Diary
13th Nov Posthuis Theater, Heerenveen
| Posted at 07:02 PM on November 17, 2008 |
Linda writes
We have just had a few days off and I decided to actually stop working and spend a bit of time with friends for a change so on Tuesday I set off to Dordrecht. I was caught out on the train to Rotterdam. There had been some problem with leaves on the tracks and so my train went to Den Haag. I was meant to change for Rotterdam - but didn't understand the announcement. I really must get to grips with the Dutch for 'Change here for....' as this is the third time I've ended up standing on the wrong station platform!
Anyway - I was only an hour later than expected so the only problem was that I had less shopping time.(not good). It was a lovely day and evening - thanks for the great time we had folks.
On the 12th I was pleased to be able to play Happy Birthday to Bibi who will be 8 yeard old on the 14th of Nov. We went to the Smickel in Soest for pancakes and it was lovely because I took the guitar and everyone joined in and sang along..... I think Bibi enjoyed that. I liked the pancake (best pancake house I've seen so far - and I have tried many).
Anyway - back to the gig... the 13th
I had stayed over so had to get to back to the cabin in the morning. Matt had also been away for a couple of days and was meeting us at the concert.
I was up early and was grateful to have a lift back to Soest (saved me from getting lost again) but Chris was still fast asleep when I got in so I quietly got everything sorted out and tried to catch up on a few emails. I found - to my dismay, that several people had not received emails about booking details for The Carre. I have no idea what has gone wrong and I don't have time to sort it out properly until Monday as we're working flat out until then and I can't use internet in the vehicle. What to do?
I just have to hope that everyone has told everyone else and no one is left out.
Before I knew what was happening the time had run away again and it was time to load up and go. Dorris was set up and off we went. She found us a great route and we avoided much of the traffic to arrive at 4:38, which we thought was 8 minutes late but apparently it should have been 4 o'clock - sorry folks but it did say 4:30 on the contract.
it was lovely to see Eric again - he's a really nice guy and I think his hair is great, it really suits him. Tim was there too and Wiebe, they did the lights whilst Eric, of course, did the sound.
We were soon up and running and then we heard from Hans Veen that he was stranded half an hour away with a dead battery.
We ordered Italian food for dinner (very nice) and then Ina came in - that was a lovely surprise I have to say. In the end Hans turned up for dinner and he and Ina helped us by selling the CDs.
It was a lovely evening, made a little difficult for me by the people who sent text messages because it was the anniversary of my father's death that night. It was nice that they remembered of course, but he was very much on my mind and I was feeling very strange..
I did struggle a bit with the tuning particularly as my throat was rather tight and didn't seem to do what I wanted it to do . . . but I hope it wasn't too noticeable.
The 2nd set was a bit better and the boys doing 'EU Blues' was a good cheer up point .... I have heard that someone has put a version of it on Utube - I haven't seen it yet.
Lovely flowers were brought on stage after Paradise Row by the Manager Gerard, and Lynke who was there to 'learn the ropes' as we say in English
It's always sad to say goodbye...but that was delayed slightly by the fact that Matt had 'gone missing' - he was still chatting in the bar ... party animal!!
We did get it together eventually - everything was packed back in and off we went - waving a fond 'farewell' as we drove off in the wrong direction and had to turn around and wave fond farewells again... nothing changes!
Slight confusion - Chris wrote this one too!!
Chris writes
This has just got to be a favourite place.
Friesland, a bed rock of ancient English culture ( they invaded us
when we were not looking ) is for me that part of Holland, that is
very Holland ( which I love) rather than Eurocondominiums, which you
note in other parts of the Flatlands, where, to my horror they are
reaching to the sky, faster than you can say, 'pass me a Brussell's
sprout.'
Any way, enough heartbreak.
Linda and I are meeting Matt at the theatre.
'Doris' the SATnav gets us around the usual junkettings and into the
back of the Posthuis with little problem, although I have to say I
love it when she thinks we have it wrong.
'Re-calculating.'
She's almost kind of like Basil's Sybil in a techy mood
For us it is good to see familiar faces again.
Erik ( David Crosby) sound.and Wieb and Tom (lights), welcome us in.
Matt is there.
Outside a very un-November night ( it is so very warm ) throws
alternating beams of light and shadows across the pancake boat, moored
outside, its rigging bespattered with lights.
Just for a moment I turn my back on the theatre, and revel in the play
of light and dark water, and just feel that sense and affinity I have
felt with Holland since, I guess, 1976.
A people close to the sea.
They have to be. It was under their land for aeons of time
And I get that feeling so strong up here in what I have called in my
diaries, 'the land beneath the wind and the sea.'
Well, never mind the rhetoric, how about the reality..
Oops, yes, through the steel doors behind the stage . The old familiar
dressing room, and what has got to be one of the nicest Theatre
Directors in Holland, Gerard Wolter.
You meet Gerard, a man who'se smile matches his handshake, who
introduced me to a young assistant learning about Theatres, and it all
felt good, as did the sound/lighting check with Erik and Wiebe and
Tom.
Once again, true pros. It takes so little time and in fact is a total
pleasures with people on top of their case.
And Erik and Wiebe and Tom were just that. No fuss; no hassles;
checked through the e-mail specs so all stage requirements understood.
Professionals.
An old friend Turf, joins us for dinner, it is one of his pastimes,
and another friend , Ina..
I am scared a bit because my solo double CD, 'When All is said and
Done,' has turned up.
Will anybody buy it?
Hell, you always figure that one, but you are never sure.
Two sets. I think we are on form.
But I will never know. You are the best judges of that.
I must admit much as I love it up here they ARE restrained in my book.
But maybe that is me.
We sign CD's at the end and again I get the folks telling me that
'Somewhere back in the mists of time, they remember me'
I smile and feel like Gandalf ...then ...
It's Heerenveen
Beautiful flowers at the end,- they are all up on their feet and they
are smiling so something must have been OK.
That will do.
Chris.
We have just had a few days off and I decided to actually stop working and spend a bit of time with friends for a change so on Tuesday I set off to Dordrecht. I was caught out on the train to Rotterdam. There had been some problem with leaves on the tracks and so my train went to Den Haag. I was meant to change for Rotterdam - but didn't understand the announcement. I really must get to grips with the Dutch for 'Change here for....' as this is the third time I've ended up standing on the wrong station platform!
Anyway - I was only an hour later than expected so the only problem was that I had less shopping time.(not good). It was a lovely day and evening - thanks for the great time we had folks.
On the 12th I was pleased to be able to play Happy Birthday to Bibi who will be 8 yeard old on the 14th of Nov. We went to the Smickel in Soest for pancakes and it was lovely because I took the guitar and everyone joined in and sang along..... I think Bibi enjoyed that. I liked the pancake (best pancake house I've seen so far - and I have tried many).
