Don't touch it

I'm always in for something new, so when I heard about a new Dutch coverband, featuring Polle Eduard, I just had to see it. So I went to Delft, hoping it wasn't too far away from the railway station. It wasn't. Fortunately, the usual gang wasn't there, so I was in for a new and fresh experience. First disappointment, the beer was way too expensive, 3 euros a bottle. That is NLG 6.50 for those who remember the good old days. I used to pay that in exclusive nightclubs, for Pete's sake!

Rock Morton was the support act. It was clear that this band had a lot of fun playing their own music and there's nothing wrong with that. But don't bother the general public with it. A support act should heat up the public before the main act arrives. Rock Morton didn't, despite their efforts.

If "Touch me" had been a local garage band in a community center there had been nothing wrong with it. You get what you don't pay for. But this was Polle Eduard, a professional musician for more years than I can remember, and I had been expecting a lot more. When they played "LA Woman" during the sound check I didn't think it was all that bad, but I was in for a lot worse. I will never forgive them for slaughtering "Indian Summer" the way they did. It was horrible. The Doors' music allows you to improvise and you can get away with a lot. But there are certain cues where the band has to react on, the moment where everything comes together again. This band didn't know that. There were six individuals there playing Doors music. That simply doesn't work, especially when you're a hardcore Doors fan. Although there were quite some people in Lorre, few were dancing, so I think I wasn't the only one that thought this concert was a bummer.

Most vocalists gave a passable performance. I was happy too see that some even knew their lyrics or were able to pronounce them properly, because to my surprise that obviously didn't seem required. The best part of the whole afternoon was the completely stoned out announcer. I'd hire the guy on the spot for his hilarious introductions which were probably inspired by Wikipedia. He even surpassed the equally stoned out guy that announced Purple Legion in Illingen, who managed to crank out more f-words per minute than Gordon Ramsey.

All in all, my fellow Doors fans had probably already heard of this act, since they weren't there. Nuff said. Don't touch it.