| Artaban at the d:qliq in Luxembourg (11th October 2008) |
[12 Oct 2008|05:53pm] |
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 relaxed |
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The Nuit des Musées made it quite an endeavour to find a parking space, so that I decided just to stay halfway down the Montée de Clausen, hiking up to the d:qliq which had me in a fit of sweating. After a first beer made me come back to my senses, Kuston Beater opened the evening downstairs with a set similar to the one the day before at the Exit07, except that this time the setting was not as optimal. It was still quite early, and it was obvious that people hadn’t lost yet enough inhibitions to start dancing, preferring to make small talk around the bar. It was still nice enough background music, although for a more precise description, I refer you to yesterday’s review. Artaban started at half past ten upstairs. Having been around for one or two years now, they kept so far a relatively low profile, while secretly creating a vast fan following, consisting largely of good looking young women who stayed in the front rows, cheering their idols as if they were the Backstreet Boys of electronic music. As alienating as this experience was, Artaban’s live music has filled a niche so far unoccupied in Luxembourg, merging laptop music with a live bass guitar, which makes for a more rock oriented rhythm concept. Their EP is still new, but tracks like Fjord Mustang and Melankonic (already known from the Schnurstrax compilation) have such catchy melodies that they are instant hits. The duos understated performance underlined the coolness of their music. At times you may wish for more extravaganze, but maybe that’s just because whenever I think of electronica with bass guitar, Squarepusher comes to my mind, and I yearn for jazzy solos. But who knows what the times will bring… After this convincing performance, I headed down to the Naturmusée to see the highly advertised show by Fracture, who was aided tonight by Cyclorama’s Sebb, both playing guitars and keyboards, promising a new outlook into noisy electronic music. As Artaban had started half an hour late, the Naturmusée had changed their schedule, so that down in the Grund, atthebusstop was still playing his melancholic ballads that are quite nice but not what you want on a Saturday night after a few beers. Are museums full of snobs or why was it impossible to buy a beer there? As their red wine tasted like low-grade vinegar, I made do with the not much better but colder white wine. The delays went on, so that we were forced to get a beer at Liquid, and once that one was annihilated, Fracture was finally playing, and the nice security ladies even let me in without paying the 12 Euros, which is an ok price if you do the whole Nuit des Musées program, but exaggerated if you only want to catch half an hour of music. Museums are no concert venues, and therefore the sound was atrocious: not hardly loud enough, and the sound frequencies all seemed to flow into each other, with no basses adding the punch. Having seen Fracture and Cyclorama perform already very professional sets, I decided to walk back somewhere where I could get another beer, consoling myself with the fact that this line-up of Fracture will play a certainly much more satisfying show at the d:qliq in November, when sug[r]cane is celebrating his tenth anniversary as the godfather of Luxembourgish shoegazer music. From there on, I let the evening take a slow end by walking down to Clausen to quickly drink a beer in an overcrowded Verso in the middle of the Rives de Clausen which is not really that comfortable, and then back up to d:qliq to get more of the same. At least I walked quite a few kilometres…
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| Daedelus at the Exit07 in Luxembourg (10th October 2008) |
[11 Oct 2008|10:08am] |
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Kuston Beater |
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Is there a better way to wake up in the morning after a few too many beers to read in the newspaper that one of the most disgusting nazi politicians from Europe killed himself in a car accident? My headache spontaneously evaporated, so that I decided I might as well write the review of yesterday’s concert before taking a much needed shower… smelly! The Exit07 may have only reopened a couple of weeks ago, but it is determined to make itself the mecca of electronic music. When I arrived quite early before 10pm, the location was still very empty, with half a dozen people hogging the bar and listening to the efforts of Cheapy Chips, a DJ from Metz who did his best with two vinyl players, crafting subtle hip hop beats with lots of effects in between. From the mostly unknowable to some cherished classics, his performance would have been a blast, had there been more people present. With an experimental concert taking place at the Philharmonie and a newly opened exhibition at the MUDAM, there was too much early competition, although the venue filled gradually when local laptop duo Kuston Beater started their set at around 11pm. Borrowing sounds that reminded heavily of the spacey Seventies, Kuston Beater mixed them with fat beats that finally had the first people dancing. Imagine a Jean-Michel Jarre deciding to play for a moving instead of a sitting audience, and you’re already halfway there. They may not have reinvented electronic music, but their combination of primeval synth sounds with a mind for getting the party started was a good introduction to Los Angeles based Daedelus who was quite unknown yet to many people despite an impressive discography. I knew him from sound files as a rather experimental artist, but tonight he had put on his dancing clothes: an oversized suit he must have borrowed from his uncle, you know, the type of black sheep every family has and doesn’t really want to talk about. The ill-matching tie underlined his long hair that was balding on top, and sideburns that would have made Lemmy Kilmister proud. Overall, a nice apparition! Armed with his Monome controller, which looks like a sampler and interfaces to his laptop (if I understood correctly), he seemed to push buttons at random and made a crazy journey through all kinds of beat heavy dance music. I even seemed to hear a snippet of Nirvana. Merging his own sounds with all kinds of parts from other artists, he crafted a whole new sonic universe that was punching throughout, getting the finally about 200 people to dance. Some may have found this was maybe a bit over the top, but in accordance with his style, the whole performance was just overwhelming and much better than on CD. Afterwards the opening artists re-entered the stage to spoil the crowd with another intelligent DJ mix until the early hours of the morning. The Exit07 seems to get the reputation to be a place not to arrive before midnight, which is a bit sad, as the early playing artists only perform in front of a handful of music aficionados. It has established itself already a very good reputation that seems to be growing still. With quality electro evening like this one or the DFA night the weekend before, it comes as no surprise.
