The Amsterdam Roots Festival is in full swing over at Oosterpark. It is the 11th edition of this beloved summertime music fest that features sounds from around the world. It is pretty much THE festival for multicultural music and experiencing sounds from the various corners of the planet.

This year is especially important however, as the Roots Festival is at risk of ceasing to exist. The Amsterdam City Arts Council has announced that the festival will receive no funds after 2008, making it virtually impossible for this free music fest to continue. This means not only is the festival struggling to get public and city support, but in fact this could be your last chance to experience the Roots Festival. The action continues until the 22nd of June, so check out the schedule and put on your dancing shoes.

Here's a clip from this year's festival, just to get you going.

As usual, so many of the hottest bands are coming to Amsterdam. Here I provide to you a little tip, an early warning for buying your tickets in advance, since they sell out quick- and you don't want to resort to begging and/or selling your 'personal items' to scalpers at the door, now do you?

29th April: CocoRosie at Concertgebouw, 10:30pm

8th May: Morcheeba, classic groove/trip hop from Brighton, at Paradiso

12th May: Explosions in the Sky at Paradiso

22nd May: Lee Scratch Perry, ReggaeMaster at Tivoli Oudegracht (in Utrecht)

2nd June: Cat Power at Paradiso (this one is going to sell out fast!)

1st July: Radiohead and Bat for Lashes at Cultuurpark Westergasfabriek (buy it right now)

Tonight at Paradiso a very small, very adorable young lady will be performing. Known to shock the crowds, particularly the unsuspecting, Soko is a blast of fresh air.
Her sweet voice belie her lyrics, songs such as 'I feel Shitty' about waking up with chapped lips, crusty eyes and a permanent hangover that will probably result in her getting dumped, again.
Or 'I think I'm pregnant', in which Soko muses, 'But I haven't had sex with anyone in months except for my hand!'.

Hailing from le France, this little witch is a magical crowd pleaser. Try to get in tonight to the Kleine Zaal at Paradiso at 10PM. Or you can catch her tomorrow in Rotterdam.

While the era where happy Dutch people go ice skating on the frozen canals of Amsterdam may be over, you can still find ice skating around town.

Yesterday unfortunately they packed up the ice skating ring at Leidseplein, but until March you can rent some skates and get on the ice at Museumplein. Also if you find yourself exploring the North of Amsterdam, there is an ice rink for another 5 days at the Buikslotermeerplein.

Clearly your best bet is the museumplein rink, which will be in service until March. I like going by just to snap pictures of parents helping their children use wooden chairs to keep them balanced.

Skate rental is somewhere around 3 euros I believe. Bring an extra euro or 2 just in case, especially for some hot chocolate afterwards.

It was just recently announced, and a very militant fan reminded me, that Radiohead will be playing in Amsterdam on July 1st, 2008. Normally a date so far away would be a little odd to inform you about now, but it is radiohead.. so I'm making an exception.

The venue will be one of the very summer-esque places for concerts, Westerpark! Yes, outdoors in the fresh air and the park where everything seems like it is brand new and clean... because it is brand new and clean.

While it is an outdoor concert, the shows at Westerpark are not free. No information has been put out yet about the ticket prices. Your job, if you're a crazy fan that loves Radiohead and would love to be in the Netherlands to see them on a beautiful July summer day... is to make the travel plans now, tickets and other updates I'll update you on as the information comes forward.

