Music, panoramas, sports, landscapes

I’ve added an agenda to the left sidebar. The agenda is read from the Google calender, which in turn is fed by Last.fm. In the future I hope to get my own calendar online again, as that’s also my archive. But for now I at least have an active aganda again.

As on my previous site, the agenda isn’t based on what I’m definitely going to see, but what I’m interested in.  Some of them are based on if we (FileUnder.nl that is) can get the necessary approval to bring my camera to the gig.

I love it when record stores need to make room for newly released albums, it means old albums get to be sold with big discounts en you get to find the odd, alternative albums that just didn’t get any cheaper for a lot less. I updated my collection albums with:

65daysofstatic – The Distant And Mechanized Glow Of Eastern European Dance Parties
Brown Feather Sparrow – Let’s Be Fine
Devotchka – A Mad & Faithful Telling
Devotchka – How It Ends
Franz Nicolay – Major General
Fugazi – Repeater (vinyl)
Hanne Hukkelberg – Blood From A Stone
Regina Spector – Soviet Kitsch
The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead

I will also add some real new albums (2010 release) to the collection, I hoped to get the new Jaga Jazzist and Shining albums, but those weren’t available yet.

The last band I saw at Noorderslag before my feet, legs, back and shoulder finally gave in was another favorite and a great live band: De Staat, an Alt.Rock band that, like Kyteman, was a sensation on the previous Noorderslag edition and has since played loads of stages and festivals. They’ve absolutely lived up to the hype and this gig was no different

And that’s it for this edition of the Eurosonic/Noorderslag festival. But we’ll be back next year, I can hardly wait to delve myself into the chaos once again.

The big event at Noorderslag is the ‘Popprijs’, a prize awarded to a Dutch band or artist that made the most significant contribution to Dutch pop music in the past year, chosen by a jury. Just about every year the winner is a bit of a surprise as it’s always another band/artist that the audience things ought to get it. This year the winner managed to turn quite a lot of heads as this time jury and audience were in total and almost unanimous agreement. The Popprijs (and 10.000 Euros) went to Kyteman’s Hiphop Orchestra. The huge band (20 members) played it’s first gig precisely one year ago, at Noorderslag 2009. In one year it managed to become Netherlands most popular band, playing at just about any festival and every venue, ending the successful year in a completely sold out Heineken Music Hall. All this without any huge commercial budget, it was all done via word-of-mouth and Internet-options. The tradition of winning the Popprijs is that the winner gets soaked in beers, thrown from the audience (with us poor photographers bang in the middle ). The Popprijs ceremony was opened by radio 3FM DJ Giel Beelen, who got soaked in beer crowdsurfing to the stage

After the beer-ceremony Kyteman’s Hiphop Orchestra played one last gig (it was started as a project with the intention to disband after one year) to a ecstatic audience

For Noorderslag electro-pop-rock-jazz-balkanbeats band C-Mon & Kypsky had a very special show in mind. Not only were they backed by the internationally acclaimed Metropole Orchestra (conducted by Jules Buckley), but they also hauled in lot of special guests. The show defies genres as rock, rap, jazz, soul and every other thinkable genre had it’s moment in the spotlight. A terrific show. I was not able to get all the guests and it pains me to say that I was also not able to get to a location where I was able to shoot the whole stage (it was way to crowded). Special guests that I did manage to shoot were: Jiggy Djé, Giovanca, Janne Schra (singer of Room Eleven), Anneke van Giersbergen (singer of Agua de Annique) and Benjaming Herman of New Cool Collective together with the ‘night-mayor of Rotterdam’ Jules Deelder. A fantastic gig with lots of greats musicians

Moke, the Britrock band from Amsterdam led by the Irish Felix Maginn, has been around for a few years now and has built quite a reputation. Musically they’re very close to Paul Weller (with whom they’ve also toured)

A lot younger is the band DeWolff, not to mention it’s members. Three teenagers armed with a drumkit, a Hammond and a guitar, they rock the stage with a sound that draws it’s energy from the early years of psychedelic rock. Old bands like The Doors, Deep Purple, Taste. A fantastic sound and room to spare for long jams and all that brought with youthful enthusiasm. The only problem I had was the same I had with the afternoon session at Platosonic: a huge drumsolo at the start of the set. I’m not that big a fan of most drum-solos anyway, but to put them at the beginning of the set just kills the flow of the gig. Apart from that point of criticism a great gig

Back to the 3voor12 room for two of my favorite Dutch bands. In the afternoon I had already seen a short set of Bettie Serveert and I felt extremely happy when I was able to get myself a half-decent spot in the 3voor12 room to see them again. However, this time I was pressed for time, so I didn’t stay very long, but with the two sets combined I did get to see the band quite a bit

I was actually way on time for the Anne Soldaat gig and stood fairly in front of the queue waiting for the doors to open. Anne Soldaat’s album ‘In Another Life’ make it to 2nd place in my 2009 album list (only to be beaten by Vic Chesnutt) and his concert in Vera last year was one of the highlights of the gig-season. Now again it was great to see a few songs of Anne. In the afternoon I saw him play solo at PlatoSonic, here at Noorderslag he played with band

