Tails from the Road #7 - Sponsored by Digital Rodeo

Tails from The Road #7 – Sponsored by Digital Rodeo

I am going to have to include today’s Radio Show in this message. But I’ll begin with yesterday.

I was in The Hague (Den Hague) for a night and a wonderful show at Cafe Steils. The Hague, like a lot of European cities, was formed and seemed to have survived from the Cathedral outward. At the heart of every city that I have been to in Holland, and in most of Europe, the Cathedral is the focal point of the city. All else stems from it. It also seems to me that there is always construction going on when I get to the Cathedrals. DEN HAGUE was no exception.

Cathedral construction creates a real traffic problem in cities with tiny streets that all converge on it’s centre. Seriously, it is not a wonder why most people don’t drive….much less drive SUVs. Anything bigger than a matchbox on wheels is too big for the streets of Europe. Add in some construction on the local Cathedral and you’ve got gridlock. My next tour will be by bike!

I think that I digressed a bit….but you should have seen this traffic! Cafe Steils was fantastic and, for a Tuesday night, was packed. It’s a small Jazz, Blues, Roots, Acoustic music club about 200 yards off of the Centre Square in The Hague. I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with a singer/songwriter named John Carrie.

The night started out with a bunch of young drunks partying and dancing and taking stupid pictures and screaming at each other. It ended with a bunch of older drunks partying and dancing and having a generally good time. The smoking ban has taken hold of Holland and there are always groups of people outside of every pub, café and venue smoking and talking. Just like in San Francisco in 1999, they are all complaining about being forced to smoke outside and they huddle in groups and feverishly chug down their cigarettes as if their lives depended on it. I hate to mock the smokers, as I used to be one, but it really is funny how some one who is deliberately killing themselves and everyone around them, can complain about being forced to SPARE US YOUR MISSERY!

OK, back to the task at hand. Today I arrived in Amsterdam for a radio show on Oba Live Radio Amsterdam. The show was from 7-9pm and featured politics, culture and arts. I was the arts part, I guess. There were writers and journalists and activists and they seemed to be having a great time arguing about what ever it was that they were arguing about. I have no idea what any one said, but it seemed to get a bit heated towards the end. I think that it turned to politics and religion and we all know what can happen when you start to talk about those things in mixed company. I was happy just to be the little music guy in the corner to provide artistic relief from time to time.

I have no idea what tomorrow’s show will bring but I am back in the same building at a different time for a different program. If you ever get a chance to visit the Amsterdam Public Library, I strongly recommend that you do it. There is a fantastic café on the top floor that has a wonderful view of Amsterdam and the food is REALLY GOOD!

Let me take another opportunity to thank my wonderful sponsors Digital Rodeo. I hope that you get a chance to make your way to the Digital Rodeo site and see what a great thing that they started.

Chasing my tail on the Road!
Jon