atomic --- projecting colour in rotterdammm

shooting colours from a nice position, they had arranged proper ground supports and trusses so I could put my projectors high up, allowing me to light up the entire hallway in between the restaurant and the theater from different sides, it was going from yellow and green, to the deepest purple, radiant light blue and firy red ..... ha, it was a joy to be able to immerse myself in these colours for 14 hours or so !

one step closer .. accu 004 toysfornoise - perfect imperfection e.p

that's the name ... the tracks have finally been picked ..
now its time to get the fu**er mastered and cut, for that I will be going to the Exchange in London in january which will be exciting to do ! The labels are being made by marco2 lets see whats gonna come out of the mad scientists lab for this ....

i'll keep you posted !

marco2 also made the most amazing birth card I've ever seen, for the birth of his son finn it took some folding and some glue, but then ....

sensitive colouration

Last week I transformed a small chapel / church for a x-mas ball of a local Lions service club, a real black tie gala event, with an art auction for a good cause and a big band and some singers for entertainment.. this promised to be good fun like last year. Cause the place is totally white in the inside, it is ideal to light up with the slides that my dear brother finsent invented 6 years ago. These slides still do something more than just form images on the walls ... they radiate .... to me anyway ..

It was again amazing to see how the slides did their job, they transformed the place, using yellow and for the ceiling and outside I used the yellow and blue/green slides, in the back I placed a mirrorballl with some pinspots on them to create a sky filled with stars and to top it off two beamers each projected a huge traditional silver christmasball on either side of the stage. Basically a repetition of last year, but with 6 extra projectors the whole picture was really complete and filled up.

Next week I will be in rotterdam with the projectors ... inside a small hallway, curious how that will turn out, at least I am free to choose my colours then ... this was all on request ...

project(ing) atomic -- dec 19th

loads of projectors, colourfull slides and some walls will do the trick ...





ATOMIC -- Tracks Tricks & Tronies
Zaterdag 19 december 2009

ATOMIC is een nieuw initiatief van een groepje creatieve breinen uit Rotterdam en Den Haag.

Dé nieuwe multidisciplinaire avond waar de kruisbestuiving plaatsvindt tussen zeer uiteenlopende stijlen van vernieuwende jonge muziek, mediakunst en visuele kunst.
De eerste editie vindt plaats op zaterdag 19 december in De Unie in Rotterdam. Zowel het cafe, de foyer als de zaal van De Unie zullen benut worden om de bezoekers van inspirerende zintuigelijke input te voorzien....

Programma:

Voor de oren...
DJ Glow (Trust, Oostenrijk) ... funky sfeervolle electro...
Peverelist (PunchDrunk, UK) ... delicate en verfijnde dubstep met techno invloeden...
Pametex (Clone, NL) ... chicago punisher...
Strange Fruit Collective (NL) ... mixing soul, jazz, hiphop en blacktronica...
Charly White en Geazah (Dirty Agga Crew, NL) ... britse bassline en dubstep...

Voor de senses...
Daan Brinkmann (NL) ... installatie Skinstruments...
Daan Brinkmann experimenteert met audiovisuele interactieve installaties waarin het lichaam van de toeschouwers letterlijk deel uitmaken van het werk. Skinstrument is een muziekinstrument die de huid van 2 spelers gebruikt om geluid te genereren.


Voor de ogen...
CO2RO (NL) ...optikinetics..
Noorderlicht010 (NL) ...lichtmanipulator...
Toys for Noise (NL) ...illuminator...

CO2RO, Noorderlicht010 en Toys for Noise zijn de lichtmanipulators van de avond die met hun performance, optikinetics en andere bizarre projectoren het geheel zullen illumineren

.

22:00 - 05:00

6 euros



@ De Unie

Mauritsweg 34

ROTTERDAM

analog sequencer

how about this for an analog sequencer :




its a roll of paper, with black dots, as the roll moves, the black marks activate photosensitive switches and these in turn, activate the individual air releases that are placed in each arm ... so its like a giant scottish bagpipe that makes this immense soundscape that is ... this installation ..






amazing ....
all found here ,....

http://www.wonderhowto.com/wonderment/building-sized-berorgan-emits-heavenly-music-and-farts-0113557

the green green grass of ...

... scotland...



on a day like today I wish I was there,
in the middle of the highlands, or on one of the islands,
being able to go outside and not see any human beings ... ok maybe some sheep or deer ... but for the rest, only moors and green and purple and brown valleys ...
inviting you to roam and discover their grounds ....
actually I could have gone to a beautiful nature reserve sort of thingie close by where I live, but it would still mean I have to go and get there by getting out of the city (or big village as I call it) ...
I wish I could be there, by simply stepping outside, like when I was camping in the wild in scotland, or malta (another beautiful island) .. every day a different view .. although camping would be a bit cold now ... but then again, a nice small cabin somewhere in the forest with a fireplace, and a closet full of food, some electricity to make some music (get some solar panels) ...

mmmm sometimes my middle name is hermit ....

