Cat Power – Paradiso, 2 July 2013

About 10 years ago I developed quite an obsession with Cat Power, a.k.a. Chan Marshall, and in particular her album You Are Free. By no means had I stumbled across a new breaking artist, this was already her 6th studio album, but this album opened up a new world of sounds to me.

Vampire Weekend – Heineken Music Hall, 19 November 2013

I once read (and it was on the internet, so it must be true) that the boys from Vampire Weekend come from a part of New York that was heavily impacted by the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Although it did not impact their families directly, a significant number of kids in their schools lost parents and relatives. With enough pain and darkness already around them, their music had been a conscious decision to bring some positivity and enjoyment back into the world around them.

Laura Veirs – Bitterzoet Amsterdam, 7 November 2013

A no frills show that was as professional as they come.

Having done two consecutive shows at the giant box that is the Heineken Music Hall, it was really nice to be back at Bitterzoet. A place where they serve their beer in a real glass and where, no matter how far back you stand, you could still throw that glass onto the stage, should you feel the urge.

Billy Bragg - Melkweg Amsterdam, 3 November 2013

So join the struggle while you may, The Revolution is just a Billy Bragg t-shirt away

De Wereld draait buiten festival, Westerpark 7 July 2013

Ok I don’t speak enough Dutch. Correct that any Dutch, but I do enjoy watching de Wereld draait door television program with my girlfriend and it is only one of a few that I do.

So when this show announced that it would be supporting a festival which included Vampire Weekend, at the park near my house, I jumped at the chance to go with both hands.

Bob Dylan – Heineken Music Hall, 30 October 2013

No reason to get excited, Bob he kindly spoke.

I have a feeling I was about as excited to go and see Bob Dylan as he was to be up on stage playing for me. That is to say, not a whole lot. I pretty much knew the songs he was going to play as he doesn’t change his set list much night to night. I knew some of the older songs wouldn’t really sound like they used to. And I knew he wasn’t one for crowd interaction or participation.

Imagine Dragons @ Melkweg, 2 November 201

Imagine if at every concert you could get to the bar with ease……

Alternative rock, or is it indie rock, it is hard to tell the difference I guess. But what I do know is that following the release of “Night Visions” in 2012 this band exploded onto the musical stratosphere and they may be here for a while to come yet.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – HMH, 4 November 2013.

We're one microscopic cog in his catastrophic plan, Designed and directed by his red right hand.

Would we be in for a performance from someone resembling a caged animal or would the evenings main performer be just exceedingly theatrical? And the answer was it would be both.