Ahhhh, it is almost that time of the year again that the Belgian festival Rock Werchter is going to take place. But I will not be joining this year again, although this is one of the festival which I had attended for years in a row for good reasons.
The line up is in general very decent with always some surprised here (I saw Lady Gaga in the small tent as she started dancing on a piano..awesome!) but most importantly this is a festival with a really good vibe always hanging over it.
Rockwerchter.be
Also in terms of camping and food and how the facitlities are on the side of the road walkign towards the festival area are just really neat.
But most of all? I love Belgians on festivals. They aren't so uptight as Dutchies and also are not so attachted to their coolness and love to actually go for it during an act.
rockwerchter.be
So what if I would have gone. What would be the go-to acts to see and what would be the great moments to take a pauze?
Thursday | Stromae - Sam Fender
The biggest bummer of all not joining in this year is surely Stromae. With being burned out and cancelling the rest of the world tour this is literally the biggest bummer of all not being able to show.
Because the critics on the rest of the tour were lyrical and siked to the bone about the shows that he had already did. Let's hope the man recovers soon and will be back on stage again because this musical genius always has an edge to whatever he does.
Sam Fender is an artist that I am not that familiar with in name, but actually when you take a closer look you know so many of his songs. And all of it is not that special, but hey it is summer right. And these tunes are perfect with a little sunshine and a field full of good people.
I would surely have taken a look if this guy is just a hype or if it is more...The curiousity is there right?
Friday | Peppers - The Black Keys - Editors
The Friday line up feels a bit like a blast from the past with not that many new names on there that would really intrigue me. But still there is always enough to watch on a day like this right?
I saw the chilly peppers once a couple of years back and it was really bad. So expectations low, and maybe I'd skip even see what the other stage would have to do at that moment.
Currently Im not at all familiar with the 'new' work from Editors but this classic is always a good one to chant along in the car if you ask me. I'd surely go and watch them to see what kind of new work thye have released in the last couple of years.
Saturday | Fred Again - Muse
Fred Again is surely the hottest producer of the last year collaborating with some many different artists (you surely know a couple of the songs that he was working on and would be like...huh...is this also from him) and I would be really curious what he would come up with in this live set. When you check some live sets from him on the boiler room you see that this guys actually knows what he is doing and is very well capable of making his music live.
The other big name Muse is also never a let down honestly. I have seen them live a couple of times now and the whole show is just one big explosion of bombasticness even though that they are only with 3 of them on stage (sometimes they have a fourth for some songs). But this time they have a whole choir with them and this song really makes me just ready to go to battles before a good match of anything.
This song was used in the olympic opening ceremony in 2012 which actually is perfect for it. About racing and winning and climax, it just suits the setting. Yeah...I'd love to see these guys again honestly.
Sunday | QOTSA - Lil Nas X
I'm digging the new Queens of the Stone Age album 'In Times New Romas' again and it felt like they went back into a trip down memory lane with it, even though it feels new and fresh. 'Paper Machete' is one of these really easy to digest songs.
For some maybe a surprise that I would want to see Lil Nas X but I really find that this dude is doing everything over the top, so I would love to check out the hype. Is it good? Nehhh not really...but is it amusing? Sure!
Are you also curious how many screaming 16 year old girls will show up here? Yeah...I totally would! It feels like the whole world knows this song and it is way to catchy like all of his song have these kinds of catchy elements in there.
Even better...everyone knows this! Admittingly I sing this in the car really loud and bad :D
Well there would have been enough to see, but honestly...it feels like the ticket price for these festivals $292 euro for all days and then you didnt have a drink anywhere, you need a camping ticket, a parking ticket.
Dude...I need more new names on stage for that and now stuff that I have already seen as the big names are now.