Anyway - back to the gig... the 13th
I had stayed over so had to get to back to the cabin in the morning. Matt had also been away for a couple of days and was meeting us at the concert.
I was up early and was grateful to have a lift back to Soest (saved me from getting lost again) but Chris was still fast asleep when I got in so I quietly got everything sorted out and tried to catch up on a few emails. I found - to my dismay, that several people had not received emails about booking details for The Carre. I have no idea what has gone wrong and I don't have time to sort it out properly until Monday as we're working flat out until then and I can't use internet in the vehicle. What to do?
I just have to hope that everyone has told everyone else and no one is left out.
Before I knew what was happening the time had run away again and it was time to load up and go. Dorris was set up and off we went. She found us a great route and we avoided much of the traffic to arrive at 4:38, which we thought was 8 minutes late but apparently it should have been 4 o'clock - sorry folks but it did say 4:30 on the contract.
it was lovely to see Eric again - he's a really nice guy and I think his hair is great, it really suits him. Tim was there too and Wiebe, they did the lights whilst Eric, of course, did the sound.
We were soon up and running and then we heard from Hans Veen that he was stranded half an hour away with a dead battery.
We ordered Italian food for dinner (very nice) and then Ina came in - that was a lovely surprise I have to say. In the end Hans turned up for dinner and he and Ina helped us by selling the CDs.
It was a lovely evening, made a little difficult for me by the people who sent text messages because it was the anniversary of my father's death that night. It was nice that they remembered of course, but he was very much on my mind and I was feeling very strange..
I did struggle a bit with the tuning particularly as my throat was rather tight and didn't seem to do what I wanted it to do . . . but I hope it wasn't too noticeable.
The 2nd set was a bit better and the boys doing 'EU Blues' was a good cheer up point .... I have heard that someone has put a version of it on Utube - I haven't seen it yet.
Lovely flowers were brought on stage after Paradise Row by the Manager Gerard, and Lynke who was there to 'learn the ropes' as we say in English
Who's that dodgy looking character trying to take a sneaky photo??
(sorry Hans - couldn't resist)
A spirited version of Airport Song brought the night to a close and we went through to meet everyone in the bar. I met a lovely a couple - I spotted him first as he had a great striped shirt on in my favourite colours, but his wife was equally eye-catching with a really great haircut, it was nice to have a chat.There were lots of other nice people there too and so we were a little late in getting back to the stage to clean up (oops).(sorry Hans - couldn't resist)
It's always sad to say goodbye...but that was delayed slightly by the fact that Matt had 'gone missing' - he was still chatting in the bar ... party animal!!
We did get it together eventually - everything was packed back in and off we went - waving a fond 'farewell' as we drove off in the wrong direction and had to turn around and wave fond farewells again... nothing changes!
Slight confusion - Chris wrote this one too!!
Chris writes
This has just got to be a favourite place.
Friesland, a bed rock of ancient English culture ( they invaded us
when we were not looking ) is for me that part of Holland, that is
very Holland ( which I love) rather than Eurocondominiums, which you
note in other parts of the Flatlands, where, to my horror they are
reaching to the sky, faster than you can say, 'pass me a Brussell's
sprout.'
Any way, enough heartbreak.
Linda and I are meeting Matt at the theatre.
'Doris' the SATnav gets us around the usual junkettings and into the
back of the Posthuis with little problem, although I have to say I
love it when she thinks we have it wrong.
'Re-calculating.'
She's almost kind of like Basil's Sybil in a techy mood
For us it is good to see familiar faces again.
Erik ( David Crosby) sound.and Wieb and Tom (lights), welcome us in.
Matt is there.
Outside a very un-November night ( it is so very warm ) throws
alternating beams of light and shadows across the pancake boat, moored
outside, its rigging bespattered with lights.
Just for a moment I turn my back on the theatre, and revel in the play
of light and dark water, and just feel that sense and affinity I have
felt with Holland since, I guess, 1976.
A people close to the sea.
They have to be. It was under their land for aeons of time
And I get that feeling so strong up here in what I have called in my
diaries, 'the land beneath the wind and the sea.'
Well, never mind the rhetoric, how about the reality..
Oops, yes, through the steel doors behind the stage . The old familiar
dressing room, and what has got to be one of the nicest Theatre
Directors in Holland, Gerard Wolter.
You meet Gerard, a man who'se smile matches his handshake, who
introduced me to a young assistant learning about Theatres, and it all
felt good, as did the sound/lighting check with Erik and Wiebe and
Tom.
Once again, true pros. It takes so little time and in fact is a total
pleasures with people on top of their case.
And Erik and Wiebe and Tom were just that. No fuss; no hassles;
checked through the e-mail specs so all stage requirements understood.
Professionals.
An old friend Turf, joins us for dinner, it is one of his pastimes,
and another friend , Ina..
I am scared a bit because my solo double CD, 'When All is said and
Done,' has turned up.
Will anybody buy it?
Hell, you always figure that one, but you are never sure.
Two sets. I think we are on form.
But I will never know. You are the best judges of that.
I must admit much as I love it up here they ARE restrained in my book.
But maybe that is me.
We sign CD's at the end and again I get the folks telling me that
'Somewhere back in the mists of time, they remember me'
I smile and feel like Gandalf ...then ...
It's Heerenveen
Beautiful flowers at the end,- they are all up on their feet and they
are smiling so something must have been OK.
That will do.
Chris.
Monday - 11th of November
| Posted at 06:06 PM on November 10, 2008 |
Just a little note to say that most of the write ups are done but still need to be loaded onto the site.
I thought I would put some photos for you to look at until I have time to get the written word in there as well.
We have had some fabulous gigs and a lot of fun - but we confess that there do not seem to be enough hours in the day sometimes.
No worries - a couple of days and we should be up to date again.
PS I have a secretary helping me now - but things seem to have slowed down since he got involved - I wonder why???
Much Love
Linda x x
I thought I would put some photos for you to look at until I have time to get the written word in there as well.
We have had some fabulous gigs and a lot of fun - but we confess that there do not seem to be enough hours in the day sometimes.
No worries - a couple of days and we should be up to date again.
PS I have a secretary helping me now - but things seem to have slowed down since he got involved - I wonder why???
Much Love
Linda x x
8th Nov, Theater De Kolk, Assen and Radio Ede
| Posted at 12:33 PM on November 10, 2008 |
Linda Writes
Getting up early after a run of gigs is never easy - but for the folks at Radio Ede it's worth it!
I have to confess I was tired and it was hard to get my head pointing in the right direction but Peter (Billy Bookcase) was driving this one so I didn't feel guilty about having a little nap on the way.
