Becoming Part of the Event

They're headlining the first day of the festival weekend at Orange Stage. Veteran and guitar guru Slash's new band Velvet Revolver (what a crap name): love it or hate it, I would say. And no, it is not like Guns'n'Roses. Period.

The singer, ex-Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland, was a little too much Mick Jagger and Freddie Mercury in one person for my taste. His attitude clearly needs an update. Speaking about meanwhile triple-chinned Slash, always a cigarette clamped between his teeth, I think he still drinks and also likes a trough of cocaine before a show.

To be honest, I haven't heard any Velvet Revolver before. And I won't hear it in the future. Since listening to Slash live wasn't a thrill, and because I couldn't see very much anyway, I left and decided to go to Sonic Youth instead.

Heavy Guitars

For the next show I wasn't prepared, I hadn't listened to any Sonic Youth in years and went in the tent with an open mind. I was to the right side about six rows from the stage.

They played their first song: three guitars, the bass, the drummer. Noise! This only word could sum up the music, maybe due to the fact that Kim Gordon's female vocals were entirely inaudible between the wall of guitar noise.

Hmm, ten years ago I liked it. But well, this noise rock, although played with energy and stage presence, is something you love or you loathe. Sonic Youth have been getting tons of good press all over the world for reasons that are simply unknown to me.

There are many overrated bands out there. Sonic Youth is maybe one of them, in particular live at Roskilde's Arena Stage. For me, it is not even music. (There is the most suitable German word Klangteppich, untranslatable though.) At the end they were banging their guitars into the stage. I really needed a break.

What will happen next?

At 10pm Swedish Kent addresses the masses from the Orange Stage, while simultaneously an even more interesting band does the same from the small Pavilion Stage.

The Tocotronic set started with a good three minute instrumental, then blue light illuminated the stage. The setlist nicely melds old and new songs. Compared to my last Tocotronic concert nine years ago, this time they were showing more vocal and music mastery. Sounded so much better to my ears although Dirk von Lowtzow's voice is mediocre live and not precisely clear.

But those German singing guys, which have taken the band's name from a Gameboy prototype, sure know how to rock. I appreciate their music and have some songs on my iPod, but was never truely impressed with what they had released. Anyway, it was a good set, well played, tight and a good stage presence. For me, it was an immersive concert experience. Well, I left the festival area around 1am with a feeling like I had heard some good music today.

Roskilde, Friday

On Friday morning (..ahm, almost) I got up and went up to listen to some weird music at 5pm. It wasn't as hot as the day before, but still sunny and warm.

When Snoop Dogg took the stage he instantly began pouring out profanities in rap rhythm, the explicit lyrics more vomited than sung. He was wearing something like pajamas and the compulsory golden chain around his neck. No comment on his hairstyle..

But hey, the gangsta from New York really wanted Friday afternoon's sweating and sunburnt crowd at Orange Stage to sing and dance along to his hip-hop music. To be honest, this was one live act I wanted to dislike but to my surprise he proved to be a crowd-pleaser although he constantly said he would kick our motherfucking asses.

I don't know what his secret is but he made some 50,000 people sing Bawauwau-YippieYo-YippieYey a bazillion times, as well as other senseless rhymes. Maybe it was because of the dancing girls on the stage, whos feminine voices fortunately saved some songs from ruin, or the inciting spots covering the big screens. Hm, I have to admit it: simply infectious and groovy. Not unforgettable, but quite funny.

Musical Trip

It is 7pm - time for some hard rock music at Orange Stage. I was fortunate enough to stand only a stone's throw from the stage (..ahm, I have never been such a good thrower). While waiting I watched the advices on the video screens.

Soundgarden's lead singer and the remaining 3/4 of Rage Against the Machine form Audioslave. The singer's voice is quite expressive and undoubtful sexy, and that's why it's more Soundgarden than RATM, but anyway, I liked both and was saddened at their break-ups.

