Adieu, Sweet Bahnhof

This tour featured two versions of this Nits classic. In the first weeks of the tour it was played in the 'Urk' version with Robert Jan playing the keyboards. Henk often sang the first line away from the microphone, as he did during the Ting Tour. This first part only had keyboard and acoustic guitar accompaniment. From teh second verse Titia and Rob joined in on synth-bass and the typical Adieu drumming. Robert Jan also added piano lines. After a few weeks the song was completely rearranged to a completely acoustic version with both Robert Jan and Laetitia playing accordions, Henk on acoustic guitar and Rob on hand-held percussion. They often sang the complete song away from the microphone, sitting on the edge of the stage. Usually it was played in combination with a similar arrangement of Home Before Dark. The 'Church'version was the same double accordion version. Henk had the audience sing along with the last few lines.

Apache

This guitar instrumental by the Shadows was played many times in the late '70s and early '80s by the Nits and made a short return during the 1994 Frits concerts, but 10 years later at the Bloemendaal 1974 Tour concert it suddenly showed up again as an intro to In The dutch Mountains. Henk played the famous electric  guitar melody while the rest played the appropriate backing. The song segued into Dutch Mountains, which was for once also played with the electric guitar instead of the acoustic.

Aquarium

This song is about a man who meets his daughter in the afterlife. They talk about their past lives. One of the topics is their visits to the Artis Zoo in Amsterdam and most specifically the big aquarium with fishes. There were big, ugly fishes (probably murenes) and they tried to think of famous people who looked like those fishes. Henk used to tell this story (in some variations) and asked the audience to name a few people who look like these fishes (some suggestions were André Hazes, mr. Docters Van Leeuwen, Helmut Kohl and Joseph Strauss). Henk always ended his story with the sound the fishes made. He then sampled himself with his little sampler and play it back. He would play it several times during the song, mainly in the instrumental parts. Drums and the very prominent melodic synth-bass started the song. Henk played some acoustic guitar. Laetitia and (mostly) inserted many samples throughout the song, including complete horn-lines, water sounds, reverse effects and more sound effects. Further there were bright synth sounds and piano touches and melodies. For the chorus the bas line changed to sound more like a very low, melodic cello. This returned also for the end part where litlle sounds (synth and Henk's bubbly samples) were continued for a while. One big reverse sound ended the song. The song was regularly performed in the promotional activities when the album was just released, including some versions without Laetitia and on one occasion also without Robert Jan! It was then performed in a very stripped down version by just Henk and Rob.

Athens

This beautiful, airy song was not always performed. Especially at the standing room locations it was often omitted (it's also not on the DVD). The song was performed closely to the album version. Laetitia provided the main atmospheric keyboard backing. Rob provided simple, effective percussion. Robert Jan played some bass lines and provided a few simple keyboard melodies. Henk's subdued, but still powerful singing carried most of the song. The screens showed Greek letters forming various words.

The Bauhaus Chair

After a long absence (it hadn't been played since 1996) this Nits classic made a return. It was played in more or less the usual arrangement with the addition of Laetitia on violin (which was similar to Peter's playing in the Ting Tour). For the promotional tv and radio performances at the beginning of the tour this was played one time without Laetitia. Robert Jan played the melody of the solo on his keyboard.

Between The Buttons

This was only performed once or twice, but then dropped. Apparently the band couldn't find a live arrangement that worked for this song. According to Tom Telman the song was played with the use of a lot of maracas...

Bike In Head

This song was started with busy keyboard melodies played by Robert Jan over (real and Titia's synth) bike bells. This morphed into the regular Bike In Head melody and also featured the typical distorted íke In Head' voice sample. Henk added the normal acoustic guitar melody, but he varied this melody somewhat throughout the song. With Rob's intense percussion, Robert Jan's melodies, Titia's bike bells and Henk's guitar this was definitely a busy version. Titia sang backing vocals in the song and took over the lead vocals for the 'Artis' line. The chaotic middle break was this time quite loose with a few variations of the melody. The 'Is this the real world' section was very loud with strong keyboard lines and loud drums. The song returned to the vocal part with Henk's acoustic guitar line. The song ended with the piano melody while the rest of the band added percussive hits on their instruments. The bike bells came to the front one more time, before a drum roll and a final 'Bike In Head' sample finished things off. The 'Church' version was nothing less than amazing. After a long, dramatic piano intro (with added Ting-like percussion and bike bells)  the song slowly shifted to the main song. Rob started drumming and Robert Jan played a jazzy piano backing. Titia played the main theme on lyra and enk played the guitar melody, but slower than usual. The song was then played and sung in this laid-back arrangement with some more intense moments in between. It's fantastic to hear how they turned this abstract, mostly electronic tune into an acoustic version that wouldn't have sounded out of place on the Ting album!

