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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Into The Great Wide Open 2014 Day 3: Lovely Ending

Time seems to stand still on this island, except it really doesn't. It's the last day of the festival and the sun is treating us to some of its last sun rays this summer. Time to suck up some more festival vibes.

Into The Great Wide Open Day 3, September 8 2014



Mulatu Astatke
By the time we arrive at the main stage, Ethiopian jazz master Mulatu Astatke has already started his set. Jazz may not be everyone's cup of tea but the percussive music of the wonderful Astatke is hard not to like. His band is a delight to watch, as they convincingly play his swinging compositions with lots of enthusiasm. The master himself is looking content and is watching the band, the crowd and the surroundings with a smile on his face.

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The Mysterons
Several Jungle By Night members have formed a side project, The Mysterons, no doubt at the conservatory. It's totally different from their swinging afrobeat band. It starts off with some songs that remind of Portishead, which isn't that surprising since 'Mysterons' is a song by them. I'm not a fan of that Bristol sound, but singer Josephine van Schaik's voice sounds impressive and the band is playing creative music. Then the songs turn more into seventies style rock songs and van Schaik proves she can handle that as well. The band are changing tempo and time measures with great ease. It may prove to be too much for some, but I'm loving this. I'm going to watch this band closely and am looking forward to their EP later this year.

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Ezra Furman
We decide to hang around at the sports field and take it more slow. Ezra Furman is performing there and is playing catchy rock 'n roll songs. Furman's glasses have broken but he decides to keep wearing them, which makes him look like a character from Revenge Of The Nerds. However I don't really like his voice which isn't great and sounds like he's putting too much cheese on it. Also the rest of the band isn't looking exactly inspired. Especially sax player Tim Sandusky seems to be thinking about his shopping list instead of playing music. Probably it's all an act but it is putting me down, which can never be the idea. The best song in their set is The Clash cover 'Train In Vain' which says it all.

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Unknown Mortal Orchestra
It's a surprising spot in the schedule for Unknown Mortal Orchestra on the main stage on the middle of the day. To me this is one of the highlights in the program and Ruban Nielson and co don't disappoint. Nielson is focused and his psychedelic and grooving solos are superb. The trippy and freaky songs may not go down well with everyone, considering the half empty field, but it doesn't really matter. Once again I'm impressed with this virtuoso band. Although I think a spot in the dark in the dunes would have made it even more impressive. I can't wait for their next album and a proper club show.

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Typhoon
Dutch rapper Typhoon had quite a year. He released a highly acclaimed album earlier and totally killed it on the main stage at the Lowlands festival a few weeks ago. The organization are well aware that he's the perfect closing act of the festival. The field in front of the main stage is full of people who want to dance in the sun shine one more time. Typhoon has no problem making that happen. Hip hop and rap simply aren't my cup of tea, so we watch it all from a distance while working our way through a delicious pot of mussels. A magical moment happens when a woman is carried slowly towards the stage, as if she's floating above the crowd. At the end the charismatic Typhoon is totally killing it with his great band.



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This edition ends on a high and before we know it we're on the boat that is taking us back to reality. This festival seems to get better every year. And although it will be hard again to get tickets for next year, we are definitely going to make sure we're there again.

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Into The Great Wide Open 2014 Day 0 + 1
Into The Great Wide Open 2014 Day 2

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Lowlands 2010 Day 2: Time To Party!

After a great first day and a decent night of sleep we woke up to a beautiful sunny day. Just not in time to see Dutch performer and rising star Tim Knol open the second day. Sorry Tim, hopefully I can catch you next time.

And So I Watch You From Afar (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
Time to get the sleep blown from our eyes by this Irish hard rocking bunch. Loud powerful guitar riffs combined with complex tempo changes, fast licks and a solid drummer were fired at us. No vocals since these guys don't need that with their lively stage performance. The guitarists and bass player are jumping and bouncing around stage while playing their amazing parts. Guitar player Rory Friers even continues playing while crowd surfing. Their eyes are twinkling when they receive the well earned cheers from the crowd.



New Cool Collective & Typhoon (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
Clearly awake now we move to the next party with Dutch jazz band New Cool Collective and Dutch rapper Typhoon. The Alpha stage is not the best place for this combination but it's convenient for the many musicians on the stage. Nevertheless they manage to put down a swinging set. What can you expect when you have one of the coolest and most swinging band on stage with awarded performers like sax player Benjamin Herman, guitar player Anton Goudsmit and drummer Joost Kroon. Rapper Typhoon cannot wish for a better band to back his raps and he manages to turn the place into a swinging party with the help of some other guests. Too bad the band only got to play one song by themselves.



The Soft Pack (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
Sitting in the grass enjoying a bit of sunshine we listen to The Soft Pack on the main stage. Their garage rock is catchy and their songs are good. They just didn't add enough fire to make it explode.

Mumford and Sons (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
I said it before that I don't like this kind of music. But I admit their show was pretty good. Well played songs and the packed Alpha tent was going crazy with every song. I still don't get why but so many people can't be wrong. I just wouldn't call it that brilliant as many others seem to do. So after 4-5 songs I decided to check out something different.

Admiral Freebee (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
The Belgian Admiral delivered a strong album earlier this year and already proved he can play great performances. Today however there wasn't enough chemistry between them and the crowd somehow. When he started playing some beautiful ballads on piano even more people left leaving only a few until the end of his set. By that time they seemed pretty frustrated and started throwing stuff to each other for fun. Hopefully he will come back to prove everyone of his skills.

The Gaslight Anthem (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
Things can go fast with a band. Within a short time this band has grown into a live act that can fill up a place like the Grolsch stage which is the second biggest stage of the festival. A big skull is laughing at us from the big back of the stage. Tattooed boys are on stage playing their middle of the road rock tunes. But this tough appearance cannot hide the boy inside. Singer Brian Fallon looks like he could have been in any 90s boy band. They are trying very hard but the sparkle wasn't there today. Their songs all sounded a bit even and they weren't able to live up to the high expectations that many people seemed to have.



LCD Soundsystem (Ronald Says 9 out of 10)
When front man James Murphy sticks to his intentions this was my last LCD Soundsystem gig since according to him there won't be a next record. This certainly was one of their better performances. Especially the old songs were solid and got many people dancing. The songs of their last album didn't sound as convincing but maybe that's because it's new material that everyone needs to get used to. All in all their set kept everyone going until the end. Probably because it had more cow bell.



La Pegatina (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
And then we arrived at the small Lima stage that was having a big party like so many times. The band from Barcelona must have been wondering what all the dancing plants were doing something that started last year and is beginning to turn into a tradition. Urban rumba or flamenco punk? I have no idea what it is but it's damn good! Check out a short video here.

To top it off we go watch the movie The Expandables which turns out to be so bad that it's not even funny anymore (7.5 on IMDB? C'm on!). But the people's cheers and reactions still make it good fun. And of course the beers and pop-corn help as well. Another great day ends in style and it only is getting better. We're wondering what tomorrow will bring.

See more pictures over here:
Lowlands 2010 Day 2 Pictures

Lowlands 2010 Day 1 Review >
Lowlands 2010 Day 3 Review >
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