untill I remind myself it is actually michiel and that I really have to go out and get myself some coffee and yoghurt ......

uit de ouwe doos ...

deze kwam ik tegen via mario 010 van de cybx bende .... finnie, in t prille begin van t hele tekno avontuur ...

qui que boe

heya, its been a while .... instead of quite regular updates from my u2ouring adventure, all cause I have been working my ass off !
literally .... the back hurts, the elbows squeek, all the result from 6 weeks of literally, scanning shitloads of suncream in stores, it needs to be taken back, off the shelves cause summer is over here ... packing it in boxes, dragging it to your van, driving from one store to the next, and doing so for 8-12 hrs a day .. returning home with 600 kilos of suncream and various old metal displays filling up every last cubic centimetre in the back of the van ... .. whaaaaaaaa its enough now ... four weeks, ok, five mmm .. nr 6 is getting to me, especially haveing to go to utrecht again .... good thing its holiday now, not too much traffic, still jams but way less ... three more days ... and then no more .... honestly, I have to admitt, I am very pleased though, never had dreamed that I would get a project like this so close after my mad u2 summer that did cost me quite a buck, so i needed some sort of job .... ideally one, with shitloads of work, in a short perios..... and this project truely allowed me to fill some holes, and in the meantime, because its coinciding with the freshly announced plans for the 2010 tour .... it is sending me on my way already .. sort of .... first concert and plane tickets have been bought, first hostels have been reserved, madness I know, buying tickets now, for a concert on the 2nd october in coimbra portugal, or the 6th september in istanbul but hey, i feel very lucky i am able to do so .... wonderful cities to be discovered !

Hollandicassette 34 by toysfornoise

here is a first on a new platform that seems to work pretty ok ... its not cheap, but not too expensive. I needed a new place since all my stuff on musicv2 dissappeared out of the blue .... i wont be mentioning any of these new platforms on my recordsleeves like I did with the musicv2 thingie .... still got some unsold records that need the address crossed with a black marker .....

by the way, here is an oldie .... result of days of rumbling machines, and some recording done on cassette ....

Hollandicassette 34  by  toysfornoise

Natural surprise ...

this one is funny ... everything set for the timed photo ... here is the neighbour ... even messing with the focus ... yeah !!

I am busy with my music ... sorting stuff for the next accu releases and recovering from a great weekend we had in a disused fort in Namen, in belgium .. it was a huge bunker, where we housed a couple of smaller soundsystems and a few bigger collaborations, all in all we transformed the fort into a booming tekno zone ... it was good fun, great people, nice weather and the beer tasted nice ... yep ... it was one of those 5 times a year I get drunk --- weekends ... did not need much ... 1 liter of heavy dark beer, and that was me .... toast .... and asleep ... we had fun, loads of it .....

what a finish ... cardiff 22nd aug 2009

the final word

this guy found some pretty accurate words to describe the gig in cardiff ...
he even managed to put them in such an order, that they give me almost goosebumps !

so have a read or skip it ... but really,
after reading it you should realise,

this ain't normal,
live is where we live ....

a sort of homecoming .....

Again, in my bright orange shirt ...
CARDIFF 22nd Aug 2009 final gig European leg 2009

the rail outside of the catwalk,
the polish delegation next to me, who I had seen quite a few times before ... Hilla and Ingo from germany, we had a truelly great time in line during the day and ended up besides each other at the rail, Rotem from israel, I had met her in the hostel and she went along early in the morning ...

and see how this pic really shows how the crowd position themselves, making sure everyone has a shoulder or had to look over, the madness starts when the crowd starts moving, this means almost everyone needs to move if they want to see what they saw just a little earlier on ... ha ha ..

not at the rail though .. . we were there on purpose, arriving around 6am, making sure we were within the first 100 - 150 people to get in ,.,, there were 20 individual entrance turnstiles divided over 3 entrances, one lacked the bars to divide each lane so at 6am everyone was in line in front of the first two gates ... they had proper fences in between each lane ... then seemingly the confirmation came that the 3rd gate was also gonna be used, at the same time as the other two ... they would place special dividers in between the lanes later .... so that meant that the few bold that were sitting there were lucky, and then the rest of the waiting bunch either went there, or moved forward in line 1 and 2 ... I was not there myself ... I had left just before to check in into my youth hostel and when I came back, my spot with the 4 germans and 1 israelian girl, had moved also ... it now was right in front the outer line of gate three ... I was gonna be 3rd to go in .. !!! WIth the first 60 people to get in ... maybe sooner, maybe later ... this all depended on the speed of the gates opening, they had individual doors and bars that held them closed, some jammed when they were opened, making vital seconds pass by ... you just have to be lucky ... our gate firstly heard the terrible news that our line was not gonna be used at all....

