DON'T FORGET THE WHISKEY TOUR

Ship Faced in Amsterdam

Melksweg Sugarfactory, Amsterdam - 20th November 2016

By Julie

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I arrive in Amsterdam late Saturday night – too late and too tired to do much of anything other than have a beer or two (or three).  Sunday is spent exploring (aka getting lost) in this crazy city.  I’m not a city girl, I’ll trade concrete for a dirt road any day. (Sorry!)  And even now I still have a twitch when crossing roads – keeping a wary eye out for bikes/scooters/trams/buses/cars.   I head back to our room to shower/change ready for the show.  Make sure I’ve got everything;  Tickets – check.  Cash – check. Drinking club tee – check.  I hop on a tram to get to the venue - and again get hopelessly lost.  Another tram and 3 pit stops later (to ask for directions) and I finally get there – and meet up with other Drinking Club members, all welcoming me with smiles & hugs.  And I get in line to wait (not so patiently) for the doors to open.

In line I get chatting with a couple of locals (I love that the Dutch mostly speak English!!)  They tell me they’d seen The Cadillac Three supporting Eric Church in Amsterdam, and were very excited when they found out they were now headlining.  They also tell me that it’s sold out – some of their friends weren’t able to get tickets.  I assure them they’re in for a treat (and told them all about the club, of course).  I was a little worried at first that they thought I was some crazy stalker fan girl (after all, I can rant on a bit, and who travels to a different country to see a band they saw only the previous week, right?) but the Levellers were playing just across the street that same night and a lot of their fans asked who we were seeing - and all of us (locals included) started raving about TC3.  (The Levellers fans had never heard of them – but they have now!)  So I realised that we were all like-minded and it was gonna be a good crowd.  

They finally opened the doors, and we all filter our way in.  Apparently it’s obligatory to check coats, so after a slight hiatus, enter the room.  And it’s tiny – yaaayyy!! I make my way to the front but other club members have beaten me to it – fair enough, they did get in line before me.  But hey, 2nd row and close enough!

First up, Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown.  After seeing them the previous week, I thought I knew what to expect.  But I was wrong – I don’t know if it was the smaller venue, smaller stage or the energy of the place, but they were amazing.   I love watching the crowd’s reaction to a band – and this was very positive – I was blown away by how many appeared to know many of their songs and one particular person who sang every word to every one of their songs.  A true fan indeed.    A particularly memorable moment was when Caleb jumped off the stage to play drum in the front row.  Unexpected (I think for both crowd and band) and very entertaining!

So, their set ends to rapturous applause and we wait for the main attraction – a quick “comfort break” and then we didn’t have long to wait – the applause and cheers begin and the boys saunter on to the stage.  They look tired, but when Jaren starts singing the opening lines to  “Bury Me” you can feel the excitement building, and when that first crashing chord comes……ahhh, bliss!  And from that moment on, it’s my idea of heaven - when not “singing” along, I have the biggest grin on my face.  Apart from when Kelby does his solo -and then my jaw’s on the floor – amazing, amazing, amazing to actually see it as well as hear it.  I was mesmerised.  There were some sound problems during the set (Jaren’s mike cut out completely at one point, but hey, it’s a small venue and the crowd were singing along, so we all managed just fine!) But this seemed to frustrate Jaren somewhat (at one point, he shook his head as if in disbelief). However, it was soon resolved, with no apparent ill effects.

Since Neil has already supplied the set list to the club (thanks Neil!), I won’t bore you with repetition, except to say that it was the first time (that I’m aware of) that Ship Faced was played live on this tour This was initially prompted by an audience member yelling “SHIP FACED!!!” and the call was quickly taken up by others. Jaren said “OK, so you want Ship Faced” – the audience yelled their approval. With a quick confirming/conferring glance at Neil and Kelby, Ship Face began. An excited buzz went around the crowd “they’re doing Ship Faced!!” OK, so Jaren seemed to forget a couple of the words (and again seemed a little frustrated by that) but I think the boys seemed more surprised than us that it was requested and that they were singing it!! The only slight disappointment was that I think it replaced “Days of Gold” – and I just love “Days”. But I suppose something had gotta go!

With Neil’s relentless and enthusiastic drumming, he seems to burn through drumsticks and this night was no exception. So when one headed towards us, even though it didn’t quite make it as far as me, one of the other club members managed to get their paws on it. And then passed it to me! (Thank you Linzy!!)

The singing and dancing (in whatever form that may take!) continued. During “Soundtrack”, when Jaren starts the chorus and gets to “love the little hotties dancing like they’re on a mission” he points over at one of “our” girls at the front. I’d like to think it was aimed at all of us, but I suspect not (hey, a girl can dream, right?)

