Best Kept Secret 2018 Day 3

The Casbah got the best of me last night so I'm a little slow this morning. But a few litres (yes, we have the metric system over here) of coffee gets me going. So after a while we are heading to the festival site for another glorious day in sunny paradise.

Best Kept Secret 2018 Day 3, June 10 2018

Moaning

Yesterday we spent a lot of time at stage five and we find ourselves back there for the first show of the day with Moaning. Singer and guitarist Sean Solomon looks tiny but packs an amazing baritone. The band have a relaxed and loose way of playing their powerful songs, still the show is very tight. The post-punk songs with fuzzed guitars sound dark and heavy. Once and a while the band goes wild on stage, swinging their guitars around. At the end of the set Solomon balances his guitar on top of his head for the last trick of a very enjoyable show.

Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | SoundCloud | YouTube | Spotify

Khruangbin

Since I saw the trio from Houston play the Into The Great Wide Open festival last year the band has created a lot of buzz around them. Their album Con Todo El Mundo is well received and people seem to love the mellow disco and rock n roll sound. I am not that impressed and find it a bit too cheesy and boring. But it has brought them to the second biggest stage of the festival where it has filled up completely, so I'm going to give them another try. Every song is greeted with loud cheers and people are really digging the easy listening tunes. Mark Speer is a skilled guitar player showcasing many styles. I still think it isn't all that special and probably don't really get it.



Official Website | SoundCloud | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

Gang Of Youths

I like the Australian band Gang Of Youths a lot better later on at the main stage. It's halfway the afternoon and it's hot in front of the stage at the lake. The band needs to work very hard to keep people going. The band has studied their rock poses well, especially singer David Le’aupepe. In the end it pays off though and people actually start responding to the band's positive energy. Not all songs are great though, especially the mid tempo pop tunes aren't really memorable. But when the band starts rocking heavily, steering close to Bruce Springsteen and The Gaslight Anthem, they actually have something good going on. In the end the band deserves a big hand for energizing the somewhat apathetic crowd.

Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | SoundCloud | YouTube | Spotify

Rodriguez

The incredible story about Sixto Rodriguez is the subject of the by now well-known documentary Searching For Sugarman. Although it isn't clear to me if the story was made bigger than it truly is, you really wish the old bluesman the best. But the singer looks lost on stage and isn't really capable of playing a truly good show. The eager crowd really wants to give him everything but the show never really takes off. In the end it is the legend that remains but with a bit of a bitter taste.



Official Website | Facebook | Twitter

Ty Segall & The Freedom Band

Fortunately Ty Segall lives up to his reputation. The productive rocker even shines in his best matter with an inspired and lively show. With his The Freedom Band he's standing in half a circle so we can only see him from the back from our bad spot all the way to the right of the stage. Segall seems to be going through all his faces today, moving between garage punk, rock, glamrock and some more of his pop tunes. The pit in front of the stage gets bigger and bigger, while crowd surfers keep popping up. His cover of Hot Chocolate's 'Everyone's A Winner' fires them up even more. Segall definitely is a big winner today.

Official Website | MySpace | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

Spoon

Spoon is one of those bands that simply is made for festivals like this. Their song writing skills are amazing and live those songs sound better than ever. Britt Daniel is a charismatic singer that knows how to play a crowd. Today he has no trouble getting people into their groovy songs. The wonderful 'I Ain't The One' makes everyone hold their breath and this show only has highlights.



Official Website | SoundCloud | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Spotify

Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Back at stage Two Ruban Nielson and co have started their set. The band has grown bigger and bigger over the years, but they are known for their capricious performances. I've seen great shows by this band, but today they sound a bit messy. Jumping between songs from their entire catalog, the many styles lack coherence and the band seems less focused. Nielson can still rely on his amazing guitar playing though and a string of very good songs. In the end it leaves mixed feelings about this show.



