Rock Werchter 2012 Day 2: Almost Perfect Day

We get our first rain today, but since we're still in our tent it doesn't hurt us a bit. Actually it cools things down so we can sleep a bit longer. After the rain stops we still have plenty of time to make it to the festival site for the first band.

Rock Werchter 2012 Day 2, June 29 2012




School Is Cool
This young Belgian band had a few hits in their home country coming from their debut album Entropology And they mean business today. The band members want to show their home crowd what they're made off. It's an energetic show and especially Andew van Ostade puts on a great act and is a lot of fun to watch. They have a few very good songs like 'Warpaint' and 'The World Is Gonna End Tonight' which are greeted with excitement. Especially when a small machine is blowing foam snow flakes covering the first row. They even manage to form two circle pits in the crowd. Great job by these newcomers who hopefully will treat us to a lot more in the future.


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Miles Kane
More excitement with Miles Kane later on. And the English musician deserves it. His performance is convincing as is his stage appearance. The album he released last year holds enough songs to captivate the crowd and Kane himself is getting more excited by the minute. This results in an inspired and stretched out 'Come Closer' at the end of the set where everyone keeps singing the "ah-ah-ah-ah-ah" part even when Kane already has gone off the stage.



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Gossip
Beth Ditto and her band have to work a lot harder to keep every one's attention. She has broken her ankle and is less active than usual. Her voice is shrill and starts to get on my nerves. They have a few decent songs but it's not enough to lift this performance to a higher level, no matter what Ditto is trying today.

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Jack White
Contrary to Ditto, Jack White has no trouble getting the best out of his band. He chose the all-male band today, Los Buzzardos, and that is working out well. All dressed in black and blue, they are tight and simply sound great. White himself is quite chatty and seems to be enjoying himself. He has this impressive catalogue that he can choose from, playing songs by The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather and of course his solo album. Like that album it's admirable to see how he's able to weld all this variety in songs together. 'Hotel Yorba', 'Steady As She Goes' and 'Sixteen Saltines' all blend together nicely. It's great to hear that The White Stripes songs sound so good when he's backed up with a full band and a good drummer (sorry Meg). He finishes us off with an insane 'Seven Nation Army'.



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dEUS
Still touring clubs and festivals in support of their album Keep You Close, Belgian's pride and glory dEUS are on familiar ground here. In the meanwhile they have released a new album Following Sea out of the blue that got mixed reviews. With so many great songs, this brilliant band cannot go wrong. But I would have expected a bit more fireworks on their home ground. Nevertheless I can never get tired seeing them play songs like 'Hotel Lobby', 'Instant Street' and 'Bad Timing'. Even when watching them from the side, waiting to get up front with Pearl Jam.



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Pearl Jam
At the concert last Tuesday we were quite far in the back and we want to see them up close this time. We thought we knew what to expect but still are pleasantly surprised how well they play their headlining slot. Of course this time they play a greatest hit set list with the usual suspects like 'Corduroy' with 'Interstellar Overdrive' intro again, 'Even Flow' and 'Alive'. That doesn't mean that this is just your avarage show. They blend 'Daughter' with Pink Floyd's 'Another Brick In The Wall' and play PiL's 'Public Image'.



Eddie Vedder again holds a small speech in Flemish and looks even more inspired and fired up this time. He makes jumps from monitor speakers several times and stands at the side of the stage now and then, as if he wants to admire this great rock band. He dedicates a ferocious 'Spin The Black Circle' to Jack White. The set closes with 'Rockin' In The Free World' where he's getting a dazed young boy and his excited dad on stage to play the tambourine. The last song of the night is the traditional closer 'Yellow Ledbetter'. Vedder smokes a cigarette sitting down on a monitor speaker before leaving a stunned Werchter audience behind. No band will be able to top this I'm sure, but I hope they will try.



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After this explosive end of the day we decide to take a rest for a few beers. Unfortunately that also means we're missing Beirut. Hopefully we will be able to catch them some other time soon.

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Rock Werchter 2012 Day 1: A Friendly Welcome

We're off to a promising start this year. Taking off from a friend's house in Belgium where we arrived the night before, we make it to the camping site in no time. The weather has changed from monsoon rains into simmering hot. So let the cold beers flow and bring on the first band.

