feist - melkweg - 210907

a mix of really good sushi & dim sums before, in a fusian place close to the waag ... arriving a bit late, so we missed to opener, if that's too bad i don't know, 'cause forgot who it was .. the ceiling was decorated with rows of christmass-lights, making the oude zaal look like a milky way ... she appeared with something looking like alluminium around here arms, not sure whether that was part of the decoration too or actual clothing ... but music, that's why we're here for, and that was good, a bit on the soft side on some occasions, but when she took her big guitar and played it loud, it rocked ... i remember how my heart behaves (actually the line the cold heart will burst), a nice song, and 1 2 3 4, a song you easily whistle along ... the concert was sold out, which is sometimes, and in this case so, a bit too much people, limiting the movability and increasing the always-a-problem-here- in-the-nls noisability ... end note: festival, yes, another concert, no ... afterwards bar-hopping, following the black/red signs ...

beethoven's 6th, opus 68 - concertgebouw a'dam - 150907

a concert of 'het nederlands philharmonisch orkest', conducted by yakov kreizberg ... our seats were amazing, looking down on the orchestra and the whole concert-hall ... first up was 'la mer' of debussy, i have to admit that i can not (and could not immediately afterwards) repeat the theme or anything else of the piece, but probably that says more about my musical abilities than about the work itself, although i not yet have discovered the sea when listening (then or at home) ... anyhow it was a good starter, the final was impressive, as the whole experience actually, seeing and hearing an orchestra in action is ... something ... then the 6th of beethoven, the 'pastoral' ... this work i know better (and i wanted to see it 'live' already for a long time), and it was worth it ... getting carried away by the music ... the first part was like lying totally relaxed on the gras in the sun, but after the storm (gewitter), the end felt different then expected, normally i like the last part (hirtengesang) the most, but now it seemed a bit hurried, without bringing the best out of it ... or this was because i was thinking, no, don't let it be over now ... cause when sitting above the orchestra, you see the last page being turned ...

afterwards how to get lost in amsterdam, trying to find p's car, which was at the end of the herengracht (hearing a spanish speaker pronounce this some ten times is quite funny) ... coming from the center/station, there's first the herengracht, next the keizersgracht, and then the prinsengracht, and they all end in the amstel (close to the waterlooplein), some 2 km south of the station ...