Tag: Clyde McGee

On the road with Carrie Nation & the Speakeasy, a trilogy in one part | Live in Aarschot, Turnhout and Herselt.

She can write short form like a one part series too? Absolutely, I do whatever I damn well please! Though I must admit that this band most definitely deserves more parts than I can give them at this time. Envisioning a few hefty series in the near future, I swore to take off my journalist hat and just enjoy the music. Fat chance when the music is THIS GOOD. So I danced and didn’t write anything down. But the memory is enough to sustain at least one blog, with a solemn promise to do better the next time they wind up on our shores again.

It all started with a recommendation, as all good things tend to do these days. Since meeting Ann and Dev last year during the WhiskeyDick/James Hunnicutt tour (and many more thereafter), I’ve learned we are kindred spirits in our love of music. So when either of them tells me I NEED TO see X or Y, I know to listen. (Re: Shawn James!!!) So, no ifs or buts, I tentatively circled two possible dates in my calendar for this band I had yet to discover. 

SPOILER ALERT: One minute into show one and ‘tentatively’ became definitely and I added another in between.  

That fateful first performance was in the city of Aarschot, which had left me with a bad taste in the mouth after some regrettable life choices as a teen. (Read: awful techno parties where I felt so out of place, I turned to alcohol to get me through them. Which led to MORE regrettable choices, but I digress.) Aarschot however proved its worth, it turns out to have another side to it, full of dazzling music and wonderful people. 

  • Foto’s met dank aan Ronny Van Casteren


On a nice summer evening with just a sprinkling of rain, I arrive at the barn where over the course of the night, a lot of sweat was shed. A little bit of a bummer that the promised showers had made the actual circle outside a risky bet, after which the organisers decided to choose certainty in a roof over our heads. No matter, on with the show!

Foto met dank aan Ronny Van Casteren

With the first sounds emanating from the stage, my body starts involuntarily dancing. Limbs go this way and that and I lose myself completely in the music and barely notice the world around. Except for that band, their impossibly magnetic tunes that put some sort of spell over me. It had been a at least a year since my limbs had done their wacky waving inflatable arm flaily tube man thing but fuck me if the adrenaline from it didn’t render me incredibly ecstatic. 

Smiling and sweaty I start to stumble outside, but not before yelling at (and probably alarming) drummer Bryce who’s calmly gathering his things on stage. “HOLY FUCK MAN. I mean… HOLYYYYYY FUCK!’ I later catch up with him outside to let him know I am not a madwoman, I just get really REALLY excited sometimes.

Shiny happy Julie with the wonderful drummer man Bryce

Sometime after that, I regain my composure and connect with a few of the lovely people in the audience, new and old friends alike. I meet Carine and Gerrit, who’ve apparently unknowingly crossed my path a few times in the past already. I’m intensely moved by their story that led them to be here. Their son Jens was in a horrible motorcycle accident and passed away years earlier. To keep his memory alive, Carine and Gerrit decided to follow the music along the venues and artists their son had loved. 

Carine’s patched up vest, with a lot of names that ring a bell!

Much later, after most people have filed out, with the last hangers-on we set off into the night, for a good time that will lead us into the early hours.

Last ones standing!

Sidenote: Thanks to my unexpected and erratically uncoordinated dance moves, I managed to damage my body so badly, I could hardly get out of bed for two days after. This unfortunately meant I had to miss Angry Zeta who I’d enthusiastically planned to see the day after at Lou’s bar in Liege. Fortunately for me, I would get another chance, a night not easily forgotten, which will be immortalised after these ones here!

After having just gained back control over my limbs, I endanger my body some more by risking the dance inducing sorcery that is Carrie Nation once more. Hey, I’ll live while I’m alive and dance as long as I can stand up, right? This time I roll up in Turnhout, at the scenic site of Barzoen. 

In the middle of the terrace, wrapped around a huge tree, the striking (though apparently impractical) stage in the warm outside air, the location lends a distinctly different vibe to the show. Again I am completely enamoured and enraptured by that fun, frantic and full sound. 

Lastly I end up at Café Pallieter in Herselt for the first time ever, exactly a week before my Clyde & Luke tour-along would set off there. 

Another sidenote: I’ll find out later that these two had met Carrie Nation in the interval between the two Pallieter shows. Aside from that Kiel Grove (yet another one of Ann’s recommendations) sends me a message to say hi to his mates in Carrie Nation for him, much like James Hunnicutt & Joey Henry commented the same when I saw Kiel in Mechelen. And even though it’s my first time at the Pallieter, I already spot more than a few familiar faces here. The kindred spirits in music weave themselves into an ever growing net of kinship. Everything is interconnected, the purple string of music intertwining through my life and soul. Anyway, philosophical ruminations aside, back to the band at hand.

For the third and final time I see them, and I am again wholly bewildered by the way the instruments sing alongside the vocals in a harmony of their own. How seemingly effortlessly they all play off of each other, blending into a true feast for the senses. The force of that hoarse voice, the comfortable ease of Bryce’s drumming meshing with that deep bouncing bass and exhilarating brass. It’s a true speakeasy spectacular!

Special shout out to Tyler who not only switches seamlessly between his trombone and that divine mandolin, but plays them both so well and with so much soul and fervour you can not help but float away in mesmerised delight. The emphatic way the newest addition to the ranks, Eric McMyermick on harmonica completely loses himself in the music is truly captivating to behold.

So yeah, all of this to say I feel an instant love for this band with their killer instruments and overwhelming passion for playing them. The combination of the trombone, trumpet, harmonica, the essential standing bass and most alluring mandolin, topped by a guitarist with an unparalleled voice, makes it a ridiculously pleasurable performance. All of these instruments and vocal cords, attacked by musicians with ferocious fire fuelling through their veins. Sparks shooting from their eyes, while basking in the moment of their music. All of this of course mirrored by the crowd in front of the stage who’re left gobsmacked and delirious from the ride.

Next time they’re in my part of the world, I’ll be there for another tour-along and subsequent superlative filled series. You can bet on that!

CARRIE NATION & THE SPEAKEASY LIVE, JUNE 2024

  • Circle of Strings – Aarschot – June 22nd 2024
  • Barzoen – Turnhout – June 26th 2024
  • Palieter – Herselt – June 27th 2024

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Luke, me and Mister McGee. Tour-along journal, a trilogy in five parts. | Part 5: Apotheosis at Brakrock /AND/ Back to Brak: A continued love song to my favourite festival | Part 1: Bridge City Sinners

Tying up one series and starting on the next, this post is a double whammy! After seeing the guys solo four times, I get to see them in action with the incomparable Bridge City Sinners at my beloved Brakrock. The purple thread of music keeps stringing me along and tying up all the threads into a glorious amalgamation of sound, people and places. Prepare for the final instalment of my tour-along journal which is also part 1 of the 2024 edition of my love song to Brakrock. 

I have been counting the months, weeks, days and minutes in eager anticipation to this moment in time! My first Brakrock day starts off at the River stage where I am anxiously awaiting Bridge City Sinners to take the stage. During their soundcheck I can already feel my heart rate spiking (144 bpm and counting!) for the show I’ve been looking forward to the most on day one of the 2024 edition of Brakrock. The best festival in all of Flanders, shaded by foliage, filled to the brim with beautiful people and with a picturesque ruin as a backdrop. I AM HERE FOR IT. 

  • Photo courtesy of Peter Verstraeten of Event Photography Peter
  • Photo courtesy of Peter Verstraeten of Event Photography Peter

Time to fawn over those magnificent musical instruments as they get tuned up to perfection. Strang’s gorgeous guitar (HEARTS!) Libby’s cute pocket banjolele & Clyde’s big black one and that stand out stand up bass, plus the fiddle and its stick that’s been played so hard it’s hanging on by a thread! Meanwhile, tour manager Joey is looking all serious and focused as fuck, making sure every little detail is put into place to perfection for his band, as is his modus operandi. 

