Amsterdam - ferenc
The strangest thing for me in Amsterdam (aside from legalalized prostitution
and dope) are all of the crooked buildings. What happened is that Amsterdam
is a city created by pulling the muck up to create the canals. Then they
built the buildings on the mud, but the ground underneath was still not
totally dry and all the buildings now lean this way and that. Or maybe
the architects stopped by a "coffe" house for a smoke before they hit the
drafting table. Some look they will fall into the street, and have huge
polls to hold up the front facade. Others have windows which look like severe
parallelograms. But I guess that most of them have been standing for 400
years, so they aren't going to fall over anytime soon. The tourist boars
wouldn't like that.
1/ 10-11/05 - Jono
Amsterdam 10.01.05-11.01.05
We had two down days on this tour and we decided we should try and
visit somewhere. London? Paris? They were far but not too far. Jeff had
been to Amsterdam but when Ferenc actually got us a gig with the Anacondas,
it was set in stone. However, Gert was not going to be there driving us.
So Marlene helped us figure the train schedules and took us early (9am)
to the Herentals train station. She spoke with the agent and helped us get
1-way tickets to Amsterdam. Everything was re-packed and Jeff, Ferenc and
I all had to carry our guitars slung on our backs like wild west honchos.
But we also had effects and merchandise so we were heavily-laden as we rode
into the Antwerpen Bercham station. Fortunately a conductor kindly asked
and then directed us to the proper track (spoor). We waited 20 minutes or
so before our train came and whisked us off for two days of adventure.
We passed through a more steel & glass world as opposed to the
brick & mortar Belgium. It is still very tidy & efficient but different.
Canals increased and the land flattened. We saw modern windmills and nuclear
power cooling towers. Ominous, but I suppose the Dutch know how to run
a power plant competently.
We arrived after passing through Rotterdam (completely rebuilt after
a savage bombing during WWII) and den Haag (The Hague). Arriving at Amsterdam
Centraal, we examined maps and determined we were within walking distance
of our hotel that Gert recommended and then reserved for us, the Hotel
Winston on the Wormoestraat.
Aside from the traffic/crowds disorientation that is inevitable when
disgorging from a crowded train station (plus carrying very expensive gear
in our luggage), we quickly crossed the Damrak and hurled ourselves into
the tiny confines of the Oude Zhid. I was immediately reminded of Kathmandu
or Varanasi: narrow, crazy streets selling tourist crap; in this case
pornography and drugs. Coffee houses, paraphernalia shops, red-lit windows
suggesting legalized prostitution. I was shocked to discover that I was
shocked at such open vices. I know, I had heard all about it but seeing is
believing.
We checked into our rooms and stored our equipment; Jeff and Ferenc
in 606 and Jeremy and myself in 607. First thing: get something to eat,
then get some euros and then a coffee shop. Tourist areas can be tough
when trying to get a decent meal., They anticipate the lowest common denominator
and make everything uniformly mediocre. But hungry with few options, we
were lured into an Argentinan Steak house. Not quite authentic cuisine but
we got steaks, fries and beer. No one was complaining yet.
Ferenc chose to look for a phone to call home. Jeremy, Jeff and I
wandered over to a coffee house to find something to smoke. We entered
the Green Grasshopper on the Damrak. Alcohol is rarely served in coffee
houses and they do not display their wares. One must inquire and then press
a button which illuminates a glass display case. Strange but laws define
customs. Jeremy and I bought some and sat down to roll a number.
There was a drink minimum and I was shocked to be fleeced so quickly!
4 euros for a soft drink. Of course, once I finished my coffee while stoned,
I needed another and Ferenc was not back quite yet. I inquired about
the bathroom (on the third floor) and went up only to find two women demanding
.50 euros to use the john. It upset me in an irrational way, adding paranoia
to discomfort. The music was loud and I found it totally unpleasant to
even sit there. Ferenc returned and we moved on.
But then we were fed and smoked and it felt good to walk around. Amsterdam
is so beautiful, the crooked (cruiked?) houses and the crazy narrow streets.
Jeremy had been there a few times before and immediately remembered how
and where to go. Of course, after a short time we got completely lost but
we looked on a map and found our way back to the hotel, wet from a drizzling
rain. We met up with Jeff who was napping. We watched a little TV and tried
to relax a bit before re-embarking on a glistening sojourn through cobblestoned
streets.
