Tour diaries do a specific job. They give us access to the parts of touring nobody puts on a poster. Doesn’t matter whether it’s Speed pulling thick thousands of YouTube views on their runs or a smaller band writing up a 2am squat stay because the room’s too hot to sleep in.
Wake of Humanity are on their European Distress Tour right now, their third run through Europe in the last decade. The diary is coming in two parts. Phase one covers the opening seven days: Berlin, Dresden, Budapest, Leipheim, Giessen, Hengelo.
Three shows ran with label mates xESCALATEx from Hungary, two with Finland’s Ecotage from the Bitter Melody Records roster, before Ieperfest closes out the trip in early July.
The Berlin heatwave hit 105Β°F. The Budapest venue turned out to be a former bomb shelter. The Leipheim show ran at an abandoned beer garden on the banks of the Danube, thunderstorms circling until the hour before load-in, the promoter’s wife cooking a full dinner between soundcheck and a 10pm curfew that cut the last song.
Phase one by vocalist Chris LaPointe can be found below. More coming up next week.
Wake of Humanity released Distress Signal on April 10, 2026, via New Age Records, a sharp metallic hardcore EP about combating systemic oppression, environmental ruin, and personal self-destruction.
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This has been the most difficult tour Iβve booked in my life and Iβve done a few. I have a knack for procrastination or being so overloaded with work (both in my personal,, professional and band life) that I overcommit and ultimately fail. Probably some deep psychological reason for thatβ¦but things ended up taking forever to book. And I mean all the things; shows, backline, van, accommodations, etc.
Day 1: Travel – Tacoma > Seattle > Frankfurt > Prague > Berlin
I can never sleep on planes. This was particularly worrisome b/c I had so many logistics to take care of once I landed. Things never go as planned. Tried desperately to sleep on the plane. Did not sleep a minute. Watched that Amy Winehouse movie βBack to Black.β Hit me pretty hard. Then again, if you know me, you know the emotions in my run real wild. Really enjoyed the movie.
On to the logistics. had to reschedule my original flight into Berlin and leave a day early, fly into Prague, pick up the van and gear, then drive to Berlin. In a perfect world, routing would have allowed this to happen seamlessly. Not the case. The world is not perfect. Nor am I. Once, landing in Prague I had to make it to Fluffwheels to pick up backline/van.
Shout out to Tomas for always coming through. Even if itβs βcrazy last minute.β Much respect. Once that got sorted I had time to freshen up, change clothes into something more combative for the sweltering heat and get something to eat.
But first I had to get ice cream at the βVegan Ice Cream X Coffeeβ spot in the same complex as fluffwheels. Topped that off with a great vegan meal from Eaternia, also next door. Now it was onto Berlinβ¦on roads Iβve traveled frequently but never have I driven them. And alone. Fairly uneventful 4 hour drive but towards the end I was struggling to stay awake.
It was Friday evening and I hadnβt slept since Wednesday. Ahead of time I booked a room at a hostel less than a mile from the airport. While checking in, they couldnβt find my reservation. Turns out, I made the reservation for 26 July. Not 26 June. Fuck me. I already said this was not a perfect world. Turns out they managed to get me into a room after some negotiating. Passed out and had the best 7 hours of sleep in quite some time.
Day 2: Berlin Germany at Regnbogenfabrik
Nice heatwave. Supposed to be 105Β° f today. Picked up the band from the airport and headed off immediately to pick up merch then went to the venue for load in. Great venue and great artist care as always. Did an extensive sound check to get familiar with the gear we rented. All went well in that regard. Of course, one of our cables went out so we had to borrow one until we made it to a music store in Γlm mid way through the tour.
Got done with sound check and headed to catering. Unfortunately, most of the food was gone by the time we arrived. Most notably, the vegan sausage. Everything was delicious though. Next, we made the obligatory 10 minute walk to CoreTex Records. Bought some things. Got back to the venue and was quite pleased with the turnout.
On the bill were our label mates xESCALATEx from Hungary and an antifascist oi band from France called Saccage.
Both bands were great. For a first night of tour with unfamiliar gear and a few new members out set went remarkably well. Great crowd response, moshing, stage dives, etc. Great initial gig for the tour! We suffered a broken guitar strap on the last song.
Happy Noise Connection booked the show for us and Sascha was amazing. He sent us to the hotel with a huge bag of food since it was lit first night of tour!
Day 3: Dresden Germany at Mondfisch
This particular day was one of the three days that were so hard to book. Festival season, so many bands on tour, difficulties securing local support, etc. Spent weeks trying to book this date in Prague then Munich but eventually got some help from our incredible friend Anna. She connected us with Andey and together they booked the show for us. Small club/bar on very late notice. We had zero expectations.
Played with xESCALATEx again. Band is amazing and great people. We really got along well! Turns out, promoters, the club and friends got the word out and the turnout on a Sunday night was great. Even considering the heatwave, I feel like we performed quite well. Energy level was pretty high. Managed to break a guitar string tonight. Luckily we were loaned a guitar and I ran my mouth as we tuned up.
Sometimes, these cramped and over crowded spaces make for the best settings for a show! Stayed at a squat arranged by the promoters. It was similar to many other squats weβve stayed at. Only issue was the heat. It was unbearably hot and little sleep was gotten by all of us. Unfortunate because we have a 7-8 hour drive ahead of us.
Day 4 Budapest Hungary at Riff Club.
