By Klaas Guchelaar

Last week De Staat played in Groningen and from what I heard they played Vera on their own request. Now De Staat is big enough to fill Vera twice easily, so that’s exactly what they did.

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While I was preparing to go and see Gabby Young in De Oosterpoort, I saw a passing tweet by Pien Feith that she’d play in Groningen that same evening at the Jonge Harten Festival. That was too good an opportunity to pass on and so after the gig by Gabby I walked over to Jazzcafe De Spieghel, well in time for Pien’s gig.

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Gabby Young -the British answer to Lady Gaga- is coming to De Oosterpoort with her band Other Animals

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On Monday Madeleine Peyroux played at De Oosterpoort in Groningen. Playing in Spain the day before, her trip to Groningen was shrouded in fog. Still she and her band made in well in time for a fantastic concert.

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I’ve been making some ‘Virtual panoramas’ for a short while now, posting the results on my secondary website. And though I love creating these virtual scenes, the disadvantage of these panoramas however is that they can only be seen online. You can’t print them or hang them on the wall. And I wanted to do something more with the photos I had. A stand on an art-fair a short while ago sparked an idea: Hyperbolics. I had already played with this idea a little bit with an image of the square in Groningen, but I can do so much more with the images I already have.

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A few months ago I read the announcement that Elvis Costello was going to come to Groningen! That was something to look forward to. The man’s musical career is as long as I am old and he still releases great albums. The gig in De Oosterpoort (on November 8th) would be a solo-performance, to be opened by Larkin Poe

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As broad as my musical taste is, there is on style I will always fall back on. No matter what my mood is, I love old blues. It might not have wild guitar solos, but I just love the ‘simple’ structured Delta Blues. So I was thrilled to find my request to shoot at the Keb’ Mo’ gig approved.

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The moment I saw Zita Swoon in Zwolle with their Band in a Box tour, I fell in love with the band. What an incredible concept and what a fantastic live band. This concept did not last forever of course and since then the band has undergone a few changes. They came to Groningen last Monday to play in the wonderful Stadsschouwburg.

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Last week Roos Rebergen (better known as Roosbeef) came to Groningen. Having played the Oosterpoort venue a few times already, she now took over the Vera venue.

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One day after Richmond Fontaine I was back in Groningen again, now in De Oosterpoort for another ‘folk’ band: Noah and the Whale. I remember seeing them before quite a while ago. As it turns out it was just a little over two years ago. On September 20th, in Vera actually. Also I remember not really knowing what to think of them back then, but I wanted to give them another try.

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Went to Vera last Thursday to see Richmond Fontaine, a ‘country rock’ band that, according to the info on the Vera website, sounds like Uncle Tupelo, 16 Horsepower and Willard Grand Conspiracy. So it ought to be right up my alley.

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Plato Planet 2011 was far from over as there were still three acts to see. So after the set by the Pioneers of Love I headed back to the “Kleine zaal” that was already getting crowded in the front rows.

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Having just left the Irene Wiersma’s poetry bundle presentation I saw a tweet by the Oosterpoort venue stating that everyone that was not currently attending Plato Planet 2011 was a pancake. And I had no intention of being a pancake, so I headed to the Oosterpoort and try to get in even though I had not previously requested a photo-pass. The good people of the Oosterpoort were nice enough to let me in anyway.

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I was asked to take photos at the presentation of Irene Wiersema’s collected poetry called ‘Wat U?’ in Vera on Sunday. And when a lady asks you to photograph such an event, you can’t refuse, now can you? So at the end of the afternoon I was present in Vera for my second poetry reading.

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I had already missed a few of the De Derde Helft editions, but seeing that the 8th edition on September 21st would have a Jazz quartet led by Michael Moore made me not want to miss this one and so last evening I went to what was to be a fantastic edition of De Derde Helft.

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