Utrecht

We finally arrived in Utrecht mid-afternoon, it's a beautiful place. Following a map we managed to find the main Tivolli venue, but not until we'd managed to drive all the way round a lovely canal bank, down one side and up the other, after taking a wrong turning and eventually being led to the venue itself by some very nice local motorcycle paramedics.

It turned out there were two Tivolli venues in Utrecht, the one by the canal, and another just the other side of the railway station, it was at this latter, larger one that Inkubus Sukkubus were actually to play, fortunately a very friendly van driver working for the event was able to guide us there.

Candia and Adam with IS fan Terrance

One of several EBM acts who played.

Our friendly van-driving guide

After finding the venue and unloading the equipment, it was time to
find the band's hotel and check in. The hotel the organisers had provided,
the Van der Valk 'Hotel De Biltsche Hoek', was absolutely magnificent,
and easily one of the most comfortable hotels I've ever stayed in.

After an hour or so at the hotel, it was time to head back to the venue and prepare for the gig.

Fans outside the venue

Grendel on stage

The venue's packed foyer - shades of Whitby!

There was time for a quick spot of urban exploration, and we managed to find the route inside the venue that connected backstage to the foyer. It was a somewhat convoluted route, we could see why the organisers were keen for everyone to go outside instead.

Golf outfits are clearly the new black.

This was our sound engineer, who did an absolutely
superb job - the sound was perfect, studio-clear, rich
and beautifully presented. Sorry about the bad pic!