In a 500-capacity club under a bridge near where the Riddarfjarden meets the Strommen, the Babies played their standard set before a Sunday night crowd of about 125 in Stockholm, Sweden.

This was the sixteenth Babies show on a 27-city European tour covering twelve countries.  The band’s only day off on this nearly month-long stretch of dates comes Tuesday.

The black curtain covering the stage was opened a little after 9 PM to reveal the band which had driven 400 miles from the site of Saturday night’s show in Malmo.

It appeared to me the Babies went song to song without referencing a set list and are likely maintaining a consistent order as they go along night to night.  As in Berlin two nights earlier, Moonlight Mile was spectacular.  It’s a song that seems to elevate the enthusiasm of all four band members.  Cassie Ramone turned around during the tune and dangled her guitar near the monitor behind her.  She mildly struck the guitar with the heel of her hand a few times to get some mile-high feedback.

The band returned quickly after completing its main set to perform a one song encore.  After a pretty solid rendition of All Things Come to Pass, Ramone flashed a peace sign as she and the others said goodbye.  The black curtain was closed.

It was still light out as I exited the show.  The sun doesn’t set here in the summer until well after 10 PM.  It comes back up at 330 AM.

I chit-chatted with a Swede named Ulf as the opening band Terrible Feelings was wrapping up.  Ulf was probably my age – or a little bit older – and he was a big fan of the Babies.  I asked him how he gained familiarity with the band.  Was it radio?  Was it the internet – or some form of rock and roll journalism?  No to all, he said.  Instead, Ulf stated it was word of mouth from a trusted music fan friend and then Cassie Ramone’s distinct vocal style that first pulled him to a Babies gig in Stockholm a couple years ago.

Because the venue back-lit the band and pumped fake smoke onto the stage, I couldn’t really get any decent pictures of the gig.  Instead, I submit the photo above to document TSR’s attendance.  Pictured from left to right are:  Anton Collinder (Terrible Feelings guitarist), Justin Sullivan (Babies drummer) and Brian Schleyer (Babies bassist) outside Debaser Slussen.

The Slussen location is one of five live music spaces in the Debaser chain.  It’s easily accessible by subway once you figure out the club is hidden just above water level and below the neighborhood’s main streets.

Pint glasses of Carlsberg draft cost 54 Kronor or about eight bucks.  I tried a Debaser home brew and it was ok.

The bathroom at Debaser Slussen threw me off a little bit.  I accidentally walked into the band’s dressing room at first but then was directed by a staff member to the washroom used by patrons.  Like the few public bathrooms I’ve used elsewhere in Stockholm – the one at Debaser is open to both genders and features individual stalls with privacy doors.  The oddness from my perspective is when you’re washing your hands in the bathroom and you find yourself standing next to a woman.

One other Stockholm toilet note:  the mixed-gender washroom at Stockholm’s central train station charges 10 Kronor per visit.  If you lack the 10 Kronor coin to deposit in the turnstile set up outside the bathroom, there’s a guy there who will break a bill for you.

I go back to New York City tomorrow if there’s an empty airplane seat to be had.  And if the hotel clerk successfully executes the early morning wake-up call (I didn’t bring a phone or alarm clock along).  I’ll tie up the loose ends of this trip with a final report in the next couple days.

Thanks to the Babies for motivating me to See the Country (s) as they say.