Rock Werchter 2014 Day 1: Day Of Legends

This year is the fourtieth edition of the Rock Werchter festival in Belgium. In all those years it grew out from a small festival to a huge one with 80,000 visitors every day and the biggest headliners. This year the line-up looked better than ever, so we really couldn't stay home.

Rock Werchter 2014 Thursday, July 3 2014

After a smooth journey we find a queue at the camping ground, but fortunately it moves fast. Within no time our tents are up and we're sipping a well deserved cold beer in the sun. This way we also make it to the festival ground in time for the first band.



Radkey
The three Radke brothers surprised me a few weeks ago on the Best Kept Secret Festival and are the opening band on the huge main stage. But the three young men don't mind and play another convincing show. They bring their Ramones infused punk rock with a lot of energy and try to shrink the huge gap, the square Metallica ramp and pit causes. It's a shame that all the bands have to fight this pit where no one is allowed in yet. Radkey don't seem to mind and make a well deserved victory round on the ramp at the end of their set.



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Daptone Super Soul Revue
A two hour soul party follows with the best the Daptone Records label has to offer. We missed the beginning and the first few acts and enter the show at the moment where Charles Bradley makes his entry. The "Screaming Eagle of Soul" never lets down and brings his soul songs with all his heart. A bunch of flowers is thrown on the stage and the gentle singer is handing them out one by one to people at the front at the end of the show.



He's followed by the afro-beat band Antibalas. Fronted by the charismatic Duke Amayo, dressed and painted in bright colours, the band starts a dancing party and heats up the hot tent even more. The horns section all get a chance to show their stuff and the band know how to play the crowd.



After that it's Sharon Jones' turn, who will close this super soul show. And you can leave that to the small but powerful singer whose strong performance wraps everyone around her finger within no time. Backed up by her great band The Dap-Kings, she puts up a very good show. Although I'm still not sure what to think of her music, she's showing today what a great singer and performer she is.



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Miles Kane
Another great performer is of course Miles Kane. He has proven that many times. On this hot afternoon his show takes off maybe a bit slow, but after a few songs his hard work is paying off. The still fit crowd is coming alive and soon everyone is dancing to the catchy rock tunes. And so by the time Kane is playing his final song 'Don't Forget Who You Are' everyone is joining in for the "nanana" part.



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White Lies
The bright sun light doesn't look like the right environment for the dark songs of White Lies. The band never was really able to impress me on stage before, but today they actually play a good show. Of course the group has many hit songs that are scattered throughout the set. Somewhere in the middle it sounds like they are letting it slip away again as the attention of the crowd is fading. But then they pick it up and win back the willing crowd.



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Robert Plant And The Sensational Space Shifters
Many people have shown up to watch the legendary singer of Led Zeppelin. Robert Plant is in great shape and knows exactly what the crowd wants to hear. He is throwing around some Zeppelin songs, that sometimes get different arrangements with African influences which sound amazing. His voice is still quite good for his age and backed up by his great and tight band, just now and then you almost feel you're listening to that legendary band from the past. When they start off 'Whole Lot Of Love' a big roar rises from the crowd and the place is totally exploding. Plant himself is looking very pleased with this response and for a good reason. Sensational indeed.



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Damon Albarn
Hardly recovered from that, we find our way to the next legend. To me Damon Albarn is one of the best composers and musicians around. And he is showing that today, with songs from his entire career, Blur of course, but also The Good, The Bad & The Queen, Gorillaz and even Rocketjuice & The Moon. Naturally Albarn is playing many songs of his solo album Everyday Robots, which is a down tempo record, but full of tension. The Heavy Seas Of Love, his backing band, are doing a fine job at combining all these styles into a homogeneous entity. The moments where Albarn is sitting behind the piano all by himself are beautiful and when he's playing my favourite Blur song 'Out Of Time' it is even magical.



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Metallica
The big closing headline of today is of course Metallica. Many people have come to the main stage to see the big metal band play songs that have been requested by the fans. It turns into a greatest hits show with some fan favourites, that is not so much different from all their shows we have seen them play in the past. From our position the sound isn't really great, the drums are too loud in the mix, but this could just be the spot we're in. The only surprise in the show is that their are no fireworks. Still the visuals on the massive screens look great as does the impressive light show with tons of lasers. It's quite a spectacle for anyone seeing the band for the first time I'm sure. For anyone else who's not a real fan, it's nothing more than a solid rock show.



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And so this festival was off to a great start. We're still in great shape and that means we are going to drink a few more beers. Where the party at?

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Rock Werchter 2014 Day 2
Rock Werchter 2014 Day 3
Rock Werchter 2014 Day 4

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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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