On Stage: together PANGEA

Whenever the garage rock band together PANGEA is coming to town you better make sure you catch them, since they are guaranteed to bring the place down and will give everyone a good time. So when they were visiting Amsterdam again I made sure I was not gonna miss them and made my way to the Sugarfactory.

together PANGEA at Sugarfactory Amsterdam, February 1 2016



Supporting act of the night is the new garage rock band St. Tropez. They started out as a bit of a mystery but not for very long when people found out it was the reincarnation of Dutch rock band Go Back To The Zoo. A little while later they announced that GBTTZ no longer exists and they were focusing on their new group. Tonight the band proves this is a good choice. Although with GBTTZ they made quite a few catchy songs that was appealing to especially a young crowd, St. Tropez seems to fit the group better. Bass player Lars Kroon now also is the lead singer of the band and is doing a good job at it. He jumps off the stage a few times to dance in front of it or to do a wild stroll across the floor with his bass still strapped on. According to the band they have written many songs and their performance tonight makes me look forward to hearing them.



The crowd is warmed up quite well by the time together PANGEA takes the stage, so right form the beginning a pit forms that will stay there for the entire show and will only grow bigger. The band makes clear why they are such a good live band that people like so much. Their songs have a lot of variation ranging from catchy pop songs to wild and rough garage rock songs with heavy riffs.



The band is touring in support of their new EP The Phage and we can hear a few songs from it. I don't think the people in the pit really care which songs they play, just as long as they keep playing. Half of the people in the small venue is dancing like crazy to the uplifting rock songs, while stage divers are constantly climbing the stage and crowd surfers keep going round. Their big hits 'Badillac' and 'Too Drunk To Cum' are greeted with cheers and excitement by the young crowd. In the end the band can only watch this scene approvingly and be pleased. Another victorious night and another place they have played to pieces. Unfortunately the dark and smoky venue makes it impossible for me to shoot decent pictures, so that's why you the crappy ones. See you again next time guys!



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Lowlands 2012 Day 1: The Party Is Starting Early

After thirteen editions you kind of know the drill: leave on time on Friday to beat the crowds at the entrance and within no time the tent is up and the first can of beer open. So we have plenty of time to explore the festival area to see what the changes are. We feel at home right away and are ready for the first band.

Lowlands 2012 Day 1, August 17 2012



Go Back To The Zoo
They made it from the India to the big Alpha stage in just two years. This was the result of their highly successful first album Benny Blisto. But the excitement has worn off after their disappointing second album and today it is showing why. The songs of the first album that is full of hits still are great, but the new ones can't come close. So although they are definitely playing more tight and convincing now, their set has too many weak moments. This is killing on a big stage like this. They want to start the party but only a few people are really joining them.

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White Rabbits
The description read "a mix of dEUS and Radiohead", which is enough to raise my interest. The band from Brooklyn do play a varying set with good songs, but their stage performance is too static and singer Stephen Patterson lacks charisma. A singer that is sitting down to play keyboard is never a good idea. It's just not enough to keep some of the crowd from leaving and stay until the end. I do think we're going to hear more from them and hopefully they can spice it up in the future.

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Refused
The hardcore punk-band broke up after their third record in 1998 and out of nowhere returned. Their status grew to legendary proportions in the meantime so I wanted to see it for myself. According to singer Dennis Lyxzén they ran out of fuel back then, but they are showing they have plenty at the moment. Lyxzén is all over the stage and their set is full of speed and solid convincing songs. It's good to have this band back to show those lame high school punk bands what the real deal is.



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Django Django
The hype around this funky surf band results in a full and hot Bravo tent. And they don't disappoint. Their highly danceable catchy songs make it impossible for people to stand still. Hit song 'Default' is greeted with many cheers. The nerdy band members in their homemade shirts(!) forget to light the fuse of this explosive mix of catchy music and a willing crowd though, which is a shame. But they are showing to have a lot of potential.



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Hot Chip
Since we're near the Bravo stage anyway, it's a good chance to check out Hot Chip. I wasn't impressed with their latest album, although I like their music. They continue where Django Django left off. though a few notches down,and we can keep shaking our moneymakers. They aren't exactly killing it on stage, but we're all having a good time with their swinging dance tunes.

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Bloc Party
The four members of Bloc Party had a rough time, which made it unclear what their status was for a while. Now they're back with their new album and a tour that includes many festivals. They are showing they still got it today. Kele is the always friendly and charismatic front man who's proving his voice is just great. So maybe they never really got close to their first album Silent Alarm, but they sure know how to entertain a big festival crowd. Hopefully they will stick around long enough and prove they can still write great songs.



