Review: If you've never been to Amsterdam for music tourism a few things are worth noting. The Dutch city isn't the cheapest to stay in, nor is it particularly good value for money when it comes to bar tabs. Nevertheless, it is packed with an inordinate number of incredible venues, offers lenient-bordering on lunatic running times (not quite, Berlin, but getting there) and there is a tangible sense of legacy everywhere. This is no recent arrival on the pop culture map, it has always been there.
Paradiso is a case in point. A church until 1965, hippies then squatted and rallied for it to become a cultural and entertainment site. Police turfed them out, but within 12 months it became Paradiso, a venue that grew into a countercultural focal point and centre for New Wave, punk, and latterly rave. Also an early flag-bearer for the city's tolerance of soft drugs, Suicidal Tendancies, 1980s titans of a thrash-punk crossover, played a now-legendary performance there in 1987, and few could be better suited to the space. This is that show.
… Read more