Pinkpop 2018 Day 3

Another day and another queue at the entrance. When we finally get in, we want to check out Tom Walker, but the tent is full and a big crowd has gathered around the tent. So instead we wander around a bit waiting for the first interesting artist to play.



Pinkpop Festival 2018 Day 3, June 17 2018

Brian Fallon

I like Brian Fallon’s music, the singer from New Jersey band The Gaslight Anthem. It’s genuine and honest music, straight from the heart in the best Springsteen fashion. His solo work fits right in and is maybe a bit more on the roots side of rock. Fallon looks and sounds good and is truly enjoying himself. His voice is strong and the songs have lovely stories and pleasant melodies. He’s smiling a lot and is very relaxed. This is definitely one of the good guys and it looks like he has overcome the demons that were chasing him.



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Triggerfinger

Pinkpop loves Triggerfinger and the Belgian rock band loves them back. It’s the fifth time they are here and you know the band will live up to its impeccable live reputation. Of course I’ve seen them play this tour a couple of times, so I know what to expect. Ruben Block is firing up the crowd with sexy dancing, guitar swinging and his amazing rock voice. It is no surprise they put down a tight and heavy rock show, complete with shredding guitar solos, pumping bass and Mario Goossen’s cymbal licking and rock solos. Just the way I like it! As a surprise Belgian legend Raymond van het Groenewoud plays one of his songs 'Je Veux de l'Amour' with them.



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Editors

After Triggerfinger has finished, we rush to the other side of the festival site for Editor’s performance at the main stage. We know we won’t find a good spot this late so we have to watch it from a distance. Tom Smith’s voice never fails to impress and it’s a very good show that has both their big hits and new songs. The acoustic version of ‘Desire’ is simply gorgeous and ‘Papillon’ sets the crowd on fire, although this time without real fire and fireworks. ‘Magazine’ is a good closer after that, of a very strong performance.



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Greta van Fleet

We have to rush into the tent of the Brightlands stage, but many people have already gathered there to see this new sensational band from the States. These young guys look and sound like they are from the seventies. Of course they are copying a lot from Led Zeppelin, which is obvious from their sound and the voice of singer Josh Kiszka. His rock howls are coming close to Robert Plant's, although need to mature a bit more. That goes for the whole band that is playing very good, but need a bit more depth and their own sound. It is simply great to hear these guys play hard rock and blues from the golden age of rock with so much heart. Long stretched versions of the few songs they have with endless guitar solos and rolling drums fill their hour long show. They are looking really confident as if they’ve been doing this for years. The crowd totally loves them and is asking for more when they are done, but there’s no time for encores. It’s going to be interesting to see where these guys end up in five years time.



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And so I leave this festival with mixed feelings. We have seen amazing shows by some of the greatest bands around. But we didn't see many bands because of a lot of queues and huge crowds at the stages. You really need to plan ahead to see bands from a bit more up close, something I really hate at festivals. You also need a lot of patience entering the festival site, ordering drinks and food and wandering around the crowded site. The festival is legendary but seems to be too confident about themselves. They could learn a lot from younger festivals and modernize. Otherwise I won't be returning soon to the oldest festival in The Netherlands I think.

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Pinkpop 2018 Day 2


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Pinkpop 2018 Day 2

Because of my own stupid fault leaving something in the car and having to go back, I arrive at the festival site late again so I missed a few bands. Let’s not linger any longer and go see some music!



Pinkpop Festival 2018 Day 2, June 16 2018

Gang of Youths

The Aussies of Gang of Youths played a good show at the Best Kept Secret Festival last weekend and Pinkpop should be a an even better place for them. This turns out to be true because the crowd really get into the band’s heart full rock songs. The set is identical to last week’s and even some small talk in between is similar. But the band works hard again and I’m sure they found new fans today. This could be the turning point in their career over here.



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A Perfect Circle

It’s been forever since I’ve seen A Perfect Circle play live. Like Maynard James Keenan's other band Tool they don’t release a lot of new music and only play a few shows now and then. I really like the new record even though it is a bit more mellow. The first half of the show follows this sound but they slowly pick it up. Maynard adjusted the colour of his suit to the festival’s pink colour and has goofy looking hair with pick tails wearing partly black face paint. Like a caged animal he’s walking around his small raised stage that he will never leave during the show. Guitarist Billy Howerdel is a lot more mobile and is showing his skills on every part of the stage. The small stages and some loose elements are part of the light show, but because it's in the afternoon and too bright it doesn’t really work as well as they would in the dark. Towards the end of the show they play a heavy version of AC/DC's 'Dog Eat Dog' as a tribute to the late Malcolm Young. After this convincing show I’m definitely going to see them in December when they return for a show in Amsterdam.