Wandering in a daze through the ancient streets of Amsterdam, the
sleaziness of the tourism mixed with a bitching design of old buildings
lining picturesque canals, creating a moving backdrop as we oriented ourselves
with the horseshoe shaped city. The houses and facades all have very unique
and beautiful gables, complete with stout beams and pulley systems to winch
heavy furniture up into the third and fourth floors. The streets are narrow
and paved in a variety of bricks and cobblestones (excellent for shedding
water efficiently). Canals criss cross the entire city in an interlocking
drainage system. Each canal has a series of little bridges that cross the
canal. The whole city is just too charming. Like Thailand, the residents
built a beautiful city not with precious materials but honest labor.
We ate a fairly mediocre meal of pizza & pasta and wandered some
more, this time to the Dam where stately buildings and churches sit around
a large plaza with a phallic monument . We compared notes and retired for
the evening, splitting up and going our separate ways.
The next morning we were awoken by the maid, informing us that breakfast
would be served between 8 and 10 am. We made it down and ate foods very
similar to what Gert offered us back at the house in Lichtaart - salami,
cheese, bread, eggs, muesli. Wanting some alone-time, I wandered the early
morning streets, choosing to wander towards the Station Centraal on a street
lined with shoe stores and crappy souvenir emporiums (think Mission Street).
Entering the train station, I researched as to when our return train would
be departing on Wed morning.
We all joined back together at the hotel and ventured to another coffee
house. Looking at our tourist options, we could visit museums, construct
our own walking tours, ride the canals in a boat, what have you. Jeremy
opted to nap in the hotel, Ferenc and Jeff went off on their way and i
mine. I borrowed Jeremy's digital camera and started snapping photos of
fun canal-lined streets. I stopped in at the Amsterdam Historisch Museum
and filled in some gaps in my Amsterdam knowledge data base.
We reconvened at 6 and wandered over to de Bitterzoet, the club we would
be playing at with the Anacondas. It was not open but someone told us to
return at 7. Back we went and relaxed some more in the hotel room. Then
we packed up and carried our gear through the streets of Amsterdam the eight
blocks or so to the club. Kind of tough but not too bad. The Anacondas were
setting up their gear and urged us to go out for dinner. We stashed our
stuff and wandered further west, on the Haarlemstraat. The fare was looking
wretchedly familiar (Chinees, Ankara, pizza, Argentinan steak, et al) until
we wandered into a relatively popular (and Dutch-populated) bistro, du
Lac. I ordered a plate of mussels and steak kebab and frites. Good enough!
We returned to the club, which was filling up. We met Martine the
club owner who handed us a generous amount of drink tokens and the soundguys.
Marcel, the drummer for the Anacondas, works in a percussion shop in Amsterdam
and had a sweet Ludwig setup. Jakob, the bass/guitarist, showed me the
Vox amp I would be playing through. The crowds started filling in, often
couples who I suspected were friends of the Anacondas. A lot of the audience
seemed to know one another. The guitarist had broken his leg and was in a
cast and on crutches. He played sitting down this time.
They are a great band with a real mature sound with gentle dynamics
and real innovation, utilizing keyboards and a flute(!). They are comfortable
playing together and the audience recognized that. We played. The Vox
seemed loud and muffled but I feel that about the Shoman Gert has. Just
my lot on this tour. We played well and people even danced (or did I just
imagine that?). We packed up and hung around. This was our night in Amsterdam.
We had a few drinks and partied with the Anacondas, meeting their friends.
Jeremy chatted and danced with a fetching lass who worked at Halliburton
and was quite apologetic about it. She was impressed that I could identify
her as a Walloon, a French-speaking Belgian. Jeremy and I returned to the
hotel at 4:30. Whew!
Amsterdam - Jeff
Where to begin? We've just spent 3 days in such a wonderful place.
I hope it's far less time before I return.
We reserved 2 rooms at the Winston. This turned out to be in the center
of everything. We wandered each night for food and foolishness and did
a little of both.
The winter weather was at its best. A bit of rain now and then but
not much colder than SF.
The BiterZoet was in a modern bldg just west of Centraal near Harlemaar
str. Many older Amsterdam dwellings have had their share of stability
issues, leaning towards the street is a common sight. Yet the BZ was an
unusally new structure with a nice lighting system and loft sometimes reminding
me of our shows at the Paradise.
Maybe our most interesting restaurant was the DuLoc on Harlemaar.
With all its interesting decorations, kind clientele and large Heinekin
refreshments, it felt like having good food was an added bonus. I ordered
the lazagna. It was tasty.
room view
The Anacondas were gracious to make their drums and backline available
for us, making the entire journey far less taxing. Setup was a snap. That
being said, I heard nothing but Jono. Even Jeremy was hard to hear sometimes.
