NUVO x BARRABAS EUROPE SUMMER '23 - Daniel J Torres's Portfolio

A collection of photos I took on Nuvolascura's tour with Barabbas, du Förtappade June 8th - June 21st, 2023. I tried to include some captions and links for context but mostly just presenting them as is.

This tour came together entirely over instagram DMs, Barabbas (I think Seva specifically) reached out to us late December 2022 and after a few messages back and forth, basically had a route set and contacts to reach out to for shows throughout Europe. 6 months later we were on a plane to Stockholm, where we met the four of them for the first time.

Nuvolascura is Dom, Taylor, Erica, and Daniel.
Barabbas, du Förtappade is Theo, Seva, Francisco, and Cesar.

Los Angeles, CA, USA – Dom, Taylor and I leaving for Stockholm from LAX, of course our flight was delayed about an hour which made us miss our connection in Norway.

Stockholm, Sweden – Theo and Seva showing us around Stockholm after trying to sleep off the insane jet lag + the sun only going down between the hours of 1030p - 300a.

Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm, Sweden – Barabbas, du Förtappade, our first show together!

Stockholm, Sweden

Copenhagen, Denmark – Barabbas, du Förtappade playing after driving 8 hours from Stockholm. This was Day 1 of "see you next summer fest 2023" the tagline of which was "scandinavian sadness screamo fest." It was at a the Ungdomshuset squat, which has a 40+ year history of struggle with the Copenhagen Municipality. After reading and dreaming about visiting european squats since I was 13, stepping onto the property was a truly unbelievable moment for me. The signage, people, and facilities they had access to was absolutely inspiring.

Copenhagen, Denmark

Denmark – This is us waiting for the ferry to cross the Baltic Sea between Denmark and Germany. I meant to take a photo of the van while we were packing it before leaving from Stockholm but I was busy figuring out how to get all 8 of us plus our bags and gear to fit in the van so this will have to do. Honestly, it was pretty comfortable given how much we needed to fit in there. I slept almost the entire car ride from Stockholm to Copenhagen, only waking up when we crossed the Øresund Bridge. We were all still extremely jet lagged, I played like shit the first two nights.

Denmark – I guess this tower was in some movies as part of another building (Det Gule Palæ?) in Copenhagen. It was moved to this port to be renovated and serve as a museum of sorts. I only found out about this now and regret going inside!! (it wasn't obviously open from what I remember)

Denmark / Germany – Taken from the ferry while crossing the Baltic sea. I was immediately sea sick and this was the only place I felt okay.

Denmark / Germany

Germany – A rest stop an hour or so after we got off the ferry, I took over driving to Berlin from here, my first time driving in Europe!

Germany

Berlin, Germany – Barabbas playing another squat in Berlin I can't seem to find any info on. I had a nice walk to myself in the surrounding neighborhood after we loaded in, Berlin is on my must revisit (not on tour) list.

Berlin, Germany

Berlin, Germany – We stayed at the squat we played in on the 6th floor (no elevator) in an unfinished dormitory. Across the hall there was this gym run by someone in the squat, the person hosting us told us not to go in there but on our way out we saw signs saying all were welcome to use it whenever and just to clean up after yourself so I was really bummed. The light in there was great though.

Berlin, Germany – From the window in the room we slept in.

Berlin, Germany – Dom and Francisco getting ready

Berlin, Germany

Berlin, Germany – Every day we had to climb up and stuff our bags/merch up here, the only way we could all fit inside, thankful we got it!

Berlin, Germany

Prague, Czech Republic – Walking around Prague after loading in, another must revisit for me.

Prague, Czech Republic – The venue had this trainyard behind it / lots of train yards/bridges around the area.

Prague, Czech Republic

Prague, Czech Republic – Eternia Smichov the incredible space we were playing and staying at that had rehearsal rooms, a free store, a great kitchen, half pipe, show space, and I guess pole dance studio according to their site?

Prague, Czech Republic – I think we were arguing about changing the set list here lol

Prague, Czech Republic

Prague, Czech Republic –nulajednanulanula, who I believe helped organize the show playing Eternia Smichov. Their bassist (sorry I can't remember your name!) served us the absolute best meal we had on tour. I must have had three servings. Their latest LP had this incredible packaging which included an epoxied dead bug, I regret not buying one.

Prague, Czech Republic – Barabbas playing Eternia Smichov, been a while since I've taken pictures from a half pipe (RIP VLHS)

Prague, Czech Republic

Prague, Czech Republic – Dom in our mess of merch and bags

Prague, Czech Republic – Trying to find an bar that was open after with friends from the show, I slept in a hallway near the rehearsal rooms that night.

Prague, Czech Republic

Prague, Czech Republic – We had a short drive so we had the chance to spend a few hours in the city.