It was a lovely greeting and so nice to see Bea and Peter again ... and everyone else of course. This has to be the best it can get in terms of hospitality.
Bea had made us soup again but we had to play first.
How I hate webcams! There used to be a time when doing radio was easy - no-one could see what a mess you looked - you could turn up in your pyjamas if you wanted; but not any more ... people are watching you. It can be fun though as there was a point when Chris seemed to nod off - in the middle of the song 'Old Man' ... priceless. A photo was taken but we haven't had it sent to us yet ... I promise to put it on the site although I think if I had been sitting down I might have nodded off too!
It was lovely - we played our songs and laughed a lot - and then we were rewarded with Bea's delicious soup and some very nice sandwiches thank you.
It was time to go, in fact we had stayed a little too long with these lovely people and had to get a move on.
I have to confess I was tired and it was hard to get my head pointing in the right direction but Peter (Billy Bookcase) was driving this one so I didn't feel guilty about having a little nap on the way.
It was a lovely greeting and so nice to see Bea and Peter again ... and everyone else of course. This has to be the best it can get in terms of hospitality.
Bea had made us soup again but we had to play first.
How I hate webcams! There used to be a time when doing radio was easy - no-one could see what a mess you looked - you could turn up in your pyjamas if you wanted; but not any more ... people are watching you. It can be fun though as there was a point when Chris seemed to nod off - in the middle of the song 'Old Man' ... priceless. A photo was taken but we haven't had it sent to us yet ... I promise to put it on the site although I think if I had been sitting down I might have nodded off too!
It was lovely - we played our songs and laughed a lot - and then we were rewarded with Bea's delicious soup and some very nice sandwiches thank you.
It was time to go, in fact we had stayed a little too long with these lovely people and had to get a move on.
'Bye folks, see you at the concert on the 22nd
Off we went up the road to Assen.
We arrived a little later than we had wanted to but when we got there it seemed that there was no one around. We banged on the door to no avail. In the end MAtt phoned someone and they came out to let us in.
The theater was a temporary set up until the new theatre is finished but it's cosy and we were pleased to hear that it was also sold out.
There seemed to have been a lack of comunication as no one seemed to know that we were expecting dinner (agreed in the contract) and drinks, (also agreed in the contract) and our fee ( no need to say it is there?).
The theatre staff were really nice, and it was clear that they were upset at the mix-up. It was agreed that we would have pizzas after the gig and drinks were easily arranged but the fee would have to follow later .... such is life.
The set up was easy and we had a bit of time to run a few things thro' which was handy.
Catrinus was doing the sound and I thought he was very good but a bit 'stand offish' - I'm very happy to say I was wrong. We got talking later about helping youngsters in the arts, particularly the theatre, and there was no mistaking the enthusiasm ... I love that. Arjen did the lights and was also very obviously good.
The audince were great. There was a couple there that had been in Amen .... sadly we didn't get a contact number for them so we can't say thank you properly for the gifts they brought. I hope they read this and know that we thought that was a lovely gesture.
It all seemed to go by very quickly, the pizzas arrived and we went into the bar to eat them. That was when we got chatting and it was really nice to enjoy the company and not have to rush, knowing that we had a fewe days off helped a lot too! Mustn't forget to say thanks to Rolf and Nynke for looking after us too.
It was so nice to have Peter there, he drove us back in fine style and we were able to doze on and off on the way.
The gig was really nice
We arrived a little later than we had wanted to but when we got there it seemed that there was no one around. We banged on the door to no avail. In the end MAtt phoned someone and they came out to let us in.
The theater was a temporary set up until the new theatre is finished but it's cosy and we were pleased to hear that it was also sold out.
There seemed to have been a lack of comunication as no one seemed to know that we were expecting dinner (agreed in the contract) and drinks, (also agreed in the contract) and our fee ( no need to say it is there?).
The theatre staff were really nice, and it was clear that they were upset at the mix-up. It was agreed that we would have pizzas after the gig and drinks were easily arranged but the fee would have to follow later .... such is life.
The set up was easy and we had a bit of time to run a few things thro' which was handy.
Catrinus was doing the sound and I thought he was very good but a bit 'stand offish' - I'm very happy to say I was wrong. We got talking later about helping youngsters in the arts, particularly the theatre, and there was no mistaking the enthusiasm ... I love that. Arjen did the lights and was also very obviously good.
The audince were great. There was a couple there that had been in Amen .... sadly we didn't get a contact number for them so we can't say thank you properly for the gifts they brought. I hope they read this and know that we thought that was a lovely gesture.
It all seemed to go by very quickly, the pizzas arrived and we went into the bar to eat them. That was when we got chatting and it was really nice to enjoy the company and not have to rush, knowing that we had a fewe days off helped a lot too! Mustn't forget to say thanks to Rolf and Nynke for looking after us too.
It was so nice to have Peter there, he drove us back in fine style and we were able to doze on and off on the way.
The gig was really nice
Smashing audience - thanks for our presents too!
I've had a few comments on the sphere in this picure - how did you do that Peter?
7th Nov, De Gigant, Apeldoorn
| Posted at 12:32 PM on November 10, 2008 |
Matt Writes
The beginning of the day went well. As Apeldoorn isn't far from Soest we had some time to catch up on sleep. Chris and I went out for a bit of shopping and then the three of us packed up the vehicle.
Tonight we played in De Gigant and the last time I played there was six years ago.
It was a right job to get to the front door, but we managed. Once we were in, the lovely girl behind the counter told us to go all the way around the building.
So we did to end up in bicycle parking lot. I went out and investigated all the options of getting into the venue. There were none, so in I went again, to ask for help.
Fleur our wonderful hostess walked with me and joined us in the car (Linda had a leg-stretch and went inside).
Two minutes later Tom, our technician for tonight, welcomed us in at the loading dock.
The elevator was ready and within no time we unpacked the car and our gear was downstairs. As the hall we were playing in was occupied for a movie, we had 30 minutes to kill. Linda and I went to do some groceries (as the supermarket we usually go to in Soest is closed given they are redoing the interior).
When we got back Krista was busy putting our drinks and some snacky-things in our dressing rooms. I liked Krista as from the word go we were making fun.
In the hall next to us there were people preparing a 'Girls night'. I had a word with the technicians who were setting up the sound system there. Lucky guys, was my first thought?
In the meantime our hall was available and we set up the stage and sound-checked.
To check the sound system Tom put on a Jeff Buckley album, which took me straight back to the times with Arlyn in South Africa. Not long to go now until I'll see him again.
Harry and Jet came in and we had a really nice time with them.
