1/3 Enjoying for brothers Nick (right) and Mike together full of Ziggodome.
Thousands of lights went up when Nick Dekkers (40) from Eindhoven used Bruce Springsteen’s ‘The River’ in a packed Ziggo Dome: a childhood dream came true on Saturday evening. With his band Brucified, Dekkers was allowed to put down a set during The Tribute Live. Would you have liked that a bit, playing in front of 17,000 people? “It has exceeded my wildest expectations. Jesus mina, I keep bouncing.”
The 9-piece Eindhoven tribute band Brucified secured a spot in Saturday evening’s show in Amsterdam, by finishing third in the SBS program ‘The Tribute – Battle of the Bands.’ The recordings were already over in December and singer Nick, bassist and brother Mike and the rest of the band members knew that it was really going to happen.
“I was crying during The River, my brother said afterwards.”
And so the anticipation could begin. “All kinds of things go through your head in advance. But above all the question: how will the public react, are they enthusiastic?” Nick already did an experiment with the song The River and lights during a smaller performance. “That worked. Then the lights go up from about 800 people and you think to yourself: what if this also works in the Ziggo Dome?”
And whether it worked. The hands of the audience went into the air en masse, a sea of dancing lights waved up and down enchantingly and Nick sang from his toes: We’d go down to the river. And into the river we’d dive†
For example, a boy who wants to become a singer sees it when he gives a concert with a deodorant can in front of the mirror in the bathroom at home. But this was real. Nick a day later from an Amsterdam hotel: “It will never leave my retina. My brother was basking with tears in his eyes. I was just crying man, he said afterwards.”
Waiting for privacy settings…
If you watch the videos of Brucified’s performance, you will see Nick rocking like ‘The Boss’. Black shirt, black body warmer, microphone in one hand, other arm in the air and tear away. The self-confidence is gone. Although there were certainly nerves backstage.
“If I had a bucket list, I would never have dared to put this on it.”
“Ten minutes before the start, everyone should leave me alone, that’s always the case. I joked to my brother: I don’t dare. He replied: let’s go nailing† Then I jumped on stage and the tension was gone.”
And by Sunday morning it will all be over. “Here in the hotel are a lot of people who were there last night. We just played The River for them in the lobby.”
Anything to hold on to that feeling. Because it was so beautiful: “If I had a bucket list, I wouldn’t even have dared to put this on it.”
“Tomorrow I will be on a scaffold again. That is quite difficult to switch.”
From ‘the Boss’ to construction, normal life awaits Nick again on Monday. “At seven o’clock I am again hanging ceilings, yes.”
And that’s a transition. “Of course. On Saturday I walked into the Ziggo Dome through the artist entrance, I felt like an artist. And tomorrow I will be back on a scaffold. That is quite difficult to switch.”
To add: “Maybe that sounds ungrateful. But my dream is to make music my job. The stage is where I really feel at home.”
ALSO READ: Goosebumps at ‘Brucified’ after winning concert in Ziggo Dome: ‘Not normal!’