Amsterdam ......

... lots of songs with "Amsterdam" in the title: the Jacques Brell tune that Bowie covered, or what about Mojo Nixon's "Amsterdam Dog Shit Blues' ?! ! ! We arrive after a short drive & check into a nice little b&b, actually right next door to the famous Quentin Hotel, an artist/musician freindly hotel that I have stayed in many times! Our hotel also has THE steepest staircases imaginable, just like the Quentin, which could be dangerous ! Chalkie has arranged with the lovely folks at The Paradiso (one of the most wonderful music venues in the entire world fyi) for us to store our equipment there while we cut loose & wreak havoc across Amsterdam on our day off ! I love Amsterdam ... I really love those little kiosks where you deposit some money & get a delicious hot snack from behind a mini-glass door... I am particulary fond of those little spicy minced beef pasties ... mmmm! Anyway, we eventually meet at the marvelously named Winand Fuckink, an establishment that has been making & serving liquers since the 1600's ... oh boy, it is phenonenal ! A strong liquer (& there are hundreds to chose from) is a mere 2.50 euro's, & washed down with a beer you still get change from a 5 euro note ! We can't drag ourselves away, & everybody has a nice warm buzz ... in fact Eddie comments that he feels like it's christmas day, which I must say I cannot disagree with ! We walk back & find another lovely cosy little bar, we drink some lovely local lager & it still feels like xmas morning !! Bliss !!! After a good nights sleep I do some great record shopping the following day, including Distortion Records, which I wholly recommend ... I found the rare 1979 diy-pressed Hardware ep (pre-Pigbag) for 2 euros & orig pressings of the first Radiators From Space & The Flys LP's for 8 euro's each .. not bad ! Anyway, over to the venue & it is the last gig of the tour ... boo !!! Everything is great.... lovely people again! And a great gig to finish on, lots of people, a great reaction ... what more can you ask for !! Woo hoo ... WE DID IT !!!!!!! PS I have also attatched a pic of The Lezerplien ( the main square in the center) on a Friday night ... it is MENTAL !!!! Ok, drive to Calais tomorrow, then ferry to Dover, then drive to London, then home !!! PHEW !!!!