Het Einde van de Wereld ( The End of the World :) and Groningen

I have played at a very special place, it's called 'Het Einde van de Wereld' , which means 'the end of the world'. It's a boat in the big river of Amsterdam.

All information you can find here: Einde van de Wereld

For this gig I took Frankie with me. First we had some good dinner and some drinks and when the boat was full of people I started to sing two Sandy Denny songs (Fotheringay and North Star).
People were eating and having fun toghether but some people were really listening to the music. After the first set  a young girl came to me and told me she recognized the Synesthetical song (RED) because she is also a synestheet. We have the same colour for Tuesday (yellow).
I was very surprised that two colleagues came over to listen; we all have had a long day at our school and so it was nice to have them here on a Friday-night in a totally other atmosphere.

Els and Marianne

We have played two sets and after the last set we had a good time together with our friends.

On the deck of "Het Einde van de Wereld"

GRONINGEN
I can't imagine I didn't tell anything about my gig in Groningen last month. Yes, I played in my city and it's been a long time ago I'd been there. I met my friends again and I am so happy that I will be back soon: I am going to play there March 16th in this very nice pub called "Marleen". And the great thing about this is that I will play again with great musicians like Manuel Remerie on guitar, Laura Iwema on violin and Eric Bosma on the bass.
I think this is a great combo. I took my daughter with me that night and When she was watching and listening to the music she told me she had never seen me so happy while I was on the stage.
Well, however, I have been playing with many good musicians, just think of Mick on bass, Dion on drums ( he's back in town right now! ) Francesco and Gareth, Arjen, JanPaul, Florian. I am happy that all these musicians feel what i am trying to say  and i know i always can count on them.
And to play with Frankie is always a pleasure, so I hope to meet you tomorrow at The End of the World....

Francesco and Gareth and me

With Manuel, Laura, Eric in Groningen

Schizophrenia in The Waterhole Amsterdam

Didn't expect to play there, but I sang Schizophrenia last night. This song is produced by Glenn Hayes.
I met Glenn at a jamsession in Lijn 10 in Amsterdam and we played together my songs. After a week he told me he couldn't get the song out of his mind and he really wanted to produce the song. He did a good job ! Listen to it right here:




If you suffer from Schizophrenia or you know people who suffer from this disease, read the autobiography from Elyn Saks or watch the movie a Beautiful Mind. In The Netherlands you can be member of Open Geest.

Glenn passed away last year, very suddenly, I didn't expect it at all, he died from cancer in a few months. He was a good musician and i would have loved working with him. RIP Glenn Hayes. 

live on IKON radio

Just at the moment I was going to  explain the kids of my groep 8 about topography of North Africa,  my phone rang. This happens rarely because usually my phone is off in the classroom,  but sometimes it happens and then my private conversations are always very interesting to listen to. So the whole class looked at me and listened expectantly when I answered the phone.  They heard me say: "Ehh, yes, sure, no, you don't disturb me at all, yes, I have time to talk to you..." (no idea to who I was talking) I paused for a moment and then  I was very surprised and asked: ". what... TONIGHT?"  The kids started to giggle because, of course, this had to be a  conversation with a GUY (how do kids always know? :)
When I hung up,  all the children cried  "And teacher, with whom you have a date tonight?"
And yes, I had a date! I was invited to play live on the radio that night!

After school I called my friend Auke and we went together to the central library of Amsterdam. The gig was very interesting. It was a live-recording on radio 5 by the IKON and there were some homeless people in the audience. They got their free coffee and tea and listened  for an hour to an interview and I played two of my songs.( I thought one of them was sleeping, but after the show he came to me and told me he liked the music.) It was a nice interview, by the way. Henriette Smit talked with Reint Jan Renes and he told that people might get 160 years old in the future. So what are we going to do with our lifes if we will get that old? Are we able to live togehter for at least 100 years with the same partner?
Anyway, it was a nice experience, although I had to cycle in a NONSTOP rain to get there.
When Auke and I arrived home late at night we had some good French fries with lots of mayonnaise from teh best chip shop of Amsterdam-Noord. I was really hungry. That's what I really am.

Cafe De Doelen in Amsterdam Centre

Café De Doelen is a nice pub in the centre of Amsterdam.
I played there a year ago just after Christmas and I liked  the atmosphere and the bartenders very much. Last night I played there a lot of my own songs but I started with folksongs which I used to sing in the streets.
I thought this cafe was  suitable for British/ American folk music so I sang  covers of Sandy Denny, Simon and Garfunkel and I also played some Leonard Cohen songs.
It was the first time I put this kind of music and my own songs together in one set. I played for almost 1,5 hours, I sang 22 songs and  I felt very comfortable. This gig reminded me of the years that I was busking. At these times I played at least two hours without a break. But I must get used to fingerpicking again, because then the folksongs sounds much better.
I was  happy that my friends Jan en Frits came to listen,  they helped me to manage the PA so that I had a really nice sound and I was very relaxed because there was also a very nice audience.

If you as a songwriter like to get a gig in café De Doelen they expect you to play from 8 pm - 9 pm and after that there is an open mic. (Every Sunday)

It was almost 10 pm when Etienne came by and so I sang a few more songs and then he finished the night with his Delta Blues. I plan to come back next year so that I got into a little tradition to play here 'round Christmas and New Years Eve :) 

Annette Vogel & Auke de Haan - Irish Girl in Paris

Last night I was host at the SWANnight (SongWriters AmsterdamNoord) and I played together with Auke on vibes! We played three songs and in the future we will do more gigs together.

Next gig together will be on januari 28th on a local radiostation ( omroep Zuidplas bij Taste of Music) !

By the way, tomorrownight i will play at Café De Doelen, I will play there some songs of Sandy Denny and Simon & Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen,  and of course my own songs at café De Doelen

Sandy Denny covers (incuding Who Knows/ Fotheringay/ Winterwinds /Late N...

DWAZE zaken !

Singersongwriters from Amsterdam and the rest of the world, you all should try to get a gig at restaurant Dwaze Zaken.
First: this restaurant is a really good restaurant, and second: the people who work there are very friendly. Third: it's a beautiful place and there's a very nice atmosphere with a friendly audience and fourth: the location is right in the middle of our  city Amsterdam.
When I arrived at 6 pm, a  girl offered me a drank and showed me the tabel which was reserved for musicians.
I was impressed by the walls and especially by the toilets, look at the pictures how great this is !

most beautiful women's toilet of the world

most beautiful men's toilet of the world

I did this gig together with Gareth Evans-Jones, he played on cajon and did the backing vocals. I felt very comfortable when we first had a good dinner. 

Gareth

Me, yeah

setlist

We had a pretty good sound, unfortunally my brand new guitar didn't work again,( third time I have to fix it but  now I will bring it back to the musicstore and ask for another!) and so I had to play on Gareth's guitar.

After me another Dutch songwriter - André van Egmond sang his songs, he brought a nice bass-player with him and I had a good time listening to his music. 

André van Egmond

medewerkers Dwaze Zaken

So thank you all for this nice concert, I hope I'll be back soon. 

 

christmas tree