Pinkpop 2015 Sunday

The biggest nightmare for a festival organiser is when a headlining act falls out. Even worse is when it's your closing headliner and it happens at the latest moment. Exactly this happened to the Pinkpop festival when Foo Fighters had to cancel because Dave Grohl broke his leg. They are not only one of the biggest rock bands at the moment but also the headliner everyone is after this festival summer.

Pinkpop 2015 Sunday at Landgraaf, June 14 2015

There's no way you can replace an act like that in only a day, even though festival director Jan Smeets and his team tried really hard. The solution to bring in Triggerfinger in the line-up and let Pharrell Williams close the festival was the best they could do. Of course you can't blame this on anyone and it is just really sad for the festival organisers, Dave Grohl and his Foo Fighters and all the festival visitors, especially Foo Fighters fans like me who bought a ticket for this day just to see them play. The smartest thing to do is just make the best out of it and try to have a fun day nevertheless. That's exactly what we're planning on and after a smooth trip we find ourselves on the festival site that is already bathing in sun light. Time to rock!



The Deaf
Time to rock indeed and get this party started. The Deaf are just the right band to do that, which I already knew after seeing them a few times before. Singer Spike and co. have no trouble firing up the crowd with their catchy rock 'n roll songs. Especially Spike himself and keyboard player Maurizio Pinna are going absolutely all the way and are all over the stage. The setlist is almost entirely full of uptempo rock songs that get everyone dancing and result in an early high. The band doesn't leave before Spike is crowd surfing while playing guitar and the four members are all soaking in sweat.

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Nick Mulvey
We make our way to the Brand Stage where Nick Mulvey has already started. The modest intimate songs are a different cup of tea, played patiently by his band. It all sounds pretty good and skillful, but this simply isn't my kind of music. It's too slow and cautious for me so we decide to cross over to the other side of the site.

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Typhoon
There Dutch rapper Typhoon has already started another leg of his victory parade across the country that started last year after releasing his highly successful record Lobi Da Basi. He turns every place he's playing into a big tropical party and today is no different. His energetic songs invite everyone to the dance and his wonderful tight band make sure the music keeps swinging and grooving. Typhoon himself can only answer to this with his big smile.



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Triggerfinger
Even though they have to play a show tonight at the other side of the country, Belgian rock heroes Triggerfinger didn't mind to be added to the line-up so last minute. "We are no Foo Fighters, far from it" says singer Ruben Block, "we are Triggerfinger!". And I think most Foo Fighters fans can definitely appreciate the rock show the trio is displaying. Of course I have seen them many times before, but this band never gets old and will always deliver. Today is no exception and even though all the songs are so familiar by now, they still don't miss their effect. The heavy rock is sounding more solid and spot on than ever and the three men give it all.



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Oscar and The Wolf
Also from Belgium is Oscar and the Wolf, Max Colombie's electropop project, whose dark danceable electropop songs are slowly winning over our country. They are showing today that there's a good reason for that, since the smooth sultry songs sound great and are full of hooks. The strong album Entity translates well to the live stage and most people, including many Belgians, are dancing and enjoying the tropical music. Even a cover song like Gala's 'Freed From Desire' sounds sexy in the world of Oscar and the Wolf.

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De Jeugd Van Tegenwoordig
Dutch hiphoppers De Jeugd Van Tegenwoordig have something to celebrate, their 10th anniversary, so a big present including ribbons is standing on stage. When it opens the band steps out and what better treat can they hand out than themselves? We are watching from a distance but it's clear many people enjoy songs like 'Shenkie', 'Sterrenstof' and the hit that started it all 'Watskeburt'. The very catchy songs may sometimes seem a bit cheesy but are always very clever with creative lyrics. More treats follow when they hand out a few Foo Fighters T-shirts before ending their happy birthday party with 'De Formule'.

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Kovacs
Dutch singer Sharon Kovacs surprised the Dutch music world with her dark and powerful voice and a good debut album Shades Of Black. Although she's definitely talented she lacks experience to entertain a festival crowd. Her somewhat static performance isn't always light on the stomach and her band, although routinely playing the songs, doesn't exactly add a lot of sparks either. In the end this stage is a bit too big for her but she still has plenty of time to grow.

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Placebo
Rock band Placebo are no strangers to replacing cancelled acts. They replaced Depeche Mode a few years ago as headliner and today they are replacing Sam Smith. This was good news for me and especially today I'm glad they are playing instead of Smith. The band plays a greatest hit show and you'd almost forget how many great songs they have like 'For What It's Worth' and 'Every You Every Me'. Singer Brian Molko isn't exactly Mr. Sunshine but the band knows how to play stages of this size and a festival crowd. They throw in a cover of Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill' and in the end it's a solid and satisfactory rock show.



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Pharrell Williams
By then it's time for the final performance of the weekend. And where I was expecting to be jumping on some Foo Fighters adrenaline we are now watching Pharrell Williams close the festival from a distance. Of course he has many hits but to me it feels like watching a long video with plenty of commercial breaks. I didn't expect to go wild about this show but it really just doesn't grab me at all. So after a few songs we decide to make for our car and leave the festival early and beat traffic. Oh by the way, Pinkpop is not even close to Amsterdam Mr. Williams, it takes about 2,5 hours by car.