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| Prinzhorn Dance School at the Exit07 in Luxembourg (3rd October 2008) |
[04 Oct 2008|04:26pm] |
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31Knots - Worried Well |
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After a few no charge weekends, this DFA Night was the first payable event at the new Exit07. Although the venue was still quite empty at 10pm when I arrived, people kept dropping in constantly, which made for a nicely filled if not crowded room when the British duo Prinzhorn Dance School started their set. The stage setting hinted even before the show that this would not be a normal live show. Playing guitar and bass, they went without electronic beats, but played the drums instead with their feet. Bass player Horn was in charge of the bass drums, which made for a sexy military standing walk style, while guitarist Prinz occasionally beat the snare drum.  The music was as minimalist as you can imagine. Carried by simple bass lines, the hoarse vocals by Prinz and the more piercing delivery by Horn sounded like incantations than regular singing. The screaming guitar sequences that erupted sometimes into full force feedback orgies complemented this prophecy of doom soundtrack. I only wondered why they ended their set already after half an hour. Having taken their name from German psychiatrist and art historian Hans Prinzhorn who was the first to analyse the artistic creativity of mental patients, their music somehow made sense in relationship to their name.
The evening was continued with DJ sets by Tim Sweeney from the USA and British act Mock & Toof. It all started rather lame but then, sometime late after midnight evolved into highly danceable techno music which segued into bland music at 3am, preparing people for the end, which was one hour later when the lights went on. All in all a nice evening, although I wonder why evenings have the tendency to start lately so late in Luxembourg.
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| On Stéitsch at Carré Rotondes and dEFDUMP at the Atelier (27th September 2008) |
[28 Sep 2008|05:56pm] |
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October Equus - Charybdis |
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Oh brave new world, that allows you to walk from one venue to the next one in under five minutes. Hollerich is full of places to discover good music, and today I decided to start my day early, to catch Glitter & Trauma at 4pm in a tent that had been set up in front of the Exit07 bar. The sun was unusually warm for the season, so that the few people who arrived so early decided to watch the spectacle from outside. Inside, there were maybe 50 people, most of them under-agers, which made sense as the On Stéitsch festival was organised by the Service National de la Jeunesse. Glitter & Trauma didn’t disappoint, even if the sound could have been better. Armed with the best vocalist Luxembourg has to offer, the European youngsters delivered once again their captivating indie rock that is in my opinion the most talented this country has to offer. Inborn were on next and played in front of even less people, although their crystal clear sound emphasised their maturing. Filled with more psychedelic guitars, they have opened their sound to a wider array of emotions. I skipped Très B and Miaow Miaow, preferring to sleep off the first two beers at home, to be back at the Exit07 bar at 8pm for the minipli show. Yes, they insist that their band name is written in small letters. I hadn’t seen them for quite some time and was taken aback by their formalistic developments. Dressed with weird clothes, their minimalist music consisted mostly of bass guitar, simplistic drums and vintage keyboard sounds, with senseless vocals giving the whole performance a Dadaist impression, leaving the now numerous spectators mostly awed. Hal Flavin had apparently a smaller audience, not because they are not popular, but because many people, just like me, decided to walk over to the Atelier to catch dEFDUMp’s farewell show. After waiting in line for some minutes, not stressed but somehow happy that a local band generates such a fuzz, we were inside a nicely filled venue, consisting of about 90% younger people and 10% oldtimers who were there from Day One on, fifteen years ago, when some of their current fans were still pooping their pants. dEFDUMp started their set with a furious “Cliché”, and from there on picked songs from all of their albums. In retrospect, it became clear that they have been the best hardcore band ever from Luxembourg, who could have been internationally big if the circumstances had been different, and despite the aggression of their sound, many people felt quite emotional to witness the end of a legend. So long, and thanks for all the fish! Halfway through their set, I headed back to the Carré Rotondes where ethno bands were resuming the evening on the Traffo stage. Antwerp Gypsy Ska Orchestra played just what their name suggested. It was nice but too rigid in its execution. More orchestra than rock band, they lacked the dynamic steam that I am used to from ska bands. French ethno rockers Les Boukakes combined traditional rock music with North African folk, quite nice but again could have been more daring. The more tired spectators sat down on the stage, while a few die-hards still danced, but the audience was quite sparse, considering the circumstances. At midnight the Filthy Needles DJ set began, but the evening just started too early, leaving me exhausted so that I drove back south at half past one. The On Stéitsch festival had booked many interesting artists, but the organisation was quite overblown. The SNJ people probably had a huge budget that they were forced to spend, otherwise they would get less the following year. No two big things were ever running at the same time, so you have to wonder why they needed three big stages. The tent was superfluous, the Traffo too big and sterile. They should have had the bands play at the Exit07, or maybe started later, so that the excellent early bands could have performed in front of a bigger and more varied audience.
