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2008 was going to end with a blast with three Dutch bands lined up that promised to throw a mean party: one of the best Dutch speaking rock bands De Dijk, one of the best Dutch live bands Claw Boys Claw and one of the sharpest Dutch comedians and a good musician too with his band Andre Manuel & De Ketterse Fanfare.

De Dijk in Paradiso Amsterdam, 18 December 2008 (Ronald says 4 out of 5)

There’s rain after sun shine, night turns into day and De Dijk plays Paradiso in December. Just some of the certainties in life. So for as long as I’ve been living in Amsterdam I’ve been going to Paradiso in December. Why? Because it’s another certainty that their performance will be a great party. Every friend that joined us (some merely out of curiousity) since then keeps coming back as well because they caught the De Dijk virus. It’s the combination of a very solid band with great musicians, a band that really enjoys playing live shows, a very impassioned fan base and good songs of course. I think their latest album ‘Brussel‘ is one of their better ones. It has a good combination of soul, blues and rock songs. As usual some of the lyrics are beautiful (”Mijn Van Straat Geredde Roos”) and others are simple but with a very catchy groove (”Mooier Dan Nu”). Live the new songs sound even better. Of course they don’t forget about their all time classics. They even treat us with a surprise when they play KC & The Sunshine Band’s hit song “That’s The Way I Like It”. See you next year again guys.

Claw Boys Claw at the Melkweg Amsterdam, 27 December (Ronald says 4 out of 5)

What more can I say about this band what I haven’t said before? Read it here and here. Still one of the best live bands of this country. Singer Peter te Bos always knows how to please the crowd. Every show he jumps into the crowd and starts walking around while singing among the fans. Or he throws the mic in the audience so they can sing the words. It doesn’t take long before everyone is rocking and throwing beer around. It’s messy, it’s sweaty, it’s noisy, it’s rock ‘n roll!

Andre Manuel & De Ketterse Fanfare at Paradiso small hall, 30 December 2008 (Ronald says 5 out of 5)

“Andre who?” you might ask? He’s a Dutch comedian and musician. The first time I saw him was in the early 90s with his band Fratsen at that time. Since then I’ve seen his comedy shows many times. His audience is small since a lot of people can’t take his one of a kind straightforward, blunt and cynic style of comedy. Famous is his performance in Oss where half of the audience left. That’s not his fault but the audience’s fault who just buy tickets to any comedy show expecting to be entertained where Manuel wants to entertain, challenge and confront you. He’ll give you a great deal of laughs but also something to think about in his own kind of way that some people find offensive. Well, I’m not one of those people.

His music is no different. His lyrics are just as sharp and funny (”Vlieger”), but also touching and sad (”Drinkebroer”) or just brilliant (”Kraaien“). Most of his songs are taken from shows over the years and in the past he played those with his old bands Fratsen and Krang as well. With De Ketterse Fanfare they sound refreshing, razor sharp and beautifully played. It’s a mix of rock and blues played by very good musicians. They play many songs of their last album “Op Verzoek Van De Goden” that holds the old but newly “recycled” songs including my all time favourite Manuel song “Drinkebroer”. And of course there’s plenty to laugh about. Manuel responds loosely to the audience with funny comments. At one point the band members all change instruments and play a song on an instrument that they can’t play at all. They all get to play a solo that sounds horrible and messy but it’s all for a good laugh. They would have made my night by playing “Pimpelmees”. Maybe next time.