Friday, 27 August 2010

Lowlands 2010 Day 2: Time To Party!



After a great first day and a decent night of sleep we woke up to a beautiful sunny day. Just not in time to see Dutch performer and rising star Tim Knol open the second day. Sorry Tim, hopefully I can catch you next time.

And So I Watch You From Afar (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
Time to get the sleep blown from our eyes by this Irish hard rocking bunch. Loud powerful guitar riffs combined with complex tempo changes, fast licks and a solid drummer were fired at us. No vocals since these guys don't need that with their lively stage performance. The guitarists and bass player are jumping and bouncing around stage while playing their amazing parts. Guitar player Rory Friers even continues playing while crowd surfing. Their eyes are twinkling when they receive the well earned cheers from the crowd.



New Cool Collective & Typhoon (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
Clearly awake now we move to the next party with Dutch jazz band New Cool Collective and Dutch rapper Typhoon. The Alpha stage is not the best place for this combination but it's convenient for the many musicians on the stage. Nevertheless they manage to put down a swinging set. What can you expect when you have one of the coolest and most swinging band on stage with awarded performers like sax player Benjamin Herman, guitar player Anton Goudsmit and drummer Joost Kroon. Rapper Typhoon cannot wish for a better band to back his raps and he manages to turn the place into a swinging party with the help of some other guests. Too bad the band only got to play one song by themselves.



The Soft Pack (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
Sitting in the grass enjoying a bit of sunshine we listen to The Soft Pack on the main stage. Their garage rock is catchy and their songs are good. They just didn't add enough fire to make it explode.

Mumford and Sons (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
I said it before that I don't like this kind of music. But I admit their show was pretty good. Well played songs and the packed Alpha tent was going crazy with every song. I still don't get why but so many people can't be wrong. I just wouldn't call it that brilliant as many others seem to do. So after 4-5 songs I decided to check out something different.

Admiral Freebee (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
The Belgian Admiral delivered a strong album earlier this year and already proved he can play great performances. Today however there wasn't enough chemistry between them and the crowd somehow. When he started playing some beautiful ballads on piano even more people left leaving only a few until the end of his set. By that time they seemed pretty frustrated and started throwing stuff to each other for fun. Hopefully he will come back to prove everyone of his skills.

The Gaslight Anthem (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
Things can go fast with a band. Within a short time this band has grown into a live act that can fill up a place like the Grolsch stage which is the second biggest stage of the festival. A big skull is laughing at us from the big back of the stage. Tattooed boys are on stage playing their middle of the road rock tunes. But this tough appearance cannot hide the boy inside. Singer Brian Fallon looks like he could have been in any 90s boy band. They are trying very hard but the sparkle wasn't there today. Their songs all sounded a bit even and they weren't able to live up to the high expectations that many people seemed to have.



LCD Soundsystem (Ronald Says 9 out of 10)
When front man James Murphy sticks to his intentions this was my last LCD Soundsystem gig since according to him there won't be a next record. This certainly was one of their better performances. Especially the old songs were solid and got many people dancing. The songs of their last album didn't sound as convincing but maybe that's because it's new material that everyone needs to get used to. All in all their set kept everyone going until the end. Probably because it had more cow bell.



La Pegatina (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
And then we arrived at the small Lima stage that was having a big party like so many times. The band from Barcelona must have been wondering what all the dancing plants were doing something that started last year and is beginning to turn into a tradition. Urban rumba or flamenco punk? I have no idea what it is but it's damn good! Check out a short video here.

To top it off we go watch the movie The Expandables which turns out to be so bad that it's not even funny anymore (7.5 on IMDB? C'm on!). But the people's cheers and reactions still make it good fun. And of course the beers and pop-corn help as well. Another great day ends in style and it only is getting better. We're wondering what tomorrow will bring.

See more pictures over here:
Lowlands 2010 Day 2 Pictures

Lowlands 2010 Day 1 Review >
Lowlands 2010 Day 3 Review >

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