Namur was a very cool and quaint little town. I arrived around noon and the show wasn't until 8:30pm. My hotel stood about 50 yards from the train station, and was gorgeous. It was some sort of converted old building and had some interesting statues and artwork.
I walked around for a bit; I wanted to eat, walk around, and then crash for a few minutes prior to searching for the concert venue. I was instantly shocked at how many people were here -- the streets were filled with people. I also quickly learned that virtually no one in Namur speaks English. Uh oh. Thankfully, Brussels had been a bit of a warm-up, so it was now sink or swim time.
I tested my French at a restaraunt (not that callenging), though I inadvertenly ordered what I'll call, "steak nuggets." The menu didn't use what I knew for steak, so I was a little surprised at the nuggets, but they were delicious, nonetheless.
I then upped the ante by trying to buy a pair of sweet shoes (des chausseurs). Unfortunately, they didn't have my size. It was fun; I actually navigated that process fairly flawlessly.
Feeling exhausted (that's a common theme these days -- crappy beds + limited to no sleep + walking all day has been wearing me down -- on the bright side, I have lost some weight and toned up; I'm now sinching my belt on the last hole, and it's still not quite tight enough), I headed back to the hotel for some rest.
Right as I had drifted asleep, I nearly crapped my pants when an "explosion" sound woke me. What the hell was that?? I closed my eyes again, and BOOM!! another thunderous explosion woke me. Seriously?! What the hell?! Then, I started hearing drums. Ugh -- the one time I'm trying to sleep in the afternoon and the town is having some sort of festival?
I had to check this out, and I still needed to find the show's venue. As it turns out, it wasn't just a festival, it was some sort of historical reinactment, complete with people dressed as Victorian-aged soliders. The "explosions" were gunfire shots fired from muskets. A parade also cruised through the town. Confetti littered nearly every street. I found the whole thing surreal -- the lone American standing in the middle of a random Belgium town during a parade.
I continued through the parade route and found the concert venue. Time for some food, a drink, and the show...
"Quick" backstory. I first learned about Hooverphonic 10 years ago, when I saw one of their videos on MTV2, during a show called Liquid Television. On that show, they played mostly electronica and acid jazz. That's also where I first heard DJ Rap, BT, and Morcheeba. Anyway, after hearing that first Hooverphonic song -- "2Wicky" (which, to this day is still my favorite song of theirs), I bought their first album, and got all of their subsequent albums. I generally have to download the albums since they rarely sell their stuff stateside, and as far I know, after 10 years, I don't think they've ever toured the US (or at least never made it anywhere I lived). Needless to say, I was excited to finally be able to see them. However, they had recently changed singers and released their newest album with the new singer, so I was a little concerned that they'd only play their newer stuff (I hadn't downloaded the latest album yet; it was only available on iTunes -- damn you, Apple!!). Ok; enough of that.
I somehow scored front row tickets -- not sure how; one day I tried to get tickets and my seat was to be in one of the balconies. During the transaction, my wireless connection crapped out, so the next day, when I got connected again, I went to buy a ticket, and magically I was given front row. All of the tickets were one price, so it's not like I splurged -- weird.
The theater was really, really nice. It had several balconies (at least 4) and sat about 500 people in the main floor area. I estimated that this place could hold maybe 800, and it was completely full.
Ever had one of those concert experiences where the band plays none of the songs you really like, they throw in a couple of whacked out experimental songs, and generally disappoint? Thankfully this show was the complete opposite of that. To my amazement, they played all of the songs that I really like (including 2Wicky), and even some that I really didn't anticipate them doing. They played about 2.5 hours, and between every song, they shared a story with the audience, or just talked back and forth with the crowd. To my dismay, all of this was spoken completely in French (though all of their songs are in English), and I only understood about 20% of it :( At any rate, the whole show was a great experience!
I took some videos, but I've learned that my phone doesn't handle bass very well, so most are fairly distorted (I was right next to a speaker), but I've also posted links to the studio version of the song if you're interested...By the way, the guitarist is the doppleganger for the middle school principal in East Bound and Down. Hehe.
All of these were played...
2Wicky
Club Montepulciano
Eden
Mad About You
Jackie Cane
Sometimes
Anger Never Dies (I heard this 4-5 times while I was in Brussels at random places)
Anyone who visits Brussels for a few days should definitely take a day trip to Namur (I also heard the same about Brugges, but time wasn't going to allow it). This far exceeded my expectations!
Back to Brussels for a couple of days before heading out to Amsterdam.
No comments:
Post a Comment