Tuesday 10 September 2013

ITGWO 2013 Day 2: Somewhere Over The Rainbow



Today it's less hot and sunny. I'm in doubt whether to go for a swim, but decide not to, since it feels too chilly. We still have time for some breakfast in the small village at the harbour before we make our way into the woods for the first band.

Into The Great Wide Open 2013 Day 2, September 7 2013



Elephant Stone
Front man Rishi Dhir of Canadian band Elephant Stone has Indian roots. You can hear this in their psychedelic music. He's also playing the sitar which he brought along with him. For a while he sticks to playing the bass though. Their music couldn't sound better between the trees. The songs are full of reverb and fuzz and take you away from this planet. It reminds of The Beatles' psychedelic period at the end of their career. Halfway Dhir is finally sitting down on the small riser to play the remarkable Indian instrument, his legs crossed. It's the perfect instrument for this psychedelic music and a very nice twist.

Official Website | SoundCloud | Facebook | Twitter | Spotify



traumahelikopter
We go to the stage in the dunes, for a series of bands playing here in a row. You don't expect a punk band on this relaxed and idyllic festival, where small kids are experiencing their first live shows. But traumahelikopter don't care and will play any stage. And once again do a great job with their short and energetic punk songs. Kids are watching in awe, while their dads pogo in the mosh pit. One dad is even teaching his son how to join in. Singer Mark Lada is joking this is oldest crowd they ever played. He's trying out the length of his mic cable, jumps off stage and into the dunes. He is going to the top of the slope where small paper windmills are spinning in the wind. Two are pulled from the sand for the way back. Later guitar player Daan van Dalen jumps off stage as well, hands his guitar to a flabbergasted young lad and makes for his usual round of crowd surfing. The threesome prove that even punk music has its place at ITGWO.



Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | Spotify



Parquet Courts
And why not continue that way with more punk music? Parquet Courts made a great record with spiky vigorous punk and garage rock songs. However in the beginning the boys seem a bit detached from the crowd, despite a small group at the front going mental. It gets better during the performance. Guitarist Austin Brown is singing some songs, but his vocals aren't really strong. The angry looking Andrew Savage (what's in a name) is a more convincing singer. His vocals are more aggressive and give the songs the right amount of bite. It's not a perfect performance, but it does show the band is capable of writing good rock songs.

Official Website | MySpace | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Spotify



Dawes
Time to take it slow now. Dawes are playing rootsy country and blues songs. It actually is quite pleasant, but after a few songs it all sounds alike. The band isn't exactly charismatic either and after a while I'm getting quite bored with it. With this kind of music it could have been so much better on this stage in the dunes.

Official Website | MySpace | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube



Daniel Norgren
Swedish blues musician Daniel Norgren is doing a lot better later on with intense blues music. While picking his guitar, he's working a few pedals for the bass and snare drum. The only other band member, Anders Grahn, is adding contrabass to it. They both look like to be coming from some farmer's state in the US, with their lumberjack shirt and baseball caps. Norgren is mostly singing with his eyes closed, completely feeling his music. They both manage to keep most of the rain out and in the end get rewarded by a big round of applause and a beautiful rainbow.

Official Website | MySpace | Facebook | YouTube | Spotify



The Black Angels
When the dark sets in, the dune stage transforms in an even more atmospheric place. It turns out to be the perfect setting for The Black Angels. Their dark psychedelic songs are not missing impact. Red and purple lights are keeping the band in the shade. Vocals full of reverb are echoing across the dunes, while the band dives into lengthy jams. We're happily drifting along and slowly get lost in the gloomy sounds.

Official Website | SoundCloud | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify



Miles Kane
You wouldn't expect Miles Kane to be playing this festival. Although the program so far proved that louder rock bands can work well too. But the crowd on the sports field is a hard one. It is willing to party, however aren't typical rock fans. Kane is working hard like always. There just isn't a connection with the people tonight. Instead of trying to adjust to the more relaxed and intimate vibes, he seems to turn it up even more. Normally I like his music and performance a lot and don't mind his typical British arrogance. But tonight it just doesn't work. Hopefully he will be more convincing next month for his club show in Amsterdam

Official Website | MySpace | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube

Tonight we decide to take a look at the beach, where there are some camp fires lit. There's even a DJ playing on an improvised DJ desk. The music is faltering a lot due to some power restrictions I assume. The growing number of people doen't seem to mind. We have beer at one of the camp fires and then decide to call it a day. I'm pretty sure the rainbow we saw earlier struck gold right on the island today.

More Pictures

Into The Great Wide Open 2013 Day 1
Into The Great Wide Open 2013 Day 3

No comments:

Post a Comment