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Alberta Cross
A few years ago Alberta Cross were playing the same small Charlie stage after releasing Broken Side Of Time, which was my introduction to the band. I thought I would see them back on a bigger stage. They are proving today that they definitely deserve that bigger stage. Singer Petter Ericson Stakee's voice is very clear and their rootsrock songs sound great. The band is looking energetic and the short set they are playing, because Bloc Party ended later, should definitely get them bigger crowds and a better spot in the line-up. Hopefully their new album Songs Of Patience is going to help them.





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The Black Keys
Who would have thought The Black Keys would be a festival headliner a few years ago? They have suddenly grown into a big band that is closing the full Alpha stage today. They did add two more musicians to enlarge their sound, which is very effective. And with so many great songs they are not disappointing. Especially the El Camino hits 'Gold On The Ceiling' and 'Lonely Boy' are great crowd pleasers. They show that they can even handle this big a stage with only the two of them. The duo do look like they are playing on routine and singer Dan Auerbach could look for more crowd interaction. Maybe they still haven't fully adjusted to their new status. The two are proving they are worthy of it though.



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Not a bad start of the festival at all. Where the party at?

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Lowlands 2012 Day 2
Lowlands 2012 Day 3

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Warming Up With Live Music On Liberation Day

At Liberation Day, every May 5th, we remember and celebrate that the allied forces liberated The Netherlands and ended the World War II for us in 1945. Many bands are playing all over the country. This year I was lucky that this day fell on Saturday, since it's only a Bank Holiday once every five years. There's always a nice line-up in Amsterdam that has a few stages scattered around the city centre. This year we watched Wooden Saints, Go Back To The Zoo, Sven Hammon Soul, Hit Me TV and the veterans of The Scene.

Wooden Saints

Go Back To The Zoo

Sven Hammond Soul

Hit Me TV

The Scene

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Pinkpop Ends With Perfect Storm

When the Pinkpop festival announced they had put Foo Fighters down as the headliner on the third day I didn't need any more convincing to buy tickets for that day. It may be the sad truth but it turns all other acts on Pinkpop Monday into support acts. Of course we would definitely check out some of them since there were some pretty nice ones. The three day festival with Coldplay and Kings of Leon headlining the other two days did however program lots of mediocre acts so it wasn't hard to pick out the most interesting ones without having to run around or making tough choices.

Pinkpop Festival, Day 3 Monday June 13 2011
And we continue our festival traveling success streak. Without traffic jams and long queues we make it onto the festival area long before the first band will start playing and we're sipping beers that go by the brilliant name Brand in no time. This day sure was off to a good start!



Dazzled Kid (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
First act to check is Tjeerd Bomhof and his solo project Dazzled Kid. I already saw the Voicst front man a while ago and was impressed. He's bringing the same big band onto the stage this time as well. But the singer is off to a hesitating start though and seems a bit tensed which isn't weird on a big festival like this. During the first couple of songs he manages to pull it together though and slowly grows into it. His voice isn't too great today and this is noticeable in the higher registers. Maybe it
s the nerves but with this great band it doesn't matter and the sound is good. It even turns magical now and then like in 'Stronger'. By the end everyone is loving it and Bomhof's emotions explode in the last song '99 Cent Dreams' when he starts trashing the drum kit.

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Go Back To The Zoo (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
This band are rocketing upwards in their career. I've been following them for a while now and saw them live in beach bar Timboektoe about one year ago with a few hundred people. Now they're playing the main stage in front of 50,000 people. The boys must have been dead nervous but are hiding that well. The band manages to put down a big sound that's needed for this huge crowds. Singer Cas Hieltjes, in a bright green African shirt, acts like he's used to playing huge crowds and is using most of the stage. They brought confetti canons, inflatable elephants, a big jungle picture at the back and a huge gorilla inflates itself during 'I'm The Night'. They are a hit producing machine and especially the up-tempo songs are working very well. Their slower songs aren't as good but they know how to balance that in their set list. Half of the crowd is jumping and cheering and when they close with their big hit and best song 'Electric' the field explodes.

