Patronaat – Haarlemtown’s home to much more than just Rock n Roll.

Patronaat – Haarlemtown’s home to much more than just Rock n Roll.

I Joshua Baumgarten being the self-appointed Lofi Rock n Roll Poet Laureate of the Patronaat for life, as goed gekuurd by Jeroen Blijleve, Warry van der Leen and in post mortum Dick van der Giessen.

That being said ladies and gentlemen

I have been called here today to sing praise

to the Poppodium of Haarlemtown

our wonderful world of music and performance

for almost the last 35 years

the Patronaat.

And now the first thing that crosses my mind

as I look about the Haarlemers here

In the cultured faces in the Toneelschuur before me

is

How many of you

How many of your sons and daughters

After being in the Patronaat

After attending a sweat filled concert or

a 40 plus dance party overflowing with small town decadence,

and feeling that swell of hormones and post adolescence,

alcohol and rock n roll

ended up praying to god

while holding your own or

your partners head

over the porcelain bowl.

For I remember long nights in the late 90’s

 fueled by Rocketfuel

where bodies bounced like stuiterbals off of 4 walls

in an old school gym hall

where the sounds of the Ramones, Nirvana, Urban Dance Squad

 and Gotcha showed me that even

in this small town of Haarlemtown

that there were like minded freaks

that loved to get down.

The Patronaat, our pop podium

from 1984 till now

consistently peaking the curiosity of a small town crowd

by taking chances on a high end

of lower tier performers

who don’t appeal to the big city crassness,

the Patronaat a venue for the artists ignored

by big city stages

and who have little interest in

putting on shows just to please

the business model and mainstream masses.

For the Patronaat is more than just some average Popzaal

and for so many musicians playing the Patronaat

becomes something personal

returning year after year

the Patronaat becomes a home away from home

a beacon of professional comfort and quality

for bands touring from shit bar to dirty club  

always one day further or closer back to  

wherever it is that these

thousands of performers that the Patronaat hosts

may call home.

The Patronaat a podium for music afficiandos

and not so much a place where it is hip to be seen

but a venue with a vital roll in the development of

its hometown scene.

A place that offers young performers an introduction

to add to their musical education,

and learn that every gig, big or small

is an oppurtunity for a band to grow.

For the Patronaat is like the greenhouse for

a city rich with local talent

ready to sow.

Where the Rob Acda awards offer local bands

their first chance to put on a pop music show

and a place where these kids can start on their journey

to one day

becoming the next

local heroes

The Patronaat, where countless Haarlemmers

young and what older

volunteer at the bar and puzzle out the tech desk,

collecting tickets and jackets and

organising the wants and needs

of needy artists behind the scenes while

all the while the paid employees work upstairs

headphones on, bopping and cursing

behind computer screens

praying for the one day that Mojo

may cherrypick them for the big league

booking agencies.

Patronaat

an unendings thanks to the

hundreds of volunteers

who year after year

clean up all of the

puke, broken glass

and spilled beer from

kelder to the zolder.

The Patronaat

Haarlemtowns playground for those

who wish to get down to some musical sound.

Be it hip hop, rock, house music, reggae or metal.

From the americana sounds of the Roots of Heaven

to Minor Operations drunken punkfeest

the Irrational Library’s seemingly endless eigenaardig ways

the progressive metal of Complexityfest

the garage rock chaos of Klikofest

and the occasional blacked out windows of a swingers fuckfest.

the Patronaat has always been

and always will be

just what

Haarlemtown needs it to be

even if they continue to tap Heineken

which this poet thinks

is really quite shitty.

The Patronaat

Haarlemtowns musical portal to the outisde world

our fantastic popzaal always testing the limits

of what is to be heard and to be seen,

the Patronaat

the pulsating rhythmic heart

of our cultural city.