Pann Café Classic is now letting the grass grow

Utrecht, 15 June 2005 - Most of them had to get up early the next day. And yet the visitors of Pann Café Classic had not been able to resist the temptation to go out for a drink and some dancing.

Around ten there is hardly a seat left. The venue - 't Gras van de Buren - has recently been re-opened as a pub where you can eat and dance. Although there are some dodgy attempts to stay clear of the dancefloor, some of the hips are beginning to shake on the music of the seventies, eighties and nineties.

It is that music that brings back the feeling of the old Pann Café times, when the Pann people held a bar night every Tuesday night. "This is meant for the people that do not feel at home anymore at the Pann parties nowadays," Marten explains. He is a member of the Pann party committee.

It is not just the music that has been adapted, the location was specially picked too. Marten: "We do not want more than 250 people in the house. It had to be a pub with a dancefloor. The Mega Pann party of last Friday had room for 1300. That is not everybody's idea of a fun night out. This party is more aiming at socialising, having a chat here and there."

And indeed, there is lot of chatting going on. Rebecca, one of the visitors, reminisces. She remembers the old Pann Café. "If you ask me, no-one here remembers what that was like. I do. I was a student back then, with no obligations on Wednesday, so I could go out on a Tuesday night."

Lili has never been to the old Pann Café. "I did not even live in the Netherlands then." She does notice a difference with the regular monthly Pann parties in Ekko. "The audience here is older. " But, even though she is just nineteen, she is having fun.

Twenty-one year old Ilja does not feel too young for the Pann Café either. "A friend of mine said it was a bit like a stand-up reception, but I quite like it." The music is familiar, although I could not tell you who the artists are. But that's just me."

Ingrid, or DJ Eye, is pleased about the night. "There is an unexpected big turnout. This a new location, but I really like it." The DJ used to play in the old Pann Café. "We were always in basements. It is nice to be above ground once."

She is looking forward to Saturday night. Then she will play in Tivoli, at the Final Fantasy Party. "That party is for 5,000 people. A unique event. Bigger than ever."

Ingrid: "We are all set to go. The party is ready. It only has to happen." There are still a lot of tickets to be sold though. "We have sold about half of the tickets now. But tomorrow all the athletes will arrive in town. And the vibe is also spreading through the Netherlands now. Amsterdam will buy. Utrecht will buy." In short, DJ Eye is seeing rosy clouds ahead. Utrecht will keep on rocking for a while yet.