Indiestadt Festival

With the Indiestad pass it is possible to see many bands in a year for just 25 euro. That way I get to see some bands that I probably wouldn't have otherwise. Once a year there's even a whole festival and this year it will even have four days. I wasn't sure if I could make all four but will definitely visit a few nights.

Indiestadt Festival 2017

Day 1 September 20 2017

I really don't want to miss out on the first night that looks like the best of all nights and I am expecting a lot from some of the bands playing tonight. It also is the night with the most bands which means it starts quite early. By the time I walk in, I still an catch the last few songs of Beach Fossils. This band isn't really my favourite band and the few songs I see prove that.

Elephant Stone

I sure want to see Elephant Stone whose elegant psychedelic rock music has always pleased me. Their last album showed a bit of a change where their music shifted a to more pop friendly songs. They have payed good attention to Kevin Parker whose last Tame Impala album was an incredible success. Live the band hasn't changed too much though, which means their music sounds pleasant with Rishi Dhir's soothing voice. It is still a great attraction when he's playing the sitar which at the same time is so important for their sound, adding the ultimate psychedelic touch. I like this sound a lot and enjoy their show again, but at the same time it doesn't reveal anything new for the band. This is why so far the group haven't been able to get to the next level and keep playing the small room of Paradiso. There's nothing wrong with that but I can imagine it could be frustrating. In that case the band may need more chances.

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A Place To Bury Strangers

A Place To Bury Strangers When I get back to the main hall it is dark and filled with smoke. A Place To Bury Strangers have taken the stage and are blowing everyone away with an impressive show. Stroboscopes and smoke machines are working overtime and together with their heavy noise rock it creates an intense atmosphere. We hardly get to see the band on stage and when all of a sudden blue lights point to a spot in the middle of the hall, we can't see what is going on there. It turns out part of the band have moved there with a mobile drum kit and start playing a techno kind of track. This group knows how to get and keep everyone's attention. They make sure to go out with a bang as well and leave us behind completely stunned.

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The Black Angels

I was really looking forward to seeing The Black Angels again after their show at the Into The Great Wide Open festival several years back impressed me a lot. Today they bring gorgeous visuals to support their psychedelic music. I love their sound and the way they create their own world with fuzzed guitars drenched with reverb. Their music has evolved over the years and although their newest album Death Song returns to their roots they seem to also have found their own sound. Of course they got their name from The Velvet Underground and with the new album they come full circle. That band is never far away and you can hear many references in their sound and songs but the new ones are more their own. Live they fit in perfectly with the rest and we get treated to a wonderful 60s inspired psychedelic trip.



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Bartek

The Dutch trio Bartek are playing all over the place and the three rockers look comfortable on stage. Their music is a wild trip and goes from garage rock to 90s inspired grunge. Especially those grunge songs sounds great where the garage rock songs are more of the same. There's plenty of variation now, but if they could focus more and find out where their heart really is, maybe it could make all of their songs interesting enough. Now you notice it is hard to stick with them, although they play with a lot of heart.

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All Pictures Day 1

Day 2 September 21 2017

The second day of the festival has quite a nice bill, but mostly these are bands that somehow aren't really for me. Still I'm going to check out a few of them since I keep hearing good things about them.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Once started as a five piece band, Alec Ounsworth is now the only remaining member of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah who released a new album The Tourist earlier this year. On stage there's a full band who have many good songs to choose from, since the band wrote many good ones. It's just that I don't really like Ounsworth's singing style which is kind of a deal breaker for me. No matter how good the songs are and how solid the band sounds, it just doesn't work for me because of the vocals. Their show has a few dips where you notice people are losing attention. It also is clear why people are here tonight, which is the next band.

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Portugal. The Man

I had no idea Portugal. The Man are this big, since tonight is completely sold out and now the main hall is packed. This is the band people are coming to see. Of course Indiestad pass holders like me are here as well, but I didn't expect this big a crowd. Starting with Metallica's 'For Whom The Bell Tolls', Pink Floyd's 'Another Brick In The Wall' and their own 'Purple Yellow Red And Blue' the group is off to an overwhelming start. Surrealistic visuals are projected behind the band who are mostly playing in the shades. Now and then singer John Gourley or bass player Zachary Scott Carothers will step into the light of the projector. After that flying start the band shifts into a more soulful vibe with Gourley's typical mostly falsetto vocals. The warm light songs are very groovy and easy to dance to, but sound quite complicated at the same time. The band make it sound quite easy and are totally into their music. There isn't a lot of interaction, something they pointed out themselves at the start in a projected text, but that also isn't really necessary. Together with the great visuals it is a well balanced show, although I just don't like singers that mostly sing falsetto. The band closes with another cover, an unimpressive version of Oasis' 'Don't Look Back In Anger', which ends their show with a sing along. But Portugal. The Man prove to be big enough to handle big crowds.



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Theme Park

Upstairs in the small hall Theme Park have just started their show and I decide to catch a part of it. The London based band are playing poppy funk rock songs inspired by Talking Heads. They do create a warm disco vibe tonight where it's easy to dance to, but unlike Talking Heads their songs are still a bit too pale. It all sounds pretty decent but it is also too much on the safe side. It does make people move but is probably not blowing anyone's mind.

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All Pictures Day 2

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Klikofest 2017 @ Patronaat

The annual garage rock n roll festival Klikofest has proven itself as a celebration of upcoming and established garage rock bands and is something to look forward to every summer. It is a night festival that totally suits the music and this year’s line up promises to be a killer one.

