Hailed as the Dutch equivalent of the Beatles, Doe Maar will be performing a one-off concert in De Kuip, Rotterdam on Saturday, 12 July 2008 (tickets go on sale 1 December). The pop group is getting together just one more time with the original band: Ernst Jansz, Henny Vrienten, Jan Hendriks and Jan Pijnenburg. Ernst Jansz and Henny Vrienten were also involved in the musical about the band, which premiered in Tilburg this year.

In 2000, Doe Maar had a reunion tour, admittedly for the money in the first place. This time, they say they really feel like playing, but in fact, nobody cares because they are so famous. According to the Nationaal Pop Instituut, Doe Maar is the most important, popular and innovative Dutch pop band from the early 1980s.

For all of you just getting to know Dutch culture, but are afraid to ask, Doe Maar is a great way to start. The music is ska with some pop and punk influences, which is very easy to get into. My personal newbie recommendations are “Één nacht alleen”, “Is dit alles”, “Sinds 1 dag of 2 (23 jaar)” and “Doris Day”. I first heard Doe Maar at a party after having been in the country just one week and was immediately struck by two things: one was that everybody there knew the lyrics and two was that it was nice, bouncy ska.

(Link: omroepbrabant.nl)