When the soundcheck already has the crowd all riled up, you just know this promises to be a GOOD time! I might just be a little biased, but I note down that I truly don’t understand why they’re playing so early. I can confidently say this is going to be one of the best bits of Brakrock, before even having seen the rest of the bands. In hindsight too, I was totally fucking right in that assumption. Bridge City Sinners immediately take the crowd by storm! In saying that, I get the sudden realisation that programming them early on does get everyone fired up for the day and sets a high bar for all the bands to follow! Smart move Brakrock!

Having seen them just under a year ago at Trefpunt in Ghent I was at least a tiny bit better prepared for what I was about to witness. Still, memories are one thing, reality is another and I let out a shrill FUUUUUCK YES and a lot of WOOOOOO’s. (Apologies to the eardrums around me, I seriously cannot help myself.) I am in AWE and LOVE (exactly like last time) with Libby’s absolutely electric stage presence! One HELL of a voice too, which lends itself amazingly to the Sinners’ unique style. 

  • Photo courtesy of Peter Verstraeten of Event Photography Peter
  • Photo courtesy of Peter Verstraeten of Event Photography Peter
  • Photo courtesy of Peter Verstraeten of Event Photography Peter

It’s impossible to box them into one or even several genres of music, since nearly every song and album they bring out has a feel of its own. It’s what I adore most about them, the limitlessness of what they bring, from jazzy speakeasy sounds, to punk with hints of bluegrass, dark folk and much much more. 

My notes are again insufferably insufficient and damn near useless in describing in any way, shape or form how fucking fantastic I feel living in this moment, up close to this stage. The band is just such a well attuned entity, with one of a kind harmonious strengths that directly amplify each other. These five people radiating talent and passion for what they do, the sum of their individual skills heightening the whole. Their energies feed off of each other and flow into the crowd that just spews it right back at them, which makes Bridge City Sinners one of the best live bands you’ll ever experience. 

Bridge City Sinners’ new album ‘In the Age of Doubt’ has been out for a little over a month now and the response to it is phenomenal. They hit the Billboard charts full force and already amassed over 3 million streams on Spotify alone. No doubt a bunch of those can be attributed to me because I’ve been playing this record front to back ever since it came out. I vehemently recommend you to do the same.

Check out the first video for one of the most heart wrenching songs on the album. 

After unexpectedly acquiring a spiffy second hand record player at the end of July, I saw it as a sure sign that this album should be the first vinyl I’ve ever bought. No doubt starting a very expensive hobby my wallet, though never myself, might come to regret. 

As evidenced above, I might have yet again gone a little overboard at the merch table, but hey, at least it’s not another black band shirt, amirite? Plus it’s always worth it to support artists and get something tangible to catapult you back into those memories every time you come across it. 

In conclusion, whenever Clyde, Luke and any or all of the other Sinners cross the pond again, I will never not be front stage and centre. And you dear reader, will not be disappointed if you follow me there.

THE BRIDGE CITY SINNERS LIVE AT BRAKROCK,
August 2nd 2024

And so falls the curtain on this tour-along series which will from now on hold a special place in my core memories. However, it is just the start of the Brakrock 2024 series, which will be continued after I tie up a few loose ends of some events that transpired in July. Stay tuned!

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Luke, me and Mister McGee. Tour-along journal, a trilogy in five parts. | Part 4: Live @ ‘t Rozenknopje

Clyde and the Milltailers + Lightnin’ Luke | Sunday, July 14th 2024, Live @ ‘t Rozenknopje, Eindhoven (NL)

Part 1: De Pallieter
Part 2: The Black Flamingo
Part 3: Lou’s Bar

While waiting for the Liege show to start, I’d gotten an excited message from Jo who told me he had no choice but to get to Eindhoven a week later to hand over something Clyde had forgotten at The Flamingo. Me being the selfless soul I am, couldn’t let that poor man go all that way alone, so I made a note to tag along. Time for the fourth and unexpected part of my Clydetinerary! Plus a swift change to the title of this blog, turning it into a trilogy in five parts, inspired by the great Douglas Adams. 

After a gruelling week’s wait, made bearable by seeing Angry Zeta on Wednesday and Public Serpents (and friends) on Friday, I get into the car for the third gas guzzling trip that week. After a chill drive, loudly singing along to the Milltailers blaring out the window, I arrive at the canal of Eindhoven. With a refreshing wind in my hair and the sun on my happy face, I walk the scenic route into the city. On the way there, I run into Clyde and Dede, and follow them for an invigorating coffee. We rush back just in time to meet up with Jo and Luke, who’s about to start the night off. 

Set the scene: ‘t Rozenknopje has a unique speakeasy vibe, which will lend itself perfectly for what is soon to unfold on stage. We’re catapulted back through the decades by way of the decor of sparkling art deco lamps and red velvet curtains. A terrific backdrop for another night of dreamily feeling the music energise me after a fulfilling but fatiguing week.

Part 3.1 | Lightnin’ Luke ⚡️

The captive audience fades to the background as I dreamily float away into the warm embrace of the music. It won’t surprise you that in being so blindly transfixed at what is transpiring on stage, the illegibility of my notes reaches its peak form. I do try to write down the lyrics to what I’ve decided should be my new theme song. Throughout the red threads that guided me to this moment, I feel so connected with those words. Sadly, it has not yet been recorded so I’ll have to make due for now with the video I made in Liege.

What fortunate folk we are, when after a while of familiar guitar sounds, Luke directs his attention to the piano on stage.

Through his wandering hands on the keys, he amplifies that speakeasy vibe some more with the first song he bangs out. The second song played for his friend brings with it a more delicate atmosphere washing over us all. 

After a mid-song switch back to that gorgeous guitar, it’s already time to eagerly await part two of the night. While I’m frantically scribbling down some more illegible nonsense, Jo comments that his setup at The Black Flamingo could use a set of keys. I delightedly offer up my barely used keyboard. I can only imagine the wondrous music it will be playing, after being sorely silent due to my inability to teach myself to play it.

Out to the terrace we go for a brief reprieve between sets. After a very animated conversation with Dede about our mutual love of toys, soft comfort plushies and graphic novels whose protagonists seem eerily familiar, we head on back inside. We regretfully barge in during the first song, so I miss my chance of recording one of my favourites off the album that’s been on repeat in the car. (Which Side are you on, in case you were wondering.)

Part 4.2 | Clyde and the Milltailers

(Excuse this horrible excuse for a picture, to focused to focus.)

It’s Clyde’s time to break a string on impact. But the switch out is barely noticed by the crowd. It’s surprising to me that it’s the first one I see faltering under the pressure of him attacking those strings with a loving vengeance. Luke’s bow is also hanging on by a thread by now from all the furious fiddling. Behind them on the velvet curtains, I notice their shadows poetically playing out a silent backing to that full and fierce sound.

Hearing Clyde sing reminds me about what he’d told me earlier. Apparently Sean K. Preston called his voice arresting, a very apt description that I might not have managed to convey. It saves me having to come up with more superlative adjectives of my own. Meanwhile, the perfect harmony of the lower resonator chords from Clyde, meshing with the higher tones of the violin strikes me hard again. My head fills up more with every passing minute and I put my notes and phone aside to just revel in the music. After the best acoustic encore of my tour-along, with the crowd fervently stomping out the beat, the performance part of the day draws to a close. (Or does it?)

Off we go to explore the hidden pleasures of Eindhoven, Belgian beers in hand. We cannot pass up the opportunity to take out some ‘kroket uit de muur’, as it’s a rite of passage for anyone coming to the Netherlands from abroad. We pair it with some actual Dutch beers, to go with the cheesy palette. 

The night eventually leads us to a karaoke bar where the patrons are floored by the musical talent of Clyde and Luke. Special mention to Dede, whose seductive and gloriously passionate act gave them even more fuel to remember this serendipitous passing. 

