Feest in het Park on Sunday: lonesome with Tanya Stephens

When we get there, we discover that Feest In Het Park is apparently free of charge on Sunday. Despite the rather cool and changeable weather, there are quite a few people both in the VIP area and on the festival grounds. However, the large turnout doesn't seem to cause anyproblems: the drink ticket booths, the bars and chip stalls all work efficiently If we had more time, Himalaya Catering's veggie and vegan meals or Mama Suzy's couscous royale or chicken wings might be an option, but instead we hurry to the VIP area to arrange an interview with Tanya Stephens, consume loads of Pampero rum and enjoy the last notes of The Excitements on the Grand Mix stage. This Barcelona band plays an old school soul sound which is complemented very well by lead singer Koko-Jean Davis, a graceful presence with a great voice. Towards the end of their performance Koko-Jean repeatedly says goodbye to the audience. We feel that this should be cut shorter, but the ambience in front of the stage proves us wrong.

After a short change-over, during which the Dutch Royal Roots Band (which accompanies Tanya on her European tour) strongly take control of the technical aspects ("Engineer, this is reggae!"), the tent slowly fills up to about half of its capacity when the rock intro followed by the traditional instrumental medley starts off. To our left and right we don't see the usual reggae crowd, rather some lost OAPs wearing cycling caps (we are after all right in the middle of Ronde Van Vlaanderen country) and a bunch of wasted teens.

And yet here and there we can spot some red-gold-and-green, a few Jamaicans and even a hint of green herbs. As usual Tanya walks onto the stage quite elegantly, dressed in her own inimitable style, making sure that everybody has seen her. Just like on her previous tour, 'Way Back' is the opening to a medley in which she incorporates some of her older songs like 'Yu Nuh Ready Fi Dis Yet' and 'Power Of A Girl'. The latter, dating back to 1995, triggers a first remark aimed at male spectators: "We cook because we need to eat, not because it's our job!". When she introduces 'Boom Wuk', the men are praised, with a healthy dose of humour, but at the same time they're reduced to their most phallic essence. Whoever had the longest 'ding-dong' in the end, you can ask Tanya yourself. After a fresh, tight start, the short performance collapses for a first time during 'Can't Breathe', usually one of the highlights and often the starting point of a more serious part of Tanya's concerts.

The sound is just lame. It's more than likely that the mediocre response of the non-reggae audience to this first hit has something to do with it. The Jamaican section in the audience suddenly makes a special request to play 'Need You Tonight' and Tanya obliges by singing it a cappella. After this we're back on track for a clean finish with among others 'These Streets', 'Do You Still Care' and of course to close off 'It's A Pity', incorporating Gregory Isaacs' 'Night Nurse' and Anthony B's 'Waan Back'.

We then rush backstage, where Ms Stephens has agreed to talk to us. You can find this interview on the website. All in all, this gig was again funny and charming, but unfortunately there were no surprises.