New Sounds: Ought - Sun Coming Down

Last weekend I was impressed by Ought's performance at the Into The Great Wide Open festival. Their creative songs sound sharp and original with a dark atmosphere. Now you can listen to their upcoming album Sun Coming Down below which comes out September 18.

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ITGWO 2015 Saturday and Sunday

After that incredible Friday I doubt if we can top that in the two days still to come but we sure are going to try. It's a bit hard to wake up early so unfortunately we have to miss the first couple of bands.

Into The Great Wide Open 2015, Saturday September 5 2015



Ryley Walker
We decide to kick off our day at the lovely stage in the woods where Ryley Walker is about to start his set. He starts out on his own with a nice acoustic song. I'm a bit worried this will be "just another singer songwriter" but fortunately the rest of the band joins in and a wonderful performance follows. The mellow songs have enough meat to chew on and keep you focused. Walker turns out to be a funny character that has no trouble entertaining his audience. This is one of those shows where place, artist and crowd totally connect together and magic happens.

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Gabriel Rios
After this amazing start we head to the sports field to see a new side of Gabriel Rios. Where he used to lay down a mellow tropical party he is now showing his sensitive side with small intimate songs. A cello, horns and a double bass are helping him out. It's an admirable choice to go this way, but his performance is a bit pale.

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Alamo Race Track
Then we need to hurry again to cycle to the dunes and catch Alamo Race Track. Their alternative rock songs should be at the right place here and it has filled up nicely. The sun is even shining now and then, which is a delight after yesterday's rain. Alamo Race Track has so many beautiful songs to choose from, but live it doesn't always work out. The band is a bit unpredictable that can play amazing shows but sometimes it's just not their day. Today the music sounds nice but the band doesn't really connect with the audience so the spark is kind of missing. Still it's always good seeing them play their atmospheric songs live.

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Leon Bridges
Aaaaand it's back to the sports field since soul singer Leon Bridges is playing there. His star rose like a comet this year, as over half a year ago no one knew who he was. Now he has drawn quite a big crowd to watch him sing his retro soul songs. Joined by two members of White Denim, his band sounds great and his smooth voice goes down well with many. But his stage presence is a bit too modest so it never gets really wild. Hopefully in the future he can bring more to the stage and then things will look pretty good for him.

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Polar Bear
We go into the woods to see some jazz, played by Polar Bear. Two saxophone players are playing sharp and shrill solos on top of mellow groovy jams. It does sound like an exciting experimental jazz concept, but somehow it's never really taking off. The songs are too stretched out to make them hold the tension and although well played it's hard to keep focused. Also the band looks a bit pale and uninspired as well, maybe too impressed with their surrounding.

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Seun Kuti & Egypt 80
Because of cancellations Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 were found as replacements and according to the MC were flown in from Lagos, through Casablanca and brought in by water taxi. That's why they start out later than planned and I have to skip some other bands, but I'm nuts for afrobeat and Seun Kuti is a treat you cannot pass on. This is a great band to have on this festival and the band look happy enough to play here. I simply love the long jams with the horns and the many layers that seem to lead a life of their own, but still blend in so nicely. Seun Kuti is a delight to watch, and like his father is a charismatic front man who is all over the place with spectacular dance moves. He may not be the greatest sax player, but makes up for it in energy. I have seen them play better though where they can truly light up a place. Maybe it's the big trip they had to take today, or the relative short set they are playing, who knows. Still I love it and can only have huge respect for them to go through all this trouble to play at this festival.

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Taxiwars
When Tom Barman is not playing with dEUS, he's not sitting at home. He may be making a movie, or play with Magnus. Or in this case find himself playing in the jazz combo Taxiwars, a project by sax player Robin Verheyen. The result is an exciting mix of jazz and grooves with the typical, sometimes spoken word, vocals of Barman. It turns the woods into a dark smoky jazz night club from the fifties or sixties where private eyes zip their whisky. The band looks like they are enjoying it a lot and the crowd feels this energy. Again this is the perfect place for such a performance.

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zZz
One thing is for sure today, that we will be ending on a high. zZz are turning indoor stage The Bolder into a sleaze fest with their out of control organs, never ending grooves and mysterious lyrics. You can only dance to this dirty gritty hypnotic music and that's what everyone is doing. People are crowd surfing and partying and things get nice and sweaty, the way this musics suits the best. Oh man, that track 'Juggernaut' is so good, I want it to keep going forever.

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We stay around to dance and drink some more until the night program comes to an end. And so does this day that turned out to be wonderful again.

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Into The Great Wide Open 2015, Sunday September 6 2015

It's a cliché indeed but time goes so fast when you're having fun. It's already the last day of the festival and it's impossible to wake up on time to see the first bands. It's gonna be a shorter day but let's go out with a bang!