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The Gaslight Anthem (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
With a big picture of a skull in the back and lots of tattoos you may expect a heavy rock band. But this band are inspired by Bruce Springsteen and play rock songs in the same style. Looking at their faces you can see they aren't as dangerous as it seems. Their songs are good and sound great live. Singer Brian Fallon looks like a nice guy and is chatting away. His voice sounds clear and their show is nicely balanced. It just is lacking a bit of danger. If they can put a bit more spice in their music and performance it could turn into an unforgettable show like their big inspiration The Boss proved two years ago.
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Kaiser Chiefs (Ronald Says 6 out of 10)
They have played every major festival several times and are an audience favourite. Their lively shows with the ever active front man Ricky Wilson resulted in many memorable moments. But their hitmachine came to a grinding hold with their third record and the songs of their upcoming record aren't really promising either. And that's obvious in their performance today. All their hits are still good for a bouncing crowd and many people join the sing-along verses. But their setlist isn't well chosen and the new songs are scattered throughout it causing many dead moments. They aren't really catchy and no matter what Wilson tries they don't go down easy. Of course they have to change direction since they can't keep on producing the same anthems over and over again. But they may have gone down the wrong road since their show has given in on energy and speed. A real shame.
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Foo Fighters (Ronald Says 10 out of 10)
Then it's time for the long awaited headliner. And Foo Fighters live up to every expectation and more. They have an impressive list of big stadium rockers and start firing those onto the crowd. The weather gods aren't really cooperative and the first real rain of the day starts coming down. But that doesn't bother Dave Grohl and the others at all. Instead it adds to the great atmosphere of the excited crowd. It even adds a rainbow to the already impressive light show and causes Grohl to stop and enjoy it for a moment. Then it's full force ahead again. The band shows how to close a festival as the main headliner. It's the perfect rock show. Two hours in total which is 30 minutes longer than planned. No leaving the stage before the obligatory encore as Grohl explains it. Why leave if they can just keep on playing? This is a no nonsense band, no arrogance, no faking it. Just good honest giving it all rock music. And that's truly admirable. To top it off they play one of my favourite Queen songs 'Tie Your Mother Down'. Epic.

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Another Good Night With Go Back To The Zoo

It's nice to be able to see a band a few times in a year especially a new band like Go Back To The Zoo who's career sky rocketed in no time. It's interesting to see if they are growing and what changes they go through. So for the fourth time this year I saw the guys play and this time they were taking the small stage of Paradiso that has been sold out for months.

Go Back To The Zoo at Paradiso Amsterdam, November 5 2010 (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
Sold out venues are normal for the band by now. Almost every stage they take in their club tour has been sold out for weeks. And from the first note on the crowd goes wild and doesn't stop until they have left the stage. Like I mentioned last time this is due to the catchy songs they have come up with. And with all the publicity the band got over the past months that's exactly why people come to see them: to party! Even the big mounted bird is taken for a bit of crowd surfing.

At the same time this can be their pitfall. Once the hip label and magic has worn off people may loose their interest. But for now things still look good. They are playing tighter than half a year ago so the many gigs are paying off. At the same time it doesn't sound they have changed much in their set. Of course they only have the songs that are on their debut album so there isn't a lot of variation possible. They could play around with the songs a bit more though.




But they still haven't lost any of their energy and everyone in the packed small room is having a good time. Hopefully they are writing new songs on the road so they can spice up their set. This should get them through next year's festival season after which it's time to start on a new album and show that they are here to stay.

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Go Back To The Zoo's Benny Blisto Meets Expectations

Writing a hit song before you even have released an album or anything else is already remarkable. Having three hit songs before your album is even finished is insane. But Go Back To The Zoo pulled it off. I experienced their energetic live performances a few times already like on Lowlands and was at the album's release party. Although I bought the record at that party before it hit the stores I didn't have time to come up with a proper review until now.

Go Back To The Zoo - Benny Blisto (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
'Beam Me Up' was featuring in a Nike commercial and they followed it with 'Electric' which lives up to its title: an energetic jumpy song. The band squeezed another hit out with 'Hey DJ'. And of course all of these songs appear on their album. But by knocking out hits one by one they also raised expectations for their debut album.

And the album even has a few more of those songs up its sleeves like 'Fuck You' and current single 'I'm The Night (See You Later)'. They are all in the same style: a catchy jumpy guitar riff, steady drum groove, high tempo and easy to remember lyrics. This doesn't change the fact that it are good songs.

The album has a few slower songs as well like 'Gotta Wake Up' and 'Sweet World'. They are the weaker moments of the album and show that there's still a lot to gain. Singer Cas Hieltjes isn't a brilliant vocalist and needs the energy of the band and songs to excel. On the slower songs his voice but also the rest of the band lack the strength and subtlety to really pull it off.

But the band shows that they are willing to take some risks and are looking beyond their hit songs. There comes a time when they can't follow the same recipe over and over again and have to grow both in sound and song writing. And that only comes with playing as much as possible and keep putting up their lively shows for which they have the perfect ingredients with this album.


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Lowlands 2010 Day 3: Lowlands Goes Out With A Bang

Although the forecast promises rain later on this morning looks pretty good. It's cloudy with a nice temperature so we wake up slowly, have a bit of breakfast and then quickly head to the festival site. We already missed Blaudzun but sure don't want to miss Go Back To The Zoo's party!

Go Back To The Zoo (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
And what a party it is! There are lots more people than fit in the India tent so all around the tent there's a huge crowd. We cannot make it into the tent either and so outside we dance to the catchy songs of the Dutch band. They play like they have been playing on Lowlands a dozen times before. They stick to the up-tempo songs which is a smart move. Their slower songs are also the weakest and this way they keep the crowd dancing and the spirits high. Another great start of the day. Watch a video over here.



