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EUROLAND I never did complete and post the journal for the Autumn 2002 tour. So sorry about that. Since things are so very busy at this point, I ask that you share your comments about the concerts and music at the VENT page. I get so much inspiration from your letters. And I always write back (though it can take time sometimes.)
Thank you for hearing me and for being a part of my dream! THE
NEXT EUROPEAN TOUR : STROOPWAFELS,
BARBIE'S BUSH & THE HOLY COAT VENT RICHARD'S
JOURNAL (in Dutch) (in
English) PRESS:
Concert & Album reviews and Interviews from Tours RECORD
STORES
PART
I. I've had my heart set on touring Europe for a long time. Sharing my music in a foreign land has been my secret wish on many shooting stars, wish-upon-planes and birthday candles. And forgive me if I sound like I'm over generalizing here, but here I go… I would venture to say that Europeans are not nearly as afraid of the dark, not nearly as afraid of intensity as Americans generally are. And I think that Europeans generally have more of an appreciation for art and non-commercial music as a whole. So I thought our music could do especially well in Europe if given the right opportunity. Like many of the things that come to fruition in my life- it all begins with an inspiration. From there, I let myself imagine in fine detail what it would be like, whatever it is that I'm longing for… then once the idea is set into my consciousness… my body, my mind and my heart start to find ways to make it all happen. I knew in my bones Brendan and I would go to Europe and soon because I was putting out a lot of mental energy into the idea. I was just waiting for the sign… waiting for one small excuse to buy the plane tickets and go. Though I had never been to Europe myself (Brendan had several times touring with the Transylvanian Mountain Boys), the albums, particularly The Musician had started selling modestly all over Europe- Denmark, England, Ireland, Spain, Italy, France etc… Then one day, I started noticing a concentration of sales in Holland, sales which all referred to a magazine called "Heaven". As a rule of thumb I don't generally send out promotional copies of the music unless it is requested. So it was a rather rare thing to find the album mentioned in a publication when there was no record of a promo being sent out. Anyway, turns out the editor, Eric Scipio (a wonderful, talented and caring connoseur of music) came across The Musician on the internet, purchased it and included a small blurb about it in a column in HEAVEN MAGAZINE which said: "Voor THE MUSICIAN van Jennifer Terran ruil ik zo vrijwel het volledige repertoire vanTori Amos in" Translated in English: "I'd gladly trade in all my Tori Amos CDs for Jennifer Terran's 'The Musician'. I usually have a real aversion to being compared to other artists because I feel the music Brendan and I make is unique. But I've become a lot less uptight about being compared because I understand that that it's very difficult to talk about music, to describe music, to take the place of the experience of music with words. So comparing me to another artist is a way to give someone that you're trying to explain it to a reference- until the experience of the music itself can replace the shallow skelatin of words. When I finally saw this little blurb printed in Heaven and saw that practically no one in the entire magazine received a five star review… and hearing that The Musician would be getting a proper review with 5 stars…well, that was all I needed to get my ass over to Holland. Later Heaven rated The Musician #1 Best Pop Album of 2001, which made me glad because I know that it's a very special album and it felt good that these people across the world were recognizing it in a way that was consistent with the way I saw it. I have had lots of beautiful reactions from Americans about The Musician, but I have yet to see that album get the recognition I feel it deserves here in the United States. Even in my own town, the press is not particularly supportive. But before I start getting pissed off, I'll change the subject now. So, back to what I was saying. Without really knowing anyone in the way of friends, booking agents, distributors etc… in Holland, I went ahead and purchased 2 NON REFUNDABLE round trip tickets for Brendan and I to Amsterdam, Holland- calling this mad act, "The Mad Magdaline European Tour". I trusted that the tour itself would somehow fall into place. The first step was making the trip definate. The reason I took the chance was because of peoples' reactions to the record and the fact that they were actually buying a record based on a little blurb loosely mentioned in some column in a magazine. You see, it was not long before this time that I was the main music feature in the "Los Angeles Weekly". To give you some context….The LA Weekly is probably THE most widely read publication on entertainment in Los Angeles. Needless to say, it has a numerous amount of readers and is considered very influencial. The article the LA WEEKLY did on me was a full page interview/article about the music, the release of my third record, The Musician with a large photograph etc…. So goody gumdrops me! You know, I don’t think that article made the slightest dent in bringing many more people to the concerts or the albums I've released. It was apparent to me then that LA just wasn't getting off it's couch-potato ass enough to explore a music that wasn't being shoved down their throat by MTV or commercial radio! So when I saw these Dutch people seeking out this largely obscure import, The Musician, I knew where I was now going to be putting forth my energy. Before I knew it, I was being contacted by several people: the great Jos with the live BRTO radio program called "Crossroads" in Bergen op Zoom; Eric Slierendregt who is a sort of psuedo indie distributor for my albums in Holland and who is our booking manager for half of Holland; (then later, Theo, my other and sort of main booking manager…Roots Management); and a singer-songwriter from Amsterdam who happened to see us play at a show we did on our US WestCoast Tour in Seattle, WA- Lily Kiara. I asked these people as well as everyone else I could think of if they knew of good music venues or booking agents etc… And this is where I realized I was dealing with a totally different kind of people. They were kind, helpful, honest and it's because of these sweet people that the tour came to be a success. THE
STRANGE AND WONDERFUL HAPPENINGS: Just 2 weeks before our scheduled arrival in Holland there was practically nothing scheduled whatsoever. As a result, I got an inspiration to make up for the lack of planned dates which I called: Strange and Wonderful Happenings. These happenings were going to be the vehicle by which we were to play our music in Holland. The plan was to find strange, wonderful, inspiring, public places in which to play acousticly and without piano, just voice, drum and double bass. The locations, times and circumstances were going to be chosen once we got to Holland. The results of the meeting places were going to be posted at jenniferterran.com, through random posters on the streets and through secret clues given through emails. The concept was also going to be mentioned in a couple publications, like in the interview article printed in Heaven. So because it was pretty well publicized, we could expect to have anywhere from 5 people to 500 people meet us at a strange and wonderful location. Needless to say, there was not the time to do a single strange and wonderful happening, because we ended up having too much scheduled stuff, except once, sort of. The ONE STRANGE AND WONDERFUL HAPPENING that happened on the trip: The one strange and wonderful musical happening that happened on the tour was a very private, profound moment for me. The experience almost made me cry because it was so sweet and beautiful. All I did, in this very private, inspired moment… was sing out one very long, high note in an old beautiful square in Amsterdam. For me, this was not just any note. It was not premeditated and not forced. It was just pure and simple and soulful. And it was not complicated with words, with language. It was just tone, just music… just one note that was a pure combination of hope, vulnerability, raw emotion and love- echoing off the brick and height of that gorgeous old square. So I just I held it there for as long as my breath could hold out and watched it's effect on peoples' faces, in their bodies. It was an average moment turned into a moment of grace and beauty, depth and communication. Then it was over… didn't even last one minute and I didn't tell Brendan about it. PART II.A few days into the tour. Well so far the trip has been amazing and though I was trying not to have too many expectations, the experience has been more wonderful than I could have ever expected. Here's a little back ground before I go onto the exciting details of the trip. Prior to taking off for Amsterdam, I was driving around Santa Barbara and happened upon a hip thrift store with an ever so seductive "50% off everything in the store" sign. Fearing that the weather in Europe would be archaic, I was moved to try to find that perfect coat... one that could handle rain, wind, cold... and a coat with style... I wanted something unique, groovy as well as practical. Anyway, I started shopping in this stinky, boxy thrift store, which felt very good... and being in my premenstral state, I was especially vulverable to making big purchases, which I think the worker there could sense as she encouraged and ooohed and aaaahed about everything I put on or touched in the store. I ended up buying 2 coats from her.. both that I brought to Europe... one that looks like it should be worn in the North Pole, with a hood so heavy, it gives me a backache and one groovy red swade jacket which has been consistently disintegrating before my eyes... (it's not red anymore, for the drycleaner stripped that off and added a series of attractive holes all about the coat... in addition, his efforts made the jacket two sizes smaller than how it had originated. BUT at least it was now clean, $45 dollars later at the drycleaner... mama mia!) So for you Dutch people, please know that I tried my best with style and practicality and please forgive the holes. And no, the coat can't be mended… I tried that on the plane ride over and was proud of my work until I put the coat on and it was like putting on a 1st graders jacket. Okay so anyway... the days before we left, I was busier than hell, playing concerts and getting ready for the preparations of the trip. Feb.
