I don't often write about new, promising bands anymore, but I really felt like I had to share this one.

Yesterday night I went out to see The Office, an Utrecht-based britpop/indierock band, play at Xinix Nieuwendijk.

Although they were Jett Rebel's (one of the latest 3FM pop sensations, you should check them out, they're really rad, especially live) support act, they are the main subject of this review, simply because I was so amazed by everyone's skills and the energy the band had.

Last night was the band's first performance together (and even the singer's first ever gig!), and that turned out pretty rad!

They played for about forty minutes, had quite a nice setlist, and made a good choice to end with their first single "I Can't Dance".

The band really managed to get the audience to listen and enjoy their music, what's not an easy thing to do, especially when it's your first gig together.

Although they were quite nervous before the concert (according to the somewhat awkward silences backstage, haha), they really didn't show that whilst performing.

Of course there were some songs that made less impact on the audience than others did, but there was certainly a good ethos, and you could see everyone was enjoying it, the band included.

The bassist asked me to be very critical in this review, which is quite difficult for me now because I enjoyed it such a lot, but I have to admit there were a few small flaws (small mistakes in the rhythm section, a few wrong notes...), but that's natural.

What I really like about the band is that they have their own soud; I can't really compare it to other bands, and if I'd do so, I'd say it's something like early Arctic Monkeys b-sides/Definitely Maybe-Oasis era/early Kings Of Leon (like Molly's Chambers).... Well, let's just say I cannot really describe it.

I'm really looking forward to seeing/hearing them again, but according to the fact they're really ambitious, I definitely will.

I'll give them an 8/10; good job guys!

You can listen/download their first single here:

http://theofficeband.bandcamp.com/

https://soundcloud.com/theofficeband/i-cant-dance

and on iTunes and Spotify, soon to be available on Amazon, Google Play and Xbox Music.

See them live on March 20th 2014, in MEZZ Breda. Entrance free.

(Oh, and thanks for the great evening. And Jett, your shoes were awesome too, don't worry.)

A few weeks ago I went to Appelpop to see Balthazar, Kensington and Soul Sister Dance Revolution. Unfortunately, I had to leave early that night, so I couldn't see Madness' performance.
Appelpop is a free festival which mainly hosts Dutch and Belgian artists, but they're trying to get more international acts to perform on the festival.
I went to Tiel by train (from Arnhem), which is the easiest way of transport. The trains were quite full though on the way to the festival site, partly because lots of people went there by train because the weather wasn't that good, partly because quite a lot of people went to Tiel for the "Fruitcorso".
Once we arrived in Tiel, we had to walk through the city to get to the festival site, because there were no buses due to the Fruitcorso.

We, my cousin and some friends of her, and I, bought ourselves some food at the kiosk outside the site, because they had told me that the food was quite expensive on the festival site.
Once we entered, we immediately went to the Main Stage, to watch Kensington's performance.
Kensington won the 3FM awards last year, an important Dutch music award.
I really loved their performance, and the audience was quite excited. They also played a cover of Ben Howard's "Keep Your Head Up", which I really liked.
Right after Kensington's performance, we went to see Balthazar for the second time this year (I had already seen them at Best Kept Secret last summer), and again, I was stunned by their great performance.
Although it rained, quite a lot of people gathered in front of the Brunotti Stage, to see Balthazar, one of the best Belgian rock/alternative acts at the moment.
They played songs from "Applause" and "Rats", the same set as they had played at Best Kept Secret.
Balthazar played for about fifty minutes.

By the time the performance ended, the weather had gotten a lot better, and we decided to eat some fries (some of us had some coins left, and it would take quite a long time to change them for money, so we decided to buy something of the remaining coins).
The last performance we watched was Soul Sister Dance Revolution's. The performance wasn't bad at all, but it was not as good as I had expected it to be.
After their performance we decided to leave. Unfortunately we missed Birth Of Joy's, John Coffey's, and Madness' performance, and the first train home...
My cousin and I decided to take the next train back home, which would arrive fifty minutes later. But, the journey had been worth waiting for; we got on a completely empty train home!

I really liked Appelpop, and I'll certainly go there again next year!