and only then was it that I noticed the end of our line had actually got a turnstile, but there was no bar to turn ... it was the removal line ... used to chuck people out .... oh yes ... we quickly moved to the line on our left, they were too nice letting us quickly get in their lane ... now we made everyone in front of us pre-bend the tear off part of the ticket .. there was no barcode so they either mark it with a pen or marker ... or tear of the tearoff bit off ... you can even rip it yourself half way to speed up your entry .. then came the moment ... we saw gates opening ... ours did not .. others opened, ours still did not ... fuck it ... it was stuck ,,, 7 - 10 seconds passed, some lines moved some did not, it was surreal ... then the door opened, first 4 steamed in, very fast .. yes ... no bags checked, no body feels .. for drinks or cameras etc .. nottin !!! ha ha ... then the two german girls, lightning fast .. and me ... yes ..... gone ... awesome .. to the right, down the steps .. and forward .... going as fast as possible without physically running, I did get slowed down few times, but still ... I went fast . it was offcourse to my advantage that I did not have to come to grips with the sight of that awe inspiring claw .. I saw others standing still, wondering what, how, and where to go ... no, not me ..... straight on to the centre of the rail .... and yes .. got there ! Keeping spots free for Hilla and Ingo, making myself look like three people, then Rotem arrived from the left, was among the first 5 - 6 at the rail ...they had slightly misjudged the centre it looked ... look for the sticker with mic 1 at the catwalk, that is where you want to be .. ... and then there are the great people around me, we were lucky with only a few territorial battles being fought now and then, the guy behind me despite my warnings, did get me on top of his toes a few times ... he moved backwards into the safe zone, where I did not land after a while ..




get on your boots, on my new boots literally .. first they got me up on Penn Y Fan and Corn Du and now they served me well during the show ... comfy and bouncy ... jumping like mad, thankful that camera never got stuck in my face !



my view ... in the centre at the outside of the catwalk....



Came back at 19.00pm tonight .....

14 gigs ... 8 countries ... 11 flights and a missed one ..

more words later .... but here is the present I got upon arrival ...
one of the photographers for walesonline shot the most amazing shots I've seen so far ..

get on your booze ....

Before I got to cardiff I actually did make it to Glasgow in time to see the boys play .. I flew from Amsterdam, arriving in Edinburgh at 18.00pm where the cab driver was indeed waiting for me with a plain paper that had my name printed on it .. ah well .... no fancy signs then huh ...

He told me the traffic was heavy .... all the way to Glasgow.... oh fuck .. here we go is what I thought ... but I had already decided beforehand that I was gonna take it as it comes ... no way I could change it ... just go with the flow ... and swim along. And yes, at times it was very heavy traffic, makeing us roll at 30 miles per hour on the highway but still .. we were moving .... and once we got in glasgow .. it seemed most traffic had cleared .... looked like most folks had already reached their destinations by then .... clearing the way for me to get all the way to Hampden Park ... yeah .... Arrived there at 19.45 with the gig starting around 20.15 ..... quickly made my way to the Box office, picked up my ticket and went in .. Was amazed by how many drunk Scots there were ... some even staggering allready, before the gig ..... Some small fights were going on, loads of police was present, mmm this was a strange atmosphere ... still friendly mostly, but heated up in a way ..
I checked out the fieldfirst,it looked as if I could make my way easily halfway the field ... but that was not my plan ...

I was gonna dance this time, and not want to get stuck in between some too drunk scots ... ok ... first had to piss .. which I did ... took me 10 minutes .. as there were more clients for the toilets ... Then made my way to the front, to check out the space at the side of the stage ... people wanting to enter the front pit were refused entry as it was full ... and so they turned around. One of the security guys turned around, and was not watching his little isle ... ha ha ... I was bold, and decided to walk in as if I belonged there .... and they did not notice me ... or felt `i belonged there I guess, they were not there for me and I was not gonna look at them with the question on my forehead: is it ok to go in >>>> ???? no, the decision was followed with the left leg moving towards the middle entrance ... I did not hesitate for a split second and walked straight trough ..
.. and yes ...

I could not believe it ... here I was, arriving at edinburgh at 18.00 and two hours later I was in the pit .... then just before you turn left into the main pit that circles the stage I even found a wristband on the floor ... which made my presence in the front completely legit ! Checked out how far I could get to the centre in front of the stage, but that was impossible .. I got to the side, at Adams side, seeing the whole band clearly, but the sound was not very good there and too many people around me with damn cameras, and more importantly, they did NOT sing along ... Went to the back of the stage for the entrance of the band, saw them come out of the corridor and making their way to the stage, from the front of the field you can see some spotlights moving, and the crowd starts to go nuts ,, ... now I saw them before hardly anyone in the stadium saw them, which was nice to experience ... seeing the spark coming, and lighting up all the little wildfires .. then went back in the pit and stayed there outside of the rail, to adams side for a while, was nice, but only few there knew the words to the new songs ... the choir which was impossible to reach seemed to be consisting of a smaller bunch, more central up front it seemed .. and after elevation I made my way again to the back of the stage ... where there was tons of space ... logical, as you had to watch the screen, or look at the drummers back, or side .. at some spots you can peek a bit underneath the stage and more funny things you normally dont see ... so hey ...