19/ Tue. Feb.
21 Wed. get picked up by the very wonderful Eric Scipio from heaven magazine... an honor... he took us to lily's in amsterdam who so lovingly offered her place to us while she was out of town... took a walk around Amsterdam.. visited some "coffee houses" for Brendan then slept until 4 the next afternoon. Feb.
21 (thur). I shake off his warning, set out on my 5 mile run, which ends up being 15 MILES!!! Dark, completely lost, starting to rain, I knock on a random door crying and explaining my terrible situation for I did not even remember the street where I was staying, no number, no clue, DUUUUUUUH. anyway, i got on their computer, went to jenniferterran.com where i got my bookers info, who I then called, who then could give me the address of where I was staying. Thank god for JENNIFERTERRAN.com!!! These fine women then helped me, drove me back. From there showered and set off again for adventures in Indonesian dining in Amsterdam. Fucking yum!!! Went to bed. Feb.
22 (Frid.) February
22 & 23 Anyway, at the concerts, there were moments when I would look out at these beautiful, attentive, open minded audiences and sort of shake my head to get myself back to the strange and wonderful reality... that these people were foreign and that I was in a foreign land for the first time (having never been to Europe) and here I was singing these words, melodies and songs which were so personal and specific to my own experience... Yet the connection from my world to theirs was real indeed... the communication was happening. Fantastic!! Now I just want more, more, more... I'm like a drug crazed fiend wanting more... It seems the more I dig into the sweet layers of this music path we are on, the more I want to unravel it, embrace it. I want to see what will become of my soul when I can really do this every day. I want to be touring a WHOLE LOT more than we are and I intend to! Anyway, both performances were great... full houses, focused concert like settings which is of course the best way to experience the music we do. In Leiden I had an acoustic piano, which is always the best way for me to get down to the music in the way it should be layed out. I so often think that the best keyboards in the world can't compete with the shittiest pianos... because an acoustic piano is alive, organic, it's strings are meshing with the air… it can be so much more true to the subtlties in the music than a keyboard which is pretending, mimicking the real thing. So there's the music itself, the notes, then there's the way it is played and that's where a real piano is so much better. Oh well... at least with a keyboard the musical ideas are there, though the fine nuances are not as much. The rest of the tour will be with what I call the Theo-88, a keyboard that I've been carrying around with me through streets and trains in my arms along with backpack on back... with my beautiful Brendan Statom who has the real challange... he gets to carry his massive double bass on back, pull along our suitcase on wheels, with heavy CD suitcase on top, extra bag over the shoulders and keyboard stand in the free hand. Sometimes he even lights a cigarette! It's a great balancing act. Actually, it's fucking ridiculous... but as we crawl about in the rain with all our essential gear in hand and on back, I think how grateful I am to be so motivated and committed and in love with what I do... to know this is what I want and to be in it so thoroughly makes life so satisfying. So I am now in Hergomesen, about to take a run.. this time I will indeed bring along the address or where I'm staying as I've been doing with my runs since the 5 mile turned 15 mile Amsterdam jog that went wrong"". So tonight it's Gemert with Ad van Meurs opening briefly who I am looking forward to hearing. More later of course... when I get the chance to get to a computer again. March
13, 2002: It is true that the great stroopwafels of Holland do bring joy to peoples' lives. Stroopwafel: In conclusion, the stroopwafel is my hero! With great enthusiasm and a touch of panic, I set out to collect as many packages of stroopwafels as I could stuff in my luggage for the journey back to America. The intention was to give them away as gifts and of course save a package or two for Brendan and I. Fortunately, unfortunately, I will not be giving any of these delightful treasures away for they have now all dwindled before my eyes and reappearing on my butt. The
Amsterdam airport, back to the U.S./ CUSTOMS We were just beginning our grueling customs process, when our turn came up. The woman that was to dig through our personal belongings struck me as serious, perhaps a little bitter….and just a wild, wild guess, not an entirely happy person in her work. Her job? Her job was to question and probe, dig and twist, turn and face the harsh reality of humanity… with all of it's dirty secrets, stinky socks and other sad commentaries. She was the "open the luggage, look through everything down to the deepest detail lady." That's when I felt it. My small contribution to a little joy in someone's day…. for she came across my treasure- my great Stroopwafel stash!!! This is when I witnessed one of those profound moments of grace… for the edges of her mouth turned north and her eyes became a peacocked horizon… in other words, she let out the most genuine smile and little laugh upon uncovering my grand collection of Stroopwafels. And then it was over as soon as it came… like in life… displays of beauty happening all the time- sometimes witnessed, often ignored. This one I caught though, which made for a great ending to our European adventure. It's very difficult to summarize, to capture, to express what this tour meant to me. I believe in the music Brendan and I do on a most profound, loving and passionate level. For whatever reason, it has always been my unwavering intent, my inspiration, my hope, my dream to communicate what is essential in life through music… as I know it is Brendan's. Call it "new age" (which I'm so NOT), but I believe in letting myself dream and imagine in detail what it is my heart desires. And by doing this, what I imagine and dream does come to fruition, eventually- but only with the aid of a lot of love and commitment. Touring on the other side of the world to people whose tongue I did not speak, except through the sweet language of music, was one of those dreams that I had been brewing for so long in my magic pot. And here we were making that connection, finally after so much dreaming. Brendan and I definitely ended wanting more… a lot more. So naturally, we'll be going back to Europe in the autumn and as often as possible, to sing, to scream, to cry on the train, to kiss a stranger thrice, to unravel the potential of our talents. I know there is so much more in me to give, to get down to as a musician, as a performer. It's like a never ending, deep, wonderous cavern in my pit. And I will…. I will unravel those layers and become what it is I am meant to become. I see and I experience glimpses of it, but I'm not there quite yet. So I think I'll be skipping around describing as best I can the experience. I will also be adding on to this journal as I remember more. BARBIE
and FRIEND are a HIT!