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| Crystal Castles and IAMX at the Rockhal in Esch/Alzette (26th September 2008) |
[27 Sep 2008|09:27am] |
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I'm From Barcelona |
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Double headlining shows should normally offer twice the fun for your money, but it is doubtful if this can be said about tonight’s performances. About 600 people showed up, mostly due probably to IAMX who have already quite a following in Luxembourg after having played before at the Atelier. Band leader Chris Corner was also quite popular with his band Sneaker Pimps, which – I have to admit – I never really got into. The same can be said for IAMX, whose weird electronic music always made sure to keep a safe distance from me. The instrumental parts weren’t even half bad, but as soon as Corner started singing, I felt clueless. Too effeminate was his act, making me thing that I had stumbled into a gay bar. Therefore it was even more astonishing how young the audience was. He played for a good hour, which is ok under the circumstances, leaving his fans satisfied if not overly excited. Crystal Castles made quite the impact with their self-titled debut album in the beginning of this year. Although the songs were mostly compiled from previous singles, their longplayer made them more accessible for the masses. Their live show was then more or less what I expect. Ethan Kath and Alice Glass were both dressed in black leather. He was hiding behind his machines, while she was jumping like a she-devil over the stage, screaming unintelligible lyrics to the noisy electro trash music. At times I felt like the anarchic sounds of Atari Teenage Riot, which probably made sense, considering how Crystal Castles also like to borrow 8-bit sounds from the past. If only their show had been longer… After not even forty minutes, the Canadians left the stage, and because Belval is still quite the moonscape, people had nothing else to do than drive home. IAMX did just the necessary, and Crystal Castles somehow cheated, making this an only ok evening that could have been so much more.
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| Réouverture Exit07 (20th September 2008) |
[21 Sep 2008|11:07am] |
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Max Tundra |
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While thousands of people made a pilgrimage to the Rockhal to see some rock dinosaurs that used to interesting aeons ago, a few hundred decided to make it to the official reopening party of the Exit07. Three live electronic artists, free of charge, should be argument enough to make it to their new location in Hollerich, and it was clear from the outset that a filled Exit07 is a great venue for concerts. At half past ten, Bass Clef from England started the evening with his bass heavy dub music, to which he added a nasty live trombone and assorted paraphernalia out of his toy cabinet. The brooding mood of the music emphasised the wailing brass sound, giving a whole new perspective into the dub genre. After a good hour, Max Tundra, also an Englishman entered the stage, frightening people at first by his unconventional approach: quirky electronic sounds that seemed too happy for this world, high soul-fuelled vocals that could give him a spot in an R’n’B band, lots of keyboards that he chose to play live, sometimes two at a time, some guitar, and again the whole content of his toy chest. I guess this is the stuff you either love or hate. I opted for the former. Too few artists these days make happy music that works. Max Tundra succeeded mostly due to his naïve, charming and carefree persona. Not a very tall man, half bald already, and a beginning paunch, and still he was jumping around as if he was having the time of his life, all the time seemingly only high on flat water. He even joked that he wrote a contribution for the soundtrack of Sex and the City… something that movie could only have taken advantage from. The last time I was so enchanted by a live performance was quite a long time ago by Spookey Ruben. Max Tundra played today a fizzy cocktail of electro, jazz, progressive rock and good humour. The live part of the evening was ended by Italian two-piece Rodion who maintained a dancing audience with their traditional yet good electronic music. They made a good choice by covering Supertramp’s late Seventies hit “The Logical Song”, because I am secretly convinced that every true bred Luxembourger just loves that band, as could be witnessed by Roger Hodgon’s show at this year’s Rock um Knuedler… although last week, a woman refused to talk to me after I revealed being a fan of them. Afterwards, Vampire State Builder entertained the audience with an eclectic DJ set. Sometime after four in the morning (the Exit07 was apparently open until six… might as well have taken the first bus home), my body decided that it needed some rest, so I made myself back South. It’s great to have this venue back!