Moss (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
Onto another Dutch gem that we find playing on the Grolsch stage. They easily fill up this tent and put down a convincing set. They brought the extra drummers with them like at their gig in Paradiso. They are focused and put a lot of effort in it which is appreciated by the crowd. This results in an atmospheric and glorious performance.



My favorite scar (Ronald Says 5 out of 10)
A lot of Dutch bands are filling the stages today. One of them is a new metal band My Favorite Scar. But the members are all experienced musicians that have been around for a while. Unfortunately everything about this band is made up. The band members are dressed in sturdy looking outfits and are going through every cliche rock pose. This wouldn't be a problem if the music made up for that but as you can expect when you go for style first the songs aren't anything special. This is a concept for a metal band rather than a genuine metal band. Sorry Jeroen.

Staff Benda Billi (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
A Congo-based band with several disabled musicians that bring Afro-funk and other swinging tunes. This results in a festive performance with everyone dancing. The fact that some of these musicians are in wheel chairs or on crutches doesn't hinder them in putting down a lively performance.

Yeasayer (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
A great performance on Rock Werchter made me want to check them out again. I've listened to their albums several times since then but they don't represent their live performance because both have their weaker moments. But on stage they play a well balanced set that sounds great. It's nice to see that their songs have many subtle elements and layers without sounding complex. Singer Chris Keating complains about the height of the stage a couple of times that makes him feel disconnected from the audience. It did look like their performance on Rock Werchter was more relaxed. Let's see what he thinks of the Melkweg stage in October.



The National (Ronald Says 9 out of 10)
After releasing probably one of the best records of the year I really had to check them out. In the meantime I listened to most of their albums and really love their music. I wasn't disappointed. Singer Matt Berninger's baritone easily fills up the tent and sounds impressive. His stage appearance is neurotic at times when he walks around like Rainman. His warm vocals can change to aggressive screams within a second which gives the songs a dramatic feel. Guitarist Dressner does most of the talking in between songs while Berninger is totally absorbed by the music pouring out his guts and soul while he seems to be facing his demons. And all we can do is watch in total admiration.



Two Door Cinema Club (Ronald Says 6 out of 10)
It was no use anymore checking out Placebo so we decided to watch this band instead. Their songs are catchy and the crowd are eager to party so the vibes are good. But the guitar licks and chords all sound alike while singer Alex Trimble's voice is too thin. This makes every song sound alike and it does get really weary in the end.

Queens of the Stone Age (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
Time for the final blow of the festival. And you can leave that to Queens of the Stone Age. They must have taken that literally. The sound is poor: it's very loud with lots of bass causing a wall of noise to hit you. Of course their music is powerful and rough but it does kill all the subtleties that some of their songs have. The band is really eager though and Josh Homme sure looks in a good mood. He's chatty and repeatedly mentions what a great time he was having. The crowd is eager to party one more time and every ending of a song or guitar solo is greeted with loud cheers. When they finish their set 15 minutes before time the crowd goes crazy for an encore. But when it is clear this is really the end it changes into an even louder booing. Just one or two more songs would have made this a perfect ending and maybe even a memorable performance. Now it leaves a bad taste in my mouth and only a 7-rating instead of a higher one.

And so Lowlands 2010 has come to an end. We check out some more comedy have a few more drinks, finish all our coins and more than pleased go to sleep. Only to wake up to horrible rainy weather the next day. In a rare dry moment we quickly pack up and go home. But this cannot change our merry mood since this was a great Lowlands edition with so many quality performances and great music. Better get your ticket on time next year since I'm sure it will only sell out even faster.

See more pictures over here:
Lowlands 2010 Day 3 Pictures

Lowlands 2010 Day 1 Review >
Lowlands 2010 Day 2 Review >
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GoBackToTheZOO Launch Benny Blisto In Style

Not many bands have had this much exposure even before putting out an album. But after releasing a few successful singles and having their song 'Beam Me Up' in a Nike commercial this really set off the career of this band from Amsterdam. So it was time for an album and a proper release party.

GoBackToTheZOO release party at Westerunie Amsterdam, August 10 2010 (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
Westerunie is a great setting for a band like this. An old factory building that still breaths its industrial past but at the same time is an inspiring location to party. By the time the band took the stage it was a full house and the temperature had risen.

They kicked off with a few of their singles proving that they are capable of writing great catchy hit songs. Singer Cas Hieltjes isn't a brilliant vocalist but his voice is distinctive and he looks comfortable as a front man. The band is eager and is playing with lots of energy. They could use a bit more dynamics in their live performance. Now everything seems to go full force all the time. Later on when they have more songs to play this could make their songs sound alike too much. But they certainly are ready to take their album 'Benny Blisto' out there and blow the roof off every club and festival they are playing.


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