THE
4 legged Dog that almost became a THREE Legged Dog: THE
LAST DAYS: Anyway, we hooked up in Arnheim at the station…. Got swooped up by van by an extraordinary, wonderful man by the name of Rasyif. From there, we had to get to the in store performance, but we had just enough time to locate some magic stuff… magic we would later consume very late at night on our final night in Amsterdam, just hours before having to get to the airport. Unfortunately Brendan got most of the magic because we had shared one serving…. A mistake I intend not to make again… for I enjoy the magic that nature has to offer and that the good people of Holland have had the wisdom to make legal and available. The IN STORE performance: I used a raunchy guitar amp for my voice for this one… nice intimate performance… then with minutes to spare off to the train for the show that night in Roosendal at Wally's. A two hour train ride later, we were met by the great Wally at the train station. And he says… "this way- it's just a short five minute walk.". And Brendan and look at each other with unspoken knowing and dread. A five minute walk is no problem if you are not carrying a massive 88 weighted keyboard in your arms, a double bass on your back and a load of CDs and luggage, but we managed. So another cloudy, smoke filled room… by this point, I had had many secret nervous breakdowns with regards to the stifling smoke issue in Europe. That was one thing I really missed about California- the NO SMOKING policy. Anyway, I've said it before and I'll say it again, the people we've come across in Holland have been the most kind, accomidating, respectful, appreciative people imaginable and I will be forever grateful for having such a positive experience this first time to Europe. I mean, what club owner would make you a beautiful dinner; not charge people to get in to see the show; promote the shit out of the show himself; and pay you well- because he believes it is his duty to bring good quality music to the community? I mean, I'm on the verge of never playing in Los Angeles again because of the sheer lameness that the LA club owners impose on the artists. Being treated with respect was such a contrast to what happens in L.A. But you know, L.A. is just one place. Though there are definitely people who appreciate our music in LA and many more who would, the system makes it very difficult to reach them. Even when the system is working for us, it's somehow difficult for people to care enough to show up with any real consistency in LA. So there's a little game I like to do whenever I feel like the connection isn't quite happening locally. I get out a pencil, I sharpen it real, real fine. I then get out a map of the world and I place the fine tip of the pencil on Los Angeles &/or Santa Barbara. From there, I look at the rest of the world. I imagine all the beautiful people. I think about how little time we all have and I once again decide where I will now be putting my energy. And it's not LA…. not for now anyway. Don't get me wrong! It's not that there are not a good amount of people who love and appreciate what we do in California or in the U.S. The music is happening here, the exchange is happening, most definitely! But there are a whole lot of people who could love what we do, but don’t yet- because they need to be convinced by someone else that it is worthy before they can validate it. Well, I know this is true with a lot of people in the record industry and they can of course kiss my fucking ass! Anyway, sorry for the little mad Magdaline tangent. At least I'm not nearly as bitter or unhopeful as I used to be when it comes to the record industry and the people who buy into it. I actually do believe that there are beautiful, receptive people everywhere, though many get caught up or seduced into corrupt systems. I just tend to get a little impatient when people don’t think for themselves, or dare to imagine or trust that what they are feeling is real. So back to the story of the tour and the last days. Wally's was a great layed back performance, though because people didn't pay to get in, there were of course some that were just there to talk, which made the majority of the room rather pissed off because of course the music is so much more effective in a completely quiet room. But I appreciate challenges like that, but I'd rather play in a quiet, focused, theatre type space. At a show in a little town called Gemert a week before, we were opening for Ad (who was great) and it happened to be one of those concerts that was added on at the last minute, so we were unknown for this one. The people that generally come to a place like that are really there to drink and talk which they did when Ad played, despite his beautiful music. We were with Eric Scipio from Heaven for this one. And it was unfortunate that he couldn't see us in a better circumstance. But the music is still the music I suppose.. Anyway, I remember him sort of apologizing that we were about to play for a uncaring, talkative audience. But I had a feeling that I had it in me that night to get these people to shut up, so I just smiled at Eric and set in my bones the plan to conquer! So I mentally decided that we would with love and music, get the room to transform…which was going to be a challenge because these people were a random group and were not necessarily condesuers of music, let alone condesuers of the kind of emotionally intense and unique kind of music that we do. But I do have my tricks, my ways of capturing a room if I really, really want to…. tactics that have been refined (and are much less violent than they used to be). Anyway… we did it, I started the performance acousticly in the house with just the drum and voice, looking people in the eye, giving all the love and energy I could… connecting with the beautiful Brendan Statom on the stage… giving each other the knowing look that though this wasn't a grand theatre or THE concert of our careers- it had the basic elements, musicians and listeners, so really that's all that you really need… there really isn't anything higher than that… doesn't matter if it's a town in the middle of no where. Music is happening as long as there is air to breath, love and people to listen…. and all of that was happening. So, miraculously we did shut that room up, quiet enough to hear a pin drop for an entire hour. Of course it was a challenge to hold everyone there… took a lot of energy, but there's nothing more worthy of my energy than giving the music the best chance it can have. But at Wally's… well, there was just way too much beautiful Belgium beer being consumed for the few people in the back to shut up the whole time. Plus I didn't try that hard. It was more important for me to give the music to myself that night than to try to conquer the entire room. It ended up being a another great night for Brendan and I despite some of the distractions. That night we stayed with a most amazing Indonesian woman in Bergan op Zoom, named Diana. She had made us some fabulous Indonesian food two nights before when we did the Crossroads Radio performance… an exceptionally sweet and nurturing woman. The next day we walked around the historic town of Bergen op Zoom with castles and cobblestoned streets. That's where