The diary of a Scot in Amsterdam

Katie (whom I know from Glasgow) has been living in Amsterdam for over a year now, and so obviously knows the place quite a bit better than I do. She also seems to have a very good instinct for where and when there might be good club nights, and so I have taken to following her advice quite closely on this matter.

When I was working in the Sláinte the other night she had mentioned a night called “Microdixo” at a place neither of us had heard of (Studio 80 on the Rembrandtsplein) which involved some guys making music with GameBoys and Amigas, etc.

Of course, when I heard this I just about wet myself and said, “count me it, robot master!” or something stupid like that. Or maybe I didn’t, but I should have.

Anyways, Thursday came around and I popped round to Katie and Jimmy’s place for a few beers + Jaegermeisters before heading out. As it so happened, Katie had a friend named Jo visiting from England for the weekend. Lovely girl as it turned out; in fact we ended up getting on very well indeed…

Back to things that I am actually going to write about, and the retro-electronica night at Studio 80. Absolutely brilliant – even the guy on the cloakroom was using an old Nintendo controller as a belt! When we arrived there was a guy DJing (on normal records, how boring) while some folks were making visuals on some very bashed and worn looking Commodore Amigas, but what really made things was when this Swedish guy called Random came up on stage with a mixer and a couple of GameBoys. He looked kinda nervous, it must be said, but he more than made up for it with some frantic dancing about while stabbing buttons on the machinery. The sounds were really good, and not just in a this-is-cool-because-it’s-using-fucked-up-old-equipment sort of way, but because it really was the bees. If the same night ends up being on here again I’m definately going. Tops.

Well, one good night like that is nice, but two in one weekend has to be something special. Turns out there was a guy from Glasgow called Alex Smoke playing at a place called 11 (pronounced elf or elif in Dutch), and of course you’ve always gotta go support the home side.

11 is something else. It has that name because it’s on the 11th floor of a building next to Centraal Station, and of course in a city which doesn’t really have a lot of tall buildings that is quite high up. After wandering around over steel bridges around the docks you finally get to the entrance, and then following a long, narrow corridor you enter a large industrial lift (anyone who has ever used Covent Garden tube in London will know what I am talking about). This lift (which had a small crappy stereo playing very good techno in it, nice touch) takes you to the top of the building, and a sensory experience if ever there was one. Fantastic views across the city on all sides, huge projections on the walls above the windows and on horizontal screens above your head, and pounding, pounding techno beats from the sound system at the far end of the room. Before that you pass through a kind of bar/chill-out area which serves as a restaurant during the day and evening, which with tables right next to the huge windows was a great spot to just sit and stare at the canals, churches, and streetlights in the distance. Amsterdam looks even prettier from the air.

The music was excellent when we arrived, but when Alex Smoke came on it got even better. We were right down the front like a bunch of daft groupies, and I have to say that there is something quite engaging about watching someone staring intently at a laptop and twiddling some controls. I know I am getting a bit over-enthusiastic here, but it really was the business.

Went up to him at the end of his set and said, “You fae Glesga? Aye? Well, so am I.”, which is of course the sort of thing that will make a lot of people think “aye, fuck off, wanker”, but in reality he was really cool about it. Goes to show that you can be a great DJ/musician or whatever and still have time to be a decent sort of person. Gave me his email and promised us guesties if he was ever back in town; nice one!

Oh, and as Columbo would say, just one more thing; when we got back from the pub the other night, I came out of the bathroom to find Andy wearing a pair of MY pants on his hied. Looks a stunner, doesn’t he?