9/21-22: Amsterdam
We had to catch the bus to Amsterdam by 5 in the morning, and the Strasbourg punks scrambled to formulate a plan to get us to the bus station by 4:30… After much drunken confusion we were offered a ride and we got to the bus stop in time for our 12 hour ride to Amsterdam. There were characters on that bus, though I drifted in and out of sleep all day. Most notable was the eccentric and probably stoned world traveler who the other passengers had dubbed “Einstein,” and “Baby Jesus.” At one point I woke up and Baby Jesus was sleeping in the overhead luggage rack, which I found out later was how the original bassist from Metallica died.
In Amsterdam we asked the first bus driver we found if his bus was going to where we were headed to, and as luck was with us, he was. We got to Joe’s Garage, a squatted storefront that had been evicted at a location across the street, but they’d re-opened after crossing the road and squatting another building and they were having their opening cafe night. The kitchen was run by a group of Israeli anarchists who made incredible food, and I played as after-dinner entertainment along with Dusty Awe who played the next few shows with me. The next night the same crew of cooks put on a people’s kitchen at a different squat in Amsterdam and again I perched on a ledge above the door to perform as after-dinner entertainment. The second squat was a cafe called MKz – part of a permitted complex called Ociii that had a few different buildings including a larger show venue, an infoshop, a bar, and one building I hadn’t expected to find at a squat. We were poking our heads around the pavilion and we peaked into one building to find a bunch of steamy naked people walking around. A worker explained that it was their squatted sauna, and after he found out we were performing at the cafe, he insisted that we come in for a dry sauna, a wet sauna, showers and a cold bath!
Now, I’ve heard conflicting stories about the weed in Amsterdam – everything from how mindblowingly strong it is, to how weak it is because of regulation, to how you can buy a joint that will perfectly fit any mood you’re in. I don’t usually smoke weed, but I thought I should try some in Amsterdam, and quickly fell into what I learned was a typical American tourist folly. After two small tokes of a cheap joint I was STONED TO THE BONE and completely useless for the next several hours. Fortunately, Jordan was sober and he navigated us to the various stops on our map: a queer bookstore with comic books featuring remarkably well endowed superheros and the anarchist bookstore. The worker at the anarchist bookstore was remarkably patient with me as I stammered through a couple disjointed sentences about the international anarchist network. Fortunately he came to the show later and told me he’d understood my situation immediately. “I’ve seen dozens of American bands come over here who I’ve been excited about, and then watch them stagger through their songs, barely able to play, they’re so stoned. At least you were sober enough in time for the show!”
After the show we went to another squat where we heard it was ping pong night. Not expecting much from ping pong night, especially since the squat was only accessible by a remote alleyway that was guarded by someone (who turned out to be the singer from Vitamin X) telling people to be quiet as they entered, we were surprised to find a huge bar with two rooms full of people and ping pong tables and enthusiastic tournaments in action. Our friend Helena, Jordan and I formed an alliance which for lack of a better name we dubbed “Team U.S.A.” We tried our skills against team Amsterdam, and team Japan, and Jordan and Helena both made it to the final round once each. The crowd at ping pong night didn’t seem particularly part of any squatter subculture, which was one of the many examples of how atypically swank the squats in Amsterdam were. Aside from the squatted storefronts, bars, and the sauna, we also met a girl named Rosa who upon introduction invited us to her squat which was directly on waterfront by the canal, and according to her was worth several million dollars if sold!