Boy In A Tree

This beautiful, subdued song opened most of the concerts. It was played in a an arrangement that, in structure, wasn't too different from the original studio version. There were several differences though, mainly the fact that Henk played some melody lines on his acoustic guitar throughout the song. Synth bass and percussion provided the base for the song, while Robert Jan played the main melodic lines on his synth. He also provided the sound effects, such as the crow noise and some bell sounds. Laetitia sang backing vocals in the chorus. After playing through the complete song it 'faded' to the end and bell sounds followed by a final crow noise ended it completely. The 'Church' version was even more quiet. Robert Jan played soft piano melodies that formed a perfect backing to the song. Laetitia played the main theme on the lyra.

Brian Wilson

Nits joined the band Barenaked Ladies on stage in Toronto to play along with this song of theirs named after the genius behind the Beach Boys in the '60s. Henk sang a Dutch interpretation of the lyrics. The photo of this performance on the right was taken from the official Nits website.

Cabins

This was played only at a handful of concerts. Robert Jan started to play the bass line on the keyboards while Rob added percussion. Henk played acoustic guitar when he started singing and Laetitia played violin throughout the song. Robert Jan played the familiar synth parts similar to the way he always did. The added violin worked pretty well for this song. The only recording I heard of this song in this tour is incomplete, but I guess the ‘classical’ ending was played.

Canigo

This song was only played in the first couple of weeks of the show and was then dropped in favor of some older songs such as Sugar River and Woman Cactus. This very rhythmic song was very sample-heavy with lots of sounds and noises coming from Robert Jan's keyboards. Titia provided synth-bass and probably also several more sounds. Henk played the electric guitar in this song, which actually sounded very cool. The song sounded busy, even unstructured, with the unusual drum-beat and percussion, all the samples and the electric guitar, but I must say that I really enjoy this version.

Cars And Cars

This song entered the setlists after a few weeks and it was great to hear this '90s favorite again with Robert Jan present. It was played more or less in the same version as it was done between 1992 and 1996. Laetitia played violin in this song. She varied a lot from straight-forward rhythmic sweeps to different melodic parts. The lack of bass was partly covered by Rob and Robert Jan, but the song did loose some power because of this. Luckily Robert Jan's familiar piano melodies were back and this covered this problem up. The intense instrumental section sounded great as always. At some concerts Henk's voice had an echo added to it. This was rather subtle, but it was clearly noticeable if you paid attention to it. The 'Church' version was similar to the normal arrangement. 

Crime And Punishment

No songs of Alankomaat or Wool were played at any of the concerts. They did rehearse at least some songs from these albums, but they never made it to the setlist. This is a big shame, because it would have been great to hear what Robert Jan could make of these songs. Luckily a rehearsal version of this song  made it in the TV Documentary 'Immer Geradeaus' about the Nits on tour, which was broadcast in December 2004. The band can be seen in a dressing room playing this song using one big drum, Henk on guitar and vocals, Titia on violin and backing vocals and Robert Jan on accordion. The song is never played in full, but many sections were shown. It sounded great in this arrangement and that makes it even more of a shame that it was never done in concert.. Paul Telman plays a little string sample from a cassette recorder which he just recorded before near the end at the appropriate time, much to the hilarity of the whole band. Definitely very cool song to hear in this version!

Doppelganger

This song sounded great in concert. The studio version is pretty nice, but doesn't stand out, but the live version was great. The song is based on a large amount of samples and loops triggered from both keyboards and by Rob.  Rob added busy marimba-like loops next to his intricate drumming and Robert Jan and Titia provided various melodic loops and sounds, such as electric guitar sounds, sweeping bass noises and various other busy melodic loops. Henk's nice singing actually provided the most structure to the song. The ending consisted of a drumsolo/loop duet by Rob while all other band members dropped out of the song one by one. This left Rob drumming over the marimba loop. He extended this for about minute and it was not only funny to see and hear, it was also a fantastic musical / rhythmic end to this tune. It always resulted in a loud applause for Rob.