All We Are
We find ourselves at the dunes stage to dance a bit with All We Are. It's quite contagious what they play, some kind of indie rock with a dance edge. The sound is really loud though and it robs the music of any subtleties if there are any. The pounding bass does make you want to dance and the falsetto vocals bring the Bee Gees to mind. However it is as if the band can't choose between danceable disco or head nodding rock. For disco it's not subtle enough, since the sound is too blunt, and for rock it may be too light. But for now it will do just fine.

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Ought
We stick around and help ourselves to some delicious razor clams before Ought take the stage. The band are in a good mood and especially drummer Tim Keen is smiling throughout the set. It's a weird contrast between the sunny weather at this moment and the dark moody music. But the songs are sharp and singer Tim Darcy's, sometimes spoken, word vocals sound interesting. The creative drum parts are giving the songs a different edge, turning them into original compositions. The band looks to be in the moment and the crowd is picking up on this. This band will probably work even better in a dark club but this performance was already pretty good. I'm looking forward to their new album Sun Coming Down that comes out later this month.

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The Undertones
We leave the stage in the dunes and make our way to the main stage where a punk rock party has already started. Punk veterans The Undertones are having a fun afternoon with everyone and their jumpy punk songs. The songs and the band may have lost their sharp edge and their original singer, but still know how to please a crowd including all the kids. Singer Paul McLoone is all over the stage and the band totally connects, bringing lots of energy. I don't know who's having more fun, the band or the audience. 'Here Comes The Summer' may not be entirely true but The Undertones bring the summer back for a short period.

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TORRES
For the final show of the festival we head into the woods one last time, where TORRES is playing, the musical pseudonym of Mackenzie Scott. Her dark moody songs with touches of grunge remind of PJ Harvey and St. Vincent and this place should be ideal for her. It does work today to some extend, but it looks as if Scott is holding back a bit. Her honest songs are strong enough though and her voice is convincing. All in all she leaves a good impression and this is a fitting final show at this stage.

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Then it's time for the final blow when Afterpartees are the ones to really close it down. Of course they are the perfect after party band, not just because of their name, but also because they have "party" written all over them. The boys turn the place upside down one more time with some guest musicians and lots of energy and sweat. Since they only have released one record yet, the set list includes many covers that fit in perfectly. Everyone is partying hard for the last time, proving that this festival doesn't just dwell upon nice weather, but due to a very strong program, a wonderful environment, a combination of atmosphere and good food, and a group of like-minded people can always grow into a wonderful experience. This edition was no less than the previous ones, despite the weather, so hopefully we will manage to get tickets again for next year.

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Into The Great Wide Open 2015 Thursday and Friday

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ITGWO 2015 Thursday and Friday

This year we are among the fortunate ones again that managed to get tickets for Into The Great Wide Open. But apparently some of those lucky people can't handle bad weather and days before the festival many tickets are up for sale on the internet for lower prices. The weather forecast is really bad though, but if you bring the right clothing and are prepared you can still have a wonderful time. So let's go back to the island of Vlieland!

The trip starts with a 45 minute effort to leave our city Amsterdam because of traffic accidents and closed down highway entrances. In the end we do make it on time for the ferry and even have 10 minutes left. On the boat the weather already gets grim and there's a cold wind blowing. It's a little preview of what we can expect this weekend. We do get treated on a waterspout in the distance that I fail to capture on camera.

Into The Great Wide Open 2015, Thursday September 3 2015

Once we get settled in at our cosy little apartment we try to see story teller Jaap Boots but the the little theatre already if full. So we have a beer instead and make our way to the Fortweg stage in the dunes.



Intergalactic Lovers
There we meet the wonderful Belgian band Intergalactic Lovers again, that we saw a week ago as well, that time in a warm tent when it was sunny outside. Now they are playing while the sun is setting and it's getting really chilly. The place of the stage is lovely but very windy and the sea breeze cools the place down considerably. Singer Lara Chedraoui looks like she's pretty cold indeed, wearing a big winter coat, but their warm music warms up the band and the crowd. The lovely pop songs go down well and Chedraoui's charming personality and humour turn this into a enjoyable first show at this stage.

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PAUW
We stay in the dunes to watch the Dutch psychedelic band PAUW. The young trio are successfully working their way up in the music scene with a convincing EP and performances across the country. The setting is great between the dunes in the dark and the group treats us to a hypnotic trip with dazzling guitar licks, floaty synths and groovy rhythms. Guitar player and singer Brian Pots is impressing with his guitar skills and his floating melodies. It is clear why this band is drawing so much attention. They close the set with the epic song 'Shambhala' with a very contagious guitar hook. I'm looking forward to their first album a lot.

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Into The Great Wide Open 2015, Friday September 4 2015

We wake up to a grey, windy and rainy new day and count our blessings that we decided to rent an apartment this time. Today is the first full day of the festival and the line-up is incredible! Forget about the weather, because this promises to be a long but fulfilling day.