Prague, Czech Republic

Prague, Czech Republic – I remember stopping Erica mid sentence to take this pic saying "hang on Seva is looking very European"

Prague, Czech Republic

Bratislava, Slovakia – Loading in at the venue, a place that literally translated to "The Garages" which was just rows and rows of these storage units near an underpass. The sun was just setting as people started arriving.

Bratislava, Slovakia

Bratislava, Slovakia – Ahoj, a super sick band from Slovakia, opening for us.

Bratislava, Slovakia – Barabbas playing as the sun set

Bratislava, Slovakia

Bratislava, Slovakia – Dom making us a pasta dinner with corner market ingredients in the apartment we stayed at that night

Bratislava, Slovakia – Everyone excited to eat!

Bratislava, Slovakia – Checking out the city before heading to Austria

Bratislava, Slovakia – Visiting the main castle in the center of Bratislava.

Bratislava, Slovakia

Carnuntum, Austria – Close to the border of Slovakia/Austria is Carnuntum, a Roman fortress dating back to 6 AD at least. The drive from Bratislava to our next show in Vienna was barely an hour so we got to stop and see. Loved that we got to do so much sight seeing on this tour!

Carnuntum, Austria

Carnuntum, Austria – The only full group picture I was able to get of all 8 of us!

Carnuntum, Austria

Carnuntum, Austria – There was this huge field of flowers off the parking lot that we spent an hour or so taking pictures in after lunch.

Carnuntum, Austria

Vienna, Austria – Barabbas playing Venster 99. We had a hard time sound checking can't remember why but the person working the board was super cool and once we figured it out it was one of the best nights for us sound wise. Thank you!!

Vienna, Austria

Vienna, Austria – The homie that organized the show (sorry I can't find your name) taking us to Schönbrunn Palace to see the gardens/best view of Vienna.

Vienna, Austria

Austria – We stopped for gas and there was this soviet WW2 era cemetery right next door.

Austria

Linz, Austria – I had another nice walk by myself in Linz, I think this was taken just outside the venue though, there were lots of little squares and churches like this around.

Linz, Austria – Saugbagger opening for us at Willy*Fred Haus, been a minute since I've seen a straight up power violence band and they were sick!

Linz, Austria – Barabbas playing Willy*Fred Haus, a very sick co-op in the middle of Linz. Bands played in the basement of the 3 story building, when we got down there the ceiling was arched in a way that I'd never seen before and I remember saying "huh this feels like a bomb shelter," I quickly realized where I was and that it probably WAS a bomb shelter at some point.

Linz, Austria

Linz, Austria – hanging in the entry way of Willy*Fred.

Linz, Austria

Alps (Austria) – Driving through the Alps from Austria into Italy, we stopped to have lunch (leftovers from the dinner we were sered the night before) at a truck stop with the forest and mountains as our backdrop.

San Zenone, Italy – Arriving at the venue, Villa Albrizzi Marini which was a sprawling property that featured a co-working space, a church converted into a gallery, a few stores, a tattoo shop (Dom got a tattoo during Barabbas' set), museum and restaurant out in rural northern Italy. One of the most incredible venues I'll ever play I think, I missed out on hiking around the venue but decided while we were there that my next trip to Italy will definitely include driving around/staying in this area.

San Zenone, Italy

San Zenone, Italy – Dom, Taylor, Cesar, and Francisco having a drink at the bar, it was raining when we arrived but shortly after cleared up and it was this beautiful summer afternoon, I felt bad that we were going to break it up playing screamo music.

San Zenone, Italy

San Zenone, Italy – Erica, Theo and I hanging out in the museum/gallery we were playing in the patio of.

San Zenone, Italy

San Zenone, Italy – Taylor saying something probably along the lines of "Christopher on the cross"

San Zenone, Italy – They served us this big batch of pasta shortly after we arrived. I remember thinking how insane it was to be in this beautiful setting being served home cooked pasta in Italy, another one of the best meals on this tour for me.

San Zenone, Italy

San Zenone, Italy – Barabbas playing in the patio

San Zenone, Italy

San Zenone, Italy – It's almost a given that every set we play something will break or get unplugged, this was the second time Dom broke a string on the first song.

Bassano del Grappa, Italy – Federico, the guitarist of Norman Bates who opened for us the night before, put us up in an auxillary room of a church after the show. Erica and I needed to do laundry and spent most of the morning waiting on that, but after Federico showed us around this cute little town before we headed to Milan!

Bassano del Grappa, Italy – taken from the bridge (Ponte Vecchio) that spans the Brenta river, which splits the town in half.

Bassano del Grappa, Italy

Milan, Italy – Barabbas playing FOA Boccaccio 003, a squatted complex just north of Milan. Hands down the biggest show we played on the tour, it felt like there were like 400 people there and all of them were so nice and stoked to see us. There was a flea market underneath a huge pavillion that we set up merch in as well. At some point in the night, I spotted these 3 guys in khakis and tucked in button shirts walking around looking very out of place and the vendor next to us leaned over and said "those are probably infiltrators." I lost track of them but at some point in the night I heard that there were police at the front gates trying to disperse the show but were held off. Come to find out (though it's hard to understand because I'm translating the website) they have unfortunately been evicted from that space.