The Dream

Although it's one of the better known Nits songs it is surprisingly not present on the DVD. It was played at all concerts though, usually as one of the first songs of the concert. The arrangement was very similar to as it was played during the Hat/Urk period. The only difference is that the standing bass was now replaced by Titia's synth bass, which sounds very much like the real thing. The piano was a bit more prominent in the song and Robert Jan would sometimes give a slight salsa-feel to his playing. Still, the song sounded familiar as always. The 'Church' version had a funny start when Robert Jan tried out the melodica to play the main melody. After one note he laughinlgy put it away and very smartly moved back to the piano. The song was then played similar to the regular version with the piano playing all the synth parts. Henk added 'Walk On The Wild Side' quotes to the song and had the audience sing along with this.

Eifersucht

I find the live performance of this song highly preferable to the somewhat monotone studio version. The main, rhythmic melody of this Eastern sounding song was fiercely played by Henk on his banjo over Rob's drumming and Titia's hand-claping. A strange pulsating bass line was played by Titia or Robert Jan. Titia added strange crashing-noises on her keyboard, while Robert Jan added the oriental string-like synth melodies. After a few weeks into the tour Henk started to sing a few lines of the Beatles song Within You Without You near the end to which Robert Jan provided the melody using the string sound.

The Espresso Girl

Henk usually explained this song. It is about a girl who is following the band 'The Cure' throughout a concert in Germany. She is not a groupie in the traditional sense of the word, but she is attracted to the (Japanese) words the singer of the Cure, Robert Smith, speaks to the mirrors of the dressing rooms. Some of the songs from the 1974 turned out to be excellent live songs, but none more so than Espresso Girl. The live version of this song is vastly superior over the album version. The main reason for this is that the rather intrusive percussive sound of the album is now integrated into Rob's drumming and not as prominent. The live version now shows Robert Jan's excellent piano playing throughout the song and together with Henk's great, sometimes lounge-like, singing they are the stars of this song. The power of the live version showed itself best in the 'always looking' parts and especially the instrumental sections. The drums became louder and stronger and Robert Jan matched this with even more intense piano playing. The end part of the song started with the melancholic 'forget me not' vocals and the band brought down the music to a soft conclusion. This song was absolutely one of the highlights of the tour.

Fire In My Head

Mostly just played in the theater (and probably at the Swiss concerts). For this song Rob walked to the other side of the stage, where from the ceiling two cymbals were lowered (a smaller and a bigger one). He then played standing behind them Henk would hold his microphone with them. Robert Jan started the piano melodies and the song was played in the usual way. Laetitia added lovely violin parts to the song. A great new feature was in the percussive break that is normally present in this song. From the ceiling small, hard peas were dropped on the empty drum kit, which made it sound like the drums playing themselves. The peas fell down irregularly and this break lasted up to the last fallen pea. This was sometimes very quick (when almost all fell at once) or very long (when they fell in little bunches together). Audiences loved this and it's one of those typical things that you'll only see at Nits concerts. After this break the song was brought to its conclusion.  At the first few concerts the self-playing drums did not happen and Rob played the whole song at his normal place. The 'Church' version was similar to the normal arrangement. Rob stated behind his drums for the percussion parts.

Giant Normal Dwarf

This song was played a few times near the end of the tour. As with the of the tracks from the Giant Normal Dwarf album this one sounded great with this version of the band. It was played more or less similar to the original version, but with the addition of Laetitia's violin playing some of the keyboard parts and the main melody in the instrumental section. Rob and Robert Jan both did some backing vocals. The instrumental part was played again right after the regular song ended, just as it was done during the Nest Tour. The 'Church' version was similar to the normal arrangement with  the piano taking over from the keyboard parts. This actually sounded very nice.

Home Before Dark

Played completely acoustic with both Laetitia and Robert Jan on accordion, Rob on hand-held percussion and Henk on acoustic guitar and vocals. Sometimes they even played it without microphones, sitting on the edge of the stage. The song wasn't part of the setlists early on in the tour, but later it became a standard inclusion together with the similar acoustic version of Adieu, Sweet Bahnhof. At The 'Church' concert they played the the same  double accordion version.