I found her, my new coat… baby blue and ready for the rain, but not warm enough to take the place of my holy coat, so I still have the holy coat. From Bergen we got on the train for Brugee, Belgium for our final performance. Unfortunately I had to cancel a show that was to take place that day across the country in Venlo. It was very sad to do it because there been some good press and this store had a reputation for hosting nice focused performances. I've never had to cancel a show before, but it was necessary because our transportation got canceled and it wouldn't have been feasible with the other options we had. And it's a good thing we didn't take the chance because we were already to be late for Brugge. But it made me very torn, having to back out of it. So anyway, imagine this. We miss the connecting train that is to bring us to Brugge on time. After a frantic, wet faced episode of sheer horror, we finally get on a train, which is to arrive in Brugge just minutes before our final performance. We get off the train with all the heaviness on shoulder, in arm, in teeth… wishing to avoid the horror of a long stairway…. So advised and encouraged by a man who appeared to work there, he directs us into a very shady lift which is to bring us to the exit of the station. Of course it smells like cat piss and when we get down to the bottom floor, we find a very long, stinky strange hallway , apparently not for normal travelers looming large and unattractive before us which leads us to an incredible inconvenient exit on the other side of the train station. Soon Eric from the Cactus club in Brugge rescues us in the CactusMobileVan. In the instruments go, on the seats we sit, assured that everything will be alright by him, we set off into the creamy center of this unbelievably gorgous town. Down we go through narrow, cobblestone streats, below unbelievable beautiful old architecture, halling ass, taking one way streets the wrong way. It was so unreal, so wonderful, so strange how my life could be so hopeless and lame one minute and then turn into such magic and grace in the next. So let me back up for a minute. Up to this point, we had only played in Holland. The posters that were made for our show in Brugge never arrived… got lost in the mail. Being that Brugge was an exceptionally beautiful, eloquent, historic town, I sort of thought that the people might be a little conservative- that it might be a sort of tourist town. When I was trying to decide what to wear on the train minutes earlier, I gravitated towards a particular black and white plaid, short sleeved, rather small top. I opted against wearing it particularly because Brendan had put it through the drier in Amsterdam which had shrunk it about 10 sizes. As a result, the top was very brief and revealing. I was somehow in the mood to wear it, but thought that maybe Brugge was not a good place to be so bold. So instead I wore my thin, black tank top, my San Francisco/ Tomoko groovy pants and my devastatingly high heeled boots, which I always end up taking off on stage during a concert, because they sort of hurt my feet and are difficult to balance in, but hey… they look fucking great! Fashion though sometimes painful, is a worthy cause. Anyway, so Eric is hauling ass to the club. I'm privately dissapointed that my little 11x17 posters never made it, then BOOM! What do I see but these beautiful extra large full color posters for that night's show with a picture of myself playing Magdaline, hunched over and near full naked with a gun!! Well, out goes any plans or preconcieved notions about these daring Belgium people. So we get inside minutes before the show is to start. It's a great room that could probably hold about 100 people comfortably. There are more sound men then people at the bar when we do our soundcheck. From there, we are led to the dressing room where we find the most splendid spread of gorgeous, gorgeous cheeses, fruits, Belgium beers and everything else. And I'm thinking, we're going to play for those 5 people at the bar and we're going to give them are all! It's sort of too bad that there's only five people for our last show in Europe, but I so glad to be here. Minutes later, the room becomes transformed with stage lights, dark in the house and a most inspiring ambiance. And better than that, the place is now miraculously packed with an anticipating audience. Happily, they were all being kept in a enchanted waiting room until we were ready. Turned out we would be playing for a full house rather than 5 apathetic people after all. So the music began… and of course my set list (like always) goes out the window and we once again and for the last time on this tour, surrender to the moment, playing songs, telling stories… stories of the dog that bit me, of the plaid top I wanted to wear but that Brendan shrunk and that I was afraid would be too daring for Brugge. I introduced them to Barbie and her vuluptuous, over zelious bush and we played the music with all the love and passion that we could muster for this final show. For the final encore, I changed my top to the checkered, ridulously undersized top, which got a good laugh particularly because I put it on crooked! And my sweet, talented Brendan Statom was naturally quick to laugh along with them. Final
overall impressions: I've come to realize I just want to be myself completely and feel free to talk to the audience and to Brendan like it's just 3 people in a room. Music is communication after all and I want to communicate all the sides of my experience. I like to laugh, to be playful and to be intense and emotional. It's all goody gumdrops. Then there's Eric Scipio from Heaven… now one of my all time favorite people. I'll never forget reading to his two small children and their neighborhood friend- looking at their sweet faces, hearing their uncontrollable laughter upon hearing me repeat words in Dutch with my crude American accent. They had a lot of fun at my expense, which was great fun for me too. And Eric's wife… a great woman….drinking wine, hanging out, talking about nothing. The Dutch people were great teachers in helping me to remember what it is to just hang out and chill and drink and talk. I can still do without the smoking part, but the rest of it is something I miss here in the U.S. where I tend to get caught up in being over busy. Then there's Eric Slierendrecht at Rick's Records, the man who is really responsible for making the majority of the shows on the tour happen and who is one of the kindest people I've ever met! And Leisbeth and Richard who let us stay with them and the good people of Den Bosch who did the same and dearest Lily in Amsterdam, who was the first one to introduce me to precious Stroopwafels; and all the beautiful people who interviewed me with their caring, genuine curiousity and intelligent questions; the radio and publications who supported us in coming to Europe; the good people of Heaven magazine…. Marcel for his inspiring review of our Leiden show and Miranda for the careful interview which I still wish I could read; for the people at the venues and the people who produced our concerts…. Thank you, thank you for doing such an excellent, soulful job; for all the people on the streets who would stop to help us when we