Paradiso (Amsterdam)

Paradiso

Cansei de Ser Sexy performing in the main hall

Paradiso is an iconic rock music venue and cultural center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

History

It is housed in a converted former church building that dates from the nineteenth century and that was used until 1965 as the meeting hall for a liberal Dutch religious group known as the "Vrije Gemeente" (Free Congregation). It is located on de Weteringschans, bordering the Leidseplein, one of the nightlife and tourism centers of the city. The main concert hall in the former church interior has high ceilings and two balcony rings overlooking the stage area, with three large illuminated church windows above the stage. The acoustics are rather echoey, but improvements have been made over the years. In addition to the main concert hall, there are two smaller cafe stages, on an upper floor and in the basement.

Paradiso was squatted by hippies in 1967 who wanted to convert the church to a entertainment and leisure club. The police ended the festivities the same year. In 1968 the city opened Paradiso as a publicly-subsidized youth entertainment center. Along with the nearby Melkweg (Milky Way), it soon became synonymous with the hippie counterculture and the rock music of that era. It was one of the first locations in which the use and sale of soft drugs was tolerated. From the mid-1970s, Paradiso became increasingly associated with punk and new wave music, although it continued to program a wide variety of artists. Starting in the late 1980s, raves and themed dance parties became frequent.

In recent years, the venue has settled into an eclectic range of programming, which, besides rock, can include lectures, plays, classical music, and crossover artists. Long associated with clouds of tobacco and hashish smoke, Paradiso banned smoking in the public areas in 2008 in accordance with a nationwide ban on smoking in public venues, and the venue has a 'smoking room' near the entrance, but still inside Paradiso itself.

The Acts

Poster on the side of the Paradiso

Artists who have recorded or filmed concerts at the Paradiso include The Rolling Stones, Joy Division, Chic, Joe Jackson, Chris Isaak, Kaizers Orchestra, Willie Nelson, Phish, Arcade Fire, Nightwish, Bad Brains, Kayak, Loudness, Nirvana, John Cale, The Cure, Soft Machine, Emilíana Torrini, Jalebee Cartel, Link Wray, Lenny Kravitz, Omar & the Howlers, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Electrosexual, Beth Hart, Dayna Kurtz, Dave Matthews, Smoosh, Suzanne Vega, Amy Winehouse, Fiction Plane, Epica, Editors, Motorpsycho, Pain of Salvation, Riverside, Live and NITS and Jamiroquai.

Glen Matlock played his last gig with The Sex Pistols at the Paradiso.

On May 26–27, 1995, The Rolling Stones played two semi-acoustic concerts at the Paradiso. Scalped tickets reportedly sold for many thousands of dollars. Recorded tracks from these concerts were released on the Stones' Stripped album later that year. Keith Richards said that the Paradiso concerts were the best live shows the Stones ever did.

The post-grunge act Live recorded the live video album Live at the Paradiso – Amsterdam at the Paradiso.

Other acts who played in Paradiso include Nine Inch Nails, Arctic Monkeys, Europe, Radiohead, Stereophonics, Prince, UB40, Guns N' Roses, David Bowie, 30 Seconds to Mars, The Police, The Velvet Underground, Rollins Band, Golden Earring, Herman Brood, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dr. John, Muse, Rory Gallagher, Foo Fighters, Fugazi, U2, Pearl Jam, Ramones, Metallica, Faithless, Pink Floyd, Primus, Tool, The Pretty Things, Captain Beefheart, The Jam, Coldplay, Billy Idol, Keane, Robbie Williams, Emilíana Torrini, Eels, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Lady Gaga and My Morning Jacket. Beth Hart

Future

In the 1990s, the future of Paradiso became something of a political issue in Amsterdam, since there was some political resistance to the continuation of the subsidies that allowed the venue to operate in its central city location. More recently, supporters have successfully argued that the Paradiso subsidy is reasonable in comparison with subsidies given to other performance venues.

Ayọ concert on 13. September 2007

Further reading

• Converted Churches. Tectum Publishers, Antwerp, Belgium 2007, 178-183. ISBN 978-90-76886-44-2

External links

• Paradiso Template:Nl icon