The House

This song returned to the setlist together with the return of Robert Jan to the band. The song was played almost as a solo performance by Robert Jan, similar to the way it was done during the Hat and Nest Tours. Henk and Titia provided backing vocals in the chorus and there was anew feature to the song: Laetitia played the 'bell'-melody on the lyra, which was then, very softly, repeated by Robert Jan on the keyboard. The version in Hamburg is notable, because at one point a phone rings in the audience during a quiet moment and Robert Jan changed some lyrics to 'In a room in this house, I heard a telephone'...

House On The Hill

This song made several appearances early in the tour, but was dropped after several weeks. It started with the percussive hits by piano, drums, guitar and violin and then shifted into the slower vocal section. Laetitia played her violin similar to the way she did in the Wool Tour version of this song. Robert Jan took over on piano again after Henk played it in the last tour. Henk now played guitar. Rob's percussion was very varied and a mixture betwwen straight-drumming and subtle percussion work on his cymbals.

I Am A Rock

This Simon and Garfunkel song was done at the 'Church' concert. Henk saw someone in the audience with a Simon and Garfunkel shirt and he played a few lines of this classic song before continuing with the next song.

In The Dutch Mountains

This was played in the standard version as had has been done most of the times since the late '80s. The slow middle section did not have the female vocals anymore, the original sound returned. Tita played keyboard bass. At the large Vrienden Van Amstel concerts in the Ahoy in Rotterdam this song was played together with Dutch teen-rock band Di-Rect. Singer Tim Akkerman has been a big Nits fan for years and was clearly delighted to share the stage. The Vrienden Van Amstel version was much more wild and loud with added electric guitars and all the extra musicians. For the promotional tv and radio performances at the beginning of the tour this was played a few times without Laetitia and once just by Rob and Henk. he 'Church' version was fantastic. After a first very short 'modern' version which mostly consisted of arty piano lines, some chaotic percussion and the word 'buildings'. they played a completely newly improvised version of this song. It started out almost reggae-like with a jumpy rhythm. During the song the music moved to an almost jazzy version, especially in the slow section. The audience shouted along with the 'mountains' parts. Absolutely a fantastic version of this classic.

The Infinite Shoeblack

One of the highlights of this tour. Robert Jan started it on synth bass, which sounded very familiar to the Sketches Of Spain bass line, but it soon morphed into Infinite Shoeblack with the entry of the brushed drumming and the high whistle-like sound that provided the main melody. The first part of the song was quite soft and similar to the album. Titia played violin sometimes in the normal way, but also by plucking the strings. The bell glass section featured a large tubular bell (and a small one at some German concerts..). From a few weeks into the tour Henk's voice was followed by a sweeping distorted echo of himself in this section, Personally  I preferred the version without the voice distortion. The song shifted to the faster third section  in which Henk also sampled himself and played this back several times with a lot of distorted effects. It ended with the various Whooosh samples which were of course acted out by the band...

J.O.S. Days

This was played in the uptempo arangement that is most common for this song. Robert Jan was there again to take over on harmonica from Henk in parts of the song. For the promotional tv and radio performances at the beginning of the tour this was playd a few times without Laetitia and once just by Rob and Henk. The 'Church' version didn't deviate too much from the regular version with the exception of the keyboard parts that were changed into piano parts.

Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand

This German version of The Beatles'song I Wanna Hold Your Hand was unexpectedly played at the Hamburg concert. During the Work Tour this song was a standard part of the setlists, but it hadn't been played since 1982!  The version in Hamburg was played after the last song ended. Robert Jan played 2 seconds of The Potato Eaters, after which Henk started singing this song. Robert Jan quickly joined to play the main melody on piano. This improvised version ended after about a minute.

Mourir Avant 15 Ans

This song was played at the Canadian concerts. I haven't heard this tour's version, but I suspect that it was quite similar to the original version.