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I really like Noel Gallagher and would love to see his whole show with The High Flying Birds. But we know we need to be early at the main stage if we want a good spot for Foo Fighters. We watch three songs that sound really nice. Hopefully next time we will be able to see his full show again.

Foo Fighters

Like Pearl Jam yesterday you know that Foo Fighters will deliver. Together with Pearl Jam they are the reason we wanted to come here for three days. By now we know what to expect from them. They play a couple of new songs and most of their explosive hits. This band knows exactly how to close a festival day. There’s the usual goofing around, a lot of the Taylor and Dave show, and the fan Mike who lives his fifteen minutes of fame, spending a few songs on stage with the band. The crowd loves it and there are many smiles around. As a bonus a meteor burning in the atmosphere causes a fireball in the sky and creates natural fireworks. What a night!

I simply love this band, the rehearsal room vibes, the incredible energy, the joy in their playing, the no nonsense rock songs. It’s just two and half hours of uncomplicated fun and forgetting about everything else.



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It's been a day with some frustration about having to go back to the car, missing bands and a lot of queues again. But it's also been a day with a couple of good shows that made everything fine in the end.

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Pinkpop 2018 Day 1

It’s been over fifteen years since I spent three days at the Pinkpop festival in the south of The Netherlands. But when bands like Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters and Editors are on the bill I simply have to be there the whole festival.

Pinkpop Festival 2018 Day 1, June 15 2018

We have a bit of a rough start due to a lot of traffic jams and people jams at the festival site. Somehow you always have to queue a lot over here. So when we finally make it in, we already have missed a couple of bands that I wanted to check out. We wander around a bit and are finally able to catch our first full performance of the day.

Blaudzun

I’ve seen Blaudzun many times in the past and always liked his music. I’ve kind of lost him over the past few years and don’t really know his last couple of LPs, live he still is a unique artist though with his striking appearance and dramatic voice. His band is very excited and it turns into a festive performance. The crowd seems kind of mellow but Blaudzun knows how to turn that around halfway by playing with a lot of energy. He deserves a bigger stage though and I hope he will get it some day.



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We wander around a bit again. I didn’t have a lot of attention for Snow Patrol lately, but while we queue at the bar again and drink our hard fought beers I like what I hear and see.

Pearl Jam

The line up today was the least promising of the festival if you don’t count Pearl Jam. Because let’s face it, today is all bout them finally returning to the festival that saw the legendarygroup sky rocket into rock history in 1992. After their incredible show last Wednesday I am very excited to see them again. The band flies into it again with a grand opening. When the night progresses it becomes clear they are treating Pinkpop to their biggest hits.

And of course this band has no trouble filling two and a half hours with only hit songs. This includes one of my favourites ‘Given To Fly’ which is delivered with a lot of heart. The band looks so focused and full of fire, which is wonderful to see.

Eddie Vedder is giving small speeches criticising “the orange menace”, but also telling stories. His story about his famous jump from the camera boom stand in 1992 is heart warming. Mike McReady and Vedder are often running to both sides of the stage, giving everyone here all of their attention. This time the band ends with a lively 'Rockin' In The Free World' and Vedder's traditional tambourine hand out.



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This is why every festival is after headliners like this, which are simply of a unique level that not many bands can reach. They draw huge crowds, because they never disappoint and always deliver. And by the looks of it both young and old had a more than amazing evening.

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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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Lovely Pinkpop Sunday

I wasn't planning on going to the Pinkpop festival this year. But with the prospect of good company, cold beers, nice weather and great music I don't need much more persuasion. The line-up looked really good with old legends The Rolling Stones on Saturday and indie legends Arcade Fire on Monday, but Editors and Arctic Monkeys on Sunday made us go for this day.

Pinkpop 2014 Sunday, June 8 2014

Driving up to the festival, the weather keeps getting better and better. It has come to our attention that we cannot park on our usual spot on the market square this time. So instead we are directed to one of the festival parking lots. By the time we arrive at the gates, there's quite a crowd and we miss the first band as a result. Nothing a cold beer can't fix.



Portugal. The Man
The first band we check out are Portugal. The Man. They are playing compact songs and have left their psychedelic side. In the beginning this is working quite well, although singer John Gourley's thin high voice isn't always easy to like. Halfway the show people are starting to lose attention and some are leaving. It is actually starting to get boring in the end so we decide to catch a bit of Fred Durst and co.