Klikofest 2017 at Patronaat Haarlem, July 15 2017

Fifty Foot Combo

One of the reasons I definitely didn't want to miss this year's edition was this Belgian surf band. I saw them a few years back on the North Sea Surf festival and they blew my mind. It's the first show of the night in the main hall and it isn't really crowded yet. The people that are here still need a bit of warming up, but you can leave that to this energetic band that have been around for quite some years. Tirelessly the group play their powerful surf rock songs with a lot of fire. Slowly the hall is filling up and their contagious performance is catching on. In the end their hard work pays off and everyone falls for this incredible combo.



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La Muerte

Another Belgian band that have been around for long are La Muerte who also recently started playing again after a long hiatus. Their mix of punk rock and Motörhead like hard rock has moved to the hard rock side more. Candles and skulls on the stage together with singer Marc Du Marais’ outfit are quite a sight. Their music is heavy and tight, but at the same time I find all that stage decoration too much of a distraction so we decide to check out the last bit of The Skidmarks’ show who play uncompromising rock n roll.

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The Gories

The festival is slowly filling up and many people have moved to the main hall to see The Gories. This band goes all the way back to the eighties and also returned about ten years back after a long hiatus. Their garage rock with blues elements sounds good on paper but it looks like the band are playing in slow motion. Drummer Peggy O’Neill looks quite uninspired behind her minimal drum setup and doesn't put a lot of variation in her drumming. At the end it gets a bit better but it's a pretty pale and disappointing performance altogether from a band that seems to have run out of fuel.



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Bartek

Fortunately we can check out Amsterdam trio Bartek who are leaving quite an impression everywhere they play. For a good reason the three prove tonight, since their contagious rock music is a great mix of nineties grunge and garage rock. It sounds amazing and the band play very tight and with a lot of energy. The small third hall of the festival is exploding with their music and even a few crowd surfers ride the small waves in front of the stage.

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New Bomb Turks

The main hall has filled up for this legendary band from Ohio. I never saw them play before but their reputation has preceded them and many people don’t want to miss out on this punk rock band’s show. From the first beat on the band lives up to their reputation. Singer Eric Davidsons is bouncing around stage as one big energy bomb. He is making funny faces all the time, puts the microphone in his pants regularly, dives into the crowd and is having fun with the crowd. He's all over the stage while the rest of the band are firing off their explosive songs. Because you’d almost forget their music is top notch as well and this band is playing with a lot of power and tight. The pit in front of the stage has people in their fourties and above jumping around like teenagers, together with a people of some of the other bands. It's one big glorious and rampageous mess and one of the highlights of tonight.



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Belgian band Cocaine Piss a band on the rise and their name is buzzing around. Their punk rock music is pretty heavy and singer Aurélie Poppins' screaming vocals are powerful and sometimes hysterical. Still after a few songs the first shock has worn off and I notice the vocals make it all sound alike a lot and also get on my nerves. I can see why people may find this very impressive and interesting but it is not for me. We go to the second hall to see Swedish band Viagra Boys but their performance is definitely not working for us. It doesn't have a lot of variation and the vocals aren't great while the band doesn't play very tight. Great moment to get another beer.

Meatbodies

I saw this band a while ago and liked their music a lot. Tonight in the main hall it sounds even better. The psychedelic rock songs are clever and tight and the band is playing very well. It's getting late and you can see it getting less crowded. Meatbodies are treating the ones that have stayed to a very convincing show. It is clear this band has grown since I've seen them and have improved on their already great sound.

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After that we decide to go home as well which means we have to miss the last few band. Night festivals are all about endurance and we have simply run out. However we leave in a very good mood after a very good edition of this wonderful festival.

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No Milk Today? Automatic Sam Sure Doesn't Need Milk

The No Milk Today festival wants to offer a stage to bands that have outgrown the beginner's phase and are on the verge of a break-through. The idea is to help them with it. When I found out Automatic Sam was on the bill, I just had to go there. They already broke through in my book. They are the headliner for this night and The City Hollers and Bartek complete the line-up.

No Milk Today at Bitterzoet, February 18 2013



The City Hollers
The MC of the night states that this band didn't quite understand the concept. Since this will be their last performance, so a break-through isn't going to happen for this duo. Which is a true shame. They play a good set of blues rock songs in the style of The Black Keys, but a bit more rough around the edges. Guitar player and singer Ruben Seyferth is playing a mean slide guitar supported by Henk-Jan Berkhof's standard but effective grooves. Too bad this band is calling it quits since they lay down a good show with a bunch of catchy songs.

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Bartek
When it's Bartek's turn, it's obvious some people just came to see The City Hollers's swan song. There are less people left over to watch Bartek work it's way through some very heavy noise rock songs. This is not music for the faint hearted and it is quite heavy on the stomach. Now and then they create a hypnotic feel that can put you in a trance. It's almost like listening to heavy machinery pounding away. It could use a bit more variation though.

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Automatic Sam
A few years ago this band blew me away when saw them for the first time. Half a year ago they released their new album Sonic Whip which sounds great and even made it into my 2013 top ten. Finally I can see them play again. It looks like even more people left and by now the small club is half empty. It doesn't bring the band down at all. They play a tight set with many songs of the new record. Their solid set shows they have outgrown the beginner's stage long time ago and definitely are the most professional band of the night. Their songs are heavy, with plenty of dynamics, psychedelic elements and variation. Why bands like this aren't drawing any bigger crowds in this country is beyond me. They are one of the more interesting rock bands around here. So a festival like this, definitely is useful. Go see Automatic Sam for yourself if you get the chance and pick up a copy of one of their records. You won't be disappointed.

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