A little later, when everything was settled, a horrific noise came from the 'Girls night' hall. When I opened the door, I was blown over by a wave of guitar riffs that didn't make any sense to me and the singer was yelling his lyrics into the microphone? it was a weird experience. Not so lucky guys, was my second thought.
Dinner got served and we walked down to the foyer (it was another of those buildings that are complete mazes. We do seem to hit them this tour).
We had a lovely Chinese-Indonesian dinner and lots of fun. After that we got ready for the show, changed over and waited for Fleur to come and get us.
By this time the band next door was sounding pretty good (or was it a CD?).
It was a lovely evening with again, a lot of friends in the audience.
They seemed to enjoy themselves as much as we did.
Afterwards we went out for our usual chats and signing and it was like walking out into a warm bath. It looked like everybody waited for us out there and we caught up with lots of people.
I think it took us about an hour to get back to the hall to start packing up our gear and putting it all back in the elevator. By this time the party in the other hall was nearly over and also the technicians from there helped us getting our stuff away.
Outside we all had one more drink and said goodbye.
Another lovely night?
Audience to our left
5th Nov, De Schuurkerk,Maassluis
| Posted at 12:31 PM on November 10, 2008 |
Linda writes
How i wish I had written this one up straight after the cocert because I'm now struggling to work out what happened where and when!!
It has been a rather intense run and one thing starts too merge into another until you're not sure of your own memory any more.
This place is called the Schuurkerk - 'the barn church', built to look like a barn in the 17th century so that Protestants could worship without being rumbled by the Roman catholic Spaniards... otherwise there would have been a few burnt at the stake. Of course it has been rebuilt since then - but so nice that it kept the name.
Anyway - I know that we love this theatre and had been looking forward to going agin. Henk, the director, bothered to call when we were on the way because he was not sure if he could be there when we arrived. We were doing well for time so he was there to great us which ws very nice. Last year he was wearing some wild red trousers and I was a little disappointed that he was a little more conservative this time .... still funky though.
Sound and lights were excellently handled by Koos and Arjen respectively, and the sound check was great, especially as Koos,who now has his own company, had come back for this evening to do the sound for us. That was more than handy because one of he monitors failed and he was able to get a brand new one out of his car - now that is what you call service!!
Koos and Arjen then went of for dinner leaving us with Laurens, a really nice young man who seemed to be training on the technical side of things.
He was, at that point, in charge of ordering the food. Hans Veen was coming to do the merchandise for us and so we ordered dinner for 6 0'clock. Take-away Indonesian/Chinese ... what did we want?? A mixture would be nice we said.
"It's here" shouted Laurens
"Oh goody" We shouted back.
We made our way to the bar area where we found two carrier baga FULL of food. Good grief, I've never seen so much food for 5 people!! There was enough to feed an army!! We did it as much damage as we could but even then we had only managed to get halfway down the first bag. We gave the rest to Hans to take home and, the last I heard, he was still trying to finish it!!
The concert was a good one - it was also recorded but I have not yet managed to listen to the result ... maybe when I do I'll have to change this and say it wasn't that brilliant after all!
Everyone seemed to be happy and it was good to get into the bar at the end of the gig and have a couple of beers - I was really ready for it by then that's for sure.
Audience to our left
How i wish I had written this one up straight after the cocert because I'm now struggling to work out what happened where and when!!
It has been a rather intense run and one thing starts too merge into another until you're not sure of your own memory any more.
This place is called the Schuurkerk - 'the barn church', built to look like a barn in the 17th century so that Protestants could worship without being rumbled by the Roman catholic Spaniards... otherwise there would have been a few burnt at the stake. Of course it has been rebuilt since then - but so nice that it kept the name.
Anyway - I know that we love this theatre and had been looking forward to going agin. Henk, the director, bothered to call when we were on the way because he was not sure if he could be there when we arrived. We were doing well for time so he was there to great us which ws very nice. Last year he was wearing some wild red trousers and I was a little disappointed that he was a little more conservative this time .... still funky though.
Sound and lights were excellently handled by Koos and Arjen respectively, and the sound check was great, especially as Koos,who now has his own company, had come back for this evening to do the sound for us. That was more than handy because one of he monitors failed and he was able to get a brand new one out of his car - now that is what you call service!!
Koos and Arjen then went of for dinner leaving us with Laurens, a really nice young man who seemed to be training on the technical side of things.
He was, at that point, in charge of ordering the food. Hans Veen was coming to do the merchandise for us and so we ordered dinner for 6 0'clock. Take-away Indonesian/Chinese ... what did we want?? A mixture would be nice we said.
"It's here" shouted Laurens
"Oh goody" We shouted back.
We made our way to the bar area where we found two carrier baga FULL of food. Good grief, I've never seen so much food for 5 people!! There was enough to feed an army!! We did it as much damage as we could but even then we had only managed to get halfway down the first bag. We gave the rest to Hans to take home and, the last I heard, he was still trying to finish it!!
The concert was a good one - it was also recorded but I have not yet managed to listen to the result ... maybe when I do I'll have to change this and say it wasn't that brilliant after all!
Everyone seemed to be happy and it was good to get into the bar at the end of the gig and have a couple of beers - I was really ready for it by then that's for sure.
Audience to our left
3rd Nov, De Fagot, Inglemunster, Belgium
| Posted at 12:29 PM on November 10, 2008 |
Chris writes
The very first name has echoes of Hammer horror movies and the second,
well, try calling some one that in a New York subway. You may well end
up either shorter, wider or ventilated.
In fact the opposite is quite the case, as you could well imagine,
with the Fagot, one of the most famous venues in Belgium and the
spearhead of the Ingelmunster Festival, which Linda and I played on in
2001; It was there I met Darrell Adams and the end result was my song
'The Banjoman,' later featured on a tribute DVD to the great man after
his death. By the by I gather that his funeral was unique as the man
himself and if eyewitness accounts are to be believed, they filled the
coffin around him with prime marijuana leaves prior to his cremation.
Jean-Pierre Deven and his wife Karen are the owners of the 'Fagot'and
from Fairport Convention to ourselves and beyond, anyone and every one
has played there.
It a rambling spot with steep back stairs climbing up in to dusty
rooms full of all things musical and all things to do with pubs from
Guiness posters to baseball hats.
JP and Karen are hospitality incarnate. Apart from stunning food, and
the Belgians excel at that, they have a profound belief in the sheer
joy of alcoholic consumption.
JP's first comment after 'hello's and hugs was, 'a coffee, and a cognac?'
We sound checked; decided to have dinner before the show, which would
have brought a smile to the face of a gourmet. Superb cuisine.