Official Website | SoundCloud | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Spotify

Father John Misty

Another good album God's Favorite Customer makes me eager to see Father John Misty. He plays a very smooth running set with a tight band, with a lovely brass section. His rich compositions sound lush today with a well balanced set that never goes weary. He is not in a chatty mood but when you have so many great songs, you can let the music do the talking. That's exactly what he does while the sun is slowly setting.

Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | SoundCloud | YouTube | Spotify

LCD Soundsystem

After two days of headliners that lived up to their huge reputation, expectations are high for James Murphy and co who are closing the main stage. They played an incredible set of shows at Paradiso last September so I kind of thought what to expect. The band has an out of this world set for us tonight though, one that is aimed at a festival crowd that wants to go all the way one last time at the main stage. All hits are lined up in a smooth running show that never seems to have breaks, except for that short toilet break Murphy announces a few songs too early. The huge disco ball was never more at its place than tonight, which turns into a lovely dancing party filled with good vibes. Murphy is clearly having a lot of fun himself, smiling a lot and cracking a few jokes. This is one of those nights where a band and a crowd totally connect for a wonderful unforgettable party. Last year we saw two dream headliners Arcade Fire and Radiohead on this festival, but LCD Soundsystem was probably the perfect headliner for a close to perfect festival.

Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | SoundCloud | YouTube | Spotify

We head to The Casbah one last time that is exploding with energy. This year's edition was one of the best festival experiences I have ever had and one that climaxed with utter joy and positive vibes. The weather turned out to be perfect, the bands were incredible and the crowd was really into it as well. I think I saw a glimpse of paradise this weekend.

All Pictures

Best Kept Secret Festival 2018 Day 1
Best Kept Secret Festival 2018 Day 2

Read more!

ITGWO 2017 Day 3+4

After a slow ending of the second day I'm ready for a bit of action and today promises to give us exactly that. The sun is out again so we're off to a good start.



Into The Great Wide Open 2017 Saturday September 2 2017

Ronald Snijders

There can't be a much better way to start the day than with flute player Ronald Snijders. He's a wonderful musician who brings a great band and sunny music from Africa and Surinam. Best of all, Snijders is a very cheerful person who is laughing a lot and likes to chat with the people. Needless to say that with the gorgeous weather all ingredients are in place for a tropical party led by the energetic Snijders. His flute playing skills are unmistakable and he is stealing many hearts today.

Official Website | Facebook | Spotify

Kikagaku Moyo

I saw this Japanese psyck rock band a few years ago at the Eindhoven Pysch Lab where they played a good show but didn't really convince me. At that festival the dark venue should have been perfect contrary to today where they are playing in the sunny forest. This time however the band have no trouble to impress with an eclectic mix of sixties and psych rock. It is a versatile show where the musicians are playing very focused. They tell us it is the last show of their European tour but it sounds as if they had a good rest with refreshing music. The hypnotic music works very well here between the trees where a good crowd is watching in awe.

Official Website | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

MY BABY

We head back to the main stage where MY BABY have already started their dance party. I saw them here for the first time a few years ago and things have moved fast for them. The threesome played every festival humanly possible and managed to leave a good impression judging from the many sold out club shows. And what's not to like when you can dance to the hypnotic catchy blues and tribal grooves in the warm sun? The band has no trouble adding another victory to their long list and give the people just what they want.

Official Website | SoundCloud | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Spotify

Don Bryant

A true soul legend is playing today, although not many may know him (including me). This 75 year old soul singer has been around for a long time and helped writing many songs most famously 'I Can't Stand The Rain' that he's also playing today. The charismatic veteran wins everyone's heart within no time. Bryant, who is still very energetic, has an amazing voice and his songs come from the heart. Slow and swinging songs alternate and Bryant is the radiant centre of the show surrounded by his very tight band. He definitely won me over and I hope to see and hear more of him, like his new LP 'Don't Give Up On Love'.