Laura Jansen is a Dutch singer/songwriter living in L.A., musically you should think of Tori Amos and Regina Spector. She plays in the ‘Ned3 Zaal’. Ned3 is one of the three Dutch public TV-channels and the concerts here are broadcasted live on TV

Upstairs the 3voor12 room (3voor12 is the music division of Dutch broadcaster VPRO) is the place to be to check out alternative bands such as Lola Kite. “Psychedelic space rock with an eighties pop streak” Call it what you like, I just though it was really good

In a tent dubbed “Hilversum Mediastad” Awkward I played what I thought was a phenomenal set. The album ‘I Really Should Whisper’ is great, I was happy to see thet it’s still fantastic played live

Where as EuroSonic is aimed to showcase up and coming European bands, the Noorderslag festival that immediately follows it is all about Dutch bands. Also it’s held in the Oosterpoort venue, so this night no hopping from one café to another venue. The tickets to Noorderslag were sold out in a matter of hours and so a good 8000 people flooded the Oosterpoort venue last Saturday.

I shot quit a lot of bands and so I’ll post them over various posts like I did with the EuroSonic photos. I’ll start with a set of smaller galleries of six bands. First Dutch rapper Kraantje Pappie. I ‘missed’ him earlier on at PlatoSonic but as the reviewers for FileUnder said that they’d put him in the review, I had to have some photos of Kraantje Pappie playing in the basement too. Not my style in music though

On that same stage later in the evening, a duo called Knalpot played something I can’t quite put my finger on. Not sure if I like it or not yet

At the Heineken Foyer The Madd played. They’re a 60’s sounding and looking band. Not bad, but I’m more of a 70’s psychedelic rock lover

Also on the Heineken Foyer was a band called Knobsticker playing “funky disco soul with a futuristic twist”

The band Rigby got to play two sets. One on the Serious Talent Stage and one in the ‘Ned3 Zaal’. The photos are of the latter stage. This stage was designed to have a more homely feel. Rigby plays ‘catchy pop rock’

And the last set in this post is The Mad Trist, a rockband from the southern parts of the Netherands. Light in the ‘Bizon Zaal’ was pretty grim, so photography was a challenge

On Saturday, before Noorderslag started, we first visited the last PlatoSonic day. First into the Coffee Company to see Anne Soldaat finishing his set. A while ago I saw him in Vera with band. Great to see that the songs hold up so well when he plays them solo acoustically

As Anne’s set finished and he started the interview part of the show, I made my way into a very crowded Plato store where one of my all-time favorite Dutch bands was about to play. Bettie Serveert is back and is rocking again. Even in this very short in-store set (due to delay and a tight agenda). It was fantastic to see Bettie Serveert again. If I wouldn’t be able to see them at Noorderslag this night at least I’d seen them in Plato

I did not go back to the Coffee Company to whatever was playing there as Plato remained crowded and I wanted a good place to shoot the next band that would play there. DeWolff made it high into my albumlist of 2009. A bunch of young guys from the Netherlands playing psychedelic rock form the seventies. It was a good set, but to add a drum-solo in the first song of an already short in-store gig was a bit too much

After DeWolff I was able to get back to the Coffee Company where Charlene was about to start. Charlene came in third in the fourst edition of the Dutch Idols series. She’s a nice girl blessed with a good voice. The genre however isn’t really my thing

And now that was all done, the only thing that remained for Eurosonic/Noorderslag 2010 was Noorderslag!

Al the way from Belgium came the psychedelic alt.rockers of Creature With The Atom Brain. They played at Vindicat and the band was heard all over the square outside; they played LOUD

In the most beautiful venue of Groningen – the Stadsschouwburg- fromer Madrugada frontman Sivert Høyem presented his band. The weird thing with this venue is that they built the stage over the seats. So technically the bands are in the seated area (well, above it) and the crowd is on the stage. The upshot is that you get great views to the ceiling. The gig itself was good and Sivert’s name is enough to get a huge crowd in the venue.

And then back to Vindicat for the last EuroSonic gig. Post-Hardcore from England’s Young Guns and the volume is turned up to the loudest setting here. It’s also the first gig since ages that I install the fash on my camera again. How else am I going to get the singer mid-air?

And so EuroSonic came to an end. I saw lots and lots of bands, worked and worked to get my photos edited in time for the FileUnder.nl reviews of EuroSonic and now there was only one more day to go: Noorderslag.

From Los Campesinos! in Simplon it wasn’t far to Ou Est le Swimming Pool as they were playing on the upstairs stage in Simplon. Ou Est le Swimming Pool is from England and is as camp as it gets. Catchy electropop and good fun to watch

From Simplon it’s not a very long walk to Het Paleis, a venue that would otherwise have definitely been out of reach and that would have been a shame as Jenny Wilson -from Sweden- is quite a striking appearance in a red hooded dress. Unfortunately more people seemed to find the venue to be too far to walk as the crowd wasn’t too big. An that’s a shame because you don’t get to see an incredible enthusiastic keyboard/flute/sax player with a broken leg on stage.

Elsewhere in Groningen, back in Shadrak Jaakko & Jay from Finland raged through their set high on adrenaline. Armed with nothing more then an acoustic guitar and minimal drum kit (snare + hi-hat) this is one high speed gig