Friday 22 June 2018

Pinkpop 2018 Day 3



Another day and another queue at the entrance. When we finally get in, we want to check out Tom Walker, but the tent is full and a big crowd has gathered around the tent. So instead we wander around a bit waiting for the first interesting artist to play.



Pinkpop Festival 2018 Day 3, June 17 2018

Brian Fallon



I like Brian Fallon’s music, the singer from New Jersey band The Gaslight Anthem. It’s genuine and honest music, straight from the heart in the best Springsteen fashion. His solo work fits right in and is maybe a bit more on the roots side of rock. Fallon looks and sounds good and is truly enjoying himself. His voice is strong and the songs have lovely stories and pleasant melodies. He’s smiling a lot and is very relaxed. This is definitely one of the good guys and it looks like he has overcome the demons that were chasing him.



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Triggerfinger



Pinkpop loves Triggerfinger and the Belgian rock band loves them back. It’s the fifth time they are here and you know the band will live up to its impeccable live reputation. Of course I’ve seen them play this tour a couple of times, so I know what to expect. Ruben Block is firing up the crowd with sexy dancing, guitar swinging and his amazing rock voice. It is no surprise they put down a tight and heavy rock show, complete with shredding guitar solos, pumping bass and Mario Goossen’s cymbal licking and rock solos. Just the way I like it! As a surprise Belgian legend Raymond van het Groenewoud plays one of his songs 'Je Veux de l'Amour' with them.



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Editors



After Triggerfinger has finished, we rush to the other side of the festival site for Editor’s performance at the main stage. We know we won’t find a good spot this late so we have to watch it from a distance. Tom Smith’s voice never fails to impress and it’s a very good show that has both their big hits and new songs. The acoustic version of ‘Desire’ is simply gorgeous and ‘Papillon’ sets the crowd on fire, although this time without real fire and fireworks. ‘Magazine’ is a good closer after that, of a very strong performance.



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Greta van Fleet



We have to rush into the tent of the Brightlands stage, but many people have already gathered there to see this new sensational band from the States. These young guys look and sound like they are from the seventies. Of course they are copying a lot from Led Zeppelin, which is obvious from their sound and the voice of singer Josh Kiszka. His rock howls are coming close to Robert Plant's, although need to mature a bit more. That goes for the whole band that is playing very good, but need a bit more depth and their own sound. It is simply great to hear these guys play hard rock and blues from the golden age of rock with so much heart. Long stretched versions of the few songs they have with endless guitar solos and rolling drums fill their hour long show. They are looking really confident as if they’ve been doing this for years. The crowd totally loves them and is asking for more when they are done, but there’s no time for encores. It’s going to be interesting to see where these guys end up in five years time.



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And so I leave this festival with mixed feelings. We have seen amazing shows by some of the greatest bands around. But we didn't see many bands because of a lot of queues and huge crowds at the stages. You really need to plan ahead to see bands from a bit more up close, something I really hate at festivals. You also need a lot of patience entering the festival site, ordering drinks and food and wandering around the crowded site. The festival is legendary but seems to be too confident about themselves. They could learn a lot from younger festivals and modernize. Otherwise I won't be returning soon to the oldest festival in The Netherlands I think.

All Pictures

Pinkpop 2018 Day 1
Pinkpop 2018 Day 2


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