Carré, Amsterdam, 7 Nov 2010

Very nice Eva! I still have to teach you the chair dance. It sounds like you are getting the hang of it though. Just remember to keep your elbows in so the people next don't get injured. 
George, you get dispensation. Grab every moment, all in due course.
Rick

Yeah Rick, I know, I remember your instructions
Too little practice in chair dancing and rocking chairs so far.
And I don't know whether I will ever come an expert.

That weekend was such a blast. 

This isn't really a show review and definitely not a set list more a kind of bluesrock travelogue but this seemed the best place for it.

I wasn't able to go out to Amsterdam until the morning of the show so I was up at 4a.m. to catch the flight from Heathrow. I arrived at my hotel in Amsterdam about midday and managed to meet up with Maggie, Lydia, Ian and Maxx (who were in the same hotel) for a spot of lunch. We then had a pleasant stroll round Amsterdam (man, it was cold - I should have taken my nice warm coat) and back to the hotel to put on our gigging shoes.

We had arranged to meet George and Cathy by the statue of Rembrandt in Rembrandtplein but, when we got there, there was no statue! A 'winter wonderland' had been constructed over most of the square and the statue was in the middle! No matter, we retired to a bar with a good view of the square and waited for them to arrive. Joanne Shaw Taylor (or her doppelgänger) walked past and ignored our screams of  “JOANNE!!!!!” but we did pick up Cathy, George, Bibi and Eva (blues sissi). Cathy proceeded to hand out Bona-Who? badges which we all proudly wore for the rest of the evening. Then we all trooped off to a kebab house to fuel up for the big show (nice falafel, even nicer hot chilli relish which warmed me up from the inside out).

So off we go to meet more Bonabuddies at the Magere Brug bar. I can't list everyone who was there but I managed to say hi to Leif and his nice parents (sorry I pronounced your name wrong Leif but, as you said, I'm in good company as Joe pronounced it the same way!) Georg (geko) and a few others. Amsterhammer managed to do a few magic tricks with tickets and I ended up with a seat in the 5th row stalls (huge thanks George). Then it was time to go down the road to the Carré.

What an impressive building. Maxx, Ian and I got a bit dislodged from everyone else but our travels around the Carré  led us to Martin (mbcl) and Joanne's rhythm section (Virgil and Gabriel) so we hung out with them until we had to take our seats. Well, if the Carré is impressive outside it's even more grand inside and it felt very special to be there. The forum seats that George has worked so hard to get were in a kind of block rather than one long row so we could all sit and chat until 2 Minutes to Midnight started belting out.

Show time. Eva has posted the set list (above) and it was the same as the one I saw in Folkestone a few weeks ago. That was a standing show and this was seated but I enjoyed each show just as much in it's own way. I deliberately tried not to take too many photos so I could sit back and enjoy the show to the full. Joe was on top form. Possibly the best I've ever heard him. The new set list flows from song to song. Rick was satisfyingly up in the mix (couldn't hear him so well at Folkestone) Carmine was stunning on bass especially the “duel” with Joe on Young Man Blues and Bogie was a monster on that drum kit. If I had to pick out a highlight it would be very hard because it was all so good but the new arrangement of The Great Flood is superb.

After it was all over we waited around for a while to try and catch Joe but it wasn't possible so we strolled back to Rembrandtplein to find a bar where we could finish off the night in style. Happily, Bogie joined us on the walk as his hotel was on the way.

We found a bar playing regular pop music. That is until George had a word with the barman and Sloe Gin came on turned up LOUD. A huge cheer came out from the assembled Bonamasses much to the mystification of the other people in the bar. Then Suzanne produced a copy of Ballad of John Henry which she had hoped to get signed for a friend and the bar kindly let us play it for the rest of the evening.

So now it was all over and next morning I made my way to the airport. I was in the departure hall and I thought “I recognise those two guys” and there they were - Carmine and Rick. Now, I have to explain, Cathy has been trying to encourage me since the RAH weekend to be less the reserved Brit and more the outgoing American. So, Cathy, you would have been proud of me as I went up and said “hi”. They really are nice guys aren't they? We had a brief chat about the show and they shook my hand and I went on my way. A little later I was at the departure gate and who should turn up? Not only Carmine and Rick but Joe and Bogie and some of the crew as well. I had a quick chat with Joe and he asked if the sound was OK in the stalls – hell yeah Joe!

And there I was on the flight home thinking about all the old and new Bonabuddies I'd had such a good time with, what a fantastic show I'd seen and how it was so cool to have Joe and band sitting right behind me on the plane. Magical really.

David has done such a great job of describing our Carre experience - but I'll share a few words too.

This was the first time Mrs Icon and I had seen a Joe show outside the UK, but It sure won't be the last. What do you call it?
A Bonaventure? Maybe a Bonareunion - so many familiar faces from the RAH gig and elsewhere, that seem so familar now - can it really only be 18 months ago? It was a Bonablast for sure!

And what a wonderfull city Amsterdam is - as long as you can avoid getting run over by trams or bicycles that is     So much to see and do - not your typical capital city - much more of a relaxed atmosphere.

I can now understand the comparisons between the Carre and the Royal Albert Hall - it is a similarly grand theatre with tiered seating and balconys, and a great deal of history. Not as big as the RAH, but you still get that feeling that you are somewhere special.

I will echo David's comments about the show - the band and crew were at the top of their game from the opening notes of Cradle Rock, until the last carpet was taken up    It really felt as if they wanted to end the European tour in style, and they pulled out all the stops. It's always hard to pick out highlights, but I'm with David - that "duel" between Joe and Carmine in "Young Man's Blues" really was spellbinding. Carmine was totally rippin' it up and Joe was loving it. Rick strutted his stuff on SILT - and as David said, was well up in the mix throughout. And Bogie - well I don't know how much Joe pays him, but whatever it is it's not enough!

A truly memorable weekend for us, spent in the company of good friends and aquaintances all with a common bond. What more could you want for? (A bang on the head maybe? But that's another story    - or a flight home with the band - even better  )

Bibi, and Eva, it was really nice meeting you for the first time - especially as we have other connections , Hope we get to see you again soon. Maybe we'll do Germany next time. Hugs to you both, and to Cathy, George, Maggie, Lydia, David, Suzanne and all the other Bonabuddies we had the pleasure of meeting in Amsterdam.

The next time can't be soon enough.

Ian

Very nice Bibi, great quality in HD and nice sound, and fantastic song!

The chairs were squeaking. That's the reason why my audio recording of Breda is poor.    But the audience is fun.
Amsterdam sounds better though there were other topics. At the Carré there was a family with 2 kids in front of me that should have been in bed instead of moving the chairs and asking silly questions. GRRRRRRRR !
Struggled this week with Audacity to cut the two recordings. I'm not a sound master! But now it's finished.
It's far away from CD quality but if someone wants to have a copy to remember one of the two gigs, let me know.
This offer is limited for the first 10. First come, first serve.

Of course you get one. Next weekend when you're coming to Germany for the Philip Sayce concert.
That'll be fun. 

Welcome in the Club, Hugo.
Hope that vid will make your day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q9aNXtI … ature=fvst