August 21st 2004
Belfortrock
It was clear from the start that Nannette would not be
able to accompany us this time (she was confined to a plaster cast from her
knees up to her stomach), so it was just my sister Anita and myself that set off
to Belgium. Normally Rob is our driver and he always wants to go back home the
same evening. Anita and I however decided to book a hotel for the night. This
meant we could make our way home the next morning without any hassle. We arrived
at the hotel around five p.m.. After checking in, we went to find the
organisation of the event. We had agreed beforehand that they would reserve
guest passes for us. We got the pases and went for a bite to eat. Anita had just
got her starter when John entered. A big smile lit up his face and he came over
to say hello. Despite the fact we were in Belgium he remembered that us Dutchies
always exchange three kisses. He sat down at a table behind me and ordered his
meal. Then Mark rushed in. He excused himself, he was in a bit of a panic. He
walked straight over to John and they had a mumbled conversation. After that he
was ready to come and greet us and explain what the panic had been about. Upon
entering his room he had found out that his guitar was missing. Luckily John had
been able to tell him that his guitar was quite safe, so he was now able to
greet us with the customary three kisses on which I insisted! After finishing my
salad and french fries (Anita was
still tucking into her steak) , Mick came in. He took his time to say hello to
us and then excused himself for being rude for interrupting our dinner. He then
went over to John’s table, snatched a few fries and was off again. In the
meantime Alan too had come down, but he was being haunted by some fans.
Afterwards he went over to John and f**ed a bit about not having the time to get
some food inside him. John ticked him off, because the “girls” (us) were
within hearing distance. Well, we did fully understand that Alan would have
liked to get some food inside him before the gig!
After dinner it was time to leave for the venue. As we
hadn’t had an opportunity to greet Alan I went over to the door where the band
was gathered to leave and said hello. We had no idea where the venue was, so we
decided to follow the bus. It was a ride through all sorts of little streets and
alleys, so I was wondering if I would ever be able to find my way back to the
hotel later. We arrived at the backstage parking lot. I found a nice spot to
park my car, but it was somewhat on the small side, so it took quite an effort
to actually get it there, so by the time I had finally succeeded, the band had
already dissapeared inside. We had been promised by the organisors
that we would get to speak to the guys later, so we went to find the
stage. We knew beforehand that there was no possibility to see the show from
behind or beside the stage,and it turned out that this was true. It was a large
stage in the middle of a market square. I looked up to the sky from time to time
and sent up a little prayer for dry weather. We found a strategic spot for
taking lots of pictures.
When they got on stage it immediately struck me that
the guys weren’t wearing identical outfits. Only Alan and Mark were wearing
the red Rubettes T-shirt, but Mick was wearing a plain red shirt and John was in
a polo-neck. But of course that did not do anything to minimalise their
enthousiasm. The gig was as exciting as ever, although they had to work hard to
get the crowd to join in. The sound system was not working as it should. During Baby
I Know Alan’s mike fell completely silent. He walked over to another mike,
but that one also refused. While playing on he was gesticulating and calling out
to draw the technicion’s attention, but it took a while for them to notice.
Luckily Mick does the main vocals of this song and Mark and John could make up
for Alan’s missing voice. I think the crowd didn’t even notice what was
going on.
Anita and I were pleasantly surprised when they played Ooh
La La ; the last time we had heard them play this was in Zoetermeer. What I
like most about this song is that Mark gets to blow on a whistle. He performs
this task with an enthousiasm as if his life depends on it! Wonderful to see
such a talented musician do something as simple as this with such gusto!
For a while I was afraid that the taiko act would not
be done this evening, because I had not seen the drums on stage. But when John
came from behind his drumkit to do the a capella part of their act, I saw him
give Mark a set of drumsticks, which put my mind at ease. After Barbara Ann everything
was put in order for the taiko act while John tried to get the audience to join
in with the Gauranga mantra, but again with little success. During the act,
Mick’s drum suddenly collapsed, he needed a few seconds to get the drum
litterally on its feet again. He picked up the rythm and for a while the act
went flawlessly..... until John’s drum suddenly decided to collapse as well. I
will not litterally repeat what he said, but
he was NOT amused!!! He repaired his drum and they could conclude the taiko act
without further interruption. Despite the setbacks the act was a great success,
but the boys were absolutely exhausted afterwards. They needed a little time to
catch their breath and took the opportunity to introduce themselves to the
audience.
The Sha Na Na Song didn’t really catch on with
the crowd, so they were forced to do a very short version this time. During the
soulmedley at last the crowd started showing some more enthousiasm. Mark put on
his sunglasses, which I had seen him put on his keyboard before starting the
soulmedley, and he stole the show! I was lucky enough to be able to capture this
moment on a photograph.
And then there is always the moment the show has to
come to an end. This was our cue to make our way to the backstage area. But we
were unpleasantly surprised. There was so much security on hand and even with
our passes they refused to let us go behind the scenes. This was a real nuisance,
because not only didn’t we get to speak to the band, but I also had my car
parked there. They were unrelentless though, so all we could do was walk around
the compound to reach the car. We found one friendly gentleman who was prepared
to let us through, and we decided to take the opportunity to see if we could see
the band. But the whole gang of security folks were shocked to find out we got
there at all. There was no way they would let us inside the building. Even my
friendliest face did not work! Anita and I came to the conclusion it would be
better to drive back to the hotel, even though we remembered we would most
probably not be able to find our way back. It did take some searching, but we
got there in the end...
At the hotel we treated ourselves to a nice cool drink.
After a little while John and Alan came in and were immediately mobbed by a
number of fans. Alan was not going to be kept from his dinner again, so they sat
down for something to eat. As soon as they left the table, the fans were back to
haunt them. John took the easy way out and retreated to his room. Alan just let
it all happen. Anita and I were watching the goings-on and decided to leave Alan
alone and go up to catch some sleep. Of course we did go and say a quick goodbye
to Alan and explained why Nannette was not able to be there. He was genuinely
concerned about her.
The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast before
starting the journey back home. This journey took us a bit longer, because we
took a wrong turning, but it was Sunday and we had all the time in the world. We
took a little stop at the hotel where the Rubettes had stayed in October 2002 in
Bergen Op Zoom. So you see, we go places................
Lucienne