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Limp Bizkit
At the stage at the other side of the festival site Limp Bizkit is working their way through a trip down memory lane. Fred Durst is playing the tough guy like always and the crowd loves it. Although it results in a nostalgic party, it also isn't more than that. It gets a bit cheesy, especially when they start to play covers. Time for some ice cream I guess.

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The Kooks
It's been a while since I have seen The Kooks for the last time and that I heard from them. But here they are and Luke Pritchard is looking in better shape than I have seen him in a long time. His voice is good and he is bouncing around the stage throwing smiles around. They showcase a new song that sounds interesting enough. It could mean a change of direction and I'm looking forward to hearing their new album. It's the perfect weather for cheerful hit songs like 'Naïve' and 'Ooh-La' which seem to go down well.

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Intergalactic Lovers
A few years back I was pleasantly surprised to hear the melodic songs of this Belgian indie band. Now they have released their second album Little Heavy Burdens and I get a chance to see them again. It is clear they have grown a lot since that first encounter. Singer Lara Chedraoui's voice sounds great and the songs are well crafted. Slowly the tent is getting more empty though until it's half full. But the people who stay inside are completely into it and are singing along to great tunes like 'Delay', 'Howl' and new hit 'Islands'. In the end the ones who are staying get treated to a very pleasant show by a band who are far from using all their potential.

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Paolo Nutini
Paolo Nutini has come a long way since his pop hit 'New Shoes'. He had to dig deep and go through some dark times to come up with his new album Caustic Love which is totally different. It is full of intense soul songs and so is his performance today. His band is tight and sounds great just like Nutini himself. Unfortunately we can't stay until the end since Editors are waiting for us.

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Editors
We almost miss the beginning of the show because of some really slow burgers. I thought they called it fast food? Editors look stronger than ever today. They are playing hit after hit and it all sounds great. I still think the songs of the last album The Weight Of Your Love aren't as good as the rest, and also today I feel songs like 'Munich', 'All Sparks' and 'Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors' are simply better than 'A Ton Of Love' and 'Formaldehyde'. But it doesn't matter that much, because they will always deliver a strong performance. Of course they close the set with 'Papillon' that has grown into the perfect festival anthem, where every festival site seems to explode in the chorus.



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Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters
We may never see Led Zeppelin play and then Robert Plant may be the closest thing to come near. Unfortunately he's squeezed in between Editors and Arctic Monkeys so we only see a small part of his show. When we arrive he's just wrapping up 'Baby I'm Gonna Leave You'. It's great to hear this legend sing this epic song. Of course he's also playing some of his solo songs which I'm not really familiar with. 'Black Dog' gets a complete make-over with African instruments and singing where Bonham's solo used to be. It sounds really interesting and it is a brave act by Plant. But if anyone can do it, it's him. Too bad we have to leave him this early.

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Arctic Monkeys
We are leaving Robert Plant for the rock band who is shaking up things nowadays. The Arctic Monkeys have come a long way from the shy, introvert school boys they were ten years ago. Alex Turner has transformed in a modern James Dean of rock music and is confidently looking around the crowd with penetrating eyes. He's walking a thin line there though and he should take care not to overdo it, since it turn into too much of a gimmick. Their wild songs have been replaced with heavy grooving thoughtful tracks, which I love. Matt Helders is playing the slow grooves phenomenally and with a lot of power. But the breaks between songs are too long and so the show never really takes off. This isn't because of the slow songs, since they really sound great and the way Turner is singing them in a lazy fashion with his brilliant timing is spot on. It's far from perfect Arctic Monkeys show, but they still prove why they are one of the most interesting bands of today.



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With a day full of sunshine and some fine music this was a very nice festival day. When Pinkpop can come up with another great line-up next year, I will probably travel south once again.

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Pinkpop Mellow In Hot Sun

This year I only needed one word to make the trip down south to the Pinkpop festival: Soundgarden. I just can't get enough of this band and somehow managed to never see them live in the nineties. The rest of the program didn't really look spectacular although there was probably going to be plenty to enjoy. The weather forecast couldn't have looked better so we headed to the festival in good spirit under a clear sky and a bright sun.

Pinkpop Festival at Landgraaf, Day 2 Sunday May 27 2012

We followed the same routine as past years: driving there following our gps navigation and ignoring all the official festival traffic signs. We made it to the small town centre of Landgraaf without a problem and only 10 minutes after the festival gates opened we were ordering our first and last cup of coffee of the day. Enough time to get in the festival mood, go over the schedule and get a good taste of the cold beers. The festival season was taking off for us.

