Back to '69 with Yes Sir Boss & Joss Stone

Though it's been more than 40 years since the original Woodstock festival took place, last thursday we felt a little bit of the same vibe at the beach club Woodstock '69 in Bloemendaal aan Zee (a place in the Netherlands near the sea). For 5 euros we'd obtained a ticket for the new British band Yes Sir Boss, which is the first band with Joss Stone's record label Stone'd Records. Miss Stone herself would be accompanying Yes Sir Boss.


Unfortunately the weather wasn't very good that day but at least it wasn't cold. We arrived in Bloemendaal very early, so we took a look at the Woodstock '69 and found out that it really is a great place. A true and free minded place, we were already surrounded by lots of hippies waiting for the band to perform.


The free ambiance became also apparent when we witnessed the following thing. I came back from the toilet, so my friend Ramai said: look, over there! So I was like what the hell is he talking about? But there, right in front of us, was Joss Stone standing, with a simple bun in her hair and wearing a long denim skirt (she's one of the few who can rock a denim skirt...). She was talking to two older guys, who wanted her autograph. But somehow their pen didn't work, so she asked me (yes, me!) if she could borrow my pen. As quickly as I could I grabbed my pen out of my bag (it felt like it took ages and it probably did take ages because my bag is a gigantic mess with lots of unnecessary things) and gave it to her. When she'd returned it and the two guys left, we asked if she wanted to go on the photo with us and, relaxt as she is, she said: yeah, sure!

Once we'd recovered our breath we walked a long way over the beach and grabbed a bite at another beach club because Woodstock was already fully booked and their snacks were also out (minus point). Around nine o'clock the concert began and as always we stood totally up front ;)

Yes Sir Boss, a ska/rock band, blew the audience (which was really big) away, they were very energetic and managed to make everyone dance despite of the rain. It really felt like summer for a bit. Especially their biggest hit 'Desperation State' was wonderful. The band consisted of 6 members (hope I'm right) and they all looked very adorable. Small and happy.


Joss Stone played along with the last 5 songs. 'You had me', 'Fell in love with a boy' and a few more. She really is magnificent, her long dress was a-ma-zing (I don't know where she finds them, I should probably ask next time), her hair is splendid and the fact that she's always on bare feet is brilliant. I don't think there's any artist who stayed so real and honest like she does. No attitude at all.


The last song that they did together was 'Come together', you know, the Beatles song. I'm not into the Beatles at all, but I have to say that this was a great choice. Definitely the climax of the show. A litte sad but with Yes Sir Boss' new single in our possession we left Woodstock '69 to arrive back in Den Bosch in 2012 again. What a pity.