After an eleven year hiatus from Europe, we decided it was time to return, and visit family and friends. We made our plans, and found out that Andre would be performing in his hometown of Maastricht during our visit to the Netherlands. A few inquiries and some e-mails later, our plans were set and we were on our way, arriving in Amsterdam a week prior to the concert. John's sister who was going to the concert with us met us at the airport. It was great getting together with family again.

We left early Friday, the morning of the first concert, with gray skies and rain showers, hoping the weather would improve for Andre’s concert that evening. After arriving in Maastricht, we checked into our hotel, put our luggage away and left for the Vrijthof. There we met Sigrun, Janny, Thea, Sonja and her mom, Monique and husband Ron, and Ineke and husband Ruud.

At five that afternoon, Andre and the JSO appeared and performed their sound check. Andre rode his bike back and forth. Just short pieces of music were being played while he checked the different sound levels at various places on the Vrijthof. The weather continued to be questionable.

After the sound check we met up with Ineke again for our dinner tickets. In the meantime, the entire Vrijthof was being cleared in preparation for the concert. We made our way to “D’n Ingel” the restaurant where we met other Andre fans. It was great to finally meet Ineke and Ruud Cornelissen, and Monique and Ron Hoogzaad who were the organizers of the dinner and did a fantastic job. Met with fans, Gemma and Nand Korthoudt from Belgium, Kathy and Annette from Boston, Henny Zock, with friends, Henk and Iny from Holland, Torben Esbensen and Kirsten from Denmark, Alice and Chuck Stevens from Michigan, and Joe Miller from Florida. It was good to see Sonja and her mom, Thea, and Sigrun again. We had a fabulous time chatting with everyone while enjoying our meal. (Too many entrees though).

We left the dinner at nine for the Vrijthof and found our way to our seats. In the meantime the rain showers had stopped and the clouds gave way to a blue sky. Andre must have had a talk with St. Peter again, as the weather turned out to be beautiful all weekend long. At exactly nine-thirty, Andre and the JSO made their entrance to the music of the “Entry of the Gladiators”. The atmosphere was festive, the lightening around the Vrijthof was exquisite, and everyone participated with every piece of music being played. Of course Andre had his little quips throughout the concert, which were being enjoyed by all. All too soon the concert came to an end, but left us with unforgettable memories.

Saturday afternoon we attended the fans picnic by the Bastion. Had a nice time and chatted with several fans. Roughly fifty fans from various countries attended. A very nice time by all, and soon it was time to say goodbye to new found friends.

Sunday afternoon found us back at the Vrijthof, towards the conclusion of the afternoon concert.. We chatted with several JSO members afterwards, told them what a wonderful time we had and how much we had enjoyed the concerts. We met Pierre and thanked him for the superb job he did as production manager. Had a nice chat with Dan the Banner Man, and all too soon it was time to leave.

Again, it was a concert we will not soon forget. We are still in awe and it was quite a weekend to remember.

West Coast Andre Fans
John & Bobbie de Jong