And with this unexpected ending, the curtains drop on the first four follows in the tour-along series. Next up, it’s time for the last instalment of this five part trilogy, when the guys meet up with the rest of the Bridge City Sinners (and Joey Steel, hooray!) for their 2024 European holiday.  

Que me counting the days until they arrive at the long awaited day one of Brakrock. Meanwhile, I have some more stories of this and the last year to type out. No rest for the wicked!

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Luke, me and Mister McGee. Tour-along journal, a trilogy in five parts. | Part 3: Live @ Lou’s Bar

Clyde and the Milltailers + Lightnin’ Luke | Sunday, July 7th 2024, Live @ Lou’s Bar, Liege.

Part 1: De Pallieter
Part 2: The Black Flamingo

After a nice and surprisingly relaxing drive, I arrive way ahead of time in Liege. I find a spot on the terrace in full view of this quaint and lived through venue. Time to catch up on some writing, beginning with the first part of this tour-along series. I pick up my pen and scribble away. I get a good few paragraphs in, when after some time the guys (and gal, hi Dede!) arrive.

I follow them inside and quickly claim the best spot in the house, hanging at the bar. In retrospect and as evidenced by my videos, it might not have been, with all the passing foot traffic. Not to worry, I still have a (somewhat) first row view to be all up in the music, plus some easy access to the local beers. (Which earn me a dive bar achievement on Untappd. Winning!) Luke joins me, getting between me and a somewhat inebriated man who was edging a little too close for comfort. He regales me with the tales of the crazy campfire antics I’d sadly missed the night before at The Black Flamingo and other tour shenanigans.

Part 3.1 | Lightnin’ Luke ⚡️

Time to hit the stage though! Even though his voice immediately fills the room, I get annoyed by a few people having a very loud conversation near me. I’m trying really hard to suppress the urge to shut them up by trying to convey that message, sending them a few lightning looks with my eyes. (Literal translation from the Flemish dialect ‘bliksemen’ with the eyes, meaning sending angry looks.)

I’ve finally had enough and approach them, because Luke & the fans who drove two hours to see him deserve better than this. I ask them to take their lively conversation outside, a message they don’t necessarily take kindly, but at least they lower the volume just a tad. After having shushed (at least a little bit) of the background noise, I can enjoy the show as intended. 

Not for the first time, I note that Luke’s footwork is as much part of it all as the voice and strings are. The stomping of his red Portland cowboy boots brings the extra rhythm to the sound. Time to close my eyes and let my ears take over, feeling the music coursing through my body. The crowd, even though more numerous than the last gigs, is way less participatory, so I raise my voice and sing along loudly and proudly. (And sometimes I sing them wrong, but nevertheless strong!)

I get utterly captivated again by the set, from the foot-stomping frenzy of 44 Blues and One Night, the sensual sound of I Want to be Seduced all the way over to the merry yodelling. My only complaint about it is that this set is just too short. Luckily the night is not near over yet!

Part 3.2 | Clyde and the Milltailers

Clyde sets the scene for some real audience love with a nice and firm ‘Fuck off if you don’t want to hear the music and make some space so the ones that do want to listen can come closer.’ Good news for the people who had to look on from outside after driving a long way to see these guys in action. HOORAY! The bar promptly gets more crowded with people thoroughly enjoying the night.

The Milltailers in the form of Clyde and Luke set off with a bang. Now there’s two sets of feet skilfully stomping out the beat. The small but clever, adjustable and removable wooden podium lends itself perfectly for it. Plus it has beer holders so the nectar of the gods (grosse bieres!) can’t spill over the equipment. Smart! Meanwhile it’s time for that magnificent banjo to come out and play, with Luke expertly fingering that fiddle alongside it. 

The problem with writing up all these shows is that I run out of ways to say just how gratifying it is to see them in action. Let me just assure you that it does not compare to hearing the recordings, it’s infinitely more pleasurable to see them give their all on stage. Fill in your own EXPLETIVES and SUPERLATIVES along the way. I see happy dancing and merry singing all around. The atmosphere is improving fast with each song they belt out into the bar. Even though it’s completely different from the last two more intimate sessions I saw, I am fully loving the vibe right now. A quick shout out by the way to the magnificent bartenders working their asses off to keep this crowd hydrated!

A cute doggo walks in and doesn’t know what the fuck is going on. His wagging tail and big smile do show that he’s enjoying it as much as we all are. Another animal (See: Caramel the kitty queen of The Flamingo) approval for the band!

All good things must come to an end however, as Clyde & Luke hit the floor for a well deserved and appreciated acoustic encore. This might just be the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off. 

Time to head outside and revel at how lucky I am to be able to experience all of this. Getting places, seeing familiar and new faces, it’ll never get old! Outside, I get to talking to some local music lovers out here to enjoy the artists. One of them is Mikael, who doesn’t hesitate to give me a little musical history about this place and the wonderful people that have graced the stage here. He’d also joyously revelled in the performances this night and I leave him to keep chatting with his mates about all things music. Here’s me telling you to check out his band Comity Roots Reggae as well!

I’m enjoying the summery (sort of) sun when Luke lures me back in with the ominous promise of shots. Afterward, we join Clyde and Dede for some delicious Italian food. (Hold the capers, please.) When in Liege I recommend Alla-Grappa Pizza, I will definitely remember to stop by there the next time I’m coming to Lou’s Bar.

With blissfully filled stomachs, it’s time to clear out and head off from dusk until the early hours wherein  I provide a skillful (Author’s note: LIES!) tour of the city of Liege. End of verse three.

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Luke, me and Mister McGee makes three. Tour-along journal, a trilogy in five parts.|Part 2: Live @ The Black Flamingo

Clyde and the Milltailers + Lightnin’ Luke | Saturday, July 6th 2024, Live @ The Black Flamingo, Nijlen

Part one can be found here!

After a month long and frankly well deserved break for The Black Flamingo, I finally get to go back to my happy place! Not for just any gig, but for the one I have been looking forward to ALL DAMN YEAR. It’s no surprise then I am in the best of spirits driving onto the yellow sand road with the windows down and Clyde and the Milltailers blasting from my speakers. Such a happy homecoming it is, with hugs all around and happy loving faces embracing me to the fullest. 

Because I am already prepared to lose my shit after the show, I quickly round up the guys for a pre-show selfie to seal the deal for this here blog. I got there way too early in my giddy anticipation, but that just leaves more time to catch up with all my purple Flamingo people and my lovely little Caramel who I’ve sorely missed. 

Part 2.1 | Lightnin’ Luke ⚡️

I see Luke set up on the brand new expanded stage and I plop myself down on the best seat in the house, right in front of the stage. From the first strum of the chord, I’m already nearly in tears from how good it feels to be here, in this moment, and get to see this extraordinary talent behind that guitar for the second (but not last) time this week.

I am again amazed at that voice full of passion and that ear piercing beautiful guitar sound that fills this barn I so love. How lucky we are to be in this wondrous space and have those sounds flow through us. 

There’s just so much soul and so much feeling radiating all through that performance. It’s hitting me in ALL the feels and I am on cloud (ninety)nine enjoying every millisecond of all of this.The set is more intimate, with a few breathtaking ballads that leave me speechless. Those lyrics are so impossibly fragile and lived through. This is not just a man with a bewildering voice and talent for playing, but a storyteller who takes you into his worlds and shows you all around the life he’s lived. 

Picture courtesy of the wonderful Tatjana Knoll

When Luke utters the words “What a magical place to be, with 2 rainbows outside and 15 rainbows within”, he is not kidding. Another synchronicitous link to 2023 when rainbows were part of the musical path I stumbled onto as well.

Meanwhile the love is shining off the stage and is mirrored right back at him. Another string can’t handle all the pressure and breaks at exactly the same song as it did in de Pallieter. 