were lost getting to the next town; for all the people who bought us beautiful beer even if it did make Brendan puke at our Amsterdam gig; for the fabulous Theo at Roots Management who has graced us with his invaluable aid, the Theo-88 and who made sure we were well taken care of; for the wonderful, wonderful Jos at Crossroads for all he did, for all the emailing and for having us on his famous show; for the Eric and Patrick at the Cactus for taking a chance on an unknown act because they believed in promoting good music and for KLM for not charging us the big money to bring the double bass over seas… you are all rare and beautiful indeed!!! Thank you!!!!!! If you would like to send us your comments about anything, please go to the VENT page where you can let it all out.. RICHARD'S JOURNAL (in English) Richard is a beautiful Dutchman I met from a result of Heaven and the tour. He happened to come to several of the shows and here are his words on the experience. Mad Magdalene European Tour 2002 De sfeer in deze ruimte was wel heel erg intiem en gezellig te noemen, en achterin het zaaltje was nog een barkruk met een verhoogd tafeltje waaraan ik ging zitten. Heerlijk genieten van deze sfeer was tevens mogelijk door de waxine lichtjes, een bakje chips en niet meer dan vijftig personen waaronder een aantal lokale journalisten. De eerste rij was gevuld met enkele heerlijke "onderuitzak banken" en de onderlinge ruimte tussen de tafeltjes was voldoende om toch het gevoel te krijgen dat deze ruimte optimaal gevuld was. Jennifer bracht enkele liedjes van haar laatste album "The Musician" ten gehore, en ook enkele nog niet opgenomen liedjes. Tussen bijna alle liedjes vertelde ze over haar eerste ervaringen in dit voor haar erg mooie land. Haar manier van praten, half giechelend, is wel heel erg persoonlijk en vertrouwelijk te noemen en het is bijna net zo intiem als haar eigen liedjes. Halverwege de avond volgde er een pauze, die ze graag wil benutten om enkele mensen uit het publiek te ontmoeten en te spreken. Ik maakte van deze gelegenheid gebruik om enkele mensen die ik eerder die week had gecontacteerd te spreken. Zonder de hulp van deze aardige mensen had ik hier nooit naar toe kunnen gaan, en ze waren ook zeer behulpzaam in het aanbieden van een lift zodat ik na het concert alsnog via het station van Alphen a/d Rijn thuis zou kunnen komen. Het tweede deel van het concert bevatte meerdere liedjes van haar debuut album "Cruel" en soms merkte ik aan mezelf dat ik aan het wegzweven was, ook al had ik niet meer dan slechts drie Guiness biertjes genuttigd... maar gewoon door die heerlijke sfeer die uit deze liedjes komt. De meeste ken ik natuurlijk al van haar albums, maar als je ze "kaal" hoort met alleen haar stem, haar keyboard en de contrabas van Brendan Statom... tjsa, dan zweef je heerlijk weg zoals ik dat ooit ook bij Tori Amos deels had ervaren. Het grote verschil is dat Jennifer dit een heel concert lang kan vasthouden, waaruit maar weer haar enorme kracht tot uiting komt. Na het concert trok ik mijn stoute schoenen aan en stapte op haar af. Ik stelde me netjes voor, en bedankte haar voor de warme "reply's" op mijn emailtjes van de afgelopen periode. Ze scheen mij nog te herinneren, want ze pakte direct mijn hand losjes vast, en zo vertellende werd ik steeds verlegener... totdat ik alleen nog maar haar hand voelde en de woorden zich niet meer uit mijn mond lieten vloeien... Dit was nou contact over meerdere verschillende nivo's en ik genoot met volle teugen... en ik werd verlegen, ik werd verlegen... ik raakte "over mijn touren"... en eindige met een hoofd zonder enige gedachten :-) Tot mijn grote vreugde bleek iets later de lift die ik kreeg wel heel erg goed te zijn, ik mocht nl. meerijden met de vrouw die de PA voor die avond verzorgt had en zodoende kon ik nog gewoon en redelijk op tijd met het openbaar vervoer thuis geraken... nog helemaal in den z(w)evende hemel :-) Op zaterdag 23 februari zou het optreden in de "Q-Bus" te Leiden in een iets grotere zaal plaatsvinden, het begon ook allemaal wat later dan de avond daarvoor. Deze avond zou de enige van de hele tour zijn waarbij ze in de gelegenheid werd gesteld om op een echte piano te spelen. Gelukkig waren wij - met vier personen - redelijk op tijd want helemaal achterin vonden wij een vierpersoons bank die nog niet geconfisceerd was. Top, die is van ons... Nadat we al meer dan een uur binnenwaren bleek ondertussen de zaal goed gevuld te zijn, en kwam eindelijk Jennifer met een klein trommeltje vanuit de WC (ruimte) al trommelend via het publiek naar het podium "Sweet Sticky 8 to 5 Lady". De setlist van deze avond was bijna hetzelfde als in Koudekerke, maar ook weer niet van tevoren voorbereid en hierdoor bleef het ook de gehele avond een zeer spontaan optreden. Alle liedjes in het eerste gedeelte waren afkomstig van "The Musician" op twee liedjes na, "The Trout" over een vis (florel) en de vismethode zoals die door Brendan wordt toegepast, en een liedje over "A Three-Legged Dog" wat gaat over een hond die door een auto ongeluk een pootje moest missen. De eigenaar van die hond schaamde zich dood, maar het hondje zelf had daar geen last van. Jawel, een moraal zit wel degelijk in dit verhaal ! Het geluidsverschil met de avond daarvoor, het verschil tussen een piano en een keyboard bleek toch wel enorm te zijn. Het geluid in deze zaal was erg helder en transparant, ook al was de geluidssterkte enorm laag... Tijdens de pauze gingen we gedrieën, eentje hield de bank bezet, naar Jennifer toe. De anderen wilde graag een album kopen en laten signeren, en ik wilde mijn reeds opgebouwde Jennifer collectie ook laten signeren. Ze zat heerlijk in het hoekje van het podium met een koffer vol cd's, en haar Barbie popjes die ze eigenhandig tot realistische poppen had omgetoverd, compleet met "pubic hair and nipples on the titties". Ze herkende mij direct van de avond tevoren en ze boog zich voorover om mij een stevige knuffel te geven, wat een heerlijk warm gevoel gaf dat :-) Ze begon in mijn cd-boekjes te schrijven in een - zeer persoonlijke - briefvorm, beginnend bij haar laatste album en terugwerkend naar haar debuut. Deze avond zou tot nog toe de langste setlist kennen, want het optreden wat omstreeks 21:30 begon en een pauze kende van maximaal drie kwartier, was pas om half een afgelopen. Tijdens de liedjes kon je een speld horen vallen... letterlijk hoorde we een keer een dubbeltje wat aan het rollen was op de bar, en door het zeer intens ingespannen luisteren moesten we ineens wel (zachtjes) lachen. Het ergste was nog de zakjes chips die ineens uit de lucht kwamen vallen... geen van ons durfde die te openen tijdens een liedje, bang geworden dat het enorme kabaal door de hele zaal zou galmen. Kortom, ik had een heel erg goed weekend achter de rug. Wat nog mooier is, is het feit dat de drie anderen die er zaterdag bij waren zowiezo van plan zijn om later (in deze tour) NOG een keer naar een optreden te gaan. Hetzelfde gevoel had ik vrijdag al, maar nog sterker had ik dat zaterdag... ik kan hier geen genoeg van krijgen, en ik hoop dat ik zo snel mogelijk weer in staat ben om mezelf een avondje te laten verwennen door de stem en sfeer van Jennifer Terran. Dit werkt verslavend. Na dit heerlijke weekend had ik wel enkele