We played well, nonetheless.
The Anacondas
Back on the train the next morning and we are returning to our huis
un da farm. I'm anxious to hear from home to see how they're doing.
Jeremy Benelux tour notes days 5-6: Amsterdam
Monday morning Marleen drove us to nearby Herentals where we caught a train
to Antwerp. We then transferred to another train to Amsterdam. The countryside
is very beautiful. The entire journey was exactly three hours (the trains
here are PROMPT) and we arrived and half past noon at Central Station.
Our lodging at the Winston International Hotel was clean, secure, though
certainly not deluxe. Right next to Oudenkirke (old church?), which had
a huge carillion of bells that chimed every 15 min., and played songs a
few times daily (included was a Beatles medley!!). Located at the edge of
the red light district, the surrounding streets are crammed with tourists,
scraggly junkies trying to befriend you to peddle their wares, bars, cafes
and the ubiquitous "smoking" coffeeshops. Not to mention the girls in the
windows, wearing neon bikinis under blacklight. There is lots to see
and do in town, and with only 48 hrs, we were determined to make the most
of it, in spite of rainy weather.
We dropped off our bags, strolled around our neieghborhood for a while,
then headed to Damrack (the main drag from the station, like market st in
sf) for some lunch at a steakhouse. The waiter gave us a second round of
beers on the house, so we left a tip (not req'd). Ferenc and Jeff bought
phone cards and called home while Jono and I went into the Grasshopper coffeeshop
for a little ganja. I get stoned all the time, but not the others in the
band. In spite of being extremely well ventilated (there was a breeze
from the intake vent above us) I managed to create a huge cloud of thick
sensi smoke in short order, and I think the boys may have gotten a little
in their lungs.
Some napping was done, a pre-dinner stroll where I got turned around
and briefly lost, and then a meal at place that served a hybrid of Italian,
Middle Eastern, and American, whose proprietor seemed to be of Indian extraction.
Everything mixed together. Cheap and good.
In spite of being bothered constantly be street dealers trying to peddle
hard drugs to their new friend the American biker (if you don't already
know, I'm 280 lbs 5' 10' with long hair and a moustache, I am always mistaken
for a biker), i find the people here to bere warm, friendly and certainly
omni-lingual. Some one approaches on the street and starts speaking to
you in German, French or Dutch, asking where you're from. Once they have
determined what language to use, the push or sob story begins. Usually
"no thanks" works, but some are more aggressive than others and a couple
had me restraining myself from showing them what "ugly American" means...steel
toed boot-to-the-head style.
Do not let this deter you from coming. The others in the band were
not pursued anywhere near as heavily as I was. I think the biker look thing
just seems to invite it.
After a little window shopping, I checked into a coffeeshop/bar that
had the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers depicted on the front. A longtime
underground comix favoite of mine, the Freak Brothers' place had been
on my mind since I had managed to miss it on my first trip here 11 yrs
ago. The bartender informed me that the FB connection was that Gilbert
Shelton, the creator of the characters, had visited the place in the sixties.
I got chatted up by an American student named Carl. I told him about PDM's
show the next night and he was very interested. I don't know if he came
to the show or not. I did not see him in the club, but there were 150 people
there and I could have easily missed him.
Tuesday: showday so I tried not to get too fucked up...(good luck,
it's Amsterdam). I did some souvenier shopping with Jono while Jeff and
Ferenc visited the Anne Frank house and the Van Gogh museum. At the
club (Bitterzoet) the Anacondas let us us their equipment, Ampeg bass rig,
Fender and Vox guitar amps, and a beautiful vintage Ludwig kit w/Istanbul
cymbals...super nice, thanks Marcel!!
The Anacondas are a great band. The Keyboard player also plays flute
and percussion, fattening their sound to great effect. They may be coming
stateside again this year, so if you missed them last time, do not make
the same mistake again. We had a good show, and afterwards the DJ played
surf and 60's r&b. It was nice to be able to hang out and mingle. With
Gert, our promoter of the belgium shows, it's hustle time as soon as the
last note stops ringing. Makes sense: he has a day job to get to early in
the AM.
I was smitten with Anne, who bought me a drink. We also danced a bit,
which was nice. I would love to see more of her sometime. Around 4:30
am it was time to go. Walking thru A-dam at this hour is quiet and safe.
I can't wait to come back to this great place.
Right next to our hotel is an alleyway with a mural of a Garcia-looking
guy holding a guitar. Across the alley is the actual guy, obviously a fixture
at that location. I chatted with him for a moment and gave him some change.
My good deed for the day. And then to bed at 6am.
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