With Clyde’s resonator at hand, Luke tries to teach us all the basics of yodeling (jazz hands included) so we can be his back up band. He tells us how he found his way to write and perform his own music, with people left and right telling him he can’t do what he’s trying to accomplish. Luckily he didn’t listen to a word they said and just kept on keeping on so we can rejoice in all that encompasses this Lightnin’ of an artist. I thought the gig at de Pallieter was the best thing I had seen all year, but this session even tops all that. (Though I have to admit  my deep rooted love for this venue might make me just tad bit biased.)

Part 2.2 | Clyde and the Milltailers

After this performance, everyone needs a little time to process it all, but the guys don’t leave us much to recuperate. Who cares, because this combo is pure heaven and that fiddle is life and seeps into my soul. Again I note how they are so well tuned to each other and how effortlessly they seem to play together.

At this point my notes get completely illegible because I am writing without looking away from the stage. After those few unreadable words, I just stop writing anything down full stop. My brain is melting and I just cannot convey the way all of this is weaving its way into my core. The English language has such a broad vocabulary but I am sure there are not enough superlatives and expletives for what is unfolding in front of me. 

From this point on, I will let the music speak for itself and just add in a the last of the many videos I made. They will speak in volumes as to why I am so astoundingly grateful for the life I am living at this moment in time. Decide for yourselves if I am overreacting or not.

Just one more restful night before I get to do this all over, this time at Lou’s bar in Liege, another place I’ve been wanting to visit for ages. Living life in the fast lane is getting pretty exhausting, but oh so thrillingly rewarding. I can feel the energy soaring through my body and am making memories I won’t forget in a hurry. See you for part three!

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Luke, me and Mister McGee makes three. Tour-along journal, a trilogy in five parts. | Part 1: Live @ Pallieter De Café

Clyde and the Milltailers + Lightnin’ Luke | Thursday, July 4th 2024, Live @ De Pallieter Café, Herselt.

Because of my newfound love of the instrument, I dubbed 2023 the year of the banjo. In november, I declared 2024 would be the year of the violin, ever since Jo had given me the amazing news that Clyde McGee and Lightnin’ Luke would grace the stage of The Black Flamingo. As soon as the EU dates were announced I made my itinerary, from Herselt to Nijlen with a scenic trip to Liège and ending my tour-along in Eindhoven. 

I counted the months until at last it was July. Fitting that 2023 and 2024 should collide in such a masterful way, smack dab in the middle of the year. As some of you might remember, I credit Peter Bernhard & Flamingo Jo for the resurgence of this blog. On day two of following Pete, he brought Clyde McGee along for the ride. At that point I could only spare a few words for this fantastic artist, but I had promised to make it up to him. Later that year, I got to see him and Lightnin’ Luke shine as part of The Bridge City Sinners and made good on that promise. 

New year, new tour so prepare for a stream of words to describe the incredible experience I’ve lived through over the past weeks. Here I am in Liége, in the nice Sunday afternoon air and in full view of Lou’s bar. It’s the third stop on the route of Polexia Miller, self styled band-aid and reporter, where I take some pre-show time to start the writing process of Clyde and Luke’s first stop at Pallieter Café.

It was my second visit to the venue in two weeks. Last time I was here, new discovery Carrie Nation blew the roof off the joint! (Thank you Ann and Dev for the recommendation, as always.) More on that tour-along later, because second things first as I always say! Alrighty then, I arrived just in time for Lightnin’ Luke to kick off my leg of the EU tour-along. What a great spot, nice atmosphere and I am already surrounded by a few familiar faces. Just the way I like it!  

A few excited hello’s to both Clyde and Luke and immediately I start gushing about Luke’s beautiful guitar I spot on stage. Clyde tells me to just wait until I hear it play and he was NOT kidding. After the show, I obviously gush some more to the man himself and he tells me that he picked up that guitar by chance. He was going to join The Coffin Cats on tour, needed some strings and just bought the first and cheapest model he could find. At the end of the tour he decided that this one sounded way better than his nice one at home, kept it and sold the other one. 

Part 1.1 | Lightnin’ Luke ⚡️

The guitar may not have cost a fortune but that sound is solid as all hell. The strings aren’t though, one breaks almost straight off from the sheer conviction with which Luke starts his set. Not to worry, Clyde to the rescue by way of his own beauty of a resonator and expertise of quickly changing the string between songs. On with the show!

From the first note that Luke belts out, me and by extension everyone around is completely captivated. His voice is on another level, it fills the room, as if it’s an entity in its own right. I am completely overwhelmed at the intensity and the masterful music that spills into the crowd. 

Time seems to be standing still and we’re all in a perfect bubble of pure bliss that only a rare breed of musicians seem to be able to create. Luke dares mention at some point that his performance has set the bar low for what we’re about to see with Clyde and the Milltailers. Well, if this is the lower end, I can’t imagine what it would take to get to the higher one. It seems like it is the curse of the best musicians, that they seem to have no concept of just how fucking amazing they are. 

Even though I used a lot of them already, my notes state that no words can describe this. I already thought The Sinners were mind blowing, but this stripped down performance is even more gripping. Check out this song Luke wrote for The Bridge City Sinners. (And tell them as requested he did it better when you see them, at Brakrock 2024 for instance!) 

Part 1.2 | Clyde and the Milltailers

After this set that seemed to only cover one magical minute, we say goodbye for now to Luke, as the stage is set for him & Clyde in Milltailers form. First, a word on Big Bull who sadly had to cancel his appearance as standing bass in what would have been a Milltailer trio. He unfortunately broke his arm, and by this his livelihood and had to cancel. Please support him any way you can and wish him the speediest of recoveries! We missed him, but he was here in spirit, just to the right of the stage.

Clyde and the Milltailers - Lightnin' Luke and Clyde McGee

On with the show though, there is so much to tell I don’t even know where to begin. Let’s just say the notes I wrote came with a LOT of exclamation marks. A small summary of the most note-worthy:

  • Whaaaaassss!!!!
  • That combo!!!
  • So hard to stop recording because omg aaah, see long vid.
  • Everything is goooooold!!!
The long vid as mentioned above.

I also wrote down that it is HANDS DOWN the best thing I have seen all year. And if you check my Instagram reel history, you KNOW I ain’t saying this lightly. Again I note how absolutely gorgeous Clyde’s resonator is, and make an extra note for the new full black banjo which looks incredible as well. As I have already told you last year, Clyde’s voice is a force to be reckoned with. What an astounding talent this man possesses, both on strings, as on vocal cords and he obviously exists by way of his passion for the music. He has been touring non stop it seems, and it shows in an artistry well honed over the years. 

The combination of these men on stage is nothing short of divine, in the spirit of music as a religion. Their intensity of playing, singing and how well their voices & instruments blend is awe inspiring. They mesh so bewitchingly well, that I am just gobsmacked and so glad I get to experience this and document it for future generations. Plus, I have three more shows where I get to relive all this again and again and again. I feel like the luckiest person alive.

Not much more gets written down after all of this because I literally lose all capacity to not stare open mouthed. After the set I just really have to sit down and take a breather. When I see Clyde and Luke come down, I only yell a bunch of expletives at them. Fuck Fuck Fuck. Holy shit. What the fuck. I mean, no but really. Seriously. I MEAN! Something like that, but louder and more out of breath.

A small surprise for me when I learn that we’re in for another band after ALL OF THIS. I feel bad because they have big shoes to fill after the room was awash with all this talent. Credit where credit is due however, The Achievers nailed it and kept everyone dancing until their last note. I don’t have any leftover superlatives however, so I will leave you with this live reel and the fact that they are on my radar now!

I drive home with the windows down, a ridiculous grin plastered all over my face and some newly purchased Clyde and the Milltailers music over the speakers. This is the life.