The audience is small but enthusiastic, and something of a culture
shock after the largely sold out shows in Holland. A particularly
volatile and warmly friendly lady called Marie-Christine full of the
joys of life and a personality to match insisted on selling our CD's.
She did not sell a lot because there were not a lot of people, but she
did her best.
By this time JP was well into some rather fine champagne. We ended the
first set with 'Lord of the Ages.' .
Some old friends dropped in including our friend Erwig ( whom I always
called Earwig ) and he wants us to do a concert in Oudenarde in the
Spring.
Second set.
Not a lot I can say except that we fired on all cylinders and steamed
out on our epic closer 'Paradise Row;' then 'Airport Song' thrown in
for good measure
More champagne; beers and so it goes on. I just love JP and Karen. He
has a grey beard that would have graced the chin of Moses the lawgiver
and had a sly way of peering at you along an aquiline nose as he
suggests a bewildering array of drinks. She has grey eyes that smile
and twinkle beneath an equally grey fringe - eyes that have seen much
and are surprised at little.
We all gathered around the bar after everyone ( except Marie-
Christine ) had gone.
Ranks of Irish Coffees appeared. Matt found himself downing Slippery
Nipples, after a selection of fine Belgian beers, and JP and I stayed
with the champagne, and before bed, a fine cognac to round things off.
What a night! If every night was like that we'd be either dead or embalmed.
Musically we played copious amounts of J.J.Cale and Paul Simon. A
female figure slipped in about 5.0 am. No one took any notice and she
started cleaning the bar.
It gradually sank into blurred consciousnesses that this was the
cleaning lady. 5.0 am?!
I went to bed at 6.0am. Matt followed on afterwards.
Breakfast was the 3.0 the next afternoon.
JP enquired innocently if we'd all like a beer. We declined and had a
great repast with yours truly unable to get my head around the
cleaning lady coming in at 5.0am
I asked JP, 'why does she come in so early.'?
He thought for a while then shook his head.
'I don't know,' said he. And that was that.
Sad farewells and hopeful promises to meet up again maybe at the next Festival,
Fire up and down the highway once more.
A night/ day to remember.
ChrisThe very first name has echoes of Hammer horror movies and the second,
well, try calling some one that in a New York subway. You may well end
up either shorter, wider or ventilated.
In fact the opposite is quite the case, as you could well imagine,
with the Fagot, one of the most famous venues in Belgium and the
spearhead of the Ingelmunster Festival, which Linda and I played on in
2001; It was there I met Darrell Adams and the end result was my song
'The Banjoman,' later featured on a tribute DVD to the great man after
his death. By the by I gather that his funeral was unique as the man
himself and if eyewitness accounts are to be believed, they filled the
coffin around him with prime marijuana leaves prior to his cremation.
Jean-Pierre Deven and his wife Karen are the owners of the 'Fagot'and
from Fairport Convention to ourselves and beyond, anyone and every one
has played there.
It a rambling spot with steep back stairs climbing up in to dusty
rooms full of all things musical and all things to do with pubs from
Guiness posters to baseball hats.
JP and Karen are hospitality incarnate. Apart from stunning food, and
the Belgians excel at that, they have a profound belief in the sheer
joy of alcoholic consumption.
We sound checked; decided to have dinner before the show, which would
have brought a smile to the face of a gourmet. Superb cuisine.
The audience is small but enthusiastic, and something of a culture
shock after the largely sold out shows in Holland. A particularly
volatile and warmly friendly lady called Marie-Christine full of the
joys of life and a personality to match insisted on selling our CD's.
She did not sell a lot because there were not a lot of people, but she
did her best.
By this time JP was well into some rather fine champagne. We ended the
first set with 'Lord of the Ages.' .
Some old friends dropped in including our friend Erwig ( whom I always
called Earwig ) and he wants us to do a concert in Oudenarde in the
Spring.
Second set.
Not a lot I can say except that we fired on all cylinders and steamed
out on our epic closer 'Paradise Row;' then 'Airport Song' thrown in
for good measure
More champagne; beers and so it goes on. I just love JP and Karen. He
has a grey beard that would have graced the chin of Moses the lawgiver
and had a sly way of peering at you along an aquiline nose as he
suggests a bewildering array of drinks. She has grey eyes that smile
and twinkle beneath an equally grey fringe - eyes that have seen much
and are surprised at little.
We all gathered around the bar after everyone ( except Marie-
Christine ) had gone.
Ranks of Irish Coffees appeared. Matt found himself downing Slippery
Nipples, after a selection of fine Belgian beers, and JP and I stayed
with the champagne, and before bed, a fine cognac to round things off.
What a night! If every night was like that we'd be either dead or embalmed.
Musically we played copious amounts of J.J.Cale and Paul Simon. A
female figure slipped in about 5.0 am. No one took any notice and she
started cleaning the bar.
It gradually sank into blurred consciousnesses that this was the
cleaning lady. 5.0 am?!
I went to bed at 6.0am. Matt followed on afterwards.
Breakfast was the 3.0 the next afternoon.
JP enquired innocently if we'd all like a beer. We declined and had a
great repast with yours truly unable to get my head around the
cleaning lady coming in at 5.0am
I asked JP, 'why does she come in so early.'?
He thought for a while then shook his head.
'I don't know,' said he. And that was that.
Sad farewells and hopeful promises to meet up again maybe at the next Festival,
Fire up and down the highway once more.
A night/ day to remember.
JP didn't look so good the morning after!
2nd Nov, CAfe Cambrinus, Horst
| Posted at 12:28 PM on November 10, 2008 |
Matt writes
It's been quite hectic over the last couple of weeks, hence the slight delay on the write-ups.
After a wonderful night in Vught, we drove down to Lottum to stay over in the beautiful appointed B&B 'Het Logement'. Cobie, our hostess, welcomed us in at about three o'clock in the morning and showed us our rooms.
It was wonderful!
As we were only ten minutes away from Horst, we had a nice lay-in and late breakfast.
We showered and made ourselves ready for the next gig.
The route to Horst was wonderful, as Doris took us over some inroads. Once we arrived we got a very warm welcome by Jan and Hennie of Cafe Cambrinus.
Also fellow Borculo'ers Arrow and Moka (the two dogs) were pleased to see us. We had a first cup of coffee, caught up on what's been happening in the year and built up the stage.
Another cup of coffee before sound-check and then one more after that.
Once the last coffees were consumed we got into the kitchen at the back.
Over the years with MC I think I've played Cafe Cambrinus four times now. And every time it feels like home. Jan and Hennie run the cafe so well and they really make you feel to be part of the family.
Chris was a bit worried about the merchandise, as we had nobody to be in charge of selling it. The first people who walked in (Alexander and his parents) looked trustworthy to him, so he asked them very kindly. They took no prisoners! They started immediately and did a great job.
