Met Jeannette en Markus op de fiets door Utrecht ...

Next Stop - Utrecht, Netherlands, Open to Art and Music - NYTimes.com: "A Dutch Town That Nurtures Its Quirks"

By JOEL WEICKGENANT

ONSTAGE at ACU, a bar and music club in Utrecht, Noam Cohen stopped briefly to address the crowd. “There’s so much room!” Mr. Cohen, the lead singer of the hardcore band This Routine Is Hell, yelled into his microphone, surveying the gap between the band and the crowd, clad mostly in black. So he did something about it. Backed by the aggressive one-two thrum of the band, he jumped from the stage, belting out slogans, punching shoulders, launching himself bodily at listeners to draw them closer to the stage and into the show.

The face-to-face delivery worked in the ACU, a bar staffed by volunteers that caters to the squatter community; it’s also one of the best underground music haunts in this city, about a half-hour train ride south of Amsterdam. On an average night, both band members and the crowd are regulars — a reflection of this modest, sometime insular city.

“You have a real community here — it’s locked off from the Netherlands,” Boris Brouwer, the band’s drummer, said backstage after the set.

“A lot of the people that were here tonight, we know them, by face, by name,” Mr. Cohen added. “They’re all friends.”

Utrecht is often suggested as a pleasant day trip from its sister city up the road, but it deserves more. A university town that’s home to artists of all stripes, it’s a stew of spontaneous cultural efforts, from scenes like the one at ACU to more traditional efforts that draw from the city’s medieval past. New ideas are taking shape in old buildings resting on ancient foundations.

On a Saturday afternoon last fall, the characteristically sharp Dutch light played shadow games on the Gothic spires of the Domtoren — the dominating tower in the center of town, surrounded by the Domplein, the city’s main square. From the square, the city’s old core unwinds in a series of long avenues and churchyards that inevitably lead all comers to the Oudegracht (the old canal), the center of Utrecht’s social life. Look from the street level down to the canal, and you’ll see boats floating past quayside porches beneath willow trees. In most towns, a street with this kind of central location would belong to high-end trendsetters and at least the occasional chain. But the Oudegracht has kept a quirky charm. The balcony at Kafe Belgie, for example, is one of the best places in the city to watch the parade of bikers and strollers while sipping an Orval Trappist ale. Down the block, Tabou Haar en Jazz, a combination hair salon and record store, offers an extensive collection of Dutch jazz artists.

Farther south along the canal, where, during my Saturday visit, the urgent strains of a baritone sax issued from some lone studio, a turn on the Lange Rozendaal leads to the Zeven Steegjes (Seven Alleyways), an idyllic complex of small rowhouses on tight, cobbled streets. Charming though the area is, it can be an unfriendly place for anyone actually seeking an apartment. For young artists, many of them graduating from the local arts academy, living space has always been at a premium.

Take Monique Sep, who was an academy student in 1991 when she returned from travels abroad and could no longer find an apartment. In the spirit of the city, she got creative. “I could find an atelier, so I secretly lived there for 15 years,” she said.

Ms. Sep is now project coordinator at Sophie’s Kunst Projecten, an organization that for over 20 years has assisted local artists in finding housing. The group’s efforts have helped to spur the development of Utrecht’s arts scene — an open atelier day in mid-November, for example, that featured the work of more than 200 local artists. And placing inspired young people throughout the city — Sophie’s manages about 400 studios citywide — has opened up new neighborhoods to creative development.

The mission is crucial in a city where spaces for studios are usually temporary, exhibitions are often ad hoc, and relying on fellow artists is a must. Four years ago, with help from Sophie’s, Rikkert Paauw and Boudewijn Rijff rented a warehouse well outside the city center. They opened Vechtclub and turned it into an eclectic music spot that also hosts rehearsal and storage areas.

“This space here, it’s what we were missing — a big space for underground, strange shows,” Mr. Paauw said. The club frequently features “soundclash” events that merge contrasting genres of music into one show: One recent event paired an Afro-funk band — which featured a group of acrobats — and a roster of Brazilian D.J.’s.

Artists in Utrecht seem to agree that a knack for improvisation can go a long way. “You have to count on each other,” said Maja Badnjevic, an artist who works out of a studio in the Wittevrouwen neighborhood in the northeastern part of the city. “You go to all the openings, you stay connected. It’s a student city, with lots of young people.”