Two days after, I will see Clyde and Luke again at my home away from home, The Black Flamingo and you won’t be surprised to read that it was even more magical than this gig. To be continued in part 2!

Follow Lightnin’ Luke

Follow Clyde McGee (and the Milltailers)

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The Bridge City Sinners – Trefpunt Ghent

September 22nd had been excitedly marked in my calendar since April, when I saw Clyde McGee open for Pete Bernhard. As with Pete, I knew the band by music, but not the individual members, so I only found out Clyde was one of The Bridge City Sinners on that fateful day in Hulshout. He told me about the Sinners’ European tour in September and October and I was BEYOND stoked to see a Belgian date. I was even more thrilled to be able to share this experience with my newfound friends I’d acquired through the synchronicity of music since his solo performance. 

I was planning on taking an entire day to get ready, dolled up and taking my sweet time going to Ghent. Afterwards driving on to the Belgian coast for a much needed holiday. Alas, fate decided otherwise as an unforeseen and also unmissable event was planned on the same day. My stress level was through the roof in the weeks and days beforehand trying to get my head around a literal (no, really!) rollercoaster of a day into a night where I had to drive myself to a city I didn’t know very well. Let me tell ya, all that stress was so fucking unfounded, when I think back on it now it is almost amusing. 

The day of started earlier than usual and I faced fears I had talked myself into over the years. I used to be brave and fearless, but over the last years depression and battle with neurodivergence had made me small. Small and afraid of EVERYTHING. Doubting I could do ANYTHING. The day was a therapy group outing to an amusement park and to say I was DREADING all of it would be the understatement of the century. Luckily, therapy is teaching me how to face my fears head on. So I did. In line for the first roller coaster, I was hopping from one leg to another, thoughts racing this way and that. I eventually decided to just get over it and DO it, and got on the fucking roller coaster. It was scary at first, but then it was EXHILARATING! After that, I still felt a little trepidation getting on a new coaster, but by the end of the day I was unstoppable. I had faced my fears and WON, telling my brain to shut the fuck up and it actually shutting the fuck up. I had an AMAZING day and was living on adrenaline alone. 

In getting home, the adrenaline unfortunately wore off and I was tired from all the mental and physical gymnastics of the day. So getting ready for the show felt like I was moving in slow motion while getting anxious again for the drive through traffic and rain, on a road I was not familiar with, in a time frame that would mean I would almost definitely miss the opener. I was sad but resigned to the fact that I wouldn’t get the full experience of this night I had been looking forward to for almost 6 months. 

I managed to get my ass on the road eventually and powered through those fears to eventually arrive at my destination. In a daze, I hurriedly speed walked from my parking spot on the outskirts of Ghent to the venue, when I abruptly stopped in my tracks in awe of this quote on the building. Good thing I halted, because in my haste I had almost run past where I actually needed to be and made myself even later.

First I feel I need to emphasise what an AMAZING place Trefpunt is. As if I wasn’t sweaty enough already from the walk there, the indian-summer heat inside was enough to almost melt me away. So yeah, it was sweaty as fuck, punk as fuck but filled to the brim with a merry band of misfits that oozed Purple vibes. It felt like coming home to a room full of strangers. And then I spotted my musical friends I made this year and the last ounce of stress and self-doubt fell off of my sweaty shoulders. I HAD MADE IT!

I even made it in time for the opener Tuesday Violence and HOLY HELL I am so glad I did. A three headed band started during lockdown. You have Daveney, originally from the Netherlands but emigrated here 9 years ago, on drums & vocals. Bruxelloise Crystal is on organ (!) and vocals and Niels from Ghent is on guitar. The sound they produce together is almost indescribable. I wrote it up as incredible punk & roll but they describe it as primitive garage punk. Call it what you will, I will just refer to their sound as extraordinarily FANTASTIC. Crystal & Deveney’s voices were reminiscent of some of my favourite female punkers, like Brody Dalle & the ladies from Maid of Ace. The energy of their set was exhilarating and set the pace for the rest of the night. 

Crystal, Deveney and Niels + yours truly

Aside from being fired up on stage, they were super nice and kind off stage. I got to talking to Deveney & Crystal who told me all about how they started and the amazing backstory on that beautiful organ she was playing on stage. My reference to Maid of Ace (another experience I still have to write about) led to vague plans for a possible ALL FEMALE (and Niels) double bill of both Tuesday Violence & the Maids at the Black Flamingo! (Fingers crossed we can set this up for 2024.) 

In the meantime: check out Tuesday Violence newly released album!

Talking to these ladies was such intriguing fun, we almost missed the start of The Bridge City Sinners set! Time to run back in and claim a place for a piece of musical history Ghent will not soon forget. My lackadaisical approach to picture/video taking should tell you how good of a night it really was. These are meant as mere mementos more than actual good visual and/or auditory representation.

My notes start off with a simple OMG. Because Oh My unholy GOD, if I thought I already adored The Bridge City Sinners on record, it’s a WHOLE other thing seeing them live. I am staring at that stage in ABSOLUTE LOVE and AWE of the glorious mayhem of strings and vocals. The music feels so much more layered while seeing it live, because you can pick apart all the scrumptious little details. I made a video that gives only a vague idea about how epic of a performance it was. (Trust me, it does the evening NO justice at all, but it may give you a slight idea as to what you’ve missed.)

There is just so so much fucking talent on that ONE tiny stage! They all sing (and very well I might add), they all play multiple instruments which they casually switch during the set, like it’s nothing. From banjos to fiddles, from guitars to dobros; topped with a standing bass and a side of madness. 

Aside from the Sinners, they all have several other bands and solo projects going on. That’s the thing about good music. It’s not just a series of notes and words reiterated on a stage. Good musicians and bands LIVE for their music. They breathe the music like it is their oxygen, and every night they play, they exchange that life force with their audience. Only to get recharged night after night and in the meantime honing their skills and getting more extraordinary with every gig.

This is what is happening here, it’s a band of exceptionally talented and dedicated musicians who LOVE what they do and the people they do it with. Every one of them gets their chance to shine on stage, with the wonderful Libby as a master of ceremonies directing her friends to their own spotlight. My hazy notes tell me I was again very much impressed by Clyde’s voice and taken aback when he started grunting during one song. The banjolos (not one BUT AT LEAST TWO) were mentioned as well. I was also very impressed by Lightin’ Luke and his fiddlework and something else he was doing because I wrote down ‘The fuck is he playing? Woap wap?’. Alas, I have no clue what I am referencing here, but all of these weird obscure scribblings just prove it was such a good show, I lost all sense of making sense. And that’s the way I like it.

My notes do however mention my admiration of Joey Steel, who acts as the tour manager for The Sinners’ European Vacation. He’s running around before, during and after the gig, setting everything up so that the band can just focus on doing what they do best. Meanwhile, he still makes the time to greet me with a big hug, in between all his hauling around and setting up. Joey Steel, hardest working man in showbiz and still so fucking nice!💜 (We’ll even forgive him for turning on the venue’s lights for that one brief moment where he paused and leaned against the wall!) 

Near the end of their set, there is one special moment where Libby dedicates the following song to Tomas, their friend and the lead singer of Profane Sass who died on the road. The song was written for him, upon learning of his untimely death. The ways she talked about him and in reading up on him, it seems he was one of those one of a kind, magical people who radiated goodness and life force all around. He lived for the music and what that music could bring to people. I never knew him while he was alive, but it’s beautiful to see he’s still on the road, through his friends and touching people’s hearts. 

The set up until then had already been absolutely amazing, but this was a beautiful moment that put the cherry on top. A moment of musical synchronicity for me, especially when she sang the words “Out of the darkness and heading out to sea”. I reflected on my own journey out of the darkness surrounding death and my journey ahead to the sea. The lyrics would prove to be even more synchronicitous a few days later when I yelled them into the surf. It’s one of those moments I will never forget. A moment, a story, a song and a band etched onto my soul forever. 