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It's a disappointing ending to a day I was really excited about and to me the festival kind of dies out on a sort of low instead of the euphoric high I was hoping for. With this kind of weather and nice bands it was the perfect festival that in the end just was far from perfect. Still we had a great time and enjoyed the sun, great music and cold beers. It could have been worse of course and next year when the Foo Fighters will be back (which I expect) I will be there again as well.

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Rock Werchter 2014 Day 4: Dancing In The Rain

On the last day of the festival we wake up to a nice sunny day. But the forecast is one that expects heavy rain storms. We'll just see about that. Nothing our friend Joe Piler can't fix. Here we go!

Rock Werchter 2014 Sunday, July 6 2014



Reignwolf
On the main stage a small band is opening the day. Reignwolf is the project of Jordan Cook. It starts out as a three man band, while Cook is climbing a loose bass drum at the front of the stage. His music is blues and classic rock and indeed he can howl like a wolf. Then the other band members leave the stage and Cook gets freaky. He's playing guitar while at the same time holding his microphone. Or he's playing the bass drum at the same time. Or, sure why not, he's actually behind the drum kit playing it, while playing the guitar and singing. This guy is a one man band! It's pretty impressive and quite entertaining. Still I want to see other bands so I leave before the end.



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Oscar & The Wolf
I want to see the Belgian band Oscar & The Wolf, who make nice dreampop songs that take you away to tropical islands. And the stage looks exactly like that with palm trees scattered around and mostly red and green lights. Their music is the kind where you close your eyes and let it carry you away. It may not sound too exciting or energetic but the band succeeds in creating that tropical atmosphere, the high temperature inside helps too, with sultry versions of their music.



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Parquet Courts
And now for something completely different. No tropical atmosphere with Parquet Courts, but excellent punk rock songs. Their new album Sunbathing Animal shows more depth and melody while it still sounds powerful. The four guys play them quite convincingly, although it doesn't light the fuse as you would expect. That's because the band doesn't exactly go wild on stage. Still because of their strong repertoire it is a nice show, but could have been a lot better.



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Royal Blood
There are only two musicians in Royal Blood and still they know how to produce a very big and solid sound. Singer and guitar player Mike Kerr uses a heavily distorted bass guitar to lay down heavy riffs where drummer Ben Thatcher is putting very tight grooves on top. The duo from Brighton are convincingly playing their blues rock songs and have no trouble entertaining the full tent. It's remarkable how these two can create this sound by just the two of them.



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Bastille
We take a break and have some food outside the festival side. While we're inside a tent to eat, a heavy rain storm passes by. We're lucky that we can sit this one out. We return to the main stage for Bastille, where the side has turned into mud and everyone is soaking wet. It's still raining, but not that bad anymore. No one is letting the rain get them down. It seems as everyone is eager to party anyway and Bastille has no trouble making the people dance. Their music isn't that brilliant or special but it's the right band at the right place at the moment.



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Franz Ferdinand
Although we have seen Franz Ferdinand twice in the last couple of weeks, we decide to go see them instead of Foals anyway. Not because we don't like Foals, on the contrary, but because we don't want to go inside another full tent. And of course because Franz Ferdinand never disappoints. It's the same set as the previous time, which is a perfect festival set. Again it doesn't miss its effect at all. The build-up in the beginning with some hits, then the middle part with some more down tempo songs, followed by the big blog at the end where the field explodes. Any festival should try to book this band.



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Kings Of Leon
We want to have a look at MGMT, but the tent is too full. We stand outside for a bit, but then decide to go check out Kings of Leon. The band is bigger than ever and you know what you're going to get. They play a decent set with many of their hits and some songs of their successful but quality wise poorer last few albums. We can even see Caleb Followill smile a few times. But the band just doesn't add a lot to the live experience. There are no surprises, no improvisations, everything is well rehearsed. It is actually quite boring. I wish they would spice it a up and look for a bit of adventure.



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Interpol
It looks like Interpol have found their balance again. After Carlos Dengler left the band, it was as if Interpol was somewhat disoriented. Today they prove there's still enough fire in them to play a convincing set. Their songs sound dark and threatening again, full of tension and power. The new song the band is playing, sounds promising and I'm really looking forward to their new album later this year.



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Stromae
Although it looked as if Kings of Leon were the headliner today, actually Stromae is the one to close the festival. And although some people were questioning it, no doubt he deserves it. It may be a risky choice by the Rock Werchters programmers, but one that works out great. From seemingly nowhere he rocketed into the spot lights last year with his hit 'Formidable'. And he proves to be a wonderful entertainer. I don't like his music too much, especially the songs that are more or less eurotrance, but boy what a great artist. His mimicry is great, the way he acts on stage, everything looks magnificent. He's a worthy ending to another great edition of this festival.



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What a blast it was again. I wonder though, why the festival didn't really celebrate their 40th anniversary or give it more attention. But maybe they wanted to let the line-up speak for itself, since it worked out in a great way. The crowd is always lovely here, full of energy, and many bands did feel this and played great sets. But next year we won't be there. We can't handle the four day camping anymore and we want to try out some new festivals. But I'm sure we will return some day to this wonderful place.

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Rock Werchter 2014 Day 1
Rock Werchter 2014 Day 2
Rock Werchter 2014 Day 3

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