Best Kept Secret 2016 Day 1

Many people know about the Best Kept Secret festival by now, that was going into its fourth edition this year. I guess it's not so well kept any more especially since the festival grew bigger too. We rented one of those comfy bungalows again and headed to the safari park to see if the festival could handle this many people and could hold on to its relaxed character of the past editions.

Best Kept Secret 2016 Day 1, June 17 2016

The organisation did cook up another interesting line-up with some all time favourites and some exciting new bands waiting to be discovered.

Kid Wave
One of those new bands is Kid Wave whose shoegaze music sounds interesting enough to make sure we get to the festival site on time. It is actually a nice introduction but it does miss a bit of an edge. The band does look focused and do a good job at playing their jangly and melodic music, but don't exactly radiate a lot of energy. I guess they need to grow some more before being able to fully convince.

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Beach Slang
The punk rock of Beach Slang is convincing enough and their energetic songs with Hüsker Dü-like sounding guitars go down well with the hungry crowd. It's the first moment of the festival where people are going crazy. Singer James Alex may look like a cheesy rock 'n roll act but he is full of character and puts a lot of heart in it like everyone else in the band. This group makes for an early highlight of the day.

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DIIV
Singer Zachary Cole Smith of DIIV isn't the most stable person and their shows can be just as fitful as his personality. I really like their last album Is The Is Are though and am looking forward to hear those new songs live. The sound of the album does come across well and the band is putting in plenty of effort. This results in moments where things come together but at the same time there are moments where I find the show a bit weary. Maybe it's the spot on the main stage in broad daylight early this evening, but again, like the previous time, I'm not fully convinced.

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Wolf Parade
I don't know Wolf Parade's music very well. Somehow the Canadians never caught my attention before they disbanded in 2011. In January they reformed and now I'm lucky enough to catch them live and get to know them. Lucky indeed, because the band play an inspired show and their music sounds interesting with some post-punk and new wave elements. It is both catchy and edgy and the band suck you right in. It's a good introduction into this band's world and I'll definitely will dig into them some more.



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Moon Duo
It started out as a side project for Wooden Shjips guitarist Ripley Johnson, but by now Moon Duo is more than just that. Together with Sanae Yamada they cook up lovely psychedelic rock built around drones that combine into a wonderful spacey trip. The dark stage is the perfect environment to digest the endless repeating grooves and fuzzy guitar.



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Beck
It's always a true delight to watch Beck play songs from his impressive and very varied catalogue. He's the closing act of the day and brought a big screen as a backdrop to show wonderful visuals that support his music. Of course his band is great and he is playing a rocking set with all his hits. It's a good show but it does lack a bit of an edge. It's hard for an artist like him to play a festival set that is both pleasing to the people who don't know his music that well and his loyal fans. I miss the moments where he slows down for some melancholic songs and works his magic. A song like the wonderful 'Blue Moon' sounds less powerful tonight. Nevertheless it's always great to see this wonderful artist play funky tunes like 'Sexx Laws' and the relative new one 'Dreams'. Some covers pass by as well as some references to Bowie and Prince when he introduces the band. No matter what, he simply is a one of a kind artist.



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Preoccupations
The band formerly known as Viet Cong had to change their name but fortunately that is the only change. There's a new album coming up and by now the band is peaking. Their intense songs score full effect tonight and sound violent and aggressive, exactly like they should. I've seen them play before when they were still called Viet Cong but tonight finally the band shows what makes their album so good and what makes them so good. I'm looking forward to that new album a lot.

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A great end on this first day and that calls for a celebration! Beers anyone?

All Pictures

Best Kept Secret 2016 Day 2
Best Kept Secret 2016 Day 3

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New Sounds: DIIV - Is The Is Are

After his successful first album Oshin Zachary Cole Smith formed DIIV and toured extensively. While on tour he wrote more than 150 songs so it may not come as a surprise that the new album Is The Is Are is a double album that has seventeen tracks in total. Listen to it below or on Spotify:



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On Stage: DIIV

Zachary Cole Smith started DIIV as a solo project which resulted in the album Oshin, inspired by German Krautrock and psychedelic bands. He formed a live band which eventually led to the formation of DIIV. The psychedelic songs are a blend of shoegaze and indie rock and the album got positive feedback. Time to go check out the band.

DIIV at Paradiso Tolhuistuin Amsterdam, June 12 2015



There's a large turn up tonight, as this show is part of the Indiestadpas again. This also means there's a lot of chatting, which you can even hear when the band is playing. It's not exactly acoustic intimate music, since the instruments use many effects and Smith's vocals are dredged in reverb. This makes it hard to understand when he's addressing the crowd. The songs sound quite nice though and have a nice light dreamy ring to them, that let you float away. Sometimes it reminds a bit of a light version of Tame Impala.



But DIIV's songs have less variation in sound and tempo, which does emphasize the dreamy and Krautrock side of the music. It is what makes the album work, the atmosphere of the music is consistent. But live it's hard to keep the audience focused, especially the ones who came here with their Indiestad pass, like me, and consider it a nice start of a night out. Loud cheers sound when it's finally time for popular 'Doused' at the end of the regular set. The band also plays a few new songs that are on their upcoming album scheduled for release later this year. It sounds as if the new songs are a continuation of their sound and don't give away a shift in direction. Still the music is nice enough and I'd keep an eye out for the new album and go check them out.



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Setlist:
01. Out Of Mind
02. Bendy
03. How Long Have You Known?
04. Under The Sun
05. Yr Not Far
06. Dopamine
07. Loose Ends
08. Oshin (Subsume)
09. Incarnate Devil
10. Grant's Song
11. Doused Pt. II
12. Sometime
13. Waste Of Breath
14. Doused
Encore:
15. Wait


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