I had decided I was gonna loose myself in the music, and dance .. so I did .... man it was fun ! Finding the ideal spot where the speakers gave me a proper mix of bass and mids and highs ... being a few yards away from some of the crew that made sure the technical stuff was arranged, saw the towel girl up close ( she is lovely) (she allways brings frsh towels on stage for the boys, and some water .. not a bad job to have ..) and saw the volunteers getting ready for their walk on performance ... also witnessed the exit of the boys after the concert....

It was great to see all these things, and have a blast at the same time ...
Once again I was gone after the remix of I'll go crazy ... I had to sit down for a few minutes, decided to go and get a pint .... which was tasy actually ! Then took it easy for a few songs, and then was able to dance like mad again .... All in all .... a great night ... with some strange sound problems during MLK and Walk On as all sound was cut out ..... Then after the concert stayed in the pit to see if I could find some familiar faces ... met Montse again, by surprise .. the girl I had met in Wembley and whom I spend some nice hours with .. chatting away, making time fly .. we both had to go to the central station, hopped on the bus not realising it was gonna take some time for it to make its way trough traffic ... hardly any bus lanes .... luckily we got at the station in time, and then each of us went our separate ways, I had to go to glasgow national airport to fly to cardiff at 14.05 the next day and she was gonna go to glasgow prestwick, to fly to dublin at 06.00 .. she actually had to work at 09.00 that must have been fun ...

I had a leaking airbed at the airport, I woke up after one hours sleep on the floor ... nice one .... moved to the seats, and slept again, only for a wee while, as very soon I was woken up by a huge group of teenagers, that were all lining up in front of the check in, at I had chose the wrong side ... man, it was the far side of that huge hall ... .. I thought I was dreaming .... but no ... the flight to Alicante was leaving at 04.00 and here was this bunch of drunk over excited kids ... all ready for a week of partying .... I guess next time I know where NOT to ly down and try to sleep ... ah well ... I moved to the back, laid down on the floor, and closed my eyes ... and gues what ... I was once again, roughly woken up by this thundering sound ... was that a train coming or what ... ??? Nope I had actually positioned myself right next to the door that was used to let the unused trolleys pass by .. after check in all these troleys get left, and they need to be brought down again ... so they line m up, and then simply let them roll down hill by themselves ... and I was right next to the ramp, tha was hidden by this rolling door ... oh yes .... what a night .... few lessons learned ... AFter that .. I just spend some time checking the newspapers, had some breakfast and loads of coffee, hurray for the free refill ! And then flew to Cardiff with a propellored airplane, which was exciting .... and smooth flying I must say, small airplane, great service .. fly.be is OK !

So, that was how I arrived in glasgow, and cardiff ... after missing my flight a dew days earlier ..... quite a colourfull story even if I say so myself ...

going crazy in cardiff ...

what a surreal night ... lying on the couch in the Nomad hostel in cardiff and listening to the U2 gig from Sheffield, being broadcast live, eyes firmly closed and all the places I have been to during the past two months, came flying by, it was a very moving night.

The day was great too .... got up nice and early to make my way to Myrthyl Tidfill with the train, then on towards Brecon with the bus, for some proper hill walking. First I had to wait for the bus to Brecon for one hour, I made my way to the shopping mall that was close by, thinking this was smart, making the tourist wait for some time, so they go and spend money in town ..

little did I know that I was gonna have a blast finding these great walking shoes, for 25 pounds, instead of the usual 70 .... they were great, water proof and they felt as if I had had them for years .... this was what I needed if I was seriously gonna go up the hills ... instead of the skate shoes that I was wearing .... I did not bring my proper hiking boots as they were too heavy and big for my bagpack .. I only tpook my handluggage on the plane ... being a cheaper way to fly these days ... so walking on these new shoes .. with a huge grin on my face ... now I was ready ...

Got off the bus right besides Penn Y Fan .. after Snowden, the second highest hill in Wales, and despite the bad weather decided to go for it .... It was very very windy, and cloudy too.. some rain showers were droping down, and as I was making my first steps on the hill .. the rain came down in such great drops that I decided to take out my wee brolly and duck underneath for 10 minutes ... Which was a great idea as it actually saved me from getting my pants wet .... with such a long way to go and these winds, it would have been far from comfortable to have wet pants .... literally, that would have been pants .... SO, the heavy rain stopped and I made my way up, the skies opened up sometimes, giving me incredible views of teh Brecon mountains and sometimes I literally was in the clouds .... especially as I was approaching the top ... luckily I had some great clear moments before all hell broke loose ... I was on top of Corn Du, right next to the top of Penn Y Fan when I could see this black cloud approaching, decided it was time to duck for cover ... made my way down a bit, hid behind a huge rock, out of the wind and held on to my wee brolly again, which means .. small umbrella .. Man, really all hell broke loose ... and pretty soon small waterfalls came thundering down the hill .... here I was, in my waterproof jacket, and freshly bought waterproof shoes, trying to keep my pants dry by hiding underneath my umbrella .... it did work but after a while, the umbrella gave up, started leaking and I was hoping it would stop raining ...

