Peter pranced off into the cold morning air for a run. Jeff stayed quiet in the only single room in the shack. Bitter cold outside. Peter saw hail on his run. Remember that time I said spring has spring? Yeah. I take that back. Winter just walked into the room and slapped spring in the mouth... Hard; the ultimate weather mic drop.
You know how I know we are hardcore? Peter and I did our exercises in the chicken shack like a couple of gangsters. The place was tiny already and now you got the big guy and small man jumping around like a couple ninjas, not to mention the 6'4" Menace of Manchester cheering us on with his playlist while drinking a beer. It was quite a scene... The lady who owns the joint walked by at one point. Soon after he husband walked up and wanted to know when we were leaving. Coincidence? I think not.
Chris was flying back to Manchester from Amsterdam and I thought since we were heading that direction we could take him. That then morphed into "let's get lunch in Haarlem at Jopen Brewery" which isn't far from Schipol. We loaded out of the shack into the whip and cruised north.
During the drive, Chris taught us English slang; things like "slag" and "chavy" which means things that'll make your mom blush. Ps. If you call your mom a "chavy slag" you will burn in hell and I'll light the match.
Rolled into Haarlem around 1pm. The weather's attitude was improving but it was still sulking in the corner. When the sun popped out from behind a cloud you could almost sit outside. However, without direct sunlight it was pretty miserable. We opted for a bar seat and ordered up some of the freshest, tasty brews on the planet. Behold. Jopen.
Prost!
Jopen brews one of the tastiest IPAs on the planet. Suck it USA.
The smell in this cheese shop is what heaven smells like.
Said goodbye to Chris who hopped a short train to Schipol around 2pm. So good to have him around. (He made his flight by the way).
I wanted to pick up some Jopen bottles for the road and the bartender suggested a liquor store around the corner. We stocked up for the car bar and drove another 1.5 hrs east to Echten, our next venue. GPS sent us through Hilversum, off the main route due to traffic, and Peter and I jammed to tunes while Jeff slept in the backseat. Occasionally snorting in exclamation to a hilarious joke I told.
Pretty drive past flat lakes and small towns. Yes, all lakes are flat, but t feels different when u are at or below water level. It's more flat. Believe me.
We pulled up to Delia and Serge's house which is 15 minutes from the venue in Echten. They live in an old school house from 1896. Beautiful wood floors and tall Windows. Delia and Serge book and manage the shows at the venue Kleine Paradiso in Echten. Delia is a writer of erotic poetry and Serge works for Dutch television. Their house is very vibey and artsy with loads of music and cool art on the walls. We had a pasta dinner at their house with Delias daughter and then cruised over to the venue for 7pm. This space is very cool; an old church in the tiny village of Echten.
Just before the set.
By 8, the place was packed with 66 beautiful Dutch music fans which is basically capacity. A bunch of folks from our first time there in Nov '14. It felt very good in that room. Good vibes all around.
The show was really good I think. Despite some technical issues with the wireless system and my guitar, the show was great. At one point the guitar cut out completely (during Moving in slow motion) and we didn't skip a beat, just sang off mic until the guitar came back online and then we continued on the mics. It was almost like it was part of an act but intuitively we were all there.
I was interviewed by Dutch TV in the set break. Interested to see how that turns out. Ps. I don't speak Dutch. We did Free Falling and Bid You as an encore. Very special night. Good vibes all around.
Cruised back to Delia and Serge's place and chilled with a glass of Jopen beer in the living room with a nice fire in the wood stove. A fine end to another great night in Netherlands.
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