Milan, Italy

Milan, Italy – Øjne closing out the night, which was celebrating the release of their EP Sogno #3. So glad we were able to play this show, which basically we routed most of the tour around, and hang with Øjne after meeting in 2022 while we were both touring the east coast around New Friends Fest. We sadly only got to play one show together before we had to drop because I got Covid.

Milan, Italy

Bolzano, Italy – Nuvo and Barabbas split up for the night after the show. Nuvo stayed with Giacomo from Øjne in the city and we spent our spare time in the morning chatting with him and his roommate so didn't get much of a chance to see Milan (honestly, driving around there was pretty stressful so maybe next time). I did pick up some incredible strawberries at a random market though and, of course, an espresso every chance I got. We met up with Barabbas later on and headed to Bolzano, which has an interesting history of conflict, having been a part of Austria up until WW1. Essentially what that has resulted in is the integration of three different cultures: Austrian, Italian, and German, meaning all info about the show was presented in both Italian and German (and English)

Bolzano, Italy – This was a our last chance to sit and have a meal in Italy so we took advantage of the hour between sound check and doors to go up the street to a restaurant that was surrounded by these grapevines.

Bolzano, Italy – Barabbas playing Slope73

Bolzano, Italy

Bolzano, Italy – I'm not entirely sure what the story is but the venue we played was obviously a former club complete with the low couches and dance pole in the center. I slept on stage exactly where I played even though I called dibs on the pole platform earlier.

Alps (Austria) – Starting the most exciting drive of the tour: Italy to Switzerland through the Alps.

Alps (Austria) – Getting gas and switching drivers to go into Switzerland.

Alps (Switzerland) – Getting lunch at a rest stop in the mountains after crossing the border, the air here was so crisp even though it was the middle of summer.

Alps (Switzerland)

Alps (Switzerland) – Stopping at the first available vista point

Alps (Switzerland) – Stopping again the first chance we had to play in the snow! This is Theo threatening to throw a snowball at me.

Alps (Switzerland)

Alps (Switzerland) – We happened upon this little lake where we stopped and got to dip our toes in.

Alps (Switzerland)

Alps (Switzerland) – Theo was the only one brave enough to dive in

Alps (Switzerland)

Zürich, Switzerland – Barabbas playing Ebrietas, a bar in downtown Zurich right next to the Polybahn! I love riding Angels Flight whenever I get the chance so I was excited to go up and down before our set.

Zürich, Switzerland

Nuremberg, Germany – No pictures from inside as the squat had a strict no photo policy. After a stressful morning trying to diagnose a weird rattling/wobble in the van, we blew a tire about an hour outside the city. Thankfully there was a spare that we were able to very quickly change on the side of the highway and get back on the road, though that meant we had to unload all of our stuff on the side of the highway to get the tire out and van up.

Nuremberg, Germany

Cologne, Germany – Barabbas playing Niehler Freiheit. After getting a new tire in Nuremberg we headed into Cologne where we crossed the Rhine river for the first time. I met a very nice person at this show that was visiting from California, it was nice to get a little taste of home towards the end of the trip!

Cologne, Germany

Germany – Dom and Cesar at a rest stop on our last drive of the tour.

Hamburg, Germany – The last stop of tour! Traffic getting in to Hamburg was atrocious, we learned later on that Beyonce was playing ten minutes away that night. We played at Rote Flora, a squat that dates back to the 80s, which is on a super busy street lined with restaurant, boutiques, and all kinds of hip people. I love this quote on their wikipedia page that I think best describes how juxtaposed it is there: "We are the 'UFO in the neighborhood.' The black hole in public space. The City won't get rid of us because we are a part of what life is." It had an impressive DIY skatepark, many different rooms and facilities, incredible graffiti art all over, and a cute little cafe with patio.

Hamburg, Germany – Soastasphrenas playing Rote Flora, a great screamo band that we played with earlier on the tour in Berlin. Lovely people that I can't wait to see again!

Hamburg, Germany

Hamburg, Germany – Barabbas playing Rote Flora. Shortly after a volunteer asked me to stop taking pictures (I didn't realize they also had a no photo policy sorry!) so I don't have many photos of the end of tour, plus I was running out of film! Our last show with Barabbas on this tour but will definitely not be our last together!

Hamburg, Germany

The tour flier I made from a photo of mine I took in Italy the year before.

After two weeks and 15 rolls of film we were heading home. Touring Europe was a bucket list item for me and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to check that off provided by our friends in Barabbas, du Förtappade, as well as the friends/memories we made that I'll cherish forever. Special thanks to everyone who helped organize the shows, housed us, fed us, and/or showed us around. I am always so humbled by the hospitality and how ready to help people can be to us while we're so far from home. And finally, if you've made it to the end of this, THANK YOU!