The concert took place in De Melkweg. This hall used to be a milk factory, at the moment it is a discotheque and has a podium for artists to perform on. It is situated in the middle of Amsterdam, near the "Leidseplein". The hall, in which Mary performed, wasn't bigger than a small gym. There where only about 300 to 400 people and the whole room was filled, so it was very cousy.

I was fortunate to get a seat on the second row near the middle, so I had a great view and could see Mary and her band very well. At 21:00 the support acts started, which was a dutch female singer with two other band members. She was quite good. To be honest she was the best support act I had ever seen.

At about 21:50 Mary and the band came on stage and started with Summer Sent You. Although Mary had a bit of a cold, her voice was perfect (as always). After several know songs, like Columbus, Golden Mile, Babes in the Wood, Adam at the Window and Still Believing, she sang two songs from her forthcoming album. She only mentioned the title of the first song, which was written by Larry Klein (who is also the producer of the album). The song is called No One Lives Without Love. Later during the concert she sang another song from this new album (which will probably be called Shine).

As always Mary joked around with the band and the audience and you could really see that she enjoys performing. Due to the terrible loss of her latest drummer, Dave Early her former drummer, Noel Bridgeman, joined her band again. This was also the reason she couldn't do any of the tracks of Circus. As always she asked the audience to join her with two songs, Katie and Only A Woman's Heart. At the end of Only A Woman's Heart she began singing a piece of No Woman, No Cry. After the concert she told me they did this, because Only A Woman's Heart is a very sad song and they wanted to end the song a bit happier.

At the end of the concert Mary got a standing ovation. The audience couldn't get enough of Mary's singing, so she came back three times. Each time she left, the audience gave her another standing ovation and asked her for more. But after six extra songs, she ended with my favourite song Don't Explain.

After the concert I had the opportunity to meet her. I must admit that I was very nervous, which wasn't necessary at all, because she is really nice. I gave her two presents, one for herself and one for her and the band. She said that I shouldn't have done it, but she liked both presents. I had a little talk with her about how I discovered her music and the web pages I created about her. She said she hadn't seen them yet, but as soon as she had the time and opportunity she would take a look. I also asked her if she would be performing at Hoogmani Live (a scottish new years-eve television show) again, just as she did two and three years ago. She told me it was unlikely that she would be there at new-years eve. Before I left, she signed my Circus CD and posed with me for some pictures.

Before I met her I already expected that she would be very nice, but now I know it for sure. I really hope to meet her again someday and really have a good talk with her. Who knows what the future may bring, but I am looking forward to it ...

More pictures of my meeting with Mary can be found in the galleries.