Here are some songs that had been played on the festival:

We Are the Young - Kensington

Hold the Line - Soul Sister Dance Revolution 

(such an amazing track)

Balthazar - The Boatman

Madness - Night Boat to Cairo

John Coffey - Dirt and Stones

                                       

And now it's time for some of my photographs!
Unfortunately, the photos I took during the Arctic Monkeys' performance are too blurry, so you actually can't see a thing on them...
But I do have some other ones right here: 

Palma Violets dancing around in front
of the stage

Jacco Gardner on stage THREE

Palma Violets dancing around with a flag

Palma Violets' keyboard player posing for
my photograph (unfortunately you can't really
see him wink on this one) 

before Alt-J's performance at stage TWO

The Maccabees' performance on stage ONE

Sigur Ros on stage ONE

Sigur Ros on stage ONE

Allah-Las' performance on stage ONE

Alt-J performing on stage TWO

Sigur Ros' thrilling performance on stage ONE

And here's the review of the last day of Best Kept Secret Festival!

I decided to go to the festival around 2 P.M., because I really wanted to see Temples and Everything Everything perform, but unfortunately, we weren't allowed to enter without an adult this time, and we had to go home... (On the second day, we were allowed to enter without an adult looking after us, but we had to report ourselves every two hours. We thought the organization would allow us on the terrain one more time, but unfortunately they didn't.)
We waited for a few hours, and arranged something with a friend and his lovely parents.
We could finally enter!

We hurried to stage ONE, to see the Palma Violets, and again, we were in the front row!
I really liked the performance, but I was quite sad, because I wasn't able to make good photographs; the band was, like, running around the whole time, and my camera wasn't that quick...
But in the end, two of the band members came up to the front row, and went crowd surfing! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to catch one of them, nor the drumsticks and the pick.
I started taking photographs again, and suddenly, one of the members sat right in front of me, looked into the lens, and winked!
And it gets better; I got that right on my photograph!
I just felt like a Beatle-fangirl; screaming and jumping and being all happy and excited, haha!

After the gig, I went to the music store to buy myself some records. I got the Arctic Monkeys' Humbug, and Kurt Vile's Smoke Ring For My Halo (I'm going to write new reviews about these albums soon!).
And Kurt Vile was exactly the person I´d see next....

...and (how surprising) I was in the front row again!
I had already listened to a few tracks of his new album, and I really liked them. But to see Kurt Vile and the Violators live, was an even bigger thrill.
I especially liked the quiet and dreamy songs, like Runner Ups.
(And of course I also really loved his hair, but yeah, who doesn't?)

I was just so amazed by these performances I almost forgot to eat.
Because I don't really like spending a lot of money, I chose french fries again.
After having walked around for an hour or something, we went to stage ONE again.
The field (it had rained quite a lot, so you could almost call it a swamp) was getting crowded, because Sigur Ros would be performing there within 30 minutes.

I had never really listened to Sigur Ros before, because I thought their music was quite boring.
But the performance really changed my mind!
Honestly, I was almost as thrilled as I was at the Coldplay concert earlier this year.
They had an amazing light show, and I think their music's really original; listening to it made me really happy, but also a bit sad because the festival had come to an end.
I really loved the songs "Hoppípolla", "Isjaki" and "Kveikur".
I really don't think it's a shame they sung Icelandic; I really like the fact that you can't get distracted by the lyrics, so that you have to come up with a personal meaning and feeling yourself.
But what an end; this was just the perfect last act.

Time to say goodbye...


I'd really love to thank some people for these great days;

At first I'd like to thank my parents for paying the tickets, and driving me and my friends to the festival.
I'd like to thank Karin, Jan and my grandfather for driving me there, too.
But I also want to say thanks to my friend Seppe and his lovely parents, for helping us enter on Saturday and Sunday!
And of course I'd like to thank my great friends Vera, Seppe, Linde and my cousin Niki for the fun and the great weekend!