The Bridge City Sinners probably don’t even fully know just how phenomenal and rare it is what they do, what they bring to their audience. If they do, it certainly doesn’t show in their attitudes because the Sinners I got to talk to are wonderfully down to earth. 

There are no accurate words to describe the atmosphere in that venue, which was bulging at the seams at this impossibly perfect event. The band said it themselves, this would probably be the last tour they’ll be able to play smaller and more intimate venues like Trefpunt. I am SO ecstatic I got to be there, to experience up close and personal the intoxicating chaos and fury with which the Sinners approach their live sets. 

After the show I still have a ways to go even though I wrote down that I am not sure just how my legs are still functional. I am completely running on fumes and adrenaline. I walk back to the car with Jo & Tiho through a calm and peaceful city and drive up to the coast where I still find a last mere ounce of fuel to unload all my shit. I then collapse onto the bed for a happy and well earned slumber, not yet fully aware of the catharsis I just experienced and the one that still lays ahead.

Follow The Bridge City Sinners

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Seaside musings, a coastal diary series. (Part TWO – Scene THREE)

Joey Clyde the crocodile, working on DownSideUp

THREE | Musical Synchronicity in Full Swing

PART TWO – SCENE THREE
Sunday, September 24th, 2023

FADE IN:
INT. FAMILY APARTMENT, NIEUWPOORT BELGIUM – MORNING

See me sitting at the computer, trusted cup of coffee at hand, clicking and typing industriously. I am finally getting around to updating my website, reworking the layout of the basic pages. I had been meaning to do this overhaul for a while now, but I kept postponing it because life was happening. I was also having too much fun documenting all of those happenings in the words you read on here. Which is perfectly fine. Live while I’m alive and sleep when I am dead and all that, as Bon Jovi used to sing. 

Today however, I do have a use for this restful Sunday. While the coastal town is busy bustling with activity, I am avoiding all that hustle by web designing with a view. It is nice to take a break for once. I’d been running on fumes for a while now, as I spoke about at length in the first part of this seaside series. But it wasn’t all stress and bad energy that left me in need of a break. After resurfacing from the dark abyss, I found the music again with Pete Bernhard at The Black Flamingo in March and I haven’t stopped seeing amazing shows (both large and small) since then. 

On my fathers birthday in April and the second show of Pete’s I saw, I decided to get DownSideUp going again. I will be eternally grateful to Jo because as I said before , he played an integral part in me firing this website up again. Me being my neurodivergent self, I needed this space back online as soon as I could. This meant not thinking too much about where I wanted to go with this, and just throwing something together to get to posting. I didn’t want to lose myself in my overly perfectionist former marketing & communications self, and lose the momentum of writing. I am so glad I told UX, SEO and all that jazz to fuck right off. 

But today, I carved out a bit of time to rework and translate. The design is still far from perfect, but from now on I live by the creed that done is always better than perfect. (And to be fair, perfection probably doesn’t even really exist, another man-made concept to steer clear of.) In any case, at least now the setup makes more sense and brings focus to what is the most important: THE WORDS! And seeing as how my bilingual narrator writes in both Dutch and English, I decided to translate the basic pages to the latter language. Most Flemish and Dutch people understand English anyway and I’m making international friends again who wouldn’t be able to understand the Dutch bits. So there, fixed(-ish). 

Hunger calls me back to reality and I venture out for some much needed carbs to accompany my lovely meaty treat I bought yesterday. Something pulls at my gut again and I step into a store on the way back. There I find this cutie calling my name. My neurodivergent ass LOVES stuffed animals, so I could not resist when I saw this soft crocco-fella. 

Julie happily smiling while holding her new friend

On the way home I named him Joey Clyde, for Joey Steel and Clyde McGee, as a reminder of a spectacular Friday and this subsequent ‘finding myself’ holiday at the coast. You will remember Clyde from that fateful Pete Bernhard gig in April at Tequila Tattoos, that helped set things in motion for the reemergence of DownSideUp. He’d promised me then to get me on the guestlist for his Bridge City Sinners show, which he graciously did. (Remember that BEST GIG OF THE YEAR bit in part one of this series? Yes, it was them. I will tell you ALL about it in due time.) Synchronicitous as always, this song starts playing in my headphones while I am writing this. 

But have I told you about my friend Joey? I met him last year at Punk in Drublic and we have kept in contact ever since. He’s an amazing musician and singer in FIVE bands, an anarchist and LGBTQIA+ ally, a great thinker and self proclaimed shit talker, with his own most interesting podcast ‘Dispatches from the Underground‘. He’s also a tour manager and any band fortunate enough to count them into their entourage, should thank their lucky stars. (He will be prominently featured in the imminent Bridge City Sinners post.)

Thanks to Joey, I got to invite Jo, Tiho and Ann & David (Whom I’d met at the Whiskey Dick/James Hunnicutt double bill at The Black Flamingo. More on them later, because the music brought us back together for Gipsy Rufina and Kiel Grove a few weeks ago. That is YET ANOTHER series of posts I am working on!) to experience the chaos that was that amazing Bridge City Sinners gig with me. He made that night even more special for me, because I could share the music and pay it all forward by getting those lovely people on the guest list.

When I got to the apartment, I noticed Joey Clyde had a stitch loose on his neck which I fixed with needle and thread, giving him a badass scar. Joey recently underwent a major surgery, resulting in a similarly badass scar on his neck. Musical synchronicity in full force right there. (Have you noticed this is scene three? I HAVE!) 

Me and Joey at Trefpunt Gent after the Bridge City Sinners show

I will forever treasure my new crocodile friend Joey Clyde as a visual reminder of a mindblowing night and seaside holiday.

Tiho, me and Clyde at Trefpunt Gent after the Bridge City Sinners show

Follow Clyde McGee:

And check out his bands:

  • Bridge City Sinners
  • Clyde and the Milltailers

Follow Joey Steel:

And check out his bands:

  • All Torn Up!
  • Skull Caster
  • Cop/Out
  • JS & the Attitude Adjusters
  • Bowhead
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WhiskeyDick and James Hunnicutt on Tour. | Part 2: An ode to The (Purple) Black Flamingo people

Part 1: An ode to The Black Flamingo
Part 2: An ode to The (Purple) Black Flamingo people
Part 3: WhiskeyDick and James Hunnicut: Live
Part 4: Post show Purple Flamingos!
Part 5: Whiskey Dick and James Hunnicut: Live @ Den Oude Ketel

Part 2: An ode to The (Purple) Black Flamingo people

At this point in the story, we’re hanging out post Clyde McGee/pre Pete Bernhard in the lovely sunny garden of Tequila Tattoos. The two little doggos that hang out there flit from person to person, demanding pets everywhere. That’s how we get to talking to Mister Black Flamingo himself, we’ll call him Jo, because that’s his name and also very much shorter than writing Mister Black Flamingo himself. He’s accompanied by his son Tihomir (what a fucking BAD ASS name, by the way!) and since we’re all animal lovers, we bond instantly over the nice dogs.

I took a while before I realised who I was actually talking to. (That happens a lot more to me than you would think, especially when there are animals nearby.) When I realised he was the owner of THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD, I suddenly remembered I used to do this thing called writing. Like in general, but also more recently, specifically about music. I tell Jo that I would love to write a piece on the best hidden venue in the world and start telling him what kind of articles I already wrote. “Yeah, I did this bit on Amanda Palmer and also this photo thing on The Dresden Dolls”, full-on expecting the only half interested “who?” I usually get it when I tell people about my idols hyperfixations. But, get this. He not only knew of them, but he really liked them. 

So in true Julie style, I start bombarding him with questions and recommendations and I go into full hyperfixation mode. If I hadn’t already lost my audience at the “who?“, this is where the rest usually take off. But not in this case. I had found my match, someone who is as hyper-fixated on music as I am. It wasn’t the longest of talks because we had to cut it short for the Pete gig and after that I got distracted by the whole setlist thing.