We played a little with the dogs, got changed and hung around for a while.
Linda gets a dog fix - that's Jan and Hennie - Chris you know already
Fun flying over the stage, funny comments from the audience during announcements and everybody seemed to have a great time.
Afterwards we had a ball chatting to the members of the audience. There were lots of familiar faces and friends. In the end Jan had to ask me to come backstage for dinner.
A delicious one I might add: homemade sate-soup and rolls.
We cleared our stuff away and had one more cup of coffee (or in my case another Limburgian beer) and had to say goodbye to two wonderful people.
We got back to the B&B in reasonable time, had a nightcap and turned in.
Following day coffee with Alexander and Belgium!
Jan and Hennie, thank you both so much for all your hospitality, love and kindness over the years. I truly hope we'll see each other soon again!
The podium - after the gig
The smoking area at the back - it's an Outside in sort of place.
The following morning - Alexander called in to say goodbye
1st Nov, De Speeldoos, Vught
| Posted at 12:28 PM on November 10, 2008 |
Chris writes
Vucht lies in the area around Breda and Tilburg; two of Holland's most
ancient and revered towns.
Not a town we could recall playing before.
The name is a strange one if you are English, and open to certain
linguistic misinterpretations, but when we turned up on that mild
first day of November, we were made most welcome in the best
traditions of the great Dutch Theatre network.
Coffee?
Dressing rooms?
Done.
Jan and Beus met us in. We loaded in with their help in record time.
I guess that those of you who have read these inserts must get used to
the jargon of the road.
Believe you me, it is a whole dictionary in itself.
Check these out.
'Line check,' 'monitor levels,' 'EQ on vocals and guitars,' 'Gain, lo-
gain, hi-gain', 'AER's', 'out front,' 'monitor EQ balance,' ' patch
lead hum,' 'reverb,' etc;etc.
'Reverb,' by the way can be the unlaunching of a thousand electronic demons.
So many sound engineers think,-if in doubt,- stick the vocals in the bathroom.
Now I do have a superb DVD of the great Chet Atkins clapping his hands
in the old school toilets where he grew up a poor white in the
Appalachians, and saying the 'reverb' was pure. But give the natural
'progress' to technology- it can really screw up.
ECHO!!. The Arabs love it.
Linda and I have known a concert with Lee on bass in Damascus, -just
to give one of a thousand of one in many for example,- when the sound
engineer turned up with several boxes of sand, ( he'd done a gig in
Egypt the day before) out of which he produced a cat's cradle of leads
and gear.
Saint Paul had walked Straight Street fifty yards away; the Roman
forum all around us; Saladin's mummified skull in a mosque behind us a
world of untold magic, but we now looked at this lot and thought,
'forget it.'
Wrong. Great sound echoing out amongst the memories and evidence of
Rome, booming and reverberating amongst ancient columns, once we had
tamed the reverb.
AAArgh, the reverb.
That was it though.
In Vucht, Jan moved like a master. No dodgy reverb with him. AND,
he'd checked out the website like a true pro. For our exact stage
requirements.
These, by the way are not in any way meant to be pompous or
demanding. They just make the case so much easier for a stage crew who
wonders what is coming in next.
The very best you can pay a compliment to a sound man is that he seems
to know you. Know your sound; understand the nuances, the highs and
the lows. He did.
I went out in to the auditorium for a listen.
Matt and Linda running through their paces; guitar; vocals; mandolin. Superb.
Linda plays a Gibson J-45. Nothing has the same sound. Check out James
Taylor for example. Jan got it in one.
Me, A Martin HD-28. This time it is me behind the out- of- front
sound. Matt and Linda all ears in the auditorium. Apparently it
sounds just fine.
Wiebe, not given a complicated lighting plot ( there isn't one)
checked out Matt's description of each song and understood the mood.
I really admire people who can imply or take on what we do at the drop
of a hat and weave it into (hopefully ) our kind of magic. He is
checking lighting runs as we play.
We simply run through 'For the Gypsy.'
We figure that in this song we do most of what happens in a Magna
song: solo vocals; harmony vocals; two part and three part vocals,
backing vocals, lead acoustic, mandolin etc etc
We get the thumbs up from the sound/lighting desk.
It is OK.
Phew.
Time out now.
Maybe something to eat. If there is time.
The bit I guess I like; a lot after years of rock n'roll mayem and
pandemonium, as people known, and unknown, sober and unsober, stoned
and unstoned, deluged our dressing rooms,- is the kind of peace you
get now before going up to join Matt and Linda after the first song.
Just an oasis in it all. A road stop in the senses.
Those two are just so good, it is coasting all the way down the road
from there, and I follow the song on the speakers in my dressing
room - time to go.
I nip up and join them, like an interloper from a relay station.
We end set one on 'Lord of the Ages.' The piece I said we'd never do again.
Part two.
And on through a lot of new songs until the last song we cannot get
around, past or time, 'Paradise Row.'
It changes and twists like a chameleon, and tonight is no exception.
They seem to like us.
Up on their feet, and this always rips our hearts to bits.
'Airport Song,' a biro down a cornflakes packet along with 'Seasons,'
all those years ago in 70', that as a hit song took us into the far
reaches of the world.
The story is the same.
Meeting Harry the Director and all the good people afterwards.
A farewell drink with the sound and lights crew and Annemies, the bar
manager who is one of those wonderful souls that you could wish and
drink the night away with, and wonder just quite where you were
yesterday.
It was Vucht.
On this tour if not the very best ... it was a close second.
That's one brave lady!!
Vucht lies in the area around Breda and Tilburg; two of Holland's most
ancient and revered towns.
Not a town we could recall playing before.
The name is a strange one if you are English, and open to certain
linguistic misinterpretations, but when we turned up on that mild
first day of November, we were made most welcome in the best
traditions of the great Dutch Theatre network.
Coffee?
Dressing rooms?
Done.
Jan and Beus met us in. We loaded in with their help in record time.
I guess that those of you who have read these inserts must get used to
the jargon of the road.
Believe you me, it is a whole dictionary in itself.
Check these out.
'Line check,' 'monitor levels,' 'EQ on vocals and guitars,' 'Gain, lo-
gain, hi-gain', 'AER's', 'out front,' 'monitor EQ balance,' ' patch
lead hum,' 'reverb,' etc;etc.
'Reverb,' by the way can be the unlaunching of a thousand electronic demons.
So many sound engineers think,-if in doubt,- stick the vocals in the bathroom.
Now I do have a superb DVD of the great Chet Atkins clapping his hands
in the old school toilets where he grew up a poor white in the
Appalachians, and saying the 'reverb' was pure. But give the natural
'progress' to technology- it can really screw up.
