"We're looking for Jah Bar."

On the day I arrived in Amsterdam there wasn’t a lot of time for rest and relaxation as Verse iTal had a performance scheduled for that night at Jah Bar. He had been staying in Amsterdam for about 10 days at this point so he had a general knowledge of how to get around using the plethora of public transport options. With a 24-hour pass (€7,50) you can jump between the bus, the tram and the metro. Also available are the usual personal transport options of driving a car and hailing a taxi but one neat feature is that Amsterdam has a huge bike culture where on most streets a bike lane is available making it easier to navigate the city via bike.

Stepping into the cold we easily made our way on a tram to Weibaustraat 150, the address where Jah Bar was supposedly located. Standing in front of number 150, no bar was in sight! At this point we started asking a few people for guidance and received a variety of answers all pointing us in conflicting directions. The tall residential looking building behind us bearing the number 150 could definitely not be where we were going. Confused and conscious about the time, we still decided to go in though to try to get proper directions and a necessary respite from the cold! A young man at the reception said he had no clue where Jah Bar was but there was a bar on the top floor of this building. Verse and I looked at each other and shook our heads and told the guy, “Nah man. That’s not it.” The man insisted and replied, “This bar is cool. Lots of great music and live performances.” Again we shook our heads and said, “Nah that cant be what we are looking for. We are looking for Jah Bar.” The guy kept insisting we should go have a look. He was adamant. “Why not check it out anyway. There are elevators to get up there. ” I must admit the elevator argument may have been the biggest factor in convincing me to go up and see this spot as opposed to running back out in search of ‘Jah Bar’. (If there were only stairs to this bar I may be still out on the street looking for Jah Bar.) As the elevator opened on the top floor the mellow sound of sweet reggae music drifted in. Entering the bar, Verse iTal recognized the DJ spinning and realized we were at the right spot. The DJ explained he had put the wrong name on the invitation and this bar, Canvas, was the correct spot after all. The guy at the reception was right. This bar was very cool, had a terrific vibe and great view. People were hanging out and swaying to the tunes spun by DJ’s Kultur M, Vega Selector and Manu Berry. Verse iTal performed soon after we arrived and the crowd enjoyed his set, dancing and vibesing to his tunes. As we made our way home that night we were thankful for finding our way to the correct spot by chance (and a little convincing) and we laughed at our good fortune.

Here are a few photos and coming soon is a video of part of Verse iTal’s performance.

The Canvas Bar

Verse iTal blazing up the stage

In the elevator on the way to the right bar

Verse iTal after a terrific performance at Canvas Bar