HOLLAND REDUX - April 2001Thursday, April 26 10:40 PM
JFK airport--night flight to Amsterdam. JFK feels like a third world
country--everywhere there is construction, a labyrinth of tunnels and
detours--names of foreign airlines you've never heard of that sound as if they
fly with the windows open and livestock wandering the aisles
Friday, April 27th
Jet lag recovery day--Spring has sprung but it is still chilly. Sat outside
for a coffee alongside a canal and watched the people parade. Picked up a few
Eddie Hinton CDs from the Backbeat Records store. Eddie was a
singer/guitarist from the Muscle Shoals, Alabama scene whose songs were
covered by Dusty Springfield, Aretha, Bobby Womack, etc. By the way, here is
the music I've been listening to the most this week: from the new U2 CD--"New
York" and "It's A Beautiful Day" from David Wilcox's most recent release--
"What You Whispered," "This Tattoo" and "Deeper Still."
My road manager calls and puts me on the list for Reverend Horton Heat at The
Paradiso tonight. I'm playing there Thursday night opening for Bill Wyman.
What a cool venue--used to be a church and you play with the big stained glass
windows behind you on stage.
Saturday, April 28
Slept most of the day. Afternoon breakfast pancakes at The Hans & Gretel
cafe. Beautiful big clouds/blue sky sunny day. Off to Groningen for the R&B
Night gig.
Groningen R&B Night at De Oosterpoort Big Hall with 4 stages--mostly Blues--the
other acts are Robben Ford, Poppa Chubby, Shemika Copeland...My guitar
pre-amp breaks down just s few minutes before showtime--puts me a bit on edge
and my guitar doesn't have as rich a sound without it. Always the first show
of a tour is a warm-up, though halfway in to my set I feel myself loosen up.
Nice crowd of new faces--they sing and clap along with "Just My Imagination".
That seems to have become the litmus test of audience friendliness.
set list:
1. Richie
2. Chain Link Fence
3. Nobody's Girl
4. Folksinger
5. I Love To Wake Up In New Orleans
6. Long Drag Off A Cigarette
7. Why's Your Skin So White
8. I Love To Watch A Woman Dance
9. Love Is A Ruthless Thing
10. Love Is Everything
11. Mercy, Pity, Peace & Love
12. Just My Imagination
Maybe the best part of touring is the late night talking in the van on the
drive home. I have a new road manager this time. We talk about men & women,
New York, the music biz, the history of The Netherlands (apparently in 1953 a
big dike gave way in the south of Holland flooding a large area killing many
people). How about this concept--the word apartheid is a Dutch word and the
Dutch along with the Portuguese were among the biggest traders of African
slaves to the good old USA so are they in some sideways fashion responsible
for Blues music for coming in to being?! Late night musings--The truck stops
here don't stay open all night--too bad because the coffee from the coin
operated machines is delicious.
Slept most of the day. Afternoon breakfast pancakes at The Hans & Gretel
cafe. Beautiful big clouds/blue sky sunny day. Off to Groningen for the R&B
Night gig.
Groningen R&B Night at De Oosterpoort Big Hall with 4 stages--mostly Blues--the
other acts are Robben Ford, Poppa Chubby, Shemika Copeland...My guitar
pre-amp breaks down just s few minutes before showtime--puts me a bit on edge
and my guitar doesn't have as rich a sound without it. Always the first show
of a tour is a warm-up, though halfway in to my set I feel myself loosen up.
Nice crowd of new faces--they sing and clap along with "Just My Imagination".
That seems to have become the litmus test of audience friendliness.
set list: 