When I got home, I sent him the link to Amanda’s solo gig in New Zealand which felt so much like the one I wrote about in Antwerp. As you can maybe tell by the above, my self esteem was apparently so low, I wasn’t expecting much of a reaction. But then. He responded in exactly the way I would have. He GOT it. And we haven’t stopped messaging since. Whatever kind of crazy theory, idea or brain fart I throw at him, he just simply gets and runs with it. 

Him, and his band of merry vagabonds at The Black Flamingo, might be just as much the instigator to my Purple People vision as that specific song by Gogol Bordello is. A lot of the synchronicities I talked (and will talk) about between the first Pete Bernhard gig and today have also been related to the music, The Black Flamingo as a safe space and all the people surrounding it, and Jo and his son Tihomir in specific.

The synchronicity in threes has not stopped since. Jo sees them everywhere now too, much like the Purple People. I am infectious! I start the Pete, me and The Devil Makes Three series off with a reference to a certain black flamingo with pink on the inside and me as a pink flamingo who is black on the inside. Turns out we’re both just different shades of purple.

Also birds. (Another hyperfixation of mine, go figure!) Lots of synchronicities with birds and feathers. Not just flamingos; black, purple or otherwise! Like the Crane, which I use for a nickname since my name is Van Craen. Turns out Jo has a taxidermy Crane. The road to WhiskeyDick and James Hunnicut was also littered (both literally and figuratively) with them (feathers, not cranes, thankfully), but I will get to that in one of their parts of this series. 

I genuinely believe that I missed that first The Rabids gig for a reason. I feel like I needed to discover The Black Flamingo exactly when I did. A bit earlier and I might have missed the magic and the synchronicity. Life had knocked me out. I was battling my inner demons when my dad first suffered and then died. Nothing made me happy or hopeful. The world was too dark to see the pin pricks of light. Another thing I feel deeply (Not necessarily believe, but FEEL, so I chose to believe in it.) is how my dad had a hand in getting me there. It was all so intrinsically linked to each other with so many weird and wonderful signs and timings, it has been a helping thought in healing. 

Nothing wrong with your brain…just a little bit jumpy I guess 😁

Jo

So what I have found here is a place full of people where I don’t have to pretend to be normal, because normal is boring. They see the passion behind the awkward and clumsy and are fully passionate about something too. They see the Purple. They ARE the Purple. I give a crazy band idea and everyone is in for it. (To be continued!) I blurt out all the wrong words in the wrong order and they understand the meaning behind the uttered words. When I am worried if my crazy theories and stories on here are even remotely understandable to read, I get a message that tells me they are. 

In discovering new friends at The Black Flamingo, I found enough light in the dark to start up my old blog again, and then in turn synchronicitously getting back in touch with all the people I forgot I counted as friends. Music is one of them, but I also mean some actual Purple People in my life which have resurfaced. So for them, but also for all the people struggling with depression or burnout or whatever you (want to) call it. You see enemies everywhere, but that’s only because you are looking through the wrong glasses.

In the words of The Rabids:

AND YOU SEE ENEMIES EVERYWHERE
FEEL LIKE YOU DON’T BELONG ANYWHERE
YOU FEEL ABANDONED BUT
YOUR PEOPLE ARE STILL THERE
DON’T TELL YOURSELF THAT THEY DON’T CARE

The Rabids- Enemies Everywhere

And while simultaneously giving me LOADS to write about, Jo and The Black Flamingo, and everything that happened in the wake of my first visit there, gave me the actual confidence to find and use my voice again. So I started writing, writing and writing and I have barely stopped since. Meanwhile, Jo is always one of the first ones to read and like my blog. Better yet, he even started his own blog about music. While you wait for part three in the series, in which I ACTUALLY see the band for the first time and talk about their music, you can go read his The Blog Flamingo! 

Beware though, you might also go down the rabbit hole of hyperfixation on music, because I can’t believe some of the things he recommends to me. Like, I can’t believe they haven’t been in my life until now and HOW COULD I HAVE MISSED THIS! 

Like this guy. Wait for the voice. My immediate thought was ‘My dad would have loved this!’

So when this man tells me to not forget to come check out WhiskeyDick at The Black Flamingo, I say YES. Even though I have no idea who they are and bad imagery in my brain links them to about the complete opposite of what they turn out to be. Even though I barely have the time to even think about listening to them since it seems there’s a show every day. So I say fuck it, and just go. 

PS:
There is a ridiculous lack of photos in this post. It’s the music’s fault. See, I went there last Saturday in my Flamingo-est of outfits, fully prepared to take just one pic with Jo and Tiho and some internal shots of the place. I was NOT going to write about the bands there, I didn’t CARE HOW GOOD THEY WERE. I was there with a purpose. To enjoy the music and to get some pictures and hang out with nice people. About Three seconds into Kevlar, I was writing merrily away in my notes, and though I did notice SO MANY things to photograph for this post, I just simply forgot. 

So one day, I will add photos. Or make the photos into another thread of this series, who knows. There’s also talk of a blog dedicated to all the animals at The Black Flamingo, I heard. (Where, who told you that?) But for the next few posts, this series will finally talk all about WhiskeyDick, James Hunnicutt and why the fuck they are so special. (And all of the synchronicities in between. And more of the Purple People.)

Onto part 3: Wherein WhiskeyDick and James Hunnicutt rock The Black Flamingo and leave me unexpectedly crying.

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Pete, me and the Devil makes Three. A tour in three parts | Deel 2

Deze reportage in drie delen is iets waar ik al even op broed. Ergens tussen de zeven en twee maanden ofzo. Ik moest er eerst iets anders uitkrijgen voor het allemaal een logisch gevolg van elkaar werd.

En natuurlijk wachten op het laatste deel uit de trilogie voor ik ze kon schrijven.

Geniet van deel twee, op een van mijn meest favoriete herinneringen dit jaar. (Tot dan toe althans)
De rest van het verhaal? Hier zijn Deel 1 en Deel 3.

Part 2: Pete Bernhard (met Clyde McGee), eerste Europese solo tour
SECOND STOP: Tequila Tattoos, Hulshout- 9 april 2023

Het is symbolisch.
Het is de verjaardag van ons pa en daarom ben ik hier.
Daarom spelen ze hier. Synchroniciteit. Ze, want Pete Bernhard is herenigd met zijn tourbuddy Clyde McGee voor een bijzonder mooi intiem optreden.

De sfeer voor het optreden is ontspannen. Het is een van de eerste echte lentedagen en we zitten in de tuin van Tequila Tattoos. We zijn omringd door fijne mensen, schattige viervoeters en een gevoel van anticipatie. Er wordt gelachen, geaaid en gedronken. De eerste gitaartonen klinken van binnen en we schuifelen allemaal achter elkaar aan naar een plekje in de Tattoo shop.

Opnieuw: instant liefde voor het instrument. (Ook weer een thema in deze reeks.) En daarmee bedoel ik zowel stem als gitaar. Wat een mooie, warm-diepe sound heeft die man! Een absolute aanrader als je hem ooit in een van zijn gedaantes (solo of met The Bridge City Sinners of The Milltailers) kan zien? Niet denken, gewoon GAAN. En de gitaar? Ja, daar heb ik een zwak voor, zowel naar geluid als vorm. Helaas krijg ik voorlopig geen zinnig akkoord uit mijn vingers geperst, anders had ik er minstens al zo ééntje! (En dan nog liefst een blauwe, zoals Eugene van Gogol Bordello, maar da’s voor later!)

Zie die gitaar. HARTJES.

Na de show sprak ik Clyde even aan om te laten weten wat het me deed dit soort muziek te mogen ontdekken op de verjaardag van mijn pa. Ik weet niet meer exact wat er gezegd werd, maar het liet me alleszins achter met een heel warm gevoel.

