It's 28 October 2018. Tonight Annabel is hosting My Baby, a Dutch-New Zealand band from Amsterdam. The location is a former concrete factory and is located behind the Hofplein, within walking distance of the Central Station. Poppodium Annabel is a nightlife venue in Rotterdam that has existed since 2015. The hall seats 1,500 visitors and the concert today is sold-out.
My Baby played in Rotterdam a few months ago at Bevrijdingsfestival Zuid-Holland and fortunately for them, they are still fresh in our memories. Today they are touring the Netherlands to promote their new album ‘Mounaiki’. Their music is a mix of blues, country and funk. Everything is thrown into the cauldron, melted down and released on the audience as a sort of voodoo ritual. It is compelling, it is exciting and the songs are all brilliant.
The show is sold-out, but the band still struggles to get the audience in the right mood. Maybe because there isn’t a support-act or maybe because it just became daylight saving time, and everybody is already a bit tired. My Baby is Joost van Dijck (drums), his sister Cato van Dijck (vocals) and Daniel 'Dafreez' Johnston (guitars) and although the set and the stories seem slick and routine, you can clearly see that they share a lot of enthusiasm on stage.


It’s no wonder that My Baby is widely praised internationally because this music bridges multiple dimensions. Stupefying, danceable and beautiful: just as suitable for the dance floor as over the headphones. Between the songs, Cato van Dijck has multiple dress changes and several times crawls in the skin of someone else. It keeps the performance interesting to watch.


The setlist is alternated with quieter new songs between the exciting old songs. It is no coincidence that the encore performance with upbeat songs like 'Uprising' and 'Make a Hundred' make for a complete dancing party.