After Down to the River, (cue much more singing and stomping!) Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown returned to the stage for the “Honey Bee” encore as performed at other shows on the tour – but this time on a tiny stage!  I’m not sure how it accommodated them all and with Tyler’s enthusiasm with his guitar, I was a little worried that someone would get clouted with it!

Finishing up with White Lightning and The South, the audience was in full voice and then all too soon, the show was over. We filed outside and stood around chatting (with some a little more worse for wear than others – that’s birthdays for ya!). My old man surprised me by presenting me with a signed tour poster, (apparently they were brought to the merch table towards the end of the show just as he was passing – serendipity!) Naturally, I was a little (lot) excited and very pleased. Then someone spotted Neil and Jaren by the bus and dashes over (a “fan boy moment” according to their wife!) whilst I hang back a little having a “should I/shouldn’t I?” moment – for all of 10 seconds. Then I was over there like a shot! I grabbed hold of Neil first (I just can’t do handshakes after a show, I have to do hugs), grab a quick photo, and told him how much I’d enjoyed the show. He asked if we’d come from the UK just to see the show and when I told him we had, he said how cool it was that we’d done that and how much they appreciated it. I asked Neil, after working so hard and coming to the end of the tour, weren’t they tired? And when do they have a break? (My concerned “Auntie” moment!) He explained that they were getting tired, but that they’d had a couple of days in Amsterdam before the show to relax and recharge a little, but the end of the tour was in sight then they had a short while to relax at home before starting the Black Roses tour.

I then went over to Jaren, got my hug and started chatting, a similar conversation to the one I had with Neil. When I asked if he was tired, he said he was but then, with a concerned look on his face, asked if it showed on stage!! My reply? “Hell, no! I’m just worried that you’ll burn out” (concerned “Auntie” again – embarrassing!) I commented about the sound problems (reassuring him that it made no difference to me!) and he explained that on this leg of the tour, the sound equipment wasn’t theirs (it was hired) so it was a little frustrating for them. I reassured him that with the crowd singing and the size of the venue, I was sure it made no difference. He spotted my club tee and said “oh, you’re in the drinking club!?” I said “of course”. He too asked if we’d come from the UK. Another “of course” – his reply was “Awesome”! I commented that I’m sure most club members would love to be there, including Kay and Will and he said “oh, we love Kay, those guys are the best”!! I, of course, agreed. So I’m standing there with poster and drumstick in hand, and then asked him if he’d sign the poster (of course in my excitement, I’d forgotten to ask Neil to sign either the stick or poster and had forgotten the poster was already signed at this point). Jaren asked one of the crew for a pen, who points out to him that it’s already signed. But he then says “oh well, I’ll sign it again but this time with love”. And he does – it says “Love Jaren” lol. I say my thanks for a great show, grab a photo and start to say my goodbyes (others are waiting to get an impromptu M&G and you’ve just gotta share, right!?) but before I go, say “sorry, just gotta do it” grabbed hold of him and planted a kiss on his cheek (he seemed very surprised!). Sadly, Kelby didn’t get off the bus at all during this time lol.

I spend a little more time chatting with folks (and repping the club to non club members!)  By this time, we’ve lost other Drinking Club members (and don’t want the night to end), so we head to the local bar down the road to try and catch up with them. En route we bump into Tyler Bryant, so had a quick chat with him telling him how much we enjoyed the show, with him commenting how much they’d enjoyed touring with the boys.  Then on to the bar, where I go inside to see if I can see anyone – I can’t see anyone but the “rest stop” is welcome!  However, when I get back outside, I am informed that Neil, Jaren & Kelby (along with crew) have all walked by a few minutes previously.  So while I was “indisposed”, they’d all walked past.  Dammit!! I did have a slight urge to try and find where they’d gone to, but resisted (waaaay, too stalker!!)  So after a last drink, we head back to our rooms – slightly buzzed, but mostly buzzing from the whole night.  With my face fixed in the most idiotic grin.

So there it is.  This really isn’t a review, just my thoughts/feelings/observations of the night.  It was amazing!  And I’d do it again in a heartbeat!  I just love the smaller venues and as I’ve already said, I love watching the crowd watching the boys, but that’s even more fun when that crowd isn’t my “home” crowd!  And each time I see them I still have the same excited anticipation beforehand and still get the same buzz during and after the show.  Dunno what it is about them, but whatever it is, nothing gets me drunk like them (sorry!).

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