Nescio

Played in the usual arrangement, with a few wonderful opening seconds. Rob ticked the beat and the guitar and a nice little piano-roll started the song together with the regular beat and Titia's synth bass.  When Henk started singing Rob shifted to a little faster beat and this transition sounded very cool. The 'Phone Rings' part was sung together by Titia and Robert Jan. Henk sang the rest of the English section. The fast ending was of course again present with Stips back in the band to provide the piano melody. For the promotional tv and radio performances at the beginning of the tour this was played one time without Laetitia. The 'Church' version did no deviate too much from the normal version.

The Night-Owl

This song wasn't always played, it was usually part of the encores when it was. This was another song from the Giant Normal Dwarf album that worked very well in this tour.The song was played similar to the album version, but ith the addition of Henk's prominent acoustic guitar. Titia played synth bass and probably some extra keyboard parts, but Robert Jan played all the main melodies using various sounds. The ending was very nice. enk threw a tamborine in the air and when he caught it the band changed to a different chord. This sounded pretty cool, because the change often did not occur right on the beat. It was done a few times until a final chord ended the song.

Rumspringa

As Henk usually explained, this is a song about the 'free' year, called Rumspringa, young people from Amish community in the USA get to experience the 'wild' world outside their protected environment. The song was released as a promo single, but unfortunately never made it to the shops. It was always a highlight at concerts, the fast wild part of course resonated well with the audience, but I was always more impressed by the contrasting slower parts that sounded fantastic live. The song started in full force with the jumpy rhythm over which Robert Jan added cool sounding keyboard noises. Titia and Robert Jan provided backing vocals. The switches from fast to slow and back sounded very natural. Especially the last long soft section was impressive. The song almost came to a complete stop before Robert Jan brought it back with a mellotron-like sound. The similarioty to the Beatles' Strawberry Fields Forever did not go unnoticed by the band and Henk often sang 'Let me take you there', the first line to that song, in this part. Henk also played the melody on his melodica in this last section.

Savoy

The lyrics of this song were usually explained by Henk at concerts. It is about a rabbit that lives somewhere in the Savoy Theater in Helsinki. Before a concert a girl puts some grass in the dressing room and after the concert it is usually eaten. Henk and Robert Jan often made sniffing noises during this story.. Like on the album the song started with a cowbell-like percussion part over which some synth sounds were played. Airy synths are played over the slow rhythm and Henk's guitar and singing. Robert Jan inserted loud, melodic synth bass loops. These apparently symbolize the rabbit hopping around. There is a lot of dynamics in the song, sometimes the music would almost break down to nothing, while synths and guitar parts brought it slowly back. The song went through a few of these phases until it ended with cow bell percussion, vocals and some synth noises. It is a unique and fragile song, one of my favorites from the 1974 album and it creates a fantastic atmosphere and there are a lot of small things going on. I think this song worked great in concert. 

Sketches Of Spain

This was a standard version of the song. The synth bass took over from the bass guitar and this worked fine. Henk sang the lyrics slightly rushed, which was a nice variation to the original, but I don't think it was an improvement. Laetitia sang backing vocals in the 'It never stops' parts. Robert Jan sang backing vocals in the 'I have seen...' sections. The middle instrumental break sounded quite heavy with rumbling drums, electric guitar and piano melodies with a short echo-y guitar part as an extension.

Soap bubble Box

This was played at just a few concerts. The arrangement was very light and great. Robert Jan played the normal piano parts, but Laetitia added melodies on the lyra that sounded wonderful and sang backing vocals and Henk played the banjo (but kept it rather simple). The additional percussion by Titia worked especially well in the instrumental parts. It’s a shame this wasn’t played more often, since it was a great addition to the setlist.

Suzanne

At the Vrienden Van amstel Ahoy performances all participating artists joined on stage to sing a medley of Dutch classic songs. Henk sang this song originally by V.O.F. De Kunst. Unfortunately this didn't sound too great, because the song is not very fitting for his voice. His enthusiasm definitely made up for this though!

Sugar River

This song entered the setlist a few weeks into the tour and it was a great addition. The song was more or less played in the same way as on the album, but Robert Jan's keyboard playing sounded much more loose than on any previous version and he played around with it on many occasions. The song was usually part of the encores and at almost all shows the audience clapped along with it, adding to the loose atmosphere. Titia concentrated on the bass lines, Robert Jan provided backing vocals as well.