And yes, it did ... even though the clouds kept sweeping over the hill, without the rain, it was ok ... I moved towards the other hill, met two people who were wet as if they had been diving underwater .. I tell you ... they looked like drowned cats ... we had a l;augh together, and they went down ... for a few seconds I thought about making my way to the top of Penn Y Fan, only few meters away, but soon decided I was gonna say goodbye to that hill, and visit it again next year, I was gonna make my way down, and so I did .... not soon after that the rain was back ... within seconds giving me my wet pants I had so dreaded ... I decided to up the tempo and soon passed the couple I met earlier on ... not soon after that , it stopped raining again .... man, that hill was very angry that day ... with the wind in my face, drying my pants on teh way down .... it was then a nice walk down .... the skies cleared again, making me wonder for a wee moment if I should go back up ... naaaaa no way .... it was all ok ! I had had my moment of surrender I guess ....

Once I got all the way down, in the valley, with some waterfalls and green fields it was peacefull as anything, the sun was shining and I sat down and had a nice snickers ... I was totally amazed to see families making their way up the hill, with only shorts, and a light rain jacket, they had NO idea what it was like up there .... ah well ... they would soon find out I thought . When the couple came down that I had met on the top I decied to ask them if they were going to Myrthyll Tydfill by any chance, cause the bus would be another 1 hours wait ... and they decided it was only a small detour for them, and they kindly dropped my off at the train station .. yeah .... nice one !

Made my way back to Cardiff, and decided to go into town before going back to the hostel ... ended up in one of the many sportshops, as there are loads of these in the UK ... I remembered from my two years in scotland, that these shops allways have great sales for comfy shorts or trousers ... found myself a great pair of swimming pants and some other great pants, for very very little .... stil used my credit card ... yeah .... on you go ...

Then went to the hostel, had a great bath and shower, made some nice pasta, filled up my tummy and then settled behind the pc, on the sofa, feet up offcourse ... actually fell asleep during Mysterious Ways .... with three songs to go .... ah well ... you cant have it all I guess.

Tomorrow I will have a lazy day in the sauna and do some exploring at the coast of cardiff .. think of a way to get rid of my bag on the concert day ... I do have this hostel booked for the 22nd but plan to get at the Millennium Stadium early in the morning, before I can check in ... so .... ah well ... it wil get sorted ...
Bedtime for now .... off to the l;and of the little fairies .. welsh fairies ..

catching a flight from the wrong airport ...

oh yes ... it had to happen ...
I missed my flight today .. went to the wrong brussels airport, to find out there that there was no ryanair flights from that place .... oh oh ..
missed my flight by 20 minutes .... oh yes ... I felt miserable ...
quickly realising that there was little I could do ....
so.... traveled 11 hrs today, to arrive back home ...

now I have set up an emergency scenario, cause I have already got my tickets for glasgow and cardiff, and flights are boooked to get there, and back ...
so .... now I am flying from amsterdam, arriving at 18.00 at edinburgh, get a cab to hampden park in glasgow ... which will take a rib out of my body but hey ....
it has to be like that ...
otherwise I will likely miss half of the show,as the airport in edinburgh lies west of the city, you need to go into the city first, Then take a bus or train westbound again to get to glasgow .... impossible !
The band will start around 20.15 and to get into the city takes 30minutes, to get to glasgow takes 1,5 hrs then need to pick up my ticket from the box office ...
thanx to ticketbastard, they never send me my ticket, with the excuse they had run out .... yeah sure ....

but hey .... I guess this way I will feel like a VIP ... I will be greeted at the airport by a cabdriver, who will be holding a sign with my name on it, then take me to hampden asap .... .. I will keep that sign .... ! Mr Important ! On the back I will write the cab fare ... to remind me ... ah welll ...

Transporting myself like this will mean I get to see the glasgow gig, catch my flight to cardiff the next day, hike for a couple of days in wales, and finish off this amazing summer with the final gig of the european leg ...... yeah ... bring it on . I cant wait ...

for those who dont know ... the audio from the gig in sheffield will be broadcasted live on the 20th aug ... via internet .... so ... close your eyes .... and imagine being here .....

building the xoxbox

Feverishly working hard to get it to work ..
the xoxbox .... mine will hopefully sing its first notes in the coming days ...

what a shot --- dublin 25th July 2009

Here I am, once again, dressed in the dutch orange national colour that makes it easy to identify myself, it also happens to be the accent colour U2 is using for their stage setup . I made it to the rail ... but it took a little war to get there ...
More words later, some pics for now ...

dublin 24th July 2009 Wide Awake, an emotional discharge !!!

Friday, first gig in Dublin, and I was gonna take it easy ....

Spend most of the day writing letters for the boys, as for a long time I had this idea to give the boys all a copy of the brotherhood e.p , the first release on my own record label Wide Awake records ...

This name came from the song BAD which has always been a very important song for me and my brother Finsent.