dagen nodig om al deze ervaringen een plaats te geven en weer enigzinds bij te komen. Het duurde ongeveer een halve week voordat ik weer "met beide benen" op de grond stond en tot mijn grote verbazing kwam halverwege de dag een mail van Jennifer binnen met een zeer recent ingelast concert te Arnhem. Zo snel als het mij mogelijk was heb ik dit bericht doorgemaild aan enkele vrienden en bekenden, vooral diegene die een auto hebben.... Gelukkig kon ik snel genoeg een oude bekende van mij strikken om vanuit het zuiden van Nederland met de auto naar mij te rijden en vervolgens door te rijden naar het oosten van het land. Vooral de mededing dat Jennifer deze avond zou mogen spelen op een vleugel (grand piano) zorgde ervoor dat ik bijna moeiteloos een Tori Amos fan kon strikken voor dit uitstapje op een doordeweekse avond aan het eind van het onguur koude februari. Samen kwamen we ruim op tijd aan in Arnhem en nadat we aardig dicht in de buurt waren ging ik - in mijn bijrijdersrol - de buurt goed in de gaten houden, totdat ik opmerkte :"Zullen we vanavond aan de Warsteiner gaan ?". De bestuurder reageerde een beetje geirriteerd :"Ja maar... ik mag niet (te veel) drinken hoor !" Nadat hij mijn gezichtsuitdrukking had gezien begreep hij dat ik waarschijnlijk de zaal al had gesignaleerd en vooral keek naar het (bier)uithangbord. Hierna hoefden we alleen nog maar een parkeerplaatsje te vinden. Nadat we het (zeer oude en prachtige) gebouw naar binnentraden, was het voor ons nog totaal onbekend waar we nu weer uitgekomen waren. Eenmaal goed binnengekomen was het nog steeds niet duidelijk totdat er achterin de ruimte waar we op dat moment zaten de deur openging en een blij verraste Jennifer op ons af kwam lopen. Ze was erg blij dat wij deze plaats gevonden hadden en zeer verrukt over het feit dat ze met een echte grote piano mocht spelen. Een heerlijke manier om je direct welkom te voelen. Deze ruimte, de Katoen Klub, is een erg sfeervolle zaal en over deze avond is slechts één minpuntje te vinden. Het ingelaste concert was op een vet-kuiven-avond georganiseerd, dat betekend dus dat het (voor)programma uit ouderwetse rock'n'billy rock zou bestaan. Op zich is het wel aardig om eens van die oude Elvis klassiekers te horen, maar het is eigenlijk veel minder interessant dan het optreden van Jennifer. Tijdens het optreden bleek dat de meeste mensen toch voor de rock'n'roll waren gekomen en het concert van Jennifer meer zagen om zichzelf te profileren ten opzichte van het eigen gezelschap. Er werd redelijk veel gepraat tijdens de liedjes, en ik vond dat enorm storend werken. Ik denk dat deze onrust er debet aan is geweest dat dit het kortste optreden zou worden. Na het concert bleek dat er eigenlijk veel te weinig echte fans in de zaal aanwezig waren, er werd bijna geen enkele cd verkocht, al dan niet voorzien van handtekeningen. Op het moment dat ik mijn jas van de rugleuning van de stoel pakte, terwijl er al een behoorlijk aantal mensen aan het rock'n'roll dansen waren, kwamen we in de gelegenheid om nog even afscheid te nemen van Jennifer en Brendan. Wij waren het allemaal met elkaar eens dat deze zaal wel heel erg mooi is, met een zeer intieme ambiance, en dat het zeker goed zou zijn voor haar om hier nog eens terug te komen voor een concert zonder de vetkuiven. Mijn gezelschap van deze avond was wel redelijk onder de indruk van het concert, maar vond het (nog) niet nodig om een cd te kopen. Hij is toch iets meer een Tori Amos fan en, zoals hij aan mij uitlegde, toch gewend om zo af en toe ook wat "drukkere" liedjes te horen... want deze muziek vergt nogal wat van jezelf, en de innerlijke rust die je nodig hebt om het een en ander tot je te laten doordringen. Pas tegen twee uur was ik thuis, waar een ongeruste (en jaloerse) kat op mij zat te wachten. De dag erna had ik op kantoor de hele dag moeite om mijn ogen open te houden, want wat was dit een korte nachtrust. Gelukkig was het bijna weekend en zou ik weer bij kunnen slapen... en nog voor deze dag voorbij was kreeg ik een mailtje waaruit bleek dat ik mij geen zorgen hoefde te maken m.b.t. het vervoer naar Alphen a/d Rijn. Dit was geregeld door een van die drie anderen die in Leiden al verkocht was geraakt aan de sfeer van Jennifer's concerten. Hij had enkele vriendinnen bereid gevonden om naar Alphen te gaan, en een daarvan zou ons vanaf de rendesvouz op komen halen met de auto. In de vroege zondagse namiddag van 3 maart arriveerden we met ons groepje van vier in Alphen a/d Rijn waar we al heel erg snel het Swing Cafe Querelle gevonden hadden. Bij binnenkomst was het een feest van herkenning met mensen die ik eerder die week had gezien in de verschillende plaatsen. Helemaal achterin het cafe, langs de bar, zagen we de ruimte waar een podium was gemaakt, en waar al aardig wat mensen zich hadden genesteld. In allereil werden er nog enkele stoelen in het cafe bij elkaar gezocht, terwijl een ander zich bekommerde om de drankjes te regelen. Doordat we als een van de laatsten waren, dus net op tijd binnengekomen, zaten wij op de eerste rang. Het was een beetje krap, en ik zat bijna met mijn hoofd in een van de speakers. Na het eerste liedje vroeg Jennifer of het geluid niet te hard was, of ik nog wel wat kon horen, en of ik niet te dicht bij de luidspreker zat. Half plagend reageerde ik met :"Sorry, what are you saying ?" Gelukkig viel het allemaal reuze mee, en je kon soms een speld horen vallen tijdens de gehele set... de enige uitzondering was het koffie apparaat. Na Arnhem was dit optreden een opleving, vooral omdat iedereen in het publiek ook zin had om te luisteren was het echt veel beter. Er waren wel een paar jongens die toch een beetje teveel aan het kletsen waren, maar nadat Jennifer beleeft vroeg of ze wat meer verderop zouden willen gaan zitten werd de sfeer nog veel beter. Op de een of andere manier begonnen vandaag de nieuwe liedjes veel beter tot mij door te dringen en kon ik dus veel meer genieten van "Trout" en "Three-Legged-Dog". Toch had ik tot nog toe iets gemist, en ik had het er tijdens de reis naar Alphen al over dat ik - als ik de kans zou krijgen - het verzoek wilde overbrengen om "Skating" te spelen... Gelukkig keek Jennifer halverwege de set in het café naar al die gezichten, met een vraag of er nog verzoekjes zouden zijn. Dit was mijn kans... en ze keek mij ineens heel erg diep in de ogen, zodanig dat ik er bijna verlegen door werd... en ik kon snel reageren met het gewenste liedje. Dat was natuurlijk een fantastische ervaring, gewoon omdat dit een van mijn meest favouriete liedjes is en de "I was skating around when my ass hit the ground" zinsnede zo grappig is. Nadat dit liedje met een klaterend applaus werd ontvangen kreeg ik - letterlijk - een schouderklopje. Ik keek om en hoorde de vrouw die achter mij zat met een ietwat americaans accent en glunderende ogen vertellen dat ze heel erg blij was met mijn verzoekje, vooral omdat ze zelf zo'n moeite heeft om titels te onthouden (en ik had enorm veel moeite gedaan om juist deze titel te onthouden, want ik herken dit probleem bij mezelf ook). Tijdens LA101 bleken de batterijen van "Grizeldas" megafoon niet meer goed te werken, terwijl dit een heerlijk vervormt stuk spraak/zang gedeelte van Jennifer is, kon ze nu haar lach bijna niet houden. Half gegiechel, stevig