Bruut!
The grim weather has turned the sports field into a mud field and to make the main stage more accessible the organization has dumped a layer of beach sand in front of it, with a small plastic palm tree on it. That's right, we are ignoring the weather and are determined to have a good time. Jazz combo Bruut! are helping with it by playing groovy and jazzy tunes that are easy to dance to. The catchy jazz music isn't very hard to swallow, even when you're not into jazz too much. It's all about the groove with nice light solos sprinkled on top. This is exactly how a swinging jazz combo should sound nowadays. The foursome make the rain stop and magically the sun appears.

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Bewilder
We cycle to the stage in the dunes where Bewilder has started their set. It's a new band with singer Maurits Westerik that presented their strong first album Dear Island last week. The songs are also working well live on this stage and once again the sun is showing itself. Westerik is a hard working musician and Bewilder looks like a good band for him. Of course his fellow band members are no strangers to him so it is a group that has proven to work in the past. The music is a blend of Bob Dylan, Neil Young and The Velvet Underground with a touch of Springsteen mixed in. Westerik looks like he borrowed some dance moves from the boss which seems fittingly. In the end the band receives a well earned applause.

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Afterpartees
Then we have to rush back to the sports field again since we don't want to miss too much from our favourite Dutch punk rock band Afterpartees. If there's one band who can turn any stage into a party, come rain or come shine, it's this young band. Singer Niek Nellen only seems to work harder when the elements are against us and the crowd is not jumping and laughing hard enough. He's cracking his best jokes and showing his best poses and by now you know he's going to jump into the crowd to drag everyone into the wonderful Afterpartees world. Their cover of 'Have You Ever Seen The Rain' is their way of saying they don't care about the weather either. And so once again everyone is laughing while the rain comes pouring down.

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Kevin Morby
We find former Woods bassist, Kevin Morby, in the woods which is a good place for him. His gentle patient rock songs sound good between the trees, where everyone is listening closely. His songs seem to come alive in this forest and that is a good thing since Morby isn't really adding a lot himself to it. But sometimes you just don't need a lot to play nice music.

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My Baby
When we return to the sports field My Baby has already started their set. It's a group that consists of Dutch singer Cato van Dijck with her brother Joost and New Zeeland drummer Daniel Johnston. Their music is describes as "Delta trance Louisiana dub indie funk" which comes down to very groovy danceable blues rock with funky and sometimes spacy vocals. The exotic looking Cato is slapping her guitar while screaming, shouting and singing. At the same time brother Joost is playing rocking solos and Johnston is taking care of the heavy beats to make it danceable. This actually works well and it is very contagious so that many people are rocking away with them. After a few songs you notice though that many songs are similar and Cato's high pitch shouts can get too much. But who cares today, when it's nice to dance to. Hey, isn't that the sun!?

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Wand
By then it's time to leave the daylight and go over to the dark side. Wand are playing in The Bolder stage, the only indoor stage of the festival. The dark psych rock music of this band is at the right place here. Lots of noise and drones are drowned in reverb and fuzz with the high pitch voice of singer Cory Hanson. It may scare some people away but this is a very interesting band that sounds pretty good today. Long stretched jams put you in a trance and make you forget about the wet world outside.

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Savages
We stay in the dark with the ladies from Savages, who played an impressive show here a few years ago (that I missed) even before their first album was out. Now they are working on their second LP and are here to try out some of the new songs. It's not exactly a light party band and the crowd seems somewhat reluctant. But singer Jehnny Beth (real name Camille Berthomier) doesn't take no for an answer and with an impressive performance the four women take the crowd by the throat who can only give in. It's an intense show, even more intense than I have seen them play in the past and one that raises a high anticipation for the new LP next year.

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Girl Band
We return to the indoor stage for another band that flourishes best in the dark. Irish band Girl Band definitely isn't one for the masses, the strange blend of noise rock and dance, which is the opposite of what their name suggests. Instead it's a dark rock interpretation of aggressive techno with pounding drum grooves, noisy guitars and the staccato vocals that sometimes turns into hysterical singing as if singer Dara Kiely is trying to exorcise his demons. This is really intense and one of the highlights is a violent version of Blawan's 'Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage'. Definitely a band to watch.

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De Staat
We are back at the dunes to close this amazing day with Dutch rock band De Staat who turn out to be in great shape. Their heavy grooves work well at this surreal place between the dunes. The songs sound more tight and coherent than ever and the group treat us to a smooth solid rock show. Singer and master mind Torre Florim never looked more convincing and relaxed on stage. He introduces four new songs they will play back to back and by the sound of it the new album is going to be a killer once more. This show was the icing of the giant and wonderful tasting cake of this day which proved to be one of my best festival days ever.

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This calls for a celebration and we head to the camping restaurant where two Afterpartees members are spinning records and close this day in style with a lovely set of punk and rock n roll record that they are singing and dancing to themselves the hardest. I just don't want to go to sleep!

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Into The Great Wide Open Saturday and Sunday

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