Slick black caps, tight tuxedo vests, stunna shades, G STARs, and baggy white button downs swarmed the stage at Bittersweet last Sunday. The men cloaked in the free swag uniforms cruised the stage with assurance and ease. They looked like the Navy Seals division of One Nation Under a Groove, or Special Forces for The Black Planet; each piece of brass a different, military caliber weapon. Once the President declared war, in this case a wispy bearded Dutch nerd hollering “Ladies and Gentleman, The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble!” the elite squad brought forth a fury akin to Genghis Khan.
When accessing an army of such high quality, individual marksmanship is vital. The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, I am happy to report is chalk full of snipers. The trumpets hit fake notes up in the tops of trees and the trombones slung swarthy midrange progressions around the room like they were spewing machine gun fire into the crowd. The Tuba all the while laid a strong soulful baseline; each pursed lip blow, a land mind.
The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble unleashed a full armored assault on Bittersweet, and rolled through their short set with the technical acuity and attention to detail of General Sherman. Not only did each song strategically stumble itself into another, each solo, each chorus and each refrain progressed equally as fluid. What I am trying to say is quite simply, the band is tight. They burned our barns, let loose our cattle and sewed salt in our cropland.
Lest we forget, The Hypnotic write their own music. They are not mere foot soldiers, covering the Funk Generals and Colonels of old. Instead they offer an original battle plan. Their arrangements are heavily layered, pouring new riffs and sounds over an existing construct literally dozens of times in just one stanza. This cascading effect begs the listener to cringe and smile at the mere detail of the sounds they hear. It also forces said listeners to fuckin’ dance! Or at least, it should have! Sorry for the tangent but it must be said: If you are person who doesn’t dance on principle or fear, you’re pathetic. Fuck you. Honestly, you ruin scenes, stay home. As my head bobbed and swayed with the beat, I kept glancing at heaps of people loafing around, making small talk at the top of their lungs. I’m up here comparing this show to all out warfare while some people are cowering in the back like draft dodgers. Fuck’m.
Their is a reason the Army uses a bugle to wake up the soldiers and royalty use trumpets to announce grand entrances. Nothing on earth beats the power of a full fledged brass band. The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble is just that. They are also, “all blood” which I take to mean, a group of people willing to stick together. If they hold true to their convictions and keep on fighting, I predict they take over the world.

It is never too soon to make a new years plan. And that's just what I'm suggesting on this rainy monday.

The Roaring 20's! Yes, en era probably none of us lived in, and if you did then I'm very impressed you're reading this blog instead of taking a nap or something. This is the theme for Boom Chicago's big new years part-ay. Think Al Capone, think Herbert Hoover... ok don't think Herbert Hoover cause I'm sure not much comes to mind besides a vacuum cleaner.

According to the Boom people, the dress code is as follows:

Dress festive or go with the 1920s theme: Black & white, tiaras and top hats, rebel flappers and gangsters in striped suits.

The cost is 35€ if you buy in advance, or 40€ at the door. You can buy your tickers online via Boom Chicago's website, or you can go to the box office during normal hours if you happen to be nearby. (Leidseplein)

With all the success Boom has had this year with their shows and News Parody Show on Dutch Comedy Central, I'd say this is a great option for a way to ring in 2008 and pay tribute to that funny era known as the 20's.

Fado, Portugal's most internationally recognized style of music, is extremely popular in the Netherlands. So naturally, when a superstar Fado singer like Christina Branco comes to town, shows get sold out fast.

Last night I happened to get a call from my favorite Dutch photoblogger who asked if I would join her to see Chistina playing at Paradiso. This time, however, it was not a Fado concert, but rather, she would be singing the music of Portugal's most beloved musician - Zeca Alfonso- who's music helped topple the dictatorship in 1974.

As a big fan of Alfonso, I was thrilled to get to see such a talented singer doing such an important tribute. I did worry that the audience, so used to hearing Fado, would get irritated with this strange other kind of music. But as the concert went on it became clear that this Amsterdam audience had nothing but love for Branco and her music. I also loved it, of course. Below you can watch my favorite song which she performed as the first encore.

Ready for one more weird musical experience? Of course you are.
Tomorrow night (Thursday) at Paradiso, experimental indie group and brother / sister duo Fiery Furnaces will astonish and amaze, and even better, for only 8 euro!

Do you already have a ticket for the sold out Hives concert earlier in the evening? Why not stay on and discover something new? Starting at 10:00 pm, the Fiery Furnaces concert will be followed by Noodlanding as usual, and just like the concerts, if you are already in the building, you can stay and party through the night for free.

Hey you there Trippist reader -- yes hi there. I know, I know, you read the blog.. not everyday but you check in. You appreciate the occasional useful tip. You don't much care for the lame humor I incorporate. And lastly.. you don't normally comment, you just don't have anything to say.

I get that.

BUT.

Today I'm announcing a Trippist Contest. That is correct, Ive got two tickets to Bitterzoet. Moreover, these two tickets are to see the Hypnotic Bass Ensemble and an entire evening of DJ's and crazyness on the evening of December 2nd, 2007.

How do you win this so-called contest? Well it is quite simple. So simple it is almost not a contest. First person to leave a comment under this post saying the magic words "pretty please can I win the tickets" , will get the tickets.

Thats not a contest, you say? You may be right... but nevermind that.. go for the tickets!