For those who dont know, my dear brother Finsent passed away 5 years ago along with his girlfriend Michelle, Finsent and Michelle had this sad accident while they were on their first day of their snowboarding holiday in Alpe d'Huez france ....
It was the blackest day in my entire life, and ever since I have been trying very very hard to deal with this, actually if anything, it has made me live my life more than anything, doing what feels good each and every day, and actually, making the most of each day, cause before you know it, it can all be over, here and now ...

I call it being Wide Awake !!

After his death I decided to start a record label to keep his music "alive" the label is called Wide Awake Records, my brother and I had always been obsessed with making and playing music ourselves ... This label was gonna feature our own music, without any concessions, and for the record sleeves I was gonna use some of the amazing pictures Finsent had taken over the years, being a student at various art academies.



This is the record sleeve, front and back folded out ... the brotherhood ep

We played the song BAD on his funeral and then last week U2 played the same song in Amsterdam on the 21st July, while my parents were sitting behind the stage, and I was in front of it, crying my heart out ... man, it was emotional ... and healing at the same time !

So, after the amsterdam gigs I was gonna go to Dublin to see the boys play three times there ... I decided now was the time to give the boys a copy of the record, and write them a letter, explaining what and how .... I had brought four copies, each wrapped up in smiley paper and on the friday I had been writing the letters, all hand written, analog as hell ... On the thursday I had been to the Clarence hotel (owned by Bono and the Edge) to find out if I could drop the records there, and that was not a problem they said .... so on friday, before the gig, I went there, with a bag full of emotions

... And guess what ... they refused to pass it on ... no way ...

They told me they were under strict instructions not to accept any gifts for the band, what the f**k ? You can imagine I was very upset, I decided to ask for the manager before I was gonna be asked to leave the hotel .. no way I was gonna end up at the concert carrying this bag with me ... I mean, how could I enjoy the concert if I was to take care of the bag at the same time ? The manager came out and told me that they really could not take it, and that principle managements office was dealing with all PR things ... so I made clear that one of his members of staff had told me something totally different the night prior, and that I wanted a solution, he looked at me as if he saw water burning but he quickly realised I meant business here ....

He then pulled out this small map of the centre of Dublin, marked where I could find the Principle managements office and told me to go there. I made sure there would be somebody there, cause I was not gonna walk 30 minutes, and end up in front of a closed door ... and then I just told him once more that he needed to instruct his staff properly to avoid disappointing moments like these ... I had to ... and off I went ...

I walked fast, and soon reached the office, close to where the original studios were located, in an area that is almost considered holy for the u2 nutters .... I rang the bell and was let in ... The guy quickly made his way out of the office, meeting me before I could set foot inside the actual office, where I could see several memorabilia hanging at the walls ... ah well, I was not there for that ... I was on a mission ... I told him that I had brought 4 records, each with a personal letter, and if he could please make sure that the guys would get them .... and here we go .... he told me he could not ....... cause they did not accept any demo's .... ha ha .... he thought I was giving him a demo .... man .... that meant I had to pull out the whole history as described above .. and he soon realised it was totally not what he thought at first, he then took the bag, and promised me he would pass them on, I asked him again if he was really sure that they would get it, cause it WAS IMPORTANT to me !!! And he reassured me, they would definitely get the records !

And that was it, I could not do any more, I simply had to let it go .... it was my moment of surrender ...

I felt strange walking out of the building, towards Croke Park, and soon felt the need for some food ... decided to have a pizza before I entered the stadium and I simply needed some time to let it all fall into place ....

It felt good, I had realised another dream I had had for long, I felt very vey emotional and sad and happy at the same time .. a total charge - discharge experience!

I then went inside Croke Park for the first of three gigs I was gonna witness there, and it was electric, the stadium with its history of Sunday Bloody Sunday (the english had gunned down 18 Irish on the field, after the irish had killed several english spies the day before that) and the mad Irish that stay outside the actual stadium, cause they are not allowed to drink inside ... and if there is one thing they want to do ... it's drink ...

I got my spot in between the sound desk and the catwalk, right behind a few small italians, so I thought I was allright there ... I could see the stage and hear it all very well, the speakers that are hanging from the stage are long throw speakers, so you need to be a bit further away if you want to have a proper sound experience ..
the warmup bands were Damien Dempsey, an Irish bloke, singing his heart out, it was very impressive, and I actually bought 4 cd's to take home ! And Glasvegas, and the fact that I sat down, and they did not make me want to sit up, says anough ..

Then as the concert was to start, all hell broke out, here come the Irish Lads ... drunk as hell, ploughing and shoving, making their way to the front, they reckon they are Irish, and have any right to be at the front, but they were not gonna wait in line for hours, as all others had to get to where they were then .. ... shit man .. it was hell ... they made the whole field shift and before I knew it, there were tall lads in front of me, and the Italians were right beside me ... we could not see a thing ...
We soon decided to regroup, and it looked ok, untill the concerts started, here come the camera's F**KING hell !!! I HATE THEM I REALLY HATE THE CAMERA's !!!!!!!!!