They played some new songs and some old favorites including Killing in the Name. Singer Chris Cornell performed Soundgarden's hymn Black Hole Sun completely solo, with a deep-tuned guitar only.

By the way, Tom Morello, the guitar player for Audioslave is obviously outspoken on politics and the cofounder of the political web site Axis of Justice. All in all, a great vocal performance combined with Morello's solos of a certain passion and uniqueness - an almost perfect show.

Warm Shower

The good thing was that the sun stayed out until almost 9.30pm. For some reason I went to another band from UK at 8.30pm. The obvious entertaining strengths overcame any sleepy moments during The Tears' act at the Arena Stage in front of some 10,000 fans.

After an absence of 4 years I believe the constantly growing audience probably had still a lot to do with the live reputation of Suede, the former band of the duo. They played simple pop, but done strongly and charismatic, and the melancholy side of the singer Brett Anderson's heart-breaking voice is still apparent.

I usually don't notice song lyrics but You kiss like a killer, such a beautiful pain.. is a passage I kept in mind. Ahm, don't ask. Anyway, he had fun on stage and he doesn't try to hide it. Well, I can't say that I am really a fan of their music but it was far from real pain.

The Music is loud

Some minutes waiting, watching the signs on the screens, and next show started. Black Sabbath was, as per usual, a great time. The Orange Stage was pretty crowded at 10pm. From the second they hit the stage, the crowd of young and old was on their feet jumping and yelling at the top of their lungs.

The Ozzy Osbourne-fronted band's sound was absolutely huge, with heavy, rolling riffs. Ozzy skipped all over the stage screaming My name is Lucifer, please take my hand but mostly just Love you all! Clap your hands!, sometimes I just wished the long haired guy should shut up and sing his damn songs.

Anyway, just good stuff from a veteran band. Besides, this was without a doubt the loudest concert of the year.

The optimal Concert Experience

Next band played on the Odeon stage at midnight. There isn't much better than seeing an entertaining band in a smaller venue. The concert was excellent, with German band Beatsteaks playing a fair few from their new album Smacksmash to less than 5,000 people. And it felt like they really enjoyed playing.

The band, led by singer Arnim Teutoburg-Weiß, is said to be one of the best bands from the Berlin punk rock scene. Just listen to them live on stage and you'll think it's probable. Well, I could've listened for hours. All in all, it was the surprise of the year in terms of concert going, and an awesome show, surely the highlight of this Friday.

Definitely a band I will be checking out after this good performance. By the way, this blog needs a poll or (even better) a voting. How about this: What is the best concert you have seen this season?

Roskilde, Saturday

The first concert I saw Saturday afternoon at Arena Stage at 4pm was Fantômas. All I knew when I showed up was that particular progressive rock band will be taking the stage. Nothing more, nothing less. I only read that ex-Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo will be there, so I was curious about them.

The tent was filled with loud non-stop noise and something like howled speak-sing vocals, it is rather hard to compare this to something. After some minutes I really felt a need to poke sharp things in my ears (although I used earplugs). This whole experience made me a bit dismayed, I just thought how wickedly awful they are. I know that I sometimes judge things way too prematurely..

By the way, did I mention the WOC-rules shown on the huge video screens before every concert in Roskilde? Watch the person next to you. Observe announcements. Contact the security personnel.

A Pleasure to Watch

I think Foo Fighter's music is quite powerful and catchy. And their performance was really surprising and exciting. One time Dave Grohl jumped on the top of the sound master's tower playing his guitar right in the middle of the audience.

Well, they were much better than expected. Besides, I learnt that Foo Fighter fans don't like Bush. I consider myself now as a fan, too.

Spread Good Vibes

I decided to relax some, eat a so-called Danish Haps Dog and see how my feet would recover before I went to the next show. Listening to Green Day at 10pm on the crowded and dusty Orange Stage was surprisingly even more pleasant. The three-piece rocked hard and played a good show.