(My photographs will be uploaded tomorrow)

Mozes and the Firstborn performing on stage TWO

Although the weather isn't that great now in the Netherlands (it's been raining since yesterday evening...), the second day of BKS has been a great success for me.
But we did have some problems getting onto the festival terrain, because we didn't have an adult with us... So we had to go to one of the security members every two hours.
It may sound stupid, but it was quite nice, because you didn't get those moments when you don't really know what to do between the performances; we simply had to look for security staff, and report ourselves in the spare time, haha.
Well, luckily we were allowed to go onto the terrain! After the struggles we had at the entrance, we went to buy ourselves some drinks, and met another good friend of mine, with whom we would be the rest of the evening.
I also heard some fragments of Mozes and the Firstborn's (they are a band from the city I was born in, haha!) performance, and because I really like grunge, I was very delighted.
I had never actually listened to them, but I have to admit they're really good.
The first gig we went to was Balthazar, a Belgian indie band I really like. They've got a very mysterious and original sound. I can really recommend their music!
The second gig we went to was Jacco Gardner (actually, a band named "Ice Age" would perform, but they couldn't come).
I really like Jacco Gardner's psychedelic music, but we were at the front row, right next to the speakers, and it was so loud I actually couldn't really hear it. (Yes, that might sound weird, but if music's to loud, you can't actually tell the songs apart. Everything sounds, like, the same for me when it's too loud.)
I listened, like, four or five songs, and headed for the Allah-Las, another band I really like.
Although it was raining, the sunny Californian rock and roll made it less worse.
I especially liked the songs "Tell Me (What's On Your Mind)" and "Busman's Holiday".
After the gig, we went to buy ourselves some food.
I got a pizza for 3,5 coins (which I thought was quite expensive), which tasted very good, so the money was well spent, eventually.

Allah-Las performing on stage ONE

We waited for half an hour until Two Door Cinema Club started playing. My cousin and her friend decided they really wanted to be in the front row, and my friends and I waited for another 15 minutes.
(I only heard one or two Two Door Cinema Club songs, so I can't really tell you anything about the performance. My cousin and her friend were just so delighted by the performance, they called it heaven on earth, so it must have been quite good, haha!)
My friends and I went to see Alt-J, and surprisingly, we were in one of the front rows.

We totally didn't have any space at all, and felt like battery hens, but I really enjoyed the performance.
The music was extremely loud again, but this time it wasn't that annoying, because I think the strong rhythm section in Alt-J's music is very important.
After the gig, we had to report ourselves again, and went home, still singing and dancing.
It's really been a great day!

And now I'm preparing myself again for today, the last day of Best Kept Secret Festival.
Today I'm going to see Temples, Local Natives, Sigur Ros, Everything Everything, Palma Violets, Kurt Vile and the Violators, and Portishead.
I'm really looking forward to it!

But first I've got to get my raincoat...

The Maccabees performing last night

So, I survived day one of Best Kept Secret Festival!
I have to admit I was quite nervous at the beginning; would they let me in or not?
Luckily, they did. I got a nice pink (I actually hate the colour pink) wristband, and passed the security gates flawlessly.
We (me, my cousin, and two good friends) got an information booklet, which included the timetable and the map.


We came across stage two first, the stage on which Macklemore and Ryan Lewis would perform later that day.
The festival is held at the Beekse Bergen (located next to the zoo, and a nice lake), and I must say this is definitely one of the best places for a festival; you've got a forest on the right, a lake on the left, and a big field in the middle.
Because we had not eaten since twelve a.m. or something, we decided to go and buy ourselves some food.
(It was quite a shame you could only pay with special coins, that cost 10 euros for five, which is quite expensive.)
Because we didn't have that much money to spend, we bought ourselves the cheapest food we could get; french fries.
I need to admit those were the best fries I had ever eaten.
We went to stage one to see The Maccabees, and ended up standing in the front row!
During the concert, the guitarist even winked at my cousin and pointed at me, after which the singer nodded and raised his hand whilst looking at me.
I just melted, haha!
After having seen the Maccabees' amazing performance, we bought ourselves some drinks, and sat by the lakeside.
Meanwhile, Bloc Party started to perform.
I had never really listened to Bloc Party (I only knew their best known songs like Banquet), but I think they're quite good, actually.
But we were getting quite tired, and decided to go to the forest, and sit down on one of those extremely comfortable swings. (Yes, they had swings attached to the trees!)

Alex Turner Performing at Stage ONE

After a while, we went to stage one again, to make sure we'd be in one of the front rows during the Arctic Monkeys' performance.
And... we made it!
But during the performance, we actually wanted to be more at the back of the crowd, because it got "quite rough", haha.
I was just stunned by the Arctic Monkeys. You know, they sound good on their albums, but live...!