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| Gangpol & Mit at the Exit07 in Luxembourg (19th September 2008) |
[20 Sep 2008|11:18am] |
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After two months of cultural dearth, Luxembourg was coming back to life yesterday, all over the place, so that the newly reopened Exit07, at the Carré Rotondes (Espace Paul Wurth), suffered a lack of audience. Many people preferred to be at the also new venue Verso and will probably make it to Hollerich on the more thoroughly filled Saturday night. And as a matter of fact, not that much was going on at the Exit07 this Friday night. Only French duo Gangpol & Mit were performing a rather short show, which was followed by a lacklustre DJ set that made the few present people walk off to more promising places. At a quarter past ten, Gangpol & Mit started their set, and as often with electronic music, you don’t know what is live and what comes from the laptop. There was a toy guitar that was actually played, but apart from that, it didn’t really matter, because the duo put as much emphasis on their perfectly choreographed video projection, which came across as a hybrid between South Park and Happy Tree Friends. The music was just as exhilarating, combining cartoon elements with upbeat techno patterns, making for a concoction that was appealing to everyone, independent of their music tastes, as long as they had a healthy sense of humour. Sounding like Junior Senior on a really hyperactive speed trip, Gangpol & Mit are the kind of band that should release DVDs instead of CDs, so that their fans get a more holistic experience of their art. It was a short set, probably no longer than forty minutes, and somehow stranded in an otherwise bland evening, but as an animated electro performance, they probably won’t come any crazier than this!
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| Stroossefestival in Strassen (12th September 2008) |
[13 Sep 2008|02:15pm] |
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Kirmes - Video |
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Every two years, the satellite city Straassen transforms itself into a melting pot of cultures, dwarfing much bigger towns than Esch/Alzette or Differdange. Only the capital city and Dudelange can come up with a more interesting music program. Stroossefestival sounds a bit like a typical Luxembourgish “Dëppefest”, and this year’s edition actually looked like an overgrown town celebration, with tons of food booths, drink opportunities and performance stages all over the centre of Strassen. Clowns, walking mushrooms (I swear I saw them, I was not tripping!) and marching brass bands made for town fair atmosphere. Early on in the evening, which means about 10pm, there were still a lot of bourgeois upper-class people walking their children and trophy wives, making for a weird vibe. Serge Tonnar and Legotrip were playing the club tent which was considerably filled with people you didn’t see at the CD release party a few months before in the Rockhal. The heating elements made for too high temperatures, contrasting with the cold but fortunately dry weather outside. I only saw the remaining quarter hour of the set, but the audience followed the mixture of humour and melancholy, packed in an eclectic folk rock sound, with interest. Nouvelle Vague had quite a lengthy soundtrack on the main stage, which was an open air venue, not heated! The French are well known for interpreting punk and Eighties pop / new wave hits in luscious lounge arrangements. With two female singers, one tastier looking than the other, and sparely clad in the ever decreasing temperatures, Nouvelle Vague attracted a lot of people. Again I had the impression that most spectators lacked the general culture to recognise hits by the Buzzcocks, P.I.L. and Dead Kennedys. I even thought I heard a Dickies song, but that may have been my imagination. Whenever they tried more accessible material (Joy Division, Eurythmics, Depeche Mode), the audience seemed to react happier. What they do is entertaining, but eventually turns out to be a pop quiz. Maybe warmer weather would have helped also. At 1am I moved over to the circus tent where the Exit07 had programmed an electronic program. Nil performed an interesting set, although again I only caught the last few minutes. Sonic ended the evening with an ok DJ set. This time I would have wished for a heated tent, although it was a little warmer inside than outside, where it was meanwhile only 10°C. Sometime around 2.30am I decided to head for the warmth of my car, having to climb fences because I got hopelessly lost in the maze streets of residential Strassen, looking for the church tower where my car was parked. The organisation was remarkable though: unobtrusive security, very social drink prices with friendly staff, a program that aimed at everybody (Esch/Alzette: do take an example!), and an overall good and peaceful atmosphere. Of course the Stroossefestival is not only a Friday evening from 10pm on, but two full days of all kinds of entertainment, although it’s only the Friday night that appeals to me. See you back in 2010! Until then, Strassen will only be known as this long, busy road with all the fastfood restaurants.
