Amsterdam Woods Festival 2015 Saturday

Although there are many festivals in my home town Amsterdam, funny enough there is no multiple day summer festival with indie bands and rock music. Until now that is, since this year the three day Amsterdam Woods festival saw the light for its first edition with a promising line-up of upcoming bands, some established acts and documentaries. We can't make it to the first day on Friday but needless to say I hopped on my bike the day after to visit the large city park Amsterdamse Bos (three times the scale of Central Park), where the festival is located.

Amsterdam Woods Festival Saturday August 29 2015

After a nice bike ride through the woods, we arrive at a lovely spot. We explore the festival ground which is quite tiny but feels like a mini version of my favourite festivals Into The Great Wide Open and Best Kept Secret. A big tent hosts the main stage "Grote Eik (Big Oak)" opposite the outdoor stage "Onder De Sterren (Underneath The Stars)". A tiny stage "Spruit (Sprout)" at the other site will host new and upcoming bands. Scattered around are bars and food trucks, a lovely spot has turntables and spins oldies singles and a small bar pours lovely "speciality" beers. At this moment it is still quiet but things already look good.



Nelson Can
First up for us are three ladies from Denmark that form a rock trio without guitar player. Drums, bass and vocals create a dark punkrock sound especially because of the low but strong voice of singer Selina Gin. It is still early for both the band and the audience and this is a band that probably would work better in the dark. The ladies are doing their best though and the songs are quite interesting. However the lack of a melodic instrument becomes quite obvious since the songs sound alike a lot.

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Alamo Race Track
Dutch alternative band Alamo Race Track stand high in regard in the Dutch music scene and their last album Hawks once again is quite a gem. Their songs embody a lot of atmosphere and tension. The skilled musicians are facing a half full tent and are obviously having some sound problems on stage. The show is off to a bit of a rough start that way and it's hard to recreate the same atmosphere of their albums. But in the end this band is so talented and professional, that it results in a pretty good performance nevertheless.

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Douglas Firs
Belgian musician Gertjan van Hellemont formed this band with Balthazar's Simon Casier on bass, drummer Christophe Claeys (Amatorski and Magnus) and his brother Sem on keys. Their songs are best described as Americana and roots rock with nice harmonies. The music sounds quite good and works well on this stage next to the weeping willow. Van Hellemont turns out to be a pretty good entertainer with a good sense of humour as well and it turns this performance into a pleasant one.

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Palio Superspeed Donkey
It's time to pick it up a notch though and the "Dutch Arctic Monkeys" are playing a home game. The young band once again show their talent and their catchy rock songs sound better and better every time I get to see them play. They got their British stage act together as well with the seemingly unmoved singer Sam Vermeulen and his fellow band mates jumping around him. It is going to be interesting to see where this is going to take them in the years to come.

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Tubelight
While the sun is still up the trees around the Onder De Sterren stage are already obscuring some of the light a bit, turning it into an atmospheric surrounding. Perfect for the spacerock of Tubelight that are stretching their songs into long hypnotizing jams. The Belgian band may not play the most original music, but they look quite professional and play their music in a convincing way. And on this stage at this time of the day it does come together.

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Moon Tapes
At the other side of the festival ground Moon Tapes are soundchecking and play 'Elephant Stone' by The Stone Roses. This immediately describes their music since it seems that is their biggest inspiration. In their set they also play 'I Wanna Be Adored'. Their own songs are a mix of this and The Smiths where singer Joep Meyer actually does sound like Morrissey a lot. The band picked up some of their guitar lines from The Cure and we get a kind of Madchester new wave vibe, which is working well. It turns into a nice party and this band definitely could be on to something. Now they need to find their own sound instead of copying too much from their main inspirations.

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I Am Kloot
Today's closing headliner is English rock band I Am Kloot that are pretty much an indie favourite. It is the last show of their festival summer and the band are in a very good mood. The beer is flowing like water and the crowd clearly have been looking forward to this performance and are into it right away. It turns the last show of the day into a very nice one, where I Am Kloot is showing why they are so popular in the indie scene, with skilful songs that sometimes rock and are intimate ballads at others. Quite a good ending to our first day at this new festival I'd say.

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This turned out to be a great day and since there is not night line-up or after party we take our bikes into the night to return home and get a good night of sleep.

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Into The Great Wide Open 2011 Day 3: Strong Comeback Of The Sun

After a nice camp fire session yesterday we looked up our tents only to wake up to a thunderstorm. We wake up to a grey morning. Hopefully the weather won't go completely mad today since there are still some bands to watch!





Palio Superspeed Donkey (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
These young musicians have an average age of 15! But they are playing like they're in their twenties. One of their big examples are the Arctic Monkeys and that's not hard to hear. They put down a convincing rock show with good songs that make you forget they are just teenagers. They still have to develop their own sound and looks but man do these boys have lots of potential!
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Junip (Ronald Says 6 out of 10)
Time to take it slow with this Swedish band. A bit too slow even because this show is just really boring. It all has the same tempo and same vocal lines. And therefore it sounds like they're playing the same song over and over again. So we're sitting down for a nice breakfast instead.
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Villagers (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
Conor J. O'Brien and his band have played a lot of shows the past year after their break through record Becoming a Jackal. His voice is clear and recognizable and the songs come out strong. But still it looks and sounds like extensive touring has gotten the best of them. They all look a bit quenched and so this show won't go down as legendary but as decent instead.
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Bastian (Ronald Says 6 out of 10)
Bas Bron is all over the place as producer and musician. Figuring as the Neger des Heils for De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig and many other projects, but today he's playing with his funk rock band. It's a solid show with heavy rock tunes and some funky sides. At the same time that's kind of the problem. It all sounds too much as a copy of Prince's rock catalogue. The musicians are kind of overdoing it with their rock poses while Bron is more the modest nerd musician type. Only when he's playing his old big hit You've Got My Love it doesn't give you the idea you're listening to just any funk cover band.
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Jiggy By Night (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
When afro-beat band Jungle by Night take the stage the weather has cleared up and the sun is shining. Coincidence? Maybe. Slowly they turn the field into a tropical party like they do everywhere they're playing. Rapper Jiggy Djé is joining them but isn't adding a lot more than some crowd participation. His raps aren't anything special and the songs are good enough without them. But everyone's enjoying themselves and it results in a worthy swinging closer to this great festival.
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I can only say "seeing is believing". This festival really is special. It has great vibes. Visitors and musicians are enjoying themselves a lot. You run into artists all the time who, like everyone else, are enjoying the bands, the food, the drinks but above all the great atmosphere. The small island of Vlieland truly is a magical place.

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