Official Website | SoundCloud | Facebook | YouTube | Spotify

Khruangbin

Thai funk and 60s's rock and surf sounds good to me and that is how Texan band Khruangbin are described. However it turns out to be very mellow and it is clear that the duo with their wigs aren't too serious. Singer Mark Speer has a funny way of chatting to the audience. But it gets a but too cheesy for me. We do make it to the end but it isn't really appealing to me. The guitar melodies have a nice ring though and with the steady bass grooves it could be good. But it sounds too much alike a lot and could use more (Thai?) seasoning.

Official Website | SoundCloud | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

Belle & Sebastian

I head back to the main stage where Nick Mulvey is playing but I know I don't really like it. I join my friends for Belle and Sebastian, the highly anticipated headliner for today. I know I also don't like them too much either. They are praised for their great light pop tunes, but it is too weary for me. Today is no different and together with the bad sound it doesn't impress me for a bit. Singer Stuart Murdoch sounds out of tune once and a while and this is simply not my cup of tea. Many people seem to be enjoying it a lot, but I head for Indonesian sate instead which is a lot better.



Official Website | MySpace | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Spotify

Today started out great but ended a bit on the slow side. This is a festival that has many folk artists and singer songwriters and that can lack some fire now and then. That's no problem, there's still plenty to enjoy and there's a new day coming up.

All Pictures Day 3

Into The Great Wide Open 2017 Sunday September 3 2017

Ryley Walker

A few years ago Ryley Walker played this festival as well, but I wasn't planning on going to see him then, since I thought I wouldn't really like it. Of course the good thing about festivals is that plans usually don't work out, so I ended up seeing him anyway and loved it. His last album 'Golden Sings That Have Been Sung' simply is an absolute gem and I sure wasn't going to pass on him this time. He's off to a good start with his usual humorous chats and music that is so rich. But then the power goes out and the band leaves the stage. Fortunately a few seconds later the power goes back on and the band can continue. Events like this can be disastrous for a performance when the band is interrupted from their flow, but this group simply continuous where they left off. The power outage does seem to have killed something of the bass player's equipment (who looks a lot like Bruce Willis by the way) who is not able to use his standing bass while the crew tries to repair it. It doesn't get anyone in the band down at all and they play an amazing set. It's a mix of folk, jazz and rock with dazzling parts by all musicians with Walker's soothing voice on top. Again my mind is blown.

Official Website | SoundCloud | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Spotify

Jens Lekman

We stick around the stage and enjoy the sun, getting ready for Jens Lekman. The Swedish musician writes melancholic lyrics but his music is a blend of calypso, samba and disco with lots of samples. This way it never sounds sad but it actually has a positive vibe. Still it is not enough for me to stick around as his songs simply don't do it for me. More importantly, Millionaire are playing at the main stage.

Official Website | SoundCloud | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Spotify

Millionaire

At the Best Kept Secret Festival where many Belgian visitors go to as well, the show of Belgian band Millionaire was exploding. They were in great shape and the tent was packed with people celebrating the return of the rock band who disappeared for a while. Today only a handful of people show up at the main stage which is a shame. Frontman Tim Vanhamel is cracking a few jokes about the turn up, but doesn't seem affected by it for a bit. He's clowning around the stage like always and is leading the band into an explosive set full of thundering and roaring rock music. I'm pretty sure the people that did show up had a great time like me.

Official Website | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

Then our traditional lazy Sunday sets in and we find a spot for all our friends to sit, where kids can play and we can enjoy food and drinks in the warm sun. In the evening we dance a bit to the exotic music of Altin Gün and The Mysterons before we decide it's time to call it quits. A few more last drinks and then this edition is over. It didn't turn into a legendary edition this year, since the line-up could have used a bit more spice and surprises to my taste. However it was wonderful again and the combination of live music, great food and so many friends and lovely people simply is bliss.

All Pictures Day 4

Into The Great Wide Open 2017 Day 1+2

Read more!