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| The Faint at the Atelier in Luxembourg (10th September 2008) |
[11 Sep 2008|05:03pm] |
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It may have been the mild weather that had everybody go to the last night of the Schueberfouer, or maybe The Faint are not that popular in Europe, or how can you explain the general lack of people at the Atelier this night? 250 fans showed up eventually, but when Hal Flavin opened the evening at 8.40pm, the venue was all but deserted. Fighting horrendous sound problems in the beginning, the three-piece played a safe set, starting with the four songs from their EP, even in the right order. The as yet unreleased “Avalanches” followed, showing that Hal Flavin are constantly evolving. The familiar “Jump Down” ended the half hour set. Hal Flavin are at their best when they rock, which was most obvious on Uplift, a rather unentertaining ballad that is saved by its frenetic ending. All in all this was an ok show, although the sound could really have been better. The Faint were founded in Nebraska in 1995, and a certain Conor Oberst, who attracted a crowd of 400 the week before, even used to be in that band before they released their first CD. Today they were presenting their sixth album “Fasciinatiion”, which was also their first on a new label and a minor hit in the USA. Their break from Saddle Creek didn’t seem to have pushed their reputation in Europe, but fortunately the Atelier’s architecture even lets a quarter filled concert seem nicely populated. Not only I was relatively unfamiliar with the five-piece’s sound, although it was obvious that they were much grittier on stage than they are on record. Which sounds always a bit sterile in the studio became a noisy dance monster tonight, with loud guitars, and a live drummer competing with programmed beats, which added to the danceability of the music. With more than ten years of music to get back to, The Faint offered a varied show that animated to move and dance, but ultimately lacked the big hits. After one good hour, the regular set was finished, although the band came back for a few encores. The Faint are quite a vivid band for one that used to be on the melancholic Saddle Creek label, and maybe it’s that which alienates them from the masses in Europe. They might be a band that works better on a festival level than animating a small audience by themselves.
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| Conor Oberst at the Atelier in Luxembourg (4th September 2008) |
[05 Sep 2008|05:21pm] |
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Sky Larkin |
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It’s been a good year since Bright Eyes enchanted the Atelier with a stellar performance. Tonight, their mastermind Conor Oberst paid the club again a visit with his new Mystic Valley Band. Early on in the evening, the Atelier was quite empty, although the opener Sky Larkin managed to attract the growing audience in front of the stage. The British newcomers are on Wichita Recordings (sharing their label with Bloc Party), and although their debut hasn’t been released yet, they made the best of their opening slot. The first song suffered from poor sound, but the sound improved, the guitar became fuller, and the three-piece’s Nineties tinged indie rock had enough noisy charm to make their half hour set a very pleasing experience. Singer Katie had a confident vocal performance, and her guitar playing was gritty enough. Drummer Nestor made his best Keith Moon performance. Great performance from a promising band, even if some people thought they were “too hard” an opener for this evening. Conor Oberst may only have released his first proper record under his own name, but this shy troubadour in his late twenties released already his first cassette tapes when he was thirteen years young. Apart from Bright Eyes, he also had success with his other bands Commander Venus and Desaparecidos, among others. So he had a long career to look back to, and made the best of it tonight, offering a hundred minute show. Such an amount of music has become very rare these days. Of course he and the Mystic Valley Band made it through probably the entire album, although I had the impression that guitarist Nik Freitas also performed some solo tracks. The mood was less orchestral than a year earlier. The differences between this project and Bright Eyes are minor. You could say that tonight’s concert was steeped more heavily in Americana, with lots of guitars, acoustic and electric, making for a dense sound that could just as soon give room for a more intimate solo delivery. Meanwhile, the Atelier was adequately filled with 400 people who listened quite attentively to Conor Oberst’s melancholy tunes. I always get the impression that he’s suffering through his songs, but maybe that’s what makes the peculiar appeal of his music. When all was said and done, everybody left happily with the knowledge that they witnessed a show by artists who still care to give a good, long and varied performance.