ECHO!!. The Arabs love it.
Linda and I have known a concert with Lee on bass in Damascus, -just
to give one of a thousand of one in many for example,- when the sound
engineer turned up with several boxes of sand, ( he'd done a gig in
Egypt the day before) out of which he produced a cat's cradle of leads
and gear.
Saint Paul had walked Straight Street fifty yards away; the Roman
forum all around us; Saladin's mummified skull in a mosque behind us a
world of untold magic, but we now looked at this lot and thought,
'forget it.'
Wrong. Great sound echoing out amongst the memories and evidence of
Rome, booming and reverberating amongst ancient columns, once we had
tamed the reverb.
AAArgh, the reverb.
That was it though.
In Vucht, Jan moved like a master. No dodgy reverb with him. AND,
he'd checked out the website like a true pro. For our exact stage
requirements.
These, by the way are not in any way meant to be pompous or
demanding. They just make the case so much easier for a stage crew who
wonders what is coming in next.
The very best you can pay a compliment to a sound man is that he seems
to know you. Know your sound; understand the nuances, the highs and
the lows. He did.
I went out in to the auditorium for a listen.
Matt and Linda running through their paces; guitar; vocals; mandolin. Superb.
Linda plays a Gibson J-45. Nothing has the same sound. Check out James
Taylor for example. Jan got it in one.
Me, A Martin HD-28. This time it is me behind the out- of- front
sound. Matt and Linda all ears in the auditorium. Apparently it
sounds just fine.
Wiebe, not given a complicated lighting plot ( there isn't one)
checked out Matt's description of each song and understood the mood.
I really admire people who can imply or take on what we do at the drop
of a hat and weave it into (hopefully ) our kind of magic. He is
checking lighting runs as we play.
We simply run through 'For the Gypsy.'
We figure that in this song we do most of what happens in a Magna
song: solo vocals; harmony vocals; two part and three part vocals,
backing vocals, lead acoustic, mandolin etc etc
We get the thumbs up from the sound/lighting desk.
It is OK.
Phew.
Time out now.
Maybe something to eat. If there is time.
The bit I guess I like; a lot after years of rock n'roll mayem and
pandemonium, as people known, and unknown, sober and unsober, stoned
and unstoned, deluged our dressing rooms,- is the kind of peace you
get now before going up to join Matt and Linda after the first song.
Just an oasis in it all. A road stop in the senses.
Those two are just so good, it is coasting all the way down the road
from there, and I follow the song on the speakers in my dressing
room - time to go.
I nip up and join them, like an interloper from a relay station.
We end set one on 'Lord of the Ages.' The piece I said we'd never do again.
Part two.
And on through a lot of new songs until the last song we cannot get
around, past or time, 'Paradise Row.'
It changes and twists like a chameleon, and tonight is no exception.
They seem to like us.
Up on their feet, and this always rips our hearts to bits.
'Airport Song,' a biro down a cornflakes packet along with 'Seasons,'
all those years ago in 70', that as a hit song took us into the far
reaches of the world.
The story is the same.
Meeting Harry the Director and all the good people afterwards.
A farewell drink with the sound and lights crew and Annemies, the bar
manager who is one of those wonderful souls that you could wish and
drink the night away with, and wonder just quite where you were
yesterday.
It was Vucht.
On this tour if not the very best ... it was a close second.
.
Lovely Foyer - Jan and Marrion in the background .... Hi folks
That's one brave lady!!
31st Oct, De Amer, Amen
| Posted at 12:27 PM on November 10, 2008 |
Linda Writes
Ouch - we've realised this is quite a hard run of 5 .... Velp, Amen and Cambrinus all have special places in our hearts and we're playing them all for the last time!!
Friday in Amen meant that we had to be careful to get past Zwolle before it became impossible in the rush hour. We have spent many hours in traffic jams in this area and we didn't fancy another one.
"What time do we need to be there?" I asked.
"5 o'clock " said Matt.
We agreed that we should set off at 2:15 and so we packed up, had one last coffee, and we were on our way.
We've been very lucky with the weather and today was also a nice day. We made really good time, so much so that we decided to have a 'holiday' -
for those of you who don't know;- that's a 10 minute break in a gas station. We were well past Zwolle (and it hadn't taken too long) so we stopped and each had a coffee and a kroket
... then Matt spotted a very cute stuffed gorilla. Chris saw it too and said it would be a nice present for Harvey. I looked at the price tag and thought it was a bit too expensive but I was over-ruled and Harvey will now have yet another stuffed toy for Christmas... although I have found another use for it until we get back home!
I don't mind, he's worth it.
Back into the 4 track and on we went, arriving at our destination at 5:10 - slightly late. The place was in darkness. We walked around the back - no-one home. Matt walked around a bit, Chris had a snooze and I snuggled into my jacket that I bought in South Africa because the nights were so cold (memories huh?)!!We waited, and waited until finally people started to arrive. The key to get in was still not in evidence but we didn't have to wait too much longer.
I think it was about 6pm when we were able to get in. Of course we had a good a moan - but we didn't mean it. It's never too much of a problem, the set up was fast and the sound check fairly quick (although we had to get rid of a frequency that was causing one note to ring for too long.
They have always wanted us to do 3 sets here - not something we enjoy, as every other place is geared to two, but we had agreed we would do it so we were working out what songs we would play where. What a lovely surprise when Henk told us we could do two sets because it was our last time and they wanted us to be happy.. . . it doesn't take much.
We went back stage where it has always been a joke that it is cold - but it wasn'tjust cold, it was like being in the arctic, I reckon a polar bear would have been very at home!
Finally it was time to go on stage, I looked around at all those familiar faces and suddenly realised that I would not be playing for them again, at least not as Magna Carta.
I was determined not to let it get to me but I'm afraid it did and it also got to Chris and Matt too as we made lots of little mistakes, I don't think we managed to get through a single song without one of us just missing a note or getting a bit muddled up somewhere.
We played with love and fire so I hope that the mistakes didn't matter too much.
Ineke looked great, she hardly seems to change. She wants to go to South Africa at some point so we decided that we might just try to combine that wish if it's at all possible.
The time went by so fast and we were soon at the end of Airport Song with nothing more to keep us on the stage. So many mixed feelings, so little time to talk to everyone but thank you Amen for all the great times we've had with you all.
Special thanks to the late Ap - without whom we would never have been there in the first place.
'Bye folks ...until we meet again.
Friday in Amen meant that we had to be careful to get past Zwolle before it became impossible in the rush hour. We have spent many hours in traffic jams in this area and we didn't fancy another one.
"What time do we need to be there?" I asked.
"5 o'clock " said Matt.
