TUES 9 NOVEMBER: PARADISO, AMSTERDAM
It’s a bright, cold day, which Marjan and I spend walking the canals in Amsterdam and gazing at the tall, tottering but so elegant buildings… Finally we all gather on the steps of the Paradiso for photos and a long, cold wait, to the amusement of stray band and crew members walking past. But it’s the penultimate show for us, and it’s Marjan and Evelien’s home gig, so it’s important we get a spot where we can see.
The Paradiso – as I may be the last to know – has been a famous rock venue since the mid-sixties, but before that was a church. A lovely building in the cultural quarter of the city, with an amazingly high stage, which still has the orginal stained glass windows glowing with a dim, eerie light behind it. and two rows of prettily carved wooden balconies all around the other three sides. Southside said he didn’t know why he had a new white shirt on – maybe because he was in church… and he sure put on a righteous show… Great mood, lots of requests played, lots of impro…
It started with just South and Bobby on stage doing Let It Be Me; this was dedicated, in response to a letter, to Melanie, for her birthday. “Her favourite song is Sandy – dream on.” Then the band come on and go into Passion Street, amended in the last verse to go “Saxophone screaming for the Mekveg” (the Mekveg being the Paradiso’s sister venue). We get a rare, on this tour, outing for This Time Baby’s Gone For Good (which sounds great); and in Talk To Me the full week’s pay (which looked about 5 Euros) was distributed first to Joey, then Muddy and then taken back, followed by a James Brown fall to the knees (“I’ll never do that again”). And then Bobby somehow turned it into a reggae tune.
Love On The Wrong Side started with a piano intro from Pete which had South announcing that his heart was broken: “It’s ugly in there” – opening shirt – “scars, Frankenstein rivets…” And Sinful got a new verse: “Sinful – that’s Bobby’s middle name… You may be on the road to ruin, but the Jukes are going down with you.” And was immediately followed by a great cover of Cream’s version of Rollin’ and Tumblin’, hooray!
Then more blues, with Living With The Blues, with a really lovely improvised bit at the end:
“You pour a little vodka in your coffee cup
It’s 6 am, you tell yourself it’s just to wake up
Next thing you know, as sure as you’re born
It’s 11am and the bottle’s half gone…
You’re only 19… She took your heart, your lower intestines, your bank account, your Toyota – and your future.” (And an amazing coda from Bobby, too).
All Night Long had a great harp/slide duet and a bit of Street Fighting Man; and we got Paris and Long Distance in response to requests; but a request for The Fever was deemed too early: “What, you wanna get it now, so you can go out to eat and just come back for the encores? Tough. I’m gonna play waltzes all night” – and, indeed, the next song turned out to be Tennessee Waltz. But then, right after this joking around, we got an absolutely magnificent Gladly Go Blind, with a great long song-story at the end, to which I fear I’ll not do justice: it went something like this:
“You’re walking.. her hand is in your hand, and your hand is in your pocket; you have a picture of her at 12 years old in a locket around your neck; she has your number on speed dial at number one; you have four numbers for her on speed dial on your phone: her home number, her work number, her cell phone and the special phone she has for when she gets lonely that she keeps under her pillow… and you’re walking the canals … and then – she sees an old boyfriend. And her hand is out of your hand and out of your pocket; she rips the locket from around your neck; she deletes all her numbers from your phone… That was in September/Now it’s November/But I’ve never lost my temper… Just want to see her one more time.”
Tired Skin was beautiful; and then Soozie came out on Sacrifice (“Soozie’s broken more hearts than Bobby’s broken strings”), so again we got great backing vocals, and also a terrific piano solo from Pete; and when we finally got The Fever, it was started a capella – the whole band and Soozie, sounded terrific; then Soozie joined in with the horn part on violin, and the audience was complimented on our “moon at night”: “I don’t get that in New Jersey.” Renée was also started with an a capella chorus, and included a little bit of Spanish Harlem, and the set ended, appropriately, with I Don’t Want To Go Home.
But the encores turned out a real pièce de résistance. First came a very special and beautiful version, in response to a request, of Without Love, played just by South, Bobby and the horns; then Working Too Hard, into which Bobby managed to insert some lyrics in Dutch. I’m told what he sang was “thank you” (though, of course, they could tell me anything…)
And then: Having A Party, during which, to the surprise of everyone, not least the young lady in question, Evelien got hauled up on stage. And it couldn’t happen to a more worthy fan – 18 years old, and she’s been a Jukesfan for ten years already, and she really lit up the stage. She danced with Southside, sang along with him, and then got taken over to be introduced to Bobby. “This is Bobby” (Evelien makes to say Hi and shake hands)… “Stay away from him! If you see him…. RUN!!!” – and she gets pushed back to the other side of the stage… It was lovely to see, and all agree that a Star is Born…
By then, the show had already overrun – another band was due on at 10.45 and it was already 11 – the lights came on, and the disco was playing, for about five minutes, but it was clear that no-one was leaving. So South and Bobby came back on and did Hearts Of Stone. And, oh, we did appreciate it.
A wonderful show, possibly the best of the tour – I’m so glad and grateful to have seen it.
