JRRZZ Blog

Here in the Netherlands, we’ve got a tradition called Sinterklaas. It’s about an old, single bearded man with a love for children dressed in red coming down the chimney with presents around December. But unlike Santaclaus, he’s got black people instead of reindeer. Who said the Dutch abolished slavery and apartheid? The Americans pretty much stole the whole thing, and made it Geneva-compatible, but that’s neither here nor there.

Sinterklaas comes from Spain in our traditions, on a big ocean steamer. This year though, he’s delivered his presents through email. And the email didn’t even come from Spain, it was sent by our Swedish friends. So I guess it wasn’t Sinterklaas this time. Unless these guys are Sinterklaas, that is.

Because Opeth has been going strong since way before I knew about them, that’s like 20 years of Opeth, they’re celebrating with a series of concerts. They kind of forgot to schedule a concert in the Netherlands, so we’ll have to come to them. To Germany. Not that I dislike our eastern neighbors, but you know, there has always been a bit of a friendly competition between the two of us. Let’s just don’t mention the war, now shall we?

Anyways, to make this extra special, the concert’s being held at the Lichtburg in Essen. As you can see, it’s not that much of a moshpit-esque venue. They’ll be playing the entire Blackwater Park album though, so they do deserve a venue with a certain style to play in. Not that the Lichtburg has that particular style, but at least it’s a proper recognition of the sheer musical quality these people have been producing for the last two decades.

Aaand, to make this whole deal even more awesome, me and my brother have got VIP-access. Another meet ‘n greet, wooh. It’s getting a bit tedious now, isn’t it? So I guess my brother can get his guitar signed again and I’ll be fumbling around, looking for the right words in front of gods again.