Babylon Circus
First up are Babylon Circus, a ten piece band from Lyon in France. They are playing a mix of reggae and ska. With the sun climbing higher you can't have a better start. And the band members know this as well. They are putting a lot of effort in it, firing off their catchy summer tunes to the crowd. So even though part of the crowd alreay have one hot festival day behind them, many people are showing off the first dance moves of the day. The French musicians are a great festival act and are just what you need to get a party started.

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Racoon
The sun is already starting to burn on our necks and faces so it's time to take it a bit slower. Racoon have grown from an indie rock band with jumpy songs into a pop band with mostly acoustic and folky sounding slow tunes. For me this is their weak spot. Many songs have the same tempo and for someone who doesn't know them very well, they are hard to keep apart. But they are playing them with a lot of heart and very convincingly.

Singer Bart van der Weide has a great unique voice, that can be vulnerable at times but also powerful at other times. The addition of strings is a smart move. They add more depth to the music. It gives them a chance to play their version of 'Eleanor Rigby', which is the highlight of their set. Their own songs can't match that, although 'Don't Give Up The Fight', that was written for the a little boy called Jayden who passed away, is putting a lumb in many a throat.

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Mastodon
Time to spice it up a bit again. Well, a bit. Mastodon are not the band to take it slow. Their havy guitars and grooves are beating down on the crowd. It may not be really subtle, but it is quite effective. Especially when they pace themselves a bit it reminds me of Therapy? from time to time. Other times it kind of gets too rough and it loses too much dynamics. All in all not a bad way to keep us from slowly dozing off in the sun.

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The Kyteman Orchestra
Colin Benders took our country by storm a few years ago as Kyteman. His debut album with a mix of hip hop and jazzy tunes was an instant hit. But especially the huge band live on stage was an impressive sight. His second album The Kyteman Orchestra that was released in March is even more ambitious. Pieces of opera and classical music mixed with hip hop and jazz. I can only respect Benders for taking up such a complex, ambitious and risky project, but the album didn't really appeal to me. But his live performances gained a lot of critical acclaim again.

And he is proving that on the Pinkpop main stage. The big stage is full of musicians, instruments and a complete choir. The variety in sound and musical directions don't miss their effect. Some people are watching in awe while other people turn their back. I guess it may not be the kind of music for every one, but I think it is a huge hit again. It's very impressive how Benders managed to translate his complex music into a live performance.

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Soundgarden
Finally it is time to meet one of my favourite bands up close. And up close we get. We go into the front pit as close to the stage as possible. A loud and low noise is revealing their arrival to the main stage. They kick off with 'Searching With My Good Eye Closed'. From our position the sound is pretty bad. During the song it is improving, but it never really turns decent enough. Chris Cornell's voice sounds great today and once again is showing why he's considered one of the best rock singers. It's great so see the band back together. Matt Cameron is driving the big heavy engine with some tight drumming.

Maybe the band isn't as tight during the whole set or they may be less active than in their glory days, but I'm definitely enjoying any second of their set. For a true fan like me it's just great watching them play classics like 'Spoonman', 'Rusty Cage' and 'Black Hole Sun'. They end their set with a great 'Slaves & Bulldozers'. So it didn't really become legendary, which apparently disappointed some people. But it was still an excellent performance for any Soundgarden fan or any one who likes some good heavy rock music.

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Since Keane and Linkin Park aren't really our cup of tea, we decided to have another beer and take on our three hour drive back home. Day two of the festival wasn't exactly spectacular. It had a couple of good performances but nothing extraordinary or surprising. None of the bands really outdid themselves. But with the nice weather, good music, great company and the return of my heroes it was still a successful day. Our festival season has officially been opened!

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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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The Boss Still in Charge

Pinkpop Festival at Landgraaf, 30 May 2009
This year was the 40th edition of Dutch festival Pinkpop. And of course this called for a celebration so organizer and Mr Pinkpop Jan Smeets was able to book no one else than The Boss himself as the headliner of the first day of the three day festival.


Since festivals are costly these days we only got ourselves tickets to that first day and this turned out to be a good choice. But first we had to face the traffic gods that turned against us and we ended up in heavy traffic jams because of accidents, cars on fire and fully choked access roads to the festival. Unfortunately we couldn't make it to the festival in time and had to miss the first bands. When we finally made it Chris Cornell was already halfway his set and just finished one of my favourite songs "Hunger Strike". But the nice weather and my old friend Mr Beer made me feel happy within no time.

