New Model Army at the Melkweg in Amsterdam, Netherlands on 17 December 2023.
So, to Amsterdam for the traditional annual New Model Army pre-christmas show at the Melkweg, an event that has taken place each year for at least the past 2 decades. The faithful followers, members of the “Family” gather in nearby Dan Murphy’s Irish Bar throughout the afternoon, some staying there literally until the band take the stage.
I’ve seen NMA live more times than I care to remember since the mid 1980s, and have been to many of the annual Amsterdam gigs. It’s always great to catch up with folk coming from all over the place for this one, and if I’m honest, I come along more for the social side than the musical experience nowadays.
The Melkweg is pretty packed for this gig, although I didn’t get the impression that it is completely sold out. Having brought my (grown up) son along with me for this one, I let him go down the front whilst I stay a little way back where I had a pretty good view of the band, as can been seen from the photos. The usual suspects perform their gig acrobatics by standing on shoulders at various points throughout the evening. The newer Army songs are mostly fairly calm affairs, but the classic older tracks get the faithful moving and singing along in unison, as always.
A very enjoyable gig … “same procedure as last year … same procedure as every year” 🙂