Rock Werchter 2012 Day 1, June 28 2012



Bombay Bicycle Club
This band from London were the next best thing a few years ago but never could live up to it on the main land. They play a decent set and are lucky that the crowd is willing to party today. They have a few nice songs and it all sounds cheerful and happy, but still it doesn't make them more than just another indie band. It is a nice way to start the festival though, but not one that will stay with us for long.
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Amon Tobin
We decide to check out Amon Tobin's visuals. I don't really like his music, but his visuals should be quite spectacular. A construction of white blocks is standing on stage, hiding the man himself in one of them. Images are projected on the blocks which give a spectacular effect. After a while the effect wears off a bit though, so that's enough for us.
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The Maccabees
This band raised my interest a while ago when they opened for Editors. Today the group shows they have grown a lot and play a convincing set. Singer Orlando Weeks has turned into a charismatic front man with a strong voice. A tight band and good songs do the rest. At the end they receive a well deserved applause.



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Garbage
Cypress Hill take too long to show up and we want to see Garbage play. Shirley Manson gained a few years, but still is the sexy front woman of the band with drummer Butch Vig, the famous producer. And that's exacly the problem. It's all well produced even into the smallest details. All the poses, little speeches are thought through and it feels a little fake. They are there for everyone who doesn't really fit in, says Manson tonight. I want to believe her, but I can't. Their image and audience have been chosen with too much accuracy. So even though they play a solid set and the crowd does respond well, it kind of leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.
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Elbow
We've seen this band so many times before. They were here last year as well. Still we decide to stick around and like every time get sucked into singer Guy Garvey's world, where everyone is doing okay. How do they do it? It must be the combination of a very solid band and a very charismatic front man. Within no time we're singing along to 'The Birds', 'Lippy Kids' and of course closer 'One Day Like This'.



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The Cure
I thought this would be the first time I was going to see The Cure, but definitely was there when The Cure played Werchter for the last time in 2004. I just don't remember it. Can't be the beers right? We get up close where Robert Smith and friends play a good set. They could have easily played two hours of hits but decide not to and play many old songs as well. A risky choice on a festival. It's a convincing set and Smith looks pretty pleased. But it may have mostly pleased just the real fans and it just won't get memorable. For me personally that means I was still really happy to have seen them play and at least they go out on a high with 'Boys Don't Cry'.
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We try a piece of Justice but decide to call it a day. Time for this year's first cervela!

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Pearl Jam Is Aging Beautifully

Watching your heroes age can be painful. Bands like The Rolling Stones and U2 have been around for decades and sometimes you can see them struggle, losing a bit of their greatness. Pearl Jam have been around for over two decades now and are slowly moving into the line of bands that seem to have been around forever. Their music left their traces in history and now they were going to play the brand new Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam two nights in a row.



Pearl Jam at the Ziggo Dome, June 26 2012



Another band that has been around forever are X, the punk rockers who started in the late 70s and despite not achieving any mainstream success are considered a major influence. They play a tight set and are clearly still going strong. At the end of the set Eddie Vedder steps in with his tambourine to play with them.



A short while later he steps back on stage with the rest of Pearl Jam starting off with Pink Floyd's 'Interstellar Overdrive'. Immediately making clear that they may have gotten older, but definitely haven't slowed down, it is followed by 'Corduroy' and 'Why Go'. They only slow down in the always great 'Given To Fly'.



What follows is a spectacular night. The band have more energy than ever and look very eager and inspired. Eddie Vedder has a sparkle in his eyes throughout the show and is moving around the stage a lot. Maybe he's not that wild as in the old days but is definitely looking very fit and full of fire. He reads a small speech in Dutch which makes him even more beloved this evening.



There also are a few surprises tonight. They play The Kinks cover 'Better Things' for the first time ever and don't play 'Alive' at all, which is pretty rare. 'Do The Evolution' closes their regular set, but this night is still young. A five song encore follows with a beautiful 'Just Breath'. A second encore follows with two fan requests, 'Smile' and 'Green Disease'. Several times Vedder is running towards his band mates to discuss changes to the set list. Of course fan favourite 'Black' is one of the highlights. Neil Young's 'Rocking In A Free World' assisted by X's John Doe, followed by 'Indifference' close this terrific night. Pearl Jam is proving that a rock band can age very well. Like good whisky it may lose it's rough edges but gain more depth and variety. This way we can hopefully enjoy them for some more decades to come.

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Setlist
1. Interstellar Overdrive (Pink Floyd cover)
2. Corduroy
3. Why Go
4. Given To Fly
5. Brain Of J.
6. Amongst The Waves
7. Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town
8. In Hiding
9. Even Flow
10. World Wide Suicide
11. Rats
12. Lukin
13. Not For You
14. Better Things (The Kinks cover)
15. Nothingman
16. The Fixer
17. Do The Evolution
Encore 1:
18. Last Kiss (Wayne Cochran cover)
19. Just Breathe
20. Comatose
21. Unthought Known
22. Porch
Encore 2:
23. Smile
24. Green Disease
25. Love, Reign O'er Me (The Who cover)
26. Black
27. Rockin' in the Free World (Neil Young cover)
28. Indifference
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