Here on trippist we do quite alot of "upcoming event" notification... which makes sense since our goal is to help you rock out. If rocking out sounds like your thing.
Today I shall do a post party report, both because I attended Uitmarkt and because - its nice to have a post-rock-out-report sometimes as well.
Everyone was buzzing about Uitmarkt over the weekend, the big annual late-august outdoor festival. This year the 14+ stages were set up around Javaeiland and the new Oost docks area where all the shiny new buildings are, not to mention the cruise ship terminal and the Bimhuis. Which is exactly where I started, the bimhuis. And just to make my entrance a little more pleasant, my ladies and I took the boat and parked right at the site.
Uitmarkt is crazy popular, so of course we ran into huge crowds, long lines, and well.. people everywhere. Trouble is, as this event is extremely popular, it is also extremely commercial - and that means food and drink at outrageous prices. Problem solved - we brought our own. And of course, with some 15 stages of live music, you can imagine that some of it can really suck. Problem solved- we went to a friend's party taking place in an apartment overlooking the festival where we could either watch or sit inside and listen to our own DJ. More food and drinks there of course - bonus.
The festival lasts for about 2.5 days, but after .75 days it is all pretty much a blur of noise and walking from stage to stage. In our case, floating from stage to stage made things a little more memorable, even if there was some boat traffic.
In a previous year, I swear I remember Michael Franti and Spearhead playing Uitmarkt. Either that or I made that up in my head. either way, these days the festival doesn't attract many international big names. Maybe that's good.. makes room for the smaller names. Oh wait.. there was that famous Spanish opera singer.. Montserrat... so there's a nice international name.
All in all.. Uitmarkt is always a good time; Amsterdam's way of marking the end of the summer with one big hoorah. This year it not only provided a last hoorah, it has also marked the beginning of what might be our indian summer.. another bonus.