Effenaar, Eindhoven, Netherlands 25/01/96 by PAUL VAN GORP

Being able to visit only one concert of the Moondog Jr.-minitour, I was realy looking forward to this evening, especially after the events during Bazar Curieux the week before. A stunning performance by Die Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung (DAA) kicked off at about 9.45 pm. During the second song, Stef and Tom of Moondog joined the four Antwerp youngsters to give an impressive 'Jintro & the great luna - the DAA-way'. One cover was played, and this 'Suds and soda' clearly pleased the audience, because a sudden increase in movement could be detected. Of course several 'Dreislagstelsels' were played too. Not everyone enjoyed the combo of clarinet, accordeon, cello and violin, but I think some of them did change their opinion at the end of the evening. Many DAA-cds were sold at the t-shirt stand. Between 10.00 pm and 0.20 am it was Moondog-time. From the beginning, it was very clear that the band was having a good time, and that this promised to be a night to remember. And so it did: it is difficult to compare, but this sure is among the best concerts I've been to. It seems like I keep on saying that, but Moondog seems to surprise me again and again. Only a few of my favourite songs like 'Everyday I wear a greasy black feather on my hat' and 'Blues for Sammy' were not included, but Moondog surely made up for this with the following songs: Spike Smiths' for all lost goods Moondance Ragdoll blues ? (I've heard it many times now, but I still don't know the title) Queen girl Moondog Love is a heavy brick Jintro & the great luna (the quick version) Cachita ? ('when the siren blows' and some lines about 'alcohol' occur in the lyrics; Stef announced it as a song about babies) Ice guitars (slow version) Redemption song (!) TV song (some lines mentioning Bob Marley were added at the end) Jacky Jo's wine song (again announced as the scottish folk song) Bombo The ricochet ------------ Spike Smiths' for all lost goods Indeed, it ended where it all began: with 'Spike Smiths' for all lost goods', but what a difference there was between the two versions. The first was done in the 'normal' way, but the second beat everything. Like at Bazar Curieux, the members of Moondog and DAA paraded through the audience (Stef in front of course). The musicians started the tune at the side of the stage, behind the speakers, and after an appearance of only a few seconds on stage they left again for the backstage area, after which they began their march through the Effenaar, walking during the choruses and halting during the verses. In the dark hall, the little mining lamps, worn by three (Stef was again wearing his uniform cap and singing through a megaphone) created a funny effect. Together with the magnificent lightshow during 'Cachita', it almost deserved the title 'Close encounters of the Moondog kind'. During 'Cachita', blue lights from behind the band created a special atmosphere, which was strengthened by the flashlight from the back of the room and the light beam coming from Stef's hat. The rendition of 'The Ricochet' was the weirdest I've heard 'til now. It seemed that everything on stage that could produce a sound was used in the long intro. 'The Ricochet' lasted for nearly ten minutes. Just like Tomas was sometimes clearly totally taken by the music, at some points Stef was performing like there was no one else in the room. The best example of this was when he sang the first verses of Bob Marley's 'Redemption song' with his eyes closed and standing far from the microphone. The sound during the Moondog performance was very good, but I think that DAA should keep to playing unplugged. I know this is difficult in such a crowded and noisy place, but in one way or the other, the amplified sound differed from the 'clear' notes, which was somewhat annoying. That this is my only point of criticism indicates the perfectness of this beautiful evening.

Effenaar, Eindhoven, Netherlands 25/01/96 by PAUL VAN GORP

Subject: Moondog Jr. op het dak van de Effenaar! Moondog Jr gaf vrijdagavond een prima concert in de Effenaar. De sfeer was erg sprookjesachtig, vooral door de muziek van het ook Belgische voorprogramma Die Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung (klarinet, viool, cello en accordeon). Op hun CD, die ik meteen heb gekocht staat: Magisches Theater Eintritt nich fuer jeder Mann Nur fuer verrueckte Eintritt kostet den Verstand en dat past goed bij de muziek (tekst is trouwens van Herman Hesse). Moondog Jr speelde hun mooiste nummers achter elkaar, eerst Ice Guitars daarna TV Song en ook leuk was Jacky, een cover van Jacques Brel die ook door Marc Almond is opgenomen. Maar het leukste kwam achteraf: Moondog Jr. en Die Anarchistische Abentunterhaltung trokken samen, in een stoet door de zaal en speelden een soort traditioneel schreeuw en stampliedje wat iedereen meteen mee kon zingen (iets met hee! hee!). De meeste muzikanten droegen een lamp op hun hoofd en Stef danste voorop, zingend door een megafoon. Toen het gezelschap in de kleedkamer verdween liepen Carolin en ik meteen naar buiten en zagen we dat ze verder speelden op het dak van de Effenaar, waar een nooduitgang op uitkomt. Beneden bleef het naar buiten stromende publiek staan kijken en meezingen en meedansen. Dit beeld van een groep zonderlinge muzikanten en Stef in een hempje met megafoon die bij tien graden onder nul op een dak staan te dansen en te spelen zal ik altijd onthouden. Schuin tegenover de Effenaar staat tegenwoordig een yuppenappartementencomplex waar heel groot Residence du Centre op staat (lelijke nieuwbouw heb je overal maar zo'n achterlijke naam erop zetten dat doen ze volgens mij alleen in Eindhoven) waar velen zich voor hun ramen stonden te verbazen. Binnen een paar minuten kwam er een politiewagen aan maar toen klom de band al spelend weer naar binnen. Wij zijn naar huis gegaan maar ik hoop voor iedereen die nog binnen was dat ze nog de hele nacht door hebben gespeeld.