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| RACONTEURS at Atelier in Luxemburg (28th August 2008) |
[29 Aug 2008|11:50am] |
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Squealer: The Circle Shuts |
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I have to admit that I’m not the biggest Raconteurs expert on Earth, but being a huge White Stripes fan, I couldn’t of course miss the occasion to see Jack White’s other band live on stage. The doors of the Atelier already had opened at 8 pm, but we had to wait until 9.15 pm before the musicians finally hit the stage. The audience in the sold out Atelier started to become a little impatient and I wonder why there wasn’t an opener. Even a local band would have been a good solution to fill the rather boring waiting time.
The mood quickly changed when the professionally acting Raconteurs started their set. The musicians were fully concentrating on their duty and didn’t interact at all with the audience during the first six songs. But during the entire show which has been lasting about 80 minutes, there wasn’t much communication either. But people have come for great rock music and not for small talk. Even if I’m not too much intro retro rock, I was amazed by the way The Raconteurs combined styles as southern, sludge and garage rock. Heavier bands sometimes suffer from a bad sound in the Atelier, but even if tonight’s program was dirty retro rock, everything was excellent. It’s seldom to witness live such an amount of pure and raw energy. Nasty tongues may claim that there wouldn’t be such a hype about the Raconteurs if Jack White wasn’t a band member. I don’t know, but there is a similar hype about Wolfmother which features no members with a famous past. And it’s worth mentioning that there were first class musicians on stage and didn’t play any wrong notes. Furthermore the shared vocals lines between Jack White and Brendan Benson were phenomenally arranged. Most parts of the set consisted of harder rock music, but sometimes there were acoustic guitars and violins for some more mellow notes.
During three quarters of an hour, I was standing quite close to the stage, but the air got hot and sniffy so that I preferred to see the rest of the stage from more behind where breathing was an easier thing. I enjoyed the entire set and think that The Raconteurs was Luxemburg’s concert event of the month. Now it would be a great idea to bring The White Stripes into the Atelier or into the huger Rockhal.
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| Multizik Festival at Aubange (23rd August 2008) |
[24 Aug 2008|11:09am] |
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Abstract Sound Project |
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 In the summer, big festivals are vying for audiences’ attention all over Europe, offering popular bands on giant outside meadows, where people often end up paying high entrance fees in order to see the musicians only from far back. The Multizik Festival sees itself as an alternative platform, giving opportunity to lesser known bands from Belgium, France and Luxembourg to play at a smaller but no less professional stage. Special attention was given this year to Danish artists. The Pôle Européen Culturel in the small Belgian town Aubange was an ideal, if slightly hidden, location lying exactly in the three country border region.I missed the Friday program which was centred more on rock music, and arrived at 9pm on Saturday, while it was still moderately light outside, making it possible to detect the not really big way signs. The first band played already at 4pm, so that I missed four bands. The weather was dry, although it was a really cold August night (later when I left, it was only 9°C outside), so maybe that prevented the huge crowds to come… or maybe the lack of headliners, the unusual concert venue and the possibly poorly aimed promotion campaign didn’t help either. Mutiny On The Bounty started their set shortly after I was inside the venue, and after severe sound problems after the first song, their high energy math rock convinced once again. Especially the nervous, intricate dual guitar work was excellent, although also drum and bass showed that there are different time signatures possible in the instrumental rock business. Up next played Kings Of Dark Disco from Denmark. What sounded ok after the first song quickly became very repetitive. The keyboards did not only sound cheaply and uninspired, they were even sampled. The bass guitar played precise but sterile rhythms. The guitar hardly set any accents, and the vocals were rather bland. I must admit I heard already many better bands from Denmark. Fortunately Bruxelles electro rockers Alpha 2.1 made everything better afterwards and showed how a perfect symbiosis between electronic and electric music has to sound. With band members switching frequently their instruments, you never knew what to expect next. Heavy guitars could dominate one song, and the following one would be framed by distorted synth rhythms. They even offered a rendition of Britney Spears’ “Toxic”. Abstract Sound Project from Metz finally dismissed the rock parts entirely. The duo manipulated electronic devices, making for heavily danceable music. Excellently synchronised, they not only looked a little like Daft Punk, but also played a comparable music. For that already later hour of the night, it was the id eal sound to move your body too and prevent yourself from undercooling. Too bad that there were never that many people there to make this a bigger party. After 1am, Elektrash [makes me sick] ended the night with one of their trademark mixes that are infectious and eclectic at the same time. The organisation of the event was splendid. It was a good idea to cover the open air area with a semi-tent, even though we were spared the rain tonight. If the organisers learnt to attract a bigger audience, the Multizik Festival could become an even more attractive event.
