I realise you haven’t heard much from me lately, for several reasons. Now I wish to report on the past weekend, how I spent it and how it was – I went to the Belgian festival Rock Werchter (4th – 7th of july). It might not be of interest to all of you, but here it is anyway.
I went to Rock Werchter with two of my friends, but my boyfriend also was there with two of his friends so we kind of went everywhere with the six of us.
First performance we witnessed was All Time Low, a pop/punk band, on Thursday, although we just stood and watched from a distance. After All Time Low, also on the main stage, Airbourne (AC/DC-ish) would perform and we were all quite excited about that so we went up to the front and after some waiting we were all going crazy right there, the boys jumping into every mosh pit that appeared. It was a great show. Then we stayed to see Black Rebel Motorcycle Club because my friend was a big fan of them and then we watched Vampire Weekend (and my other friend constantly told us how hot she thought the singer was).
Then the end of the day came closer and so did the act that I’ve been waiting for the past 3 years.. But first, The National came. I’ve known them for quite some time and I’m always amazed by their powerful, sad but fucking beautiful music. Their concert was exactly what I expected from them: musically perfect. And their singer was quite awesome too, because he didn’t just sing: he lived the music. And he made his way through the people in the front pitches, literally.
And then the last wait was there.. I’m talking about the last hour before Green Day came on stage, yes GREEN FUCKING DAY WHOOP WHOOP and of course we tried to get as far to the front as we could get, which was a bit hard because all the other die hard fans were already there, but during the show itself we succeeded in getting to the second row! And Billie Joe and Mike Dirnt continuously appeared right in front of us, so we could get a good look at them *fangirling*. And about the show itself: it was fucking great, like the last two times I’ve seen them, they always know exactly how to get everyone joining in the music, even the people in the back that are lazily laying on the grass. What I always like to hear best after Green Day shows, is the people that aren’t really that big of a fan, but are totally blown away by the amazing show they just gave. For example: they just rose in my boyfriend’s list of favorite bands; they made a friend of mine miss another show she really wanted to watch, because she just couldn’t leave Green Day’s show, not under any circumstances; my mom is now totally in love with them. (Besides all the great things they did and the awesome songs they sung, I was a little bit disappointed though: Billie Joe didn’t pull down his pants *cries*) And yes they played freaking awesome songs, they played Letterbomb, Waiting and half the songs of Dookie so this was for me pretty much the ideal setlist, thank you Green Day!!
(I was kind of sad though that I had to miss Biffy Clyro.. they played a different stage and I had to wait and gain places for Green Day, but I’m sure I’ll see them some other time)
And that was just the first of four days.. This is going to be a long post!
The second days started with The Bots at the main stage, but we were exploring the terrain a bit. Friday was a chilling day for us, laying in the grass enjoying the nice weather and the great background music. That’s how we enjoyed Two Door Cinema Club and Phoenix. At the end of the day, Kings of Leon played the main stage and we made sure we could get in front for them, and it succeeded quite well, except for the displaced annoying children in front of us. After Kings Of Leon, Blur took the main stage and we stayed there for a while until my friends couldn’t take it anymore and we had to start heading towards our camping. While we were on our way, suddenly we heard a loud WHOO-HOO and there was Song 2, and we sung along our way through Werchter and that was fucking awesome, everyone could still enjoy the music.
Then on Saturday we just kind of went everywhere and it didn’t matter much as long as we’d be in the front with Volbeat and Rammstein, the last two acts of the day on the main stage. (Pretty much every band I wanted to see acted on the main stage.) And we got there in time! My back was barely holding me the times that we had to wait, but we stood in good company and the concerts were worth the wait, naturally. Volbeat would be my first time and it was everything I expected it to be. Rammstein was my second time and I believe it was even better than the first time. Their show is great and it cannot be compared with anything else, everything about it is just complete, and if you wish to know more details you should go and see them for yourself.
The last day.. I don’t think I can find the words to describe how awesome it was. I’m still battling whether to call this the best day or Thursday.. This day I’ve seen A Day To Remember, 30 Seconds To Mars, Depeche Mode and (for the 2nd time) Editors. We’ve also seen Gogol Bordello but that wasn’t really my type of music and we’ve heard some songs from Band Of Horses, Bastille and Tom Odell. And unfortunately I had to miss one of the greatest bands today, The Gaslight Anthem. Again, wrong stage at the wrong time.. But back to the acts I first mentioned, who played at the main stage (once again). Every single one of them was so fucking great and I’ll never forget them. I’d been really looking forward to A Day To Remember and they didn’t let me down, not at all. Great performance, great setlist, good public involvement, and they’re just so fucking awesome! I hope I’ll be seeing them again soon.. And 30 Seconds To Mars was just what I expected from them I guess, and my friend was going totally crazy because she caught one of those fish that they sent over the audience and now she’s got it at home, a nice souvenir! Depeche Mode was also great.. From a total different generation of music, but still it was something I wouldn’t want to miss and although we were incredibly exhausted that last day, when they started playing “Enjoy The Silence”, all of our suffering was forgotten and we got this enormous boost that got us through the rest of the evening, making everything even a 10.000 times more awesome. Depeche Mode was a great prelude to Editors. Editors were the main act of the day and oh-my-god they were so great.. Much better than the last time and every song I sung from the bottom of my heart and now I just want to go back to that concert and go over and over and over it again. Take me back please!!
Best music, best people, best festival, best fucking weekend ever.. If you’ve been there too, you’re welcome to share your experiences! And if you haven’t been there… U jelly yet?:)