Turin Brakes are playing The Netherlands in October, we’re little over a month away till they play shows in Amsterdam, Den Bosch and a recently confirmed afternoon show in Nijmegen. In this blog – and the various that may follow – I’ll preview this weekend of craziness. And it’s gonna be crazy. Because I’ve got friends that will call me crazy for doing three Turin Brakes shows in a 28-hour-window. But that’s what I’ll be attempting and I’ve got other friends coming along for the ride.
The signs are right for this one: it’s three gigs in two days, but unlike the two Dutch shows in the Dark on Fire era they don’t involve me traveling 500 kilometers to see the band. And while I did three gigs in 2010 Outbursts, those were spread out from Tuesday to Sunday, so it felt a little less intense than it could have been…. Less intense than this. And after that Saturday and Sunday I’ve taken the Monday off to recover. So yes: the signs are right!
So Saturday 11 October will take me to the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, for a gig in the People’s Place. It’s a venue I know very little about, but apparently it’s rather fancy. I doubt we’ll need to suit up, but it’s gonna be a classy affair. Here’s hoping for a great Saturday night.
Then Sunday morning will involve travelling as we’ll go back to my hometown, Nijmegen, to see the band play an afternoon acoustic set in a former monastry. The monastry’s more sixties than saint-like, I’d say – but that makes it all the more special for a gig location and I can’t wait to hear the classic songs in this most intimate of surroundings.
Sunday night sees the closing of the weekend with a proper gig in proper regular style music venue, no fanciness or monastries here. It’s an old cigarettes factory in Den Bosch, but it has been used as a music venue since 1987. The venue has recently been refurbished, so to speak with new dressing rooms, entrance and various other new parts. So there’s life in this old factory yet. And it’s walking distance from the train station and city centre.
As for song choices? There are some We Were Here songs I’d like to, ehm, hear. Inbetween is top of my list, followed by Part of the World, which is my favourite melancholic song on the record. I really, really want to hear this one live. And besides that, I’d say a healthy mix of We Were Here and older songs will be awesome. I’m hoping for some surprises, there’s so many songs that haven’t been played for ages (as far as I know), like Balham to Brooklyn or some non-singles from the Ether Song era. Or maybe something new/old/weird? I’m expecting a big part of the set to be like the We Were Here UK tour last year, but that’s totally OK because I still love these songs – a lot… 🙂
All three gigs can (and probably will) have their own unique style and version of Turin Brakes playing. I’ve got friends coming along to every gig, and hopefully I’ll be joined by many familiar faces from the past (Dutch) gigs. We’re thinking about taking a camera on the road and filming the whole weekend so we’ll have a document of this fun, probably crazy, intense 28 hours and can share the weekend from a fan’s perspective.
For now though, all I can do is wait. In little over a month the first gig will be upon us. The signs seem right for these gigs. I’ve went to TB gigs in the UK thinking “I’m gonna do one gig this time, and really get into it.” And I did that. But this time it’s gonna be even better. It’s gonna be a weekend. There’s gonna be ups and downs, trains missed and meeting mix-ups. jokes and obsessing over details. But it’s gonna be one hell of a weekend. And I can’t really wait till it’s here.
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