People in front of us, holding their camera with two hands, so you could not see over their shoulder, nor their heads ... and as everyone was trying to see what was going on at the stage, the field was a continuous sight of moving and shifting bodies ... I soon took out my dextro energy tablets, broke them up and started throwing them at the camera's ... I was not gonna let them ruin my night , no way .... It took 4-5 songs and some proper aiming, but they soon realised I meant business, and most cameras stayed below head level then ... with the occasional exception offcourse, but that was ok ... I had to tell the german girl in front of me that she was really starting to piss me off with her camera, cause I could not loose myself in the moment as there was this shiny thing in front of me all the time ... she was pretty shocked by my directness, but I told her, that she had to do what she felt like doing, but that I was gonna do the same, and in this case that meant, tell her she was pissing me off !!
She harldy positioned here camera in front of my face after that, so that was the camera issue ....

Next ... there were too many folks there who seemed to be there to witness it all, but not participate .... they did not jump, they did not sing, they were more concerned about their newly bought t-shirts... they did not dare to place the bag on the ground, but decieded to haneg them from their belts, making the bag dingle back and forth all the time, and you can gues what, these bags were touching me all the time, acting like a total distraction, f**king hell .... another issue to deal with ... it meant I had to reposition myself, out of reach of the dangling bags ... but at the same time I had to make sure I was not gonna block anyones view ... so it took some strategising .... and all of this ... took away energy from the whole concert experience ... and man what a concert it was ..... What a setlist ...

They played the entire set they played in Amsterdam on the 21st July, with the addition of The Unforgettable Fire ... wow .... it was totally amazing ....

They also played BAD again .... on the day I dropped the records ....
It was not the same as it was in Amsterdam, logically .. as things had evolved !

But it still was amazing ... for one of my new made Italian friends, Gianluca (and his girlfriend Francesca) it was so touching .... we all dropped some tears, and had the time of our life ! I also met Francesco and Terri his girlfriend from Rome, I have a feeling I will see you all next year in Rome or Amsterdam or Dublin again .. !

For the last few songs I decided to say goodbye to my Italian friends, and get away from the crowded spot ... went all the way to the back of the field where I had loads and loads of space to dance and jump, without anyone getting upset that I was landing on their feet ... these wining and moaning idiots should stay home next time ... and watch the dvd from the comfort of their home ... please !!!

After Moment of Surrender .... I was a very happy man ! Glad I had decided to fulfill my dreams, dreaming out loud and going to Dublin to see the boys at their hometown !
Also, I decided there and then, that I was gonna try and get a spot close to the catwalk the next day, cause being there, meant no cameras, and a rail to hold onto, allowing me to jump even higher ... so as I was making my way round the stadium, I soon discovered a small group of people, waiting outside, and yes, they were the line for the second day .... I joined them, and waited insructions from the security guys.
They told us we could go home to get our tickets and airbeds etc but then we had to sleep inside Croke Park, as we could not stay in the streets outside the stadium, until they would move us onto the space in front of the stadium, so, after there seemed to be some confusion with another group of people that had decided to line up elsewhere .. we soon combined the two lines, and I ended up with nr 13 ... we went inside, found ourselves some pieces of cardboard to put on the cold ground, and started waiting, untill the moment would come where we could go to the hotel to get our stuff ... At first they changed their minds, locking up the gates, telling us we could not go outside untill 6am ... what the f**k ?? I was not gonna do that .. no way, I still had my contact lenses in and needed to get some sleep after this very emotional day. After 30 minutes they changed again, and allowed us to go out ... I walked back to the hotel, 45 minutes walk ... got my stuff, and sat down on the bed, re-thinking my plan ... was this the right thing to do ???? I then decided I only live once, so, let the adventure continue ... when would I have the chance again to sleep along with some nutters, inside Croke Park ? Making sure I would get the spot I wanted for teh next day .... so ... jumped under the shower and walked back to Croke ..
Blew up my airbed, got a piece of cardboard as my blanket, cause I did not have my sleeping bag, and tried to get some sleep ... man .. here I was .. inside Croke Park, amidst some new made friends that I had met in Barcelona, Milan and Nice ... and all in the same boat ... some were sleeping underneath their flags, some in a tent and me, underneath some piece of cardboard from a box, used for french fries ... ha ha ...

I slept for one hour, when we were all woken up ... and escorted to the the next holding spot .... more about that later .. cause after all ... it was the 25th.. day 2

dreaming out loud !!!

this is me in Nou Camp in barcelona for the second gig of the tour, on 2nd July

picture was taken by Jon, one of the aussies in front of me, notice the couple behind me, about to do some great kissie kissie ..... I did not bring a camera for the first 5 gigs, wanted to take it all in, loose myself in the moments, but when I got this pic, I was glad Jon did bring his camera and took this shot ....

irish delight

just got back ...
saw all three shows in dublin, tired as hell ..... and a happy man !