A Touch Of Henry Moore

Started by Robert Jan playing variations on the main theme with the typical Henry Moore-sound. Henk used his little sampler to play parts of his voice over this. Titia played melodies on the lyra, which was a nice new addition to this song. Rob played the common Henry Moore drum rhythm. Henk often inserted little voice samples during the tuen, but mostly in the instrumental sections. Robert Jan also added some new weitrd sounding samples now and then. Titia provided backing vocals in some parts of the verses and in the chorus, which was sung again (which is not always the case). Over the first chorus Robert Jan sang a couple of days of the week, this was also a new feature in the song. In the end this version is similar to older versions, but adds lots of new things and that's definitely a good thing! 

The Train

This was usually played as the second song of the concerts. It was started by percussion and acoustic guitar, Robert Jan entered with the keyboard melody and Laetitia entered with synth bass and was further played in the regular uptempo version as it was done in the late '80s and early '90s. It was the long version, including the breaking train sample, which was accompanied by  light effects using the IKEA lamps that were scattered across the stage. The song returned after this and was played normally to the end.  The version at Parkpop was special, because Di-Rect singer (see also In The Dutch Mountains) joined the band on stage. He played guitar and alternated the lead vocals with Henk. Apparently this was one of his childhood favorites and it's very nice he played this with its. The audience of 10000's enjoyed this as well! A small part of this was actually broadcast on the main Dutch national news program. The 'Church'-version was similar, but all synth melodies were replaced by piano and Robert jan played around freely with them. The breaking train noise was made several times by Titia on her electric violin, although the rest of the band didn't know or forgot she was going to do that....

Walk On The Wild Side

Some quotes from this Lou Reed song were added to the 'Church' version of The Dream, similar to the way this happened during the Alankomaat Tour.

Wees Niet Bang

A few months before the 1974 Tour started Robert Jan, Rob and Henk joined Freek de Jonge on stage during an encore of a concert of his and they played this song with him. his was the first time in several years that the three of them were on a stage together again. The song was released on the BOSK charity album and later this live version was released on single by Freek.

Welcome Back

Robert Jan wrote this song for Sacha van Geest, fellow musician in Supersister and friend who suddenly died in the summer 2001, just after a very successful reunion tour with all original Supersister members. As on the album, Robert Jan sang lead vocals on this song. The upbeat nature of the song is in contrast with the sad occasion that was the inspiration for it. It was played similar to the album version, including the fun, cheesy-sounding keyboard solo in the middle. Henk provided backing vocals to Robert Jan's lead vocals. At some concerts Robert Jan's vocals almost sounded too fragile, but mostly they were fine.

Whales Of Tadoussac

This song was played at the Canadian concerts. I haven't heard this tour's version, but I suspect that it was quite similar to the original version.

Within You Without You

A few lines of this Beatles song from the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band album, written by George Harrison, were sung by Henk over a section of Eifersucht. He didn't do this at the earliest concerts, but it became a standard thing to do after a couple of shows.

With Used Furniture We Make A Tree

This was supposed to be the first single from 1974, but it was only released as a promo. It probably wouldn't have been very successful with its strange rhythm, but a single (with b-sides!) would have been nice. The title of the song appears in the poem 'The Black Art' by Anne Sexton (1928-1974) that can be read here. The lyrics include several references to current affairs and other 'modern' things. Robert Jan started the song with synth noises, similar to the way he started Bilbao Boa in the dAdAdA Tour. The song was then played more or less the same as on the album, but it sounded better in concert. The jumpy beat, the enthusiastic singing and Robert Jan's synth noises made this a fun song to witness. For the 'TMF..' and similar sections Rob played a loud rumbling drum rhythm that shook the house with power. The song was The ending consisted just of drums and synth effects until a final 'We make a tree' by Henk ended the song. For the promotional tv and radio performances at the beginning of the tour this was played one time without Laetitia.

Woman Cactus

This song made an appearance a few weeks into the tour, but it wasn't played very regularly. It popped up occasionally though. This song hadn't been played in a long while and it is great to see it back, although it wasn't as fierce at it was in the 80s. The song started with Rob providing the drum beat. Robert Jan soon joined with the melody and Titia played the bass line on her keyboard. The song was played like it usually was in the 80s. Robert Jan now used a more smooth, bell-like synth sound instead of the more obvious bell sounds he had in the past. Henk still was able to hit the high notes!