Owing to that youthful sense of connection and improvisation, night life in Utrecht is a vibrant and informal affair.

On the second Monday of every month ‘t Oude Pothuys, a grotto-like space with a quayside terrace and old guitars hanging from the ceiling, turns on the open mic for international student night, which Eric Kerns, a New Hampshire transplant, initiated 10 years ago. Mr. Kerns hoped to bring a younger generation of Dutch listeners in contact with the Dutch ideal of the “luister” (literally “listen”) cafe, where audiences are expected to engage thoughtfully with live music. “Those days are forgotten in the Dutch youth,” he said. “I’m trying to bring them back.”

Outside the center, head past the northern edge of the Oudegracht where the former moats of the old city meet the River Vecht. Here you’ll find Ekko, a performance hall that on one night might feature an excellent underground band like the Texas outfit Balmorhea, and the next offer 200-beats-a-minute acid house from the local D.J. collective known as 030303.

Walk eastward into the Vogelenbuurt neighborhood’s warren of Art Nouveau row houses, and you’ll come upon Cafe Averechts. This place aspires to the luister cafes of old, hosting performers from near and far behind an unassuming storefront. On a Thursday night, the Danish balladeer MC Hansen, fresh off a United States tour, strummed old-school folk rhythms on an acoustic guitar.

Like ACU, Averechts is staffed by volunteers, and it has had to fight for its mission. The place has to work to keep the music quiet enough for neighbors and city officials, so to keep stragglers indoors it offers a parlor up front and a room for smoking in the back. Anything to keep the music playing.

IF YOU GO

HOW TO GET THERE

Multiple airlines fly from New York to Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport. March fares start at about $800.

From Schiphol, a one-way train ride to Utrecht Centraal, the city’s central station, costs 7.80 euros, or about $10.50 at $1.34 to the euro. (If you’re already in Amsterdam, take the train from Amsterdam Centraal: 6.80 euros for a one-way trip.)

WHERE TO STAY

Housed in a building dripping in history, but with interiors decked out in modern design, Grand Hotel Karel V (Geertebolwerk 1; 31-30-233-7555; karelv.nl) is a good way to experience the contemporary and historic sides of Utrecht. Doubles start at 161 euros in March.

For a more laid-back stay, there is Toeven Bed en Ontbijt (Weerdsingel Oostzijde 93; 31-651-275-255; www.toeven.nl), a bed-and-breakfast with a quiet, central location. Rates start at 95 euros (two-night minimum stay).

WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK

The Florin (Nobelstraat 2-4; 31-30-231-9957; florinutrecht.nl), a pub and restaurant, offers solid, basic international fare.

Restaurant Deeg (Lange Nieuwstraat 71; 31-30-233-1104; restaurantdeeg.nl) is a trendy, modern joint; think white tables with spring- loaded pepper shakers, all in a geometrically precise, black-and-white layout.

Kafe Belgie (Oudegracht 196; 31-30-231-2666).

MUSIC

ACU (Voorstraat 71; 31-30-231-4590; acu.nl).

Vechtclub (Brailledreef 9; 31-30-221-8206; vechtclub.nl).

‘t Oude Pothuys (Oudegracht 279; 31-30-231-8970; www.pothuys.nl).

Ekko (Bermuurde Weerd WZ 3; 31-30-231-7457; ekko.nl).

Cafe Averechts (Lijsterstraat 49; 31-30-271-0916; www.averechts.nl).

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Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
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CU!!!! Bis gleich!!!

Tivoli - het poppodium van Utrecht - 90's ALTERNATIVE - 9 jan 2010: "90's ALTERNATIVE Doesn't smell like 90's now!

De 90’s Now-avonden zijn zo populair dat we ze in tweeën hebben geknipt: in Tivoli Oudegracht is de dance-editie en in Tivoli De Helling de alternative-editie! Want in de nineties had je natuurlijk niet alleen C&C Music Factory en Two Unlimited, maar ook Nirvana, Supergrass, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Radiohead, Hole en Smashing Pumpkins. En vergeet ook de beats niet, zeggen Urban Dance Squad, Underworld, Stereo MC’s en Osdorp Posse. Niet alleen maar gitaargeweld dus, maar wel alleen maar rauwe randjes. Kun je eindelijk je houthakkershemd weer uit de mottenballen halen!"