Een kort sfeerbeeld. Onthou zeker de man in het oranje kostuum en de top hat. Hij komt later nog terug!

Dan werd het tijd voor hoofd act Pete Bernhard. De muziek komt bij mij even hard binnen als in The Black Flamingo. Ik sta daar wat op mijn voeten te wiegen met een gelukzalige glimlach op mijn gezicht. Ik beweeg door de ruimte en raak in (fluisterend, geen zorgen) gesprek met Cedric, iemand die bij het vorige optreden ook aanwezig was. Ik kan me ook niet meer exact herinneren wat er werd gezegd maar het ging over burn-out. Het waren alleszins begrijpende woorden over de natuur, rust opzoeken en dergelijke meer. Alweer iets dat je kan verwachten in het publiek van een optreden. (H)erkenning. Schoon toch?

Excuses, ik heb geen goed beeld van Pete alleen omdat ik te hard bezig was met te wiegen en glimlachen. Ik ben dan ook schrijver en geen fotograaf. (Voor deel 3 én Gogol Bordello heb ik wel deftig beeldmateriaal gefixt. Enfin, ons Polexia met haar grote mond heeft dat geregeld.)

Na het optreden liet diezelfde kerel mijn autistische brein, geheel onbedoeld, achter met het grootste mysterie van mijn leven. (Overdrijving. n.v.d.r.) We stonden samen te wachten aan de geïmproviseerde Merchtafel. Komt daarbij: de man met het kostuum. Hij heet Nico en is een belevenis op zich. (In de beste zin van die woorden, mocht daar twijfel over bestaan.)

Er ontstaat een speelse schermutseling tussen Nico en mezelf om wie de originele set list krijgt en wie de kopie. Ik heb verloren en door die hele heisa ook mijn kans gemist om mijn setlist getekend te krijgen.

No worries, want die van de eerste show was al geannoteerd én gehandtekend door Pete. Ik zie nog de kans schoon om een van de prachtige tourposters te bemachtigen en laten signeren door beide artiesten. Veel beter.

Suck on that, Nico! (Pas op, hij komt NOG eens terug, he! Derde keer voor wie mee aan het tellen is.) Mijn setlistkopie krijg ik zeer uitgebreid en op geheel onleesbare wijze alsnog ondertekend terug. Schrijver van dienst is weer die Cedric, die zich op dat moment alleen maar als ‘De broer van Franky’ wil kenbaar maken. Komt daarbij dat mijn brein zijn hoofd plaatst op de man die me eerder in The Black Flamingo vroeg of ik ‘de zus van de Spijker’ was en het mysterie was geboren.

Toevalligerwijze kwam ik hem in deze Week Der Optredens tegen bij The Chats. Daardoor weet ik dat de broer van de Franky gewoon Cedric heet en helemaal niet mysterieus, maar gewoon lichtjes dronken was. (Ik liet hem trouwens achter met mijn eigen mysterie, (of dat beeld ik met toch in.) waarover later meer! Het is hier nogal iets met al die cliffhangers tegenwoordig, seg. En de haakjes.)

De Merchvangst van de dag, trots uitgestald op de tafel waar later mijn Kapsalon (dat ik niet opgegeten kreeg van de pure adrenaline) zou gebracht worden, door een man die het schouwspel met een zeer geamuseerde blik aanschouwde.

Deze, voor u als lezer mogelijk onnodige, zwierige zijsprong om aan te geven dat het hier niet alleen om de muziek maar om de verbondenheid draait. Ahja, en de traditionele selfies natuurlijk:

Volg Clyde McGee:

Volg Pete Bernhard:

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Alle nummers die ik je nog wilde laten horen.

Ik haalde het aan in je grafrede. We begrepen elkaar niet altijd, maar vanaf een bepaalde leeftijd (aka voorbij mijn onuitstaanbare Get Ready fase) lukte het wel. Dankzij muziek. Er is ondertussen zoveel muziek die ik je nog wil laten horen.

Het begint al met al de nummers waarvan ik altijd al dacht, ahja, dat moet ik hem eens sturen. Waarna ik dat dan prompt niet deed natuurlijk.

Kijk, ik geloof niet in een hiernamaals of hoe je het ook wil noemen, maar het voelde vandaag echt of je met me meereed naar ons mama. Ik rij Zaventem binnen en Johnny Cash klinkt plots door de boxen. (Ok, toeval natuurlijk, er staan 100 van die nummers in mijn playlist.) Ik kom bij jullie thuis en ik hoor Brainpower op de radio. (Niet het nummer dat ik beschreef, maar hoe vaak komt het zelfs nog voor dat je Dansplaat hoort?)

Ik rij terug naar huis en hoor twee nummers van die ik je wil laten horen en begin te denken over hoe ik al die nummers hier het beste verzamel.

Het nummer stopt en begint daar toch wel Ballad of a Teenage Queen te spelen, mijn favoriete nummer toen ik jong was. Je vond het altijd geweldig dat ik zowel de diepe Cash stukken als de hoge harmonie uitbundig en luidkeels meezong in de auto. Want HOE VAAK hoorden we dat nummer niet in de auto bij jou?

Bon, hier maak ik uit op dat je het goed vond. Fijn om te horen.
Plakt er daar nog eens Americana van The Offspring achter want ja, veel van de muziek die we deelden is Americana. (Ok, ok, I’m reaching maar just give me this) En dan begin ik de eerste post op te maken en bij het zoeken naar de nummers op Youtube springt onderstaander op.

Ja gast, ik weet hoe algoritmes werken. Maar dat het net DIT Gorki nummer is, dat precies elke keer uit mijn lijst van de honderden nummers in mijn algemene playlist gepikt werd toen ik op en neer reed tussen Mechelen, Vilvoorde en Zaventem. Dat vind ik straf. De synchroniciteit is HOOG deze week. Staat er een volle maan ofzo? (Yep, gisteren. Ik geloof niet in spoken, maar wel in energie!) In elk geval, als er nu nog docu’s over Luc De Vos op de tv komen ga ik ze sowieso missen. Jij was altijd degene die stuurde ‘Jul, documentaire over X om Xuur op (meestal) Canvas.’ Nu moet ik het zelf uitzoeken.

Het idee voor deze post is beginnen rijpen dankzij Peter Bernhard (The Devil Makes Three) en support Clyde McGee (Bridge City Sinners) die ik ergens in maart beide solo bezig zag. Het gevoel dat ik hem nu wel MOEST schrijven werd veroorzaakt door alweer een synchroniciteit van het leven. Kom ik deze week bij De Casino voor het optreden van The Devil Makes Three en wie zie ik daar boven de bonnetjesautomaat wanneer ik even vastgeklemd wordt in een doorgang :

Johnny Cash giving me the finger. Jij had die foto ingekaderd op je kast en ik liet ooit voor jou deze karikatuur maken. Toevallig genoeg door de vorige eigenaar van mijn huis Jan Op De Beeck. Alsof ik het woord synchroniciteit nog niet genoeg gebruikt heb op dit blog, maar als dit geen synchroniciteit is, dan weet ik het niet.

Het moment dat ik mezelf terug vind en mijn (bijna) beste leven leid, lachend en dansend op de tonen van de muziek, na een diepgaande conversatie over anarchie en de alternatieven. Net dat moment zie ik deze foto als bevestiging van de richting die ik in moet slaan. Ik voel je over mijn schouder meekijken hoe ik mezelf maak.


Ik word nu écht rockjournalist, papa. In welke vorm dan ook. Je gaat nog van mij horen! En zelfs als jij mij niet meer hoort, en ik allerlei onnozele toevalligheden probeer te bundelen om mezelf beter te voelen, dan hoor ik je toch nog spreken in de noten.

Hier zijn ze, al de liedjes die ik nog wilde laten horen in een playlist. A work in progress.

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