Get On The Funk Train

Worrying about my future, I step into a waiting train with a tired step. Unlike my own destination, I don't have to worry about where this train ends. I find a spot by the window and grab my book and MP3 player. A little later a dark man with enormous suitcases enters the carriage. His face looks vaguely familiar to me. He nods kindly and sits down opposite me. When the train starts moving, to my surprise he pulls out a complete drum kit from his luggage!

When I ask what he's planning to do, he starts laughing. Just wait and see. He places the drums in front of him in the narrow aisle and begins to play. My goodness, this man can do something! His smile no longer leaves his face as he drums a particularly tight rhythm. I watch with amusement. OK, enough! He puts away his drumsticks and begins to blind the windows with large, black-dyed sheets. Meanwhile, more people enter the train. I think I recognize the late funk singer from Parliament, Ray Davis, in one of the conductors. I blink once. What's going on? Someone turns out the fluorescent lights and replaces them with rotating, colored lights. A few good-looking ladies with the NS logo on their scanty clothing ask us to get up, which I do without complaint. Together with the handful of travelers who are also in this compartment, I make way. The ladies manage to fold the benches with a few simple movements. Always thought those banks were stuck!

I go from one surprise to another. More people are unpacking their suitcases and they all appear to have instruments with them. Suddenly the man behind the drums starts counting down and the musicians immediately blow the roof off with their playing. Before I realize what is going on, the train has turned into a swinging and steaming party train. Travelers from other compartments walk in to see what's going on, while I dance like my life depends on it.

When I try to find out which station we are at, I start talking to two Belgians. They say that they are DJs from Ghent and have played everywhere, but have never experienced anything like this. I ask if they know the drummer. Yes, says one of them, that is the 70s disco king Hamilton Bohannon. The Belgians who call themselves 'The Glimmers' say that they have included one of his songs on their CD 'DJ Kicks'. As I leave the train and thank Hamilton for his great performance, I wonder if anyone believes what I experienced. Fortunately, I recognize the two Belgians on a CD that I found in a shop near the station. I see that Bohannon's 'The Groove machine/Boogie train' is on the album and immediately buy it. Every time I hear that song, I imagine myself back on the disco train that has turned traveling into a big party.