Wow, and what a show! Can you imagine being in a crowd of over 50,000 people and having every one of them screaming the lyrics to every single song in a sea of hands? It was so easy to get caught up in the power of their performance. They absolutely blew me away.. They are one of the most awesome bands I've ever had the fortune of seeing live. And I saw a lot.

One time they pulled three volunteers onto the stage: A drummer ("just keep the beat"), a bassist ("just three notes"), and a guy for the guitar ("play a couple chords") forming the Best Band of the World. Really a worthy Saturday night concert. They rocked the crowd and entertained us more than two hours. They closed with Boulevard of Broken Dreams, followed by Queen's We are the Champions, and a solo played Time of your Life.

Expect the Unexpected

I wasn't really tired, so I went to the Metropol Stage to see German duo Alter Ego at 0.30am. Well, Metropol is the techno and modern electronic music tent in Roskilde. Despite my fairly unenthusiastic attitude toward techno music, I think their performance succeed pretty well. But their minimal techno with some gothic inspiration and industrial beats couldn't convince me and especially my dear fellows to stay.

So we went over to Orange Stage where 80's pop band Duran Duran had already started at 1am. They did their best but, anyway, getting to the camping area and sleeping held more appeal. But sleep is overrated. No comment on the following System Of A Down party with some Swedish beer-lovers that lasted until 4am.

Roskilde, Sunday

I was almost front row at the next morning's concert at the Pavilion Stage at 4.30pm. The name of the band was 13 & God and it consists of members from US and Germany. I was not expecting anything in particular and I almost got that. Not that the performance was bad, just that they had a lot of technical problems in the beginning.

I noticed afterwards how cleanly the seven-piece band pulled off their complex music live. And I was somehow in the mood for some dancing but unfortunately the singer's voice was almost unbearable, really too dull. Mickey Mouse has a band, I wonder if Disney knows.. They truly need some work on those songs because most of it sucked.

Deepest Underground

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead is an obscure soft rock band, playing on Orange Stage at 5pm. Meanwhile, I had some tasty Pesto (40 Kroner, around 20 dollars *harhar*) and visited the Roskilde NetCafe to check mails. Then I went over to Orange Stage to have a look at them. I felt they were much better than some of the established stars, so I sat down, chilled, and met the Antichrist. Find me on this picture.

To Wish Impossible Things

The next band I wanted to listen to this Sunday was Bright Eyes on Odeon Stage at 7.30pm. As they performed their first song one thing I noticed right away was the setup of everything really drew attention to the singer. His name is Conor Oberst and his guttural voice was quite ear catchy.

After the first song I thought to myself that the singer's idol must have been Robert Smith of The Cure. Some songs later I knew that Bright Eyes is more like a The Cure's cover band although they played their own songs.

Hm, what happens when someone would imitate a The Cure song? In the case of Conor Oberst I can only describe it as mediocrity. He always sounded a bit outdated, the lack of originality was quite obvious, no more than an uninteresting imitation. He even used the same words you usually find in most The Cure songs (like mirror, shape, trust, blood, faith, time, hope, wish) and pronounced them the typical way. Anyway, since I really like The Cure for many years I listened to Bright Eyes to the very end.

High Dancing Voltage

Looking for some good food and watching the crowd afterwards, I coincidently entered the Metropol tent where Chic played at 8.30pm. Just to make sure, I am usually not at disco music shows.

It was like travelling back to the 70's for an American disco show even with a wall of light. Chic seem to be the gurus of groovy disco pop. And yes, I did dance like hell and clap my hands. The rest is buried under a dull disco beat that maybe only a dumb disco freak could really appreciate.

At 10pm started the very last concert for this year's Roskilde festival on Orange Stage. With Juan Luis Guerra in front of the crowd, people began shaking their bodies in salsa rhythm. It was Latin American music mixed with jazz and African music.

I danced until my feet burst and said good-bye to Danmark. I don't know about you, but I will be back next year.