A long drive did not allow us much time to explore Budapest. We played at the Riff Club for the first time. In later learned that it was a former bomb shelter. Very cool venue with the usual European hospitality. The ca catering provided was top notch. The best/healthiest meal we had in a long time.
This was the last of three shows with xESCALATEx. Starting to feel like everyone is losing their jet lag. Everything sounded ok but the audience was doing the horseshoe thing. Usually I can control that a bit but not this time. That annoyed me the entire set.
Had a wonderful stay with Bence, the promoter. First restful night NOT in sweltering heat. We got up early, had a really nice breakfast and coffee then hit the road for Leipheim as we had an 8-9 hour drive shared of us.
Day 5 Leipheime Germany at Staniβs Biergarten
This date was extremely difficult to book. Tried multiple cities, conversations with so many promoters, and a list of other contacts as long as my arm.
Finally I was connected with Mario who really came through for us. He proposed an outdoor diy style show in an abandoned beer gardenβ¦on the banks of the Danube River.
Honestly, this sounded perfect. He said he couldnβt guarantee a big turnout as this was one of the first shows to be hosted at this location. This was the fifth show at Staniβs. Location sounded amazing but the routing was not optimum. The first of our two consecutive 8+ hour drives.
Now for the next potential issue for the showβ¦the weather. Thunder storms were forecasted and the timing for that ran into when weβd have to be set up and playing. We made the long drive, hot there just in time and checked out the area. Looked amazing, and was indeed on the banks of the Danube as advertised, Complete with a big canopy where the band played.
Right as we were loading in the sky darkened. As I was in the restroom I heard a loud crack of thunder and I could tell the sky must have busted open with a torrential downpour. That went on for like an hour. Heavy rain for a half hour. Mario assured us we around be ok. So did the weather channel app. This proved to be the case. Soon Mario and his friends had the stage all set up complete with lights. Time for dinner. Marioβs wife prepares an amazing dish complete with dessert!
Mother Mayhem from Γlm opened and bright a metal vibe. The show had a strict curfew of 10pm. Understandable as it was an outdoor affair.
We blasted through our set, omitting a few songs, and as we were on the intro of the last song, To what End?, I saw the scene develop where the owner of Staniβs was telling Mario to cut the sound. Show was over.
Just needed another minute or two to finish the set but we wanted to be respectful of the owners requestβ¦and of the folks in the neighborhood! Later the next morning Marion told me this was the biggest show theyβve hosted at Staniβs. This made me feel great. Glad we were able to contribute to a truly diy scene-community he and his friends are building in Leipheim.
Day 6 GeiΓen Germany at AK44
I told Anna HΓΌbler multiple times that she was the MVP of this tour. From the beginning, when the tour was announced, she helped out in so many ways. Provided so many connections and made the Dresden show and this one, in her current hometown, happen. Anna is a special force of nature and we are forever in her debt. She got the show hooked at a squat called AK 44.
Very cool venue and vibe. Similar to the previous night, expectations were low regarding the turnout; especially on another week night. Local thrash band, Insomniak, opened and this is where we met up with Ecotage, from Finland, for a few shows. Theyβve also just released a new EP on Bitter Melody Records.
This venue offered a very comfortable and large green room with tons of couches and room to spread out and get comfortable. I needed this. For some reason (likely dehydration, new routines, sitting in the van for hours on end, driving, and little exercise) my ankles started swelling. I already have balance and issues with my feet that I had to prepare for. This new development kind of got me all inside my head. I was concerned it was a circulatory issue related to cardiac health. Poor cardiac health runs in my family and Iβve also battled high blood pressure for a very long time. I drank a ton of water, elevated my feet and eventually the swelling subsided a bit. In addition, my voice was starting to feel stressed and nearly blown. I prepared as much as possible to avoid this but we have not been touring or playing extensively so I knew this could be an issue. I just didnβt want to blow my voice out before Ieperfest.
The show went well. Ecotage ripped and following the show we stayed at Annaβs flat and got really good rest. Good thing b/c we had another 8 hour drive ahead of us. Voice felt better as well.
Day 7 Hengelo Netherlands at Innocent
So glad Tamara (Awkward Booking) added us to this bill. I had been to club Innocent 14 years ago and absolutely loved it. Perfect size club and again with the stellar hospitality. I was talking this club up a whole bunch to the band and they all loved it. Some of us even snuck in a workout in the diy gym provided! Food was amazing and another very comfortable green room with tons of vegan snacks. Dinner was amazing. Potatoes were the star!
Locals, Curselifter kicked things off. They were great and very friendly. They were a perfect fit for this bill! We broke nothing tonight, to our surprise. Only grievances have is for the fucking horseshoe. That thing was here all night so I just got off the stage and went into the audience several times.
I felt like this was our best/tightest set of the tour thus far. Perfect stage, great sound and the place was packed for a week night.
No technical issues, no broken strings, just a powerful set in my opinion. Itβs always nice playing a familiar place.
Again, we hand to get up quickly, eat the breakfast that was provided by Tamara and hit the road as we were meeting a friend in Ghent for coffee before we hit our hotel in Ieper.
Weβre staying the whole time at Ieperfest b/c booking shows around the fest was so difficult and I kept coming up with nothing. Plus, if Iβm being honest, I selfishly wanted to be there Saturday to see Feels Like Heaven as that new record has been in very heavy rotation since it dropped.
And I couldnβt imagine missing MartyrdΓΆd and Liar. I also scheduled an interview on the More Than Music stage for Friday night. Very excited rental to Els about veganism and such!
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