vervormt met nog meer gegiechel. Op deze manier is het wel heel erg leuk om iets wat fout is gegaan toch nog op een plezierige manier over te brengen. Tussen de liedjes door liet ze merken dat ze heel erg veel genoot van ons land en van de concerten, en van onze - voor haar absoluut vreemde - taal. Enkele woorden had ze ondertussen wel geleerd, met name hetgeen waar ze helemaal dol op was geworden, de stroopwaffels. De uitspraak was wel redelijk te noemen, ze sprak het uit als "stroepwaffles". Natuurlijk bracht dit mij op een idee om stroopwaffels als een kadootje te geven voor het laatste concert dat ik zou kunnen bijwonen in "De Buurvrouw". Helaas was de setlist een beetje aan de korte kant, want na zo'n vijf kwartier spelen was het uit met de pret. Het was wel fijn om te ontdekken dat de meegekomen vriend(inn)en zich uitstekend hadden vermaakt en ook direct op zoek gingen naar de koffer met de Barbie's en de cd's. Het was fijn om zo'n zondaagse matinee concert mee te maken en, wat ook belangrijk is, weer redelijk op tijd thuis te zijn zodat ik nog de hele avond had om op mijn gemak na te genieten van deze dag. Tegelijkertijd zat ik al aardig voor te genieten van wat het laatste optreden zou moeten zijn waar ik naar toe kon gaan, in het Amsterdamse café "De Buurvrouw" en het leek mij bij voorbaat al verstandig om daarvoor maar eens wat vrije dagen op te nemen waardoor het vooruitzicht op een lang weekend een nog mooiere afronding van deze dag zou zijn. Door het opnemen van de vrije dagen hoefde ik mezelf ook niet af te remmen danwel ervoor te zorgen dat ik nog op tijd thuis zou zijn, nee... deze keer zou ik - mits de gezelligheid het toe zou laten - gewoon blijven hangen en met de nachttrein naar huis terugkeren. RICHARD'S
JOURNAL Richard is a beautiful Dutchman I met from a result of Heaven and the tour. He happened to come to several of the shows and here are his words on the experience. Mad Magdalene European Tour 2002 De mood in the room was quite intimate and soothing. In the back there was a stool with an elevated table, so I sat down there. Taking in the wonderful atmosphere was made even easier because of the small candles, a tray of chips and a small audience of around 50 people, including the local journalists. The first row was filled with some great "slouching sofas" and the space between the tables was enough to get the feeling that the room was filled optimally. Jennifer performed some songs of her last album 'The Musician', and some songs she hadn't even recorded yet. Inbetween songs she talked about her first experiences in this country she considers so beautiful. Her way of talking, interrupted regularly by small bursts of giggling, can be described as very personal and trusting, almost as intimate as her songs. Half way through the night she took a break she liked to use to meet and talk to some people in the audience. I used this occasion to talk to a few people I've contacted in the preceding week. Without the help of these lovely people I would've never been able to get to the concert. In fact, they were very helpful giving me a ride so I could even get home via the Alphen a/d Rijn train station. The second part of the show contained various songs of her debut album 'Cruel' and sometimes I noticed myself floating away, even though I only had 3 Guiness beers. It just happened because of the great atmosphere contained in these songs. Most of the songs I had already heard, but if you hear them 'naked', that is: just her voice, her keyboard and Brendan Statom's double bass.. well, you just float away in the same fashion I once partially experienced with Tori Amos. The big difference was that Jennifer was able to sustain this feeling for the duration of the concert, once again expressing her enormous power. After the concert I gathered up all my courage and spoke to her, introduced myself politely and thanked her for the warm replies to all my emails. She still remembered because she grabbed my hand loosely and kept talking, not even noticing I was getting more and more shy... until I only felt her hand and the words couldn't come out of my mouth anymore. This was such a multi-layered contact and I enjoyed every moment of it... and got more shy.. and more shy.. until finally stressing out completely and ending up with a blissful head with no thoughts at all. To my great delight, the ride back I arranged later on went really well. I got to ride with the woman who arranged the PA, so I could still make it home in time with public transportation, still floating. On saturday February 23th, the show in 'Q-bus' in Leiden would be in a bit larger room, and also it would start a little later than the previous night. This evening would present her with the only opportunity to play on a real piano. Luckily we - there were four of us now- were nicely on time because we found a four-seater that wasn't yet confiscated by anyone. All ours! After about an hour the room had filled up nicely and finally Jennifer came in from the bathroom with a small drum, performing "Sweet Sticky 8 to 5 Lady". The setlist was about the same as in Koudekerke, but again it wasn't prepared ahead of time so it was a very spontaneous performance. All songs in the first half were from 'The Musician', except for two songs. "The Trout" - about the fish and Brendan's way of catching it and "A Three-Legged Dog" about a dog who had to miss one leg due to a car accident. The dog owner was embarassed, the dog itself seemed to have no problems with it. Yep there really is a moral to this story! The difference in sound quality compared to the night before (last night there was no piano, just a keyboard) was quite astounding, the sound quality here was quite clear and transparent, albeit a bit on the soft side volume-wise. During the break three of us, the last one kept our couch occupied, went to Jennifer. The others wanted to buy an album and get it signed, and I wanted to let her sign the Jennifer-collection already in my posession. She was sitting in a corner of the stage with a suitcase full of CD's and her Barbie dolls she single-handedly made realistic, complete with "pubic hair and nipples on the titties". She immediately recognised me from the night before and gave me a big hug, what a wonderful warm feeling :-) She started to write in my CD booklets in a -very personal- letter form, starting at her last album and working her way back to her debut. That night had the longest setlist so far, because the show started at 9:30 pm, had a 45 minutes break, tops, and ended at half past 12. During the songs one could hear a pin drop. Literally! At one time we heard a dime rolling around on the bar, and due to the intense listening we all had to snicker softly. The time they dropped bags of chips on us from the air was the worst, no[Richard van Oosterhout] one dared to open it because the noise might echo through the room. To sum it up, I had a great weekend. What's more, the three other people I dragged in that saturday suddenly wanted to come to ANOTHER concert this tour. I had the same feeling friday and even moreso saturday... I need more of this, and I hope I can arrange to spoil myself another night by the mood and voice of Jennifer Terran. So addictive. After the weekend I needed a few