The Skatalites live in Holland 1993

The Skatalites Euro Tour 1993, September 9, Tivoli, Utrecht, 11, Effenaar, Eindhoven, 12, Melkweg, Amsterdam

Tivoli, Utrecht, Thursday September 9

I travel to the Netherlands by train. All I know, The Skatalites are playing tonight. I guess it will be easy to find the club. But I can see not one poster in town and at the tourist information there is no help. I ask everybody who looks like he/she could go to a ska concert. And then, somebody name me a place, where is a ska concert tonight. After a while I find it. But, finally there is a ska concert, but not with The Skatalites. It takes hours to find the name of the correct club and then to find the club.

There is a stairs going down. And short after I step down, I can hear some Jamaican voices. Yes, I’m right. I’m so happy. Tommy McCook is there and I start talking. I ask, how he can play in the higher range of the flute in such a tempo. My first flute lesson from Tommy McCook takes place. He shows me on his arm, who it works and that I have to overblow the a to get e and so on. It was just amazing, how much I learned in a few moments.

Whenever I recorded the whole show, I only have one tune saved. It’s Rockford Rock and I publish here for the first time a sample of this tune, because I don’t want no troubles, I can’t publish the full version. I want to share two solos I can listen day by day. The first solo on trumpet is played by the one and only Nathan Breedlove. Then something happen on stage. Clark Gayton is not just starting with his trombone solo, but he takes his towel and put it over the bell of his trombone (it looks and sounds like Curtis Fuller). I’m completely happy and enjoy every note. I mean, this solo is really something special. Later I ask Clark, why he did this. The answer is something like, he has to do, because the ambiance was in such a mood, he didn’t want to come in with all the trombone power. Listen to it, and you can hear and see what I mean. I’m sorry for the cut off, the dub solo by Lloyd Knibb & Lloyd Brevett is not on it as well as the absolutely out-of-space solo by Tommy McCook the master saxophonist. And my teacher for a little moment.

Because of technical problems I can’t listen to the rest of the show, but I remember another great moment in the concert. Someone from the audience is yelling “Play Ringo”. And Tommy as the leader he is, take it right from there and is announcing the next track: “Ringo”. Just like that.

It was my first and only “Ringo” version with the Skatalites (since then I have seen more than 70 shows so far).

Pictures

Effenaar, Eindhoven, Saturday September 11

After the show in Utrecht I had to spend one day in Eindhoven before I meet The Skatalites on Saturday again. Tommy McCook is a little bit angry, because I wasn’t around Friday. I’m touched. And then he takes a lot of different batches out of his bag and give me some.

Melkweg, Amsterdam, Sunday September 12

With the opening act by none other than Justin Hinds & The Dominoes, this show is completely different from those smaller club shows the days before. Tommy McCook is kind of nervous. He rehears in the backstage the Rockford Rock solo. But in the live show it is not as perfect as the one in Utrecht.

The second tune above is a little out of this show, with Phoenix City, where Tommy McCook makes: “Amsterdam City”. Everybody loves Amsterdam. The solo is very wild. It’s Roland Alphonso he inserts the microphone as deep inside his saxophone, that the engineer get a feedback. It’s too strong for the equipement. The playlist (scroll a little down) is longer and there is an extra with “Ska Voovee”. Maybe I find some more music and pictures from this and the other events.

Tour merchandise

Tour memory

Playlist

Tivoli, Utrecht

• Freedom Sounds

Not the whole list is saved. Only remembers Rockford Rock and Ringo.

Effenaar, Eindhoven

• Freedom Sounds
• ???
• Man In The Street
• The Vow
• Introducing the band
• Guns Of Navarone
• Pink Champagne
• Don’t Stay Away
• Rockford Rock
• Sugar Sugar
• El Pussy Cat
• Freedom Sounds (reprise)
• encore: Latin Goes Ska

Melkweg, Amsterdam

Supporting act: Justin Hinds & The Dominoes

• Freedom Sounds
• ???
• Man In The Street
• The Vow
• Welcome Me Back Home
• Introducing the band
• Guns Of Navarone
• Pink Champagne
• Don’t Stay Away
• Rockford Rock
• Sugar Sugar
• Latin Goes Ska
• El Pussy Cat
• Phoenix City
• Freedom Sounds (reprise)
• encore: Ska Voovee

Members on tour in 1993

Tommy McCook (tenor saxophone)	Lloyd Knibb (drums)
Roland Alphonso (tenor saxophone)	Lloyd Brevett (bass)
Doreen Schaffer (singer)	Nathan Breedlove (trumpet)
Devon James (guitar)	Clark Gayton (trombone)
Cary Brown (keyboard)

More Skatalites tour and diary infos can be found on The Skatalites Blog.

Other events, where I was… in the audience.