I actually think bono was drunk on dublin 3rd night ....
he had to look at the lyrics so many times it seemed ..... dont know if they hide a autocue or something behind the monitor ... but he was looking there very very often ....

I stood slightly to his right, with two small girls in front of me ..
not bad for nr 268 in the line .... what a story that queing was .... more about that later ...

They played new yearsday, it was announced as: and now for my polish friends ....
so I could not stay quiet .... screamed NYD ..... and yes .. it rocked as hell !!!

and what no one seems to get ...... the ones tat are moaning that they should have played longer that night ....

the sound check --- rehearsals .... WERE the encores !!!!!!!

they really felt like they were .... it was awesome .... I will follow full and very loud and clear, then drowning man also very clear and full, no stops ....... then new years day, without Bono ..... which could have signaled they would play it tonight ..... and then electrical storm .. stopped, then played in fulll too ....

I guess instead of paying 800,000 euro fine ....
why not reward the diehards that have been out there all day, and night ......
and so they did ... with this awesome ----moving --- unforgettable rehearsal !!!

second night, with the rain .... the umbrellas on stage were lifted up with unforgettable fire .... amazing sight as they also hold the smoke from the smoek machines, and reflect teh lights .... bono was singing so many RAIN snippets .... he was truelly on fire on night two ... mysterious ways was played , with the very short but moving Mothers of the dissappeared snippet, it was awesome !

on night one I had to sacrifice half of my dextro energy tablets, broke them in pieces and threw them at these bloody cameras that were blocking my view for the first 5 songs .... fucking hell I hate them !

the ones that were taking pictures soon held them down cause I was not giving up .... also bottles were chucked, plastic ones .. the idiots were holding the cameras with 2 hands, above their heads, so we could not look over shoulders nor heads ....
stop moaning about setlists (especially if you were not there),
start a petition against these bloody cameras !
the trouble with the cameras made me decide to camp out for night two, I stayed at croke after night one .... so I could be at the catwalk rail, without any of these bloody things in front of me ...! I succeded !!!!
but that was not without a big very big war cause security fucked up the two line system they were enforcing .... one line with wristbanded folks for the pit, with 2300 in it ... they were not to be let out of the pit ... so that line two, without wristbands, could take possession of teh field .... and the much wanted rail at the catwalk ...... imagine sleeping at croke under a piece of cardboard, cause I had no sleepingbag .... slept one hour, was nr 3 in the field-line .... and entered the field as nr 1 only to see the catwalk taken by wristbanded people, that against all promises, were allowed out of the pit .... total war broke out then ...

I was lucky that a guy who I had met earlier, he wrote this book, me and my u2, he is called cathal, he stood up and gave me his spot at the rail !!!! I almost started crying .... quickly took my spot and was shaking for 1 hour ! all of our group started a riot ! security did not know what to do .... people started taking off their wristbands, playing as if they did not know, or even, as if they had never had a wristband , fucking bastards ! saying they had not been told about the two way system etc .... come on, you got a bloody wristband, so you knew all along what your tactics were !!! security made loads of people get up and give up their places, loads refused etc ..... what a helll !!!!!! yep, call yourself U2 fan ... man, how dissappointed I have gotten from all these little line-wars and rail wars etc ,..... there are loads of bloody arseholes out there, saying they have once been the victim of bad policies, and line cutters, and now they simply do the same !!!!

I have almost gotten into fist fights with some of them ....
I play the game honest and if you dont, I WILL KEEP TELLING you that you suck !!!
BIGTIME

sorry, had to let you know this peculiar side to the dublin experience .... need some sleep now .....

more words later about this great three-some !
but I tell you, 5 GA shows in 8 days is on the edge of total madness .....

feels good though

dubln here I come

I will be leaving on the 23rd from eindhoven flying straight to dublin, staying in teh ardmore hotel with 24 other dutch u2 nutters .,...
I will be attending the concerts on friday 24th, saturday 25th and monday the 27th ...... ready for a huge party, only thing is I can not sing along .......
I lost my voice in amsterdam ......

not very strange .....
when you look at the setlist on day 2

back next week ....

wide awake as never before ....
ciao ciao

more pictures ... 20th july

pictures 20th july

amsterdam arena 20th July what a night !!!

pico ... in green .... I can see ya !!!

unfuckingbelievable

lost in tears after this ....
gone ... totally gone ...

this one was for finnie !!!

we are wide awake !!!

going crazy in amsterdam

I was right in front of the three musketeers ..... at the good side, facing the boys .,.
what a song .... what a night ....
macphisto eat ya heart out ,,,,,

they caught me on u2.com

concert 21st July amsterdam
rail at the catwalk ..... during magnificent they filmed this for u2.com
and I was there ... as you can see ...
second face from the left ...... next to the guy in blue ....
and you can hear me too ...
go to u2.com
check the movie called, a note for bono
after the girl screams bonoooooo ... there is a loud whaaaaaaaa
comes from my throat .... from very deep .... as I had no voice left after day 1 in amsterdam .... I tried singing along .... but hey ....
sweet this souvenir !!!
ciao