We agreed that we should set off at 2:15 and so we packed up, had one last coffee, and we were on our way.
We've been very lucky with the weather and today was also a nice day. We made really good time, so much so that we decided to have a 'holiday' -
for those of you who don't know;- that's a 10 minute break in a gas station. We were well past Zwolle (and it hadn't taken too long) so we stopped and each had a coffee and a kroket
... then Matt spotted a very cute stuffed gorilla. Chris saw it too and said it would be a nice present for Harvey. I looked at the price tag and thought it was a bit too expensive but I was over-ruled and Harvey will now have yet another stuffed toy for Christmas... although I have found another use for it until we get back home!Back into the 4 track and on we went, arriving at our destination at 5:10 - slightly late. The place was in darkness. We walked around the back - no-one home. Matt walked around a bit, Chris had a snooze and I snuggled into my jacket that I bought in South Africa because the nights were so cold (memories huh?)!!We waited, and waited until finally people started to arrive. The key to get in was still not in evidence but we didn't have to wait too much longer.
I think it was about 6pm when we were able to get in. Of course we had a good a moan - but we didn't mean it. It's never too much of a problem, the set up was fast and the sound check fairly quick (although we had to get rid of a frequency that was causing one note to ring for too long.
They have always wanted us to do 3 sets here - not something we enjoy, as every other place is geared to two, but we had agreed we would do it so we were working out what songs we would play where. What a lovely surprise when Henk told us we could do two sets because it was our last time and they wanted us to be happy.. . . it doesn't take much.
We went back stage where it has always been a joke that it is cold - but it wasn'tjust cold, it was like being in the arctic, I reckon a polar bear would have been very at home!
Finally it was time to go on stage, I looked around at all those familiar faces and suddenly realised that I would not be playing for them again, at least not as Magna Carta.
I was determined not to let it get to me but I'm afraid it did and it also got to Chris and Matt too as we made lots of little mistakes, I don't think we managed to get through a single song without one of us just missing a note or getting a bit muddled up somewhere.
We played with love and fire so I hope that the mistakes didn't matter too much.
Ineke looked great, she hardly seems to change. She wants to go to South Africa at some point so we decided that we might just try to combine that wish if it's at all possible.
The time went by so fast and we were soon at the end of Airport Song with nothing more to keep us on the stage. So many mixed feelings, so little time to talk to everyone but thank you Amen for all the great times we've had with you all.
Special thanks to the late Ap - without whom we would never have been there in the first place.
'Bye folks ...until we meet again.
30th Oct, K13, Velp
| Posted at 12:26 PM on November 10, 2008 |
Tonight, another venue to say goodbye to.
Two years ago we played K13, Velp for the very first time. Back then there were some 'beginners problems' as the staff at the venue wasn't really used to how to amplify music groups. Apart from that it was a wonderful evening and yes- that was the night women got so excited that they pelted me with underwear (made before the First World War).
Last year the technical side of things improved so much, it wasn't true, and we had another great time!
This year was no exception.
Yesterday we had our last day off. In these days off we've been very busy. Linda did all the washing (women's work haha) and I helped doing women's work by cleaning our house. Then all three of us have been busy doing business things.
Today we started very relaxed, got the vehicle packed up and headed for the famous Velp.
The journey was very pleasant, although it's very clear that we're in deep autumn as the days are very grey, wet and frisk (with max. temperatures of 6 Centigrade). And then to think how lovely it is in South Africa, with it being spring - 43 days and I'll be there!
When we rolled up, the loading doors were already open and Dennis greeted us in, shortly followed by Johan.
The guys helped us with unloading and setting up the stage. As Linda and I were making the stage ready, Chris went to find a post-box to post his cards. As he walked out he thought he'd found one- mistake - as he got closer it appeared to be a woman with a red coat.
I won't comment on that one!
Johan had the sound sorted out quickly and Dennis put some nice lights on us.
We ran through some songs as sound-check and rehearsal. After that we chilled in the dressing room and the foyer, catching up on what had been going on in the last year with the staff of K13.
Alarik and Merlijn came in too, provided us with drinks and a lovely Chinese-Indonesian meal. Dinner was fun and very chatty.
You were such fun ...
We went back to the dressing rooms and got changed. In the mean time Harry Pater came in and we had a chat with him (I hope the recording went well Harry, any luck for a sound track on our movie he he).
The time seemed to fly away. We had a great time on stage and also afterwards in the foyer we had tons of fun. Lots of friends came to see us and it was a bit sad when it came to the end of the evening.
We got changed again, packed everything away and loaded up the car. The journey back home was equally pleasant and back at the house we had toatsies before we hit the sack.
Two years ago we played K13, Velp for the very first time. Back then there were some 'beginners problems' as the staff at the venue wasn't really used to how to amplify music groups. Apart from that it was a wonderful evening and yes- that was the night women got so excited that they pelted me with underwear (made before the First World War).
Last year the technical side of things improved so much, it wasn't true, and we had another great time!
This year was no exception.
Yesterday we had our last day off. In these days off we've been very busy. Linda did all the washing (women's work haha) and I helped doing women's work by cleaning our house. Then all three of us have been busy doing business things.
Today we started very relaxed, got the vehicle packed up and headed for the famous Velp.
The journey was very pleasant, although it's very clear that we're in deep autumn as the days are very grey, wet and frisk (with max. temperatures of 6 Centigrade). And then to think how lovely it is in South Africa, with it being spring - 43 days and I'll be there!
When we rolled up, the loading doors were already open and Dennis greeted us in, shortly followed by Johan.
The guys helped us with unloading and setting up the stage. As Linda and I were making the stage ready, Chris went to find a post-box to post his cards. As he walked out he thought he'd found one- mistake - as he got closer it appeared to be a woman with a red coat.
I won't comment on that one!
Johan had the sound sorted out quickly and Dennis put some nice lights on us.
We ran through some songs as sound-check and rehearsal. After that we chilled in the dressing room and the foyer, catching up on what had been going on in the last year with the staff of K13.
Alarik and Merlijn came in too, provided us with drinks and a lovely Chinese-Indonesian meal. Dinner was fun and very chatty.
You were such fun ...
We went back to the dressing rooms and got changed. In the mean time Harry Pater came in and we had a chat with him (I hope the recording went well Harry, any luck for a sound track on our movie he he).
The time seemed to fly away. We had a great time on stage and also afterwards in the foyer we had tons of fun. Lots of friends came to see us and it was a bit sad when it came to the end of the evening.
We got changed again, packed everything away and loaded up the car. The journey back home was equally pleasant and back at the house we had toatsies before we hit the sack.
Thanks everybody at K13 for the lovely times and hospitality we've received from you over the last years. 
Great audience - lots of fun
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