"I didn’t know I was this geeky until I discovered the online world through my office’s 2400 baud modem back in ’93." All Jazzed Out
North Sea Jazz was possibly the most frustrating concert experience I’ve ever had. I used to have nightmares just like it – me wanting to see gigs and getting lost and not being able to get in and being too short to see, etc. I found the building and its signage (Congresgebouw) utterly confusing. Twice I nearly panicked because I just couldn’t find my way out of a place. There weren’t any clear signs to the main exit either. I asked someone working there and they, again, pointed me the wrong way.
In the end I stuck with the largest hall, saw a tiny bit of Stanley Clarke (Ugh… not my thing.) and all of Macy Gray (who was good, but needs to lay off whatever she’s on and fucking sing instead of letting the band do all the work). Then I left.
10 Euro on food and drink, 16 on the train fare, 30 on taxi fare. What a waste. Next time I’ll go see jazz in a club where it belongs.
I think my expectations were highly romantic and unrealistic. Festivals, by their very nature, suck.
Comments (2)
It sounds like a real nightmare.
I too used to think festivals were not worth the time until I went to the Jazz & Heritage festival in New Orleans. One of my best music experiences ever (I’ve now been twice).
So I’d recommend that one. Amazing food, too.
I thought it was going to be intimate and old fashioned. Instead it was the same event factory that every Dutch festival has become. Organised to death. (Well, apart from the signage.)