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Once a year, the former minegrounds of Ferropolis, Germany tranform into a world of sound and vision, when the annual Melt! Festival takes place. My friend Eva and I went there for the first time this year, and it was really nice!
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On Friday, the first band we saw were Cold War Kids. I love them, last year at Pukkelpop I saw them for the first time. They played the main stage there, but that was just one size too big, plus the wrong timing (in the middle of the afternoon) really didn't help either. Now, they definitely made up for it, people were actually running towards the stage to see them play. Foals cancelled, apparently because of some mysterious illness, so Klaxons were on next. The atmosphere was really good, although the band were kind of distant, not really seeming to enjoy it. They played quite a number of new songs: more Golden Skans, less Magick.
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I will never forget the first time I saw Gossip, at the Metropolis Festival in Rotterdam in 2006. It was over 30 degrees outside, Beth was wearing a shiny purple bathing suit and blowing everyone off their flipflops. This time she wore some more decent clothing (just a little), but the band still very convincing. Playing a lot of songs off their newest album Music For Men, Queen Beth and her posse made the entire tent go crazy. Definitely one of the highlights of the weekend.
I listened to Junior, the last Röyksopp record a lot, and I loved it. Live, they didn't really live up to my expectations. Their show was quite boring, even though they put a big effort in it with a bass player and a guest vocalist. Fortunately, their poor performance gave us the chance to sneak out and go see Metronomy, who played simultaneously. But we were disappointed to see they weren't there! Bodi Bill, Germany's electropop sweethearts were still playing and after that, Crystal Castles took the stage. According to a Melt Tweet, Metronomy "fucked up their travel". Bummer! We watched some Crystal Castles anyway, and even though I'd never seen them before, it felt a bit like 'been there, done that'. New album, plz.
Simian Mobile Disco made up all of it, putting on a fresh show, which we danced to in the rain. Their new single Audacity of Huge became one of the anthems of the weekend.
Saturday started late, after we spent half an hour queuing at the cash machine for no reason (foreign cards didn't work). The Whitest Boy Alive brought instant bliss to the rather drizzly day. For some reason, I though Erlend Øye would be shy, but in fact he was a strong, confident performer. Can't wait to see him with Kings of Convenience in October.
As you can see, they had really cool visuals and they played a brilliant cover of Show Me Love by Robin S. Just pure bliss! The visuals also did amazing work during the show of Animal Collective. They played a blend of songs off Merriweather Post Pavillion and older stuff. Guided by the huge screens behind them, the visual picture finally did justice to their bigger-than-life sound.
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After Animal Collective, we went to the Gemini stage and saw a bit of !!!, which sounded very solid and danceable! We couldn't stay long though, since we wanted to get some good spots for Phoenix, who put on a very good show. They had the most energetic drummer, and basically the entire band put effort into putting up a great performance. I expected them to be a bit French & arrogant, but they really weren't (or at least they didn't show it). Also, I totally forgot how many great songs this band has delivered!
Bloc Party can't do much wrong, in my opinion. They're one of the few bands that have grown with me, musically, over the past few years. So when Kele and his men entered the stage, I could feel nothing but excitement. Their show was good, new single One More Chance worked pretty well live, which still can't be said of Mercury. That song just wasn't made for the stage. Sorry guys! In a way, it surprises me that the songs from their first album still are the biggest crowdpleasers.
Digitalism put on a big, big show with screen-filling visuals and an extensive lightshow, but they also suffered from the Crystal Castles-syndrome: been there, done that (even though the live drums really added something special). Again: new album please! Luckily, there was still an opportunity to dance over at the Gemini stage, where Boys Noize & Erol Alkan shared the decks. They really seemed to have fun, and in general there was a really good atmosphere in the tent. It wasn't just an illusion when we came out and it appeared to be light outside.
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Sunday started with, yes, sun! Patrick Wolf's music generally works best in dark, small venues with candle light. Since his third album, he became more extravert and cheery, and now he can even pull off a show in broad sunlight. He wore a very interesting costume, until he stripped down to... barely anything. Wearing white boxer briefs, suspenders, knee-high socks which were later accompanied by black shiny pumps, worn fiercely on the front stage; Patrick made us all wonder whether he's the next Boy George. Musically, the show was alright, very powerful with lots of electric guitars. Not much has been left of the shy, introvert singer-songwriter that brough us Lycanthropy and Wind in the Wires . But as long as he's happy with it, so am I.
I still cannot contain what the fuss around Glasvegas is all about. In my opinion, they're just plain terrible! Their songs are bad, their singer is a douche bag and don't even let me get started about that excuse for a drummer. She's just a disgrace for every woman that ever picked up an instrument. Ok, enough words spent on that. We wanted to go and see Kakkmaddafakka, just because their name is so hilarious, but it started raining and the Coca-Cola tent was packed, so we couldn't get in. Shame.
Polarkreis 18 are from Dresden, and were the only German band to perform on the mainstage that day. We saw their show, but on the other side of the 'pit', something way more interesting took place. Some crazy guy took off his clothes and started entertaining the audience, which provoked lots of applause and cheering. Very, very funny. Eventually, he was carried out by two security guards. Boo-hoo.
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And by that time, the grand finale of the festival on the main stage was about to commence. Kasabian were grand, too bad their singer is such an ass. I hate to use words twice in one post, but again: douche-bag! Too bad he can sing.
That Liam Gallagher can also be kind of an annoying fella, is a known fact. Maybe that's why he gets away with it. Oasis did prove why they're the biggest band on this festival, by far. Hearing Wonderwall live, sung along by so many people, was just amazing. Although I'm not really a big fan of theirs, they definitely won my respect with this show.
But the night wasn't over yet! There was still some dancing to be done over at Tiga's show, but we left pretty soon to catch some Passion Pit in the Coca-Cola tent. They were quite good! I wasn't sure what to expect, Sleepyhead had been one of my favourite tunes of 2008, but they might just dissappoint live. They only did so by quitting way too early and with that, announcing the official end of the festival.
Photo index:
1. by me
2. by Hans Reinsch
3. Cold War Kids, © The Headhoops, by Franziska Reichwein
4. Klaxons, © The Headhoops, by Franziska Reichwein
5. Gossip, © The Headhoops, by Franziska Reichwein
6. The Whitest Boy Alive, © The Headhoops, by Franziska Reichwein
7. Phoenix, © aufgemischt.com, by Christoph Paul
8. Bloc Party, by me
9. Patrick Wolf, © The Headhoops, by Franziska Reichwein
10. by me
11. Kasabian, © Melt! Festival, by Maurice Baker
12. Oasis, © Melt! Festival, by Philipp Böll
All videos by me
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