Chris Cornell (Ronald Says 3 out of 5)
One good thing we came in late was that we didn't have to make it through songs of Chris' latest album once more. It was a good choice of him to mix new and old songs into his set. Once he started playing songs like "Spoonman", "Cochise" and "Black Hole Sun" things seemed ok. So he experimented with Timbalake and it failed. So maybe the Soundgarden days and grunge are outdated. He's still one of the best rock singers out there even though he cannot sing as high as he used to. I'm sure he will come back with a killer album next time. In the meantime I'll settle for the old stuff.

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (Ronald Says 3 out of 5)
Mix songs by artists like Elton John and The Beach Boys with punk and this is what you get: a crazy bunch of musicians in cheesy outfits having the time of their lives. It still feels like a gimmick and gets a bit boring in the end. Of course it's all a bit of a joke to the musicians who are also playing in bands like NOFX and Foo Fighters. But they seem to enjoy it a lot and so do most of the people.

Elbow (Ronald Says 3 out of 5)
I read so many good things about this band however their album "The Seldom Seen Kid" just isn't my cup of tea. I saw a bit of their show last year on the Lowlands festival and wasn't too impressed. So what's everyone raving about? Here was my chance to find out again and I still don't get it. I guess I'm just not really into it. However their songs are decent and their performance solid as a rock.

The Killers (Ronald Says 4 out of 5)
I really like their first album "Hot Fuss" but the later albums not so much. Too much Vegas style I guess and so were their shows. But they've grown over the years and they played a very good set. It proved to me once more though that the songs of the first album are just better than the rest. Songs like "Mr. Brightside", "Somebody Told Me" and "All These Things That I've Done" just seem to rock more. Singer Brandon Flowers was all smiles throughout the whole set maybe because his big example Bruce Springsteen was watching and seemed to approve?

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (Ronald Says 5 out of 5)
Of course it's nice to book a big name like this. Tickets to the first day sold out in no time and it will generate lots of publicity. However it will drain your budget and minimize the other bands to support acts. And the big headlines might live up to the expectations. But not to worry this time. Bruce's performance was legendary and will be remembered long after. The band sounded tight and solid and Bruce was exactly what you would expect: charismatic, lively, all over the stage, striking his characteristic poses while the sun was setting. Every camera shot on the big screens seemed to be magical.

He played new and old songs in a well-balanced set and even found a Dutch Courteney Cox to dance with him during "Dancing in the Dark". The Killers singer Brandon Flowers joined him to sing "Thunder Road" and was as happy as a kid with its Christmas presents and didn't seem to believe he was actually standing there with his big idol. I was glad to be part of this almost three hour performance. Jan Smeets couldn't have made a better choice for the perfect anniversary gift.
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Festival Season is warming up

The sun is coming out and things are warming up. This is bad news for my winter depression and good news for my temper. It also means the summer festivals are completing their line-ups or are announcing more and more bands. And of course I'll be checking out some of them!

Festivals are all about music, drinking, loosing sleep and good times but also in my case traditions. That means we usually go to the same festivals, in our case Rock Werchter in Belgium and Lowlands over here. I'd love to go to more festivals but my wallet won't allow me too so I have to make choices. A lot of festivals also offer day tickets which is more wallet friendly and in my case better for my health. Some years ago we started attending the North Sea Jazz Festival. And after a break from Pinkpop for many years we returned for one day last year. We enjoyed it a lot so this year we go to Pinkpop for one day again to see The Boss performing like many others.

Of course there's more to enjoy on Pinkpop that day including Elbow, Just Jack, The Killers and Chris Cornell. Although the last one was really disappointing in his last show. North Sea Jazz announced some names but will announce more in May.

Rock Werchter has a killer line-up once again including Oasis, Prodigy, Coldplay, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs and regular guests Metallica. I'm particularly interested in Bloc Party (great show a while ago), Kings of Leon (great last album "Only By The Night"), Nick Cave (missed Grinderman last year), 2ManyDJs (on the main stage!) and The Mars Volta (still not sure what to think of them).

Lowlands is always one of the last festivals and like to keep us waiting in anticipation so they still have to announce most of the line up. Although they already announced some great acts like Arctic Monkeys, Prodigy, Basement Jaxx and Bloc Party.

So there's plenty to look forward to but some thing's are for sure: we'll be drinking too much, lacking of sleep and having a blast!
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