FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2001/AMSTERDAM -- This morning I took the high-speed (TGV) Thalys train from Paris to Amsterdam. First stop was the Rokerij coffeeshop on the Singel Canal, five minutes from Central Station.
The train ride was fine; I was seated with a bunch of French yuppies who were headed to Sin City for a wedding this weekend. Cute babes. Looked like a casting call for Loft Story.
When we rode past Den Haag I thought about that prick Milosevic cooling his heels in the old grey bar hotel. I hope he's joined soon by Osama Bin Liner, another world-class asshole. I think an appropriate punishment for him would be life without parole with Murphy Brown reruns running continuously in a loop on his TV.
As the steel rails carried me up to Stoners Disneyland I listened on my discperson to My Goal's Beyond, a superb early album by John McLaughlin; a live shot by Hank Williams III ("I'm gonna put the dick in Dixie and the cunt in country"); &, Widespread Panic, Oak Mountain, 07-29-01. Panic was supposed to be playing here on Sunday night, but the band canceled the Europe 2001 tour behind the September 11 attacks on the United States. A number of us Panic freeks will be meeting here this weekend anyway.
I picked up some Stardust & AK47 at the Rokerij & watched the world go by from their covered porch. Later I checked into my hotel, where I found my Deadhead friend Brigitte cleaning my room! I hadn't seen her in ages. We chatted while she made up my digs.
After unpacking my stuff, I hit the streets where I encountered a guy cleaning one of the pissoirs that Trey Anastasio cautioned us against during a memorable 1997 Phish rap at the Paradiso. In a hilarious reworking of Steve Miller's "Swing Town," Trey warned that going into the public urinals could lead you directly into canals populated by giant aquatic monsters. You know where you are. You're on the back of The Worm!
I phoned my pal Jimmy Mack, who lives just outside Amsterdam. We set a time to meet later that evening to hear live jazz at the Bimhuis.
It was a beautiful sunny afternoon. I embarked on a long stroll southbound alongside the Singel Canal, stopping in at the Grey Area for a bit of Grey Mist. I visited with Joey & Heidi, a couple of Americans who are boppin' around Europe for a couple of months. We checked out the Panic sticker in the front window.
My walk took me past Dutch Flowers, but I didn't stop. All the outdoor tables were full & outside is the only place I like to hang at that coffeeeshop.
I wound up at the Dampkring, where I acquired some Super Citral & chilled until I went to meet James.
On the Leidsestraat I window-shopped at the When Nature Calls smartshop. I decided to forego the acquisition of mycological delicacies at that time.
I met Jimmy in front of the Bulldog (a notorious tourist trap) on the Leidseplein, then we proceeded to the Bimhuis. On the Jonas Daniël Meijerplein we came upon the statue of de Dokwerker, which commemorates the dockworkers & tram personnel of Amsterdam who downed tools & took strike action against occupying German forces on February 21, 1941. Their strike was a response to the harsh treatment meted out to the Jewish population of the city.
At the Bimhuis Jimmy Mack & I exchanged CDRs we'd burned for each other & checked out Eric van der Westen's Quadrant, a hot jazz group that featured van der Westen on double bass, Mete Erker on tenor & soprano saxophones, Erwin Vann on tenor & soprano saxophones, Jeroen van Vliet on piano & Thorsten Grau on drums.
We had a fine time listening to these guys blow. They played all original material in a style that reminded me a bit of Henry Threadgill.
It certainly was great to spend a bit of q-time with Jimmy. We correspond frequently via electric mail, but rarely have an opportunity such as this to dig live music together. He's a super dude.
