my flight to Oslo. The European leg of Home Free Timeless Tour begins today and I will be there!
This is their first time performing in Norway and tomorrow will be their first time performing in Stockholm, Sweden and I will of course be there as well.

The guys will continue their tour on Sunday while I go home, but I will pick the tour up again in Prague, Czech Republic on the 8th of September and in Cologne (Köln), Germany before I again go home while the band continues on their victorious journey here in Europe.

So, I'll be at the first 2 shows of the tour and at 2 in the middle so obviously I will be at the last 2 shows as well which are Birmigham, UK on the 20th of September and finally London, UK on the 21st.

I will be blogging about all the shows, and a couple of them will be standing room only which is unusual for Home Free's shows, so it will be interesting to compare them with the normal seated shows I've been to before.

Of course I'm doing all this with my fellow Euro Fries, my little sister included everywhere but Cologne, and I'm super excited to not only get to see the Guys again, but also all my old and new friends from all over Europe.

I hope you'll check in and join me on my adventures!

/Love Carina