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| Leftöver Crack at the 911 in Belvaux (19th August 2008) |
[20 Aug 2008|12:13pm] |
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bored |
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Eyestrings - Burdened Hands |
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With only nine shows to be played by Leftöver Crack in Europe, it was obvious that tonight’s show at the recently renovated 911 would attract quite a crowd. When I arrived shortly after 8pm, Self Control were playing as the first band of the evening. With doors open at 5pm, I thought the whole event would start earlier, and I was actually planning on skipping the first two bands. No such luck for me! Self Control are a young Luxembourgish punk band that suffered from the really bad sound and from their own lack of self control. I want to give new bands a chance, but when they talk too long between songs, try to be funny to hide their inaccuracies, then I prefer to listen from the bar… like most of the more or less 200 people who were there anyway only for the headliner. Things didn’t really improve with Death List Five, another local newcomer punk band that flirted a little with crust influences, only the guitar sound was not aggressive enough, and the drums sometimes had problems following. Again the same problems here: bad sound and too long breaks between songs. Actually, when you have such a huge potential audience, you should remember that you play for them and not only for your friends. Extinct were next and presented a tight show that finally assembled a little more people inside. If the walls of venue were coated with something to catch the sound, we wouldn’t have suffered from all the reverb caused by the concrete walls. As hard as Extinct tried to deliver their fast street punk, the vocals were hardly audible and the drums just too loud, especially the cymbals. German ska core band Bandgeek Mafia therefore also couldn’t reach to their really great show some months back at the Ska Punk Festival at the Rockhal. Somehow I even had the impression that now again less people were inside, probably getting ready for the headliner. In between some seven police officers decided to pay the 911 a visit, because too many punks were roaming the streets outside, although many of them helped the local economy by buying cheaper beer at the gas station on the other side of the street. I had the impression everything was quite civilised. People were just talking, not overly loud, but you know the locals: if somebody sports a different haircut, they look at you as if you were a criminal. Police went and concert continued. When Leftöver Crack were playing, the room was finally filled completely, and temperatures were like in a sauna. It was hard for me to discern their sound, because I am not all too familiar with them (probably even not at all), but as these guys apparently live in squats – even though they are signed to two rather big labels: Fat Wreck and Alternative Tentacles – playing in the still rather grubby 911 shouldn’t have been a problem for them. This evening was organised by Up To You Shows, and I bet they would have liked to have used a bigger location, but as nearly all the cultural institutes are closed during the school summer holidays (which I still don’t understand… it’s not as if everybody is leaving the country for two months), there were hardly any alternatives. And even if there were, Luxembourg still lacks a venue for medium sized shows (300 people). Maybe the next season will surprise us with the new location in Clausen.
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| Maxïmo Park at the Atelier in Luxembourg (12th August 2008) |
[13 Aug 2008|10:35am] |
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New Found Glory - From The Screen To Your Stereo Part II |
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It is a common misconception that everyone in Luxembourg works as a teacher and spends therefore the two summer months getting suntanned in southern Europe. This led to a cultural blackout with nearly all the concert venues refusing to do anything from July 15th to September 15th. At least the Atelier this year tries to goad an audience with a couple of summer shows, and tonight’s Maxïmo Park gig proved that there is a definite need for music also during the summer holidays. Filled to the brim with people not waterskiing in the south, this Northern English band proved that you don’t even need a new album to be attractive. But first up, Metro warmed up the already numerous audience with their brit rock tinged songs. Starting at half past eight sharp, the four-piece took advantage of their experience which they have built up in the past by playing plenty of concerts. With hardly any songs from their already two years old self-titled debut album, Metro proved that they are not standing still, and at the second attempt, they even got their spectators to clap their hands to their songs. This year’s summer hit “She Went Under” stood out again in their half hour set. Now it’s time that they release something new sometime soon. A new EP is apparently in the making. After about a forty minute break, the Newcastle five-piece Maxïmo Park entered the stage and won their audience immediately over with their hit single “Girls Who Play Guitars”. When they released their debut “A Certain Trigger” in 2005, they were instantly the international music press’s darlings. Their sophomore effort “Our Earthly Pleasures” received more mixed reviews, but didn’t prevent the band from becoming even more popular with their fans, maybe because they are a classical “pop” band that relies heavily on releasing a lot of singles. Be that as it may be, an Atelier filled with people to the very back should be testimony enough of Maxïmo Park’s appeal. Their songs are an efficient mix between the aesthetics of post punk and the catchiness of alternative rock, never too commercial to be cheesy but also never too arty to repel more common-minded music aficionados. Vocalist Paul Smith, vainly wearing a hat in a superheated Atelier, never even tries to conceal his thick Northern accent, which is something that sets the band apart from their peers. After an hour the band left already the stage but came back of course for a couple of encores, so that at 11pm they were finally done. What Maxïmo Park eventually lack is that certain something that makes them unique. Apart from a couple of really good songs (everybody seems to love “Parisian Skies”) and a distinct vocalist, they risk to become just another good but not outstanding English rock band. So people left the Atelier basically happy, but probably not overwhelmed. And still, this evening definitely proved that not all Luxembourg residents are gone for the summer and are therefore really hungry for shows, even for those of bands who haven’t released anything new for more than a year. Maybe the Rockhal, Kulturfabrik and d:qliq will learn something from this.