I especially liked the older songs, like "I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor", "Mardy Bum", "Cornerstone" and "When the Sun Goes Down".
The performance was just amazing.
By the time their performance ended, we were just smeared with mud (it had not rained all day, though).
We headed for the car, and drove back home in silence; we were exhausted!

And now, I'm preparing for day two; I'm definitely looking forward to see Two Door Cinema Club, Alt-J, Allah-Las and Balthazar!

I'll upload my own videos and photographs when the festival's over.
This is the video of the entrance and Do I Wanna Know?, you can find videos of the the rest of the performance on YouTube.

Two days ago, I went to see Mumford and Sons at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam.
The ticket cost 36 euros, which is not quite expensive, in my opin
ion.
I hadn't been to the Ziggo Dome before, but everything was very clear; you could easily find all the facilities, and the music hall had outstanding acoustics!
The music hall's quite big, but I managed to be in one of the front rows :)

When I arrived, I immediately went to the merchandise stall, because I was quite aware of the fact that almost everybody was going to buy their merchandise after the concert.
But, the merchandise was extremely expensive; shirts cost around 30 euros, and sweaters cost around 60 euros. You could even buy a Mumford and Sons limited edition lighter for 75 euros...

So, as I already said before, I went to the music hall, discovered that it wasn't busy at all (because most of the people went to have a drink before the concert), and had the opportunity to be one of the people in the front row!

After half an hour of waiting, the first support act started playing; Half Moon Run.
Half Moon Run are a Canadian band, and I need to admit that I really, really like their music!
The band played for half an hour, and then you had to wait again for the second support act; the Mystery Jets.
I already liked the Mystery Jets, but after having seen them performing, I started liking them a lot more!

So, the support acts were great, and well chosen.

But I was still waiting for Mumford and Sons, just like every one else in the music hall...
After an hour of waiting, the lights dimmed, and the audience started cheering.
But the stage remained silent! I need to admit I stared to be a bit worried; maybe they wouldn't come at all, and the show might be cancelled..?

But then, suddenly, four shadows came up behind the red Gentlemen of the Road curtain!
Mumford and Sons had finally arrived, and started their spectacular show with their hit "Babel".

The songs they played were very well chosen; they played a lot of songs from their newest album, but also their older songs, like "Little Lion Man", "The Cave","White Blank Page", and "Roll Away Your Stone".
During the concert, there was quite a lot of interaction with the audience, which I really loved!

The show ended with a cover of The Band's "The Weight", which Mumford and Sons performed together with Half Moon Run and the Mystery Jets.
During the song, several instruments had astonishing solos (I really liked Ben Lovett's piano solo, and the violin solo), which I think is really well done.

In the end, I was quite sad that the evening had come to an end...!

So, if you want to go to a concert; don't hesitate, and go to see Mumford and Sons!

Rating: 9.5/10

< The beginning; Babel (not my film)

Live review

I attended the Coldplay concert on september 6, The Hague, and I thougt it would be nice to write a live review!

So; at first you had the support acts:
Charli XCX and Marina and the Diamonds. I think they did a good job, especially Marina and the Diamonds. It was quite sad nobody actually reacted on Charlie XCX, even though she asked the audience to sing along and to dance. She was really trying to do her best, but maybe she had to be a bit more subtile; she sang like it was her gig, and not Coldplay's.
After almost three hours of waiting, it finally started;
The audience really freaked out when the music started. And there they were; Chris Martin, Jon Buckland, Will Champion and Guy Berryman!

The band started with playing 'Mylo Xyloto' and 'Hurts Like Heaven', the first two tracks of their newest album (released in october 2011). I really liked the fireworks and the big screens with beautiful light effects.
But wow, what a good show. Really.

Coldplay played songs of almost every album they made; not only from Mylo Xyloto, but also from X&Y, Parachutes, Death and All His Friends, and others. I think they've chosen the songs very well; everybody kept on singing, even after the gig!

The gig ended with an amazing performance of 'Every Teardrop Is Waterfall', combined with a lot of colourful firework.

The drinks were quite expensive, but the merchandise wasn't. Shirts cost about thirty euros and posters seven euros.

This gig has been the biggest one ever given in The Netherlands, more than 65.000 people came to see this amazing show.

I think this has been a show I'll never forget!

Rating: 10/10