Liquid & Bones

Zaal 100 sits at De Wittenstraat 100 in the Staatsliedenbuurt, in Amsterdam West, and goes by a second name that explains its outlook: Podium voor Ongehoord Geluid, the Stage for Unheard Sound. It is an independent, community driven venue with a warm, bohemian feel, and it has a long record of putting on live music that rarely fits the programming of larger halls. The best known fixture is the free improvisation session held every Tuesday night in the cafe. It has become a meeting point for improvising musicians from Amsterdam and international colleagues passing through, and it is a large part of why the venue is mentioned among the city's jazz addresses. Beyond that, the programme is wide. Past listings include punk, folk, blues, rock and experimental acts, along with a Jazzcafé evening, Westside Blues, and Kamercirkel, an open stage for chamber music. Open mic nights and poetry sit alongside the concerts, as do evenings that combine food, music and storytelling. Zaal 100 works as much as a neighbourhood space as a concert room. Its own description lists concerts, jam sessions, exhibitions and food, and the agenda reflects that mix, including vegan restaurant nights where guest cooks take over the kitchen, among them Yayang and Sisi & Sevgi. Series such as TryTone's Tone Series and gatherings like Many Voices, which paired musicians with book presentations and blues, show how the room serves both established experimental players and local scenes that need a stage. For anyone looking for unpolished, exploratory music in Amsterdam West, it is one of the more distinctive addresses in the area.