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| E-LAKE FESTIVAL at Echternach (8th August 2008) |
[09 Aug 2008|01:24pm] |
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Destruction: D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N. |
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Even if the e-lake Festival at the lake close to Echternach has already debuted in the mid 90s, the 2008 edition was only the second time that motivated me to visit it. The event started at 7 pm with Granny’s Favouritz, a band that doesn’t interest me at all. The second band was Eternal Tango. Although I appreciate their work very much, I arrived nevertheless quite late and only witnessed their last two songs. The band was acting as usually in a very professional way and after the gig, I got informed that I missed their cover version of Opus’ ‘Life Is Life’. I hope that this 80s classic will become a permanent feature of the live gig.
Next band were Germany’s Peilomat which I already saw live on stage at Dudelange’s Fête de la Musique a few months ago. The band was playing more or less the same songs and offering the same jokes, but it wasn’t too bad to a teenage or kiddie pop punk band. Unfortunately I have the triple age of the average Peilomat fan, but liked the show somehow.
I was looking forward to the Sportfreunde Stiller gig. Even if the band has a huge commercial success, I like their material quite a lot. The trio started with the classic ‘Heimatlied’ to get immediately the audience’s attention. During the first half of an hour, the band played a lot of songs from the entire band career and didn’t just concentrate on the most recent album ‘La Bum’. Sportfreunde Stiller are a charismatic band that is always looking for some interaction with the spectators, but the stage abilities aren’t bad, either. Unfortunately my two nephews started getting tired and cold after half an hour which made us leave early. I missed the following bands Dendemann and Versus You.
The festival will last two more days (electro on Saturday, party on Sunday) and it’s difficult to say if the spectacle was or will be a success. I’m not good at estimating the number of spectators, but it wasn’t too crowdy before the stage. The Piccadilly booze-up in Schengen (or is it an other Moselle city) probably is a big business competition and I imagine the organizing youth club from Echternach would have wished to see more people at the stage. It’s positive that there is a free entry for the people, but 5 € is an exaggerated parking fee and food and drinks weren’t cheap either. Especially the small beer cups were too expensive (3 €). It didn’t rain much during the event, but some heavy showers on Thursday and Friday transformed the site into a mud battle which also discouraged some people to attend the event. The lake is a great place for an open air event and sunny weather would have improved the general situation. But still the organizers should discuss about alternative financing possibilities for the festival as the audience which mainly consists of teenagers doesn’t have so much pocket money.
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| 24 Heures Électroniques Festival at Rockhal in Esch/Alzette (12th July 2008) |
[13 Jul 2008|10:58am] |
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My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges |
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After the amazing success of the Electricity festival in the late autumn of last year, the Rockhal decided to put on another such electronic happening, and even if the 24 hours also contained the workshops that preceded it, nobody could complain about a lack of music that day. After a rainy day, we were lucky to have a clear if somewhat cold night, and as I was on the verge of falling asleep at home and then would never have made it there, I drove to the Rockhal at 10pm, when the music part of the festival was about to start, and was afraid that I hit the wrong day, because there was absolutely no traffic yet (unlike the massive traffic jam for the David Guetta event in May, but that was already later in the night), so I was lucky to get a spot in the underground parking. There were four stages this time. The Foyer was chosