When I woke up I was super excited. I had slept well, but felt like sleeping at least another hour. I was running a little late and quickly threw on jeans, a black shirt and white tie. At work I had arranged to leave early and come in later the next morning - so I could attend the fan meeting as well.
I arrived a little early at the venue in Eindhoven; traffic was lighter than I had anticipated. By the time my friend Petra arrived the restaurant at the Effenaar was crowded. We went in to see how long it would take for us to get a table (they were serving yummie vegetarian lasagna that evening...). Alas, waiting for a table would mean we would not be in time for the start of the show. So Petra and I had a bite at a little Mexican restaurant, called Tortillas, nearby. They were very accomodating: when I asked if it was possible to bring our dishes as quickly as possible because of a concert, the food arrived within 15 minutes. It was good, and I was hungry, and I managed to wolf it down (I'm really a slow eater). Then we lined up for the concert at the Effenaar.
Once inside it turns out it's a partially seated concert, but I asked my friend if she was ok with not taking a seat: the front rows were already taken, and if a tall person sits in front of me I wouldn't be able to see much of the stage. She agreed and followed me to a spot from where we had a great view at both the stairs (leading down to the exit) and the stage. Further to our right is where several people in wheel chairs had their places. Petra was wondering about the support act, and after about an hour it became apparent there wasn't one.
Sarah and her musical partner in crime Tom Kestens walked on stage and the framed silver screen was showing a picture of Marvin Gaye. While Sarah and Tom took their places there was an audio quote by the late Marvin in which he spoke about his music. When that was over the spotlights came on and the duo played "Heard it through the grapevine". That was followed by Ella Fitzgerald's "Everytime we say goodbye". The fun part for me was recognizing the artists from the pictures and the quotes. I had already browsed the innerweb for setlists, so I had a general idea of the songs she's be playing
The rest of the set included: "Sitting on the dock of the bay" by Otis Redding (the audience whistled along - yes, I did too - much to Sarah's amusement), "Just the two of us" by Bill Withers, "Long December" (my favorite song) by Counting Crows, "Do that to me one more time" by Captain and Tennille, "Three times a lady" by the Commodores, "Money money money" by ABBA, "Cry me a river" by Julie London, "Ne me quitte pas" by Jacques Brel, "Little red Corvette" by Prince (one of my favorites by this little guy), "At seventeen" by Janis Ian, "I will carry you" by Woodface (yes, that's her brother Gert's band).
Even though at moments it was a complete cheese fest, I was pleasantly surprised at some of her song choices (Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding?); Sarah's a big Indigo Girls fan so I expected an IG song. Granted, the ladies never had a hit song on this side of the Atlantic (that I know of - unfortunately) so it's not that strange. Sarah and Tom did play 3 new songs: "I can do better than you", "Slow you down" and "Win me over" which she wrote for her girlfriend Stephanie, who was with us. (That immediately explained why Sarah suddenly switched from Dutch to English...) I couldn't help but think "Crap, I am so not going to like that song". But I did. There was no "I was lost but now I'm found" line in the song, which definitely helped. They also played "Shine", which Sarah wrote for her (step)daughter Taylor.
Sarah's voice really shone in this intimate setting. (If the venue had been any smaller, it could've been a swanky night club - sans smoke.) The last song was Bonnie Raitt's "I can’t make you love me". After that die hard fans lined up for autographs, a quick chat and a photo opportunity with Sarah. I think this is a regular Sarah Bettens post concert ritual
I found it a very interesting night - certainly from a musical point of view.
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