days to put all these memories in their right places and getting my act together. It took me about half a week for me to get both feet back on solid ground. To my great surprise I had a mail from Jennifer about a last-minute concert in Arnhem! I forwarded the mail as fast as I could to some friends, especially those with cars... Luckily I was able to persuade an old friend to come from way down south and drive me to eastern Holland. Especially the fact that she was going to play on a grand piano that night enabled me to effortlessly persuade this Tori Amos fan to go on this trip at the end of cold February! We arrived in Arnhem with some time to spare, so I had some time to take in the surrounding area. "Shall we do some Warsteiner tonight?" I asked? "Yeah but I can't drink (too much)", the driver answered a bit irritated. After he noticed my gaze he understood that I found the place and its (beer)sign. All we needed was a parking space. While we entered this (very old and beautiful) building we still had no idea where we ended up this time. Even after a while it still wasn't that clear until in the back of a room a door entered and a happily surprised Jennifer came at us! She was very happy that we found the place and she was overjoyed that she could play the grand piano. We felt very welcome there. The place, the "Katoen Klub" is a very moody room and there was just one downside to the evening. Jennifer's concert was scheduled last-minute on a brillcream-hair-evening, which meant that the opening act was going to be oldfashioned 'Rock-a-billy'-rock. Its not a bad thing in itself to hear a few Elvis classics, but it wasnt as interesting as Jennifer's concert for us. Sadly, most of the audience came for the Rock 'n Roll stuff so they saw Jennifer's concert as an opportunity to show off in front of their own people. There was a lot of talking during her songs and that wa[Richard van Oosterhout] s quite disturbing. I think this was the reason that this was the shortest of her shows. After the show you could tell that there really weren't enough real fans in the room, she only got to sell a few albums, autographs and all. When we grabbed our coats quite a few people were dancing Rock 'n Roll already. We took the opportunity to say hi to Jennifer and Brendan. And we all agreed that the room was really nice with a good atmosphere, so she just needed to come back on a day with a more suitable audience. My friend was quite impressed with the concert that night but wasn't inclined yet to buy an album yet. He was more of a Tori Amos fan and, as he explained to me, he was used to hearing quicker [Richard van Oosterhout] uptempo songs as well. Jennifer's music really demands some things, inner quiet for example, to let things truely reach you. I came home at two, where a worried (and jealous) cat was waiting for me. The day after I really had trouble keeping my eyes open, since I had so little rest that night. Luckily it was almost weekend and I could sleep in a bit. Before the day was over I received an email that said I didn't have to worry about transportation to Alphen a/d Rijn, since one of the other three guys who went to the Leiden show with me (who all were instantly won over) arranged the transport. He persuaded some friends to go to Alphen and one of them would come pick us up. In the early afternoon on sunday March 3rd we arrived with our party of four in Alphen where we quickly found the Swing Cafe Querelle. Upon arrival we were pleasantly surprised by the amount of people we already knew earlier that week in the various places. Way down in the back, near the bar, we saw a place where a stage was constructed, and where quite a few people had already settled down. Hastily we found a few extra chairs in the cafe while someone tended to the drinks. Because we were one of the last people to arrive we were in the front row. It was quite closely packed and I was almost inside the speaker with my head, but after the first song Jennifer asked if the sound wasn't too loud for me, and if I could still hear something, so near to the speaker. Half-joking I said "Sorry? what are you saying?" Actually it wasnt that bad, again you could hear a pin drop during the entire set. The only exception was the coffee machine. (note from the translator: Im sure you could hear that drop as well)[Richard van Oosterhout] :-))))) After Arnhem this show was quite the comeback, especially since the entire public felt like listening, so the mood was much better. There were a few guys who were a bit noisy but after Jennifer politely asked them to move a bit further away the mood got even better. Somehow the new songs started to really reach me this time, so I enjoyed songs like 'Trout' and 'Three-Legged-Dog' even more this time round. Still, I was missing something, so I did what I was already going on about on the drive to Alphen.. I wanted to request the song "Skating".. luckily halfway during the set Jennifer looked around and asked for requests. This was my chance.. she suddenly looked me deeply into my eyes, once again getting me shy... I could only quickly react with calling out the song I wanted. That part of course was a fantastic experience since this is one of my favourite songs and the line "I was skating around when my ass hit the ground" is intensely funny! After the song was met with loud applause I literally received a few pats on the shoulder. A woman behind me with an american accent and sparkling eyes told me that she was very happy with my request, especially since she herself was always heaving trouble remembering songtitles. (and in fact I myself had gone through a lot of effort to remember this title, since I have the same problem). During LA101 the batteries of "Grizelda's" megaphone stopped working properly, and during this excellently distorted singing/speaking part, she almost couldn't keep herself from laughing. Half-laughing, lots of distortion and more giggles. In this fashion it's really nice to convey something gone wrong in a pleasant way. Inbetween songs she told us about how much she enjoyed our country, the concerts and the -to her- completely alien language. She did pick up a few words, most notably the thing she wound up developing a craze for, being 'stroopwafels' - Her accent even wasnt half bad, she pronounced it as "stroepwaffles". Obviously this inspired me to buy a few as a present for the last concert I was going to attend in "De Buurvrous[Richard van Oosterhout] Buurvrouw ". Sadly the setlist was a bit short this time, since after 75 minutes it was all over. It was nice to hear that the people we brought along with us had an excellent time and directly went out to look for the suitcase with the Barbies and the CD's. It was nice to attend the sunday matinee concert and, what's more, be home nicely on time so I had the entire evening to enjoy the good memory of that day. At the same time I was already working up an appetite for what was going to be the last show I could go to. It was going to be in the Amsterdam cafe 'De Buurvrouw' and it looked to me that it was going to be a good idea to get some days off and not have to put on the breaks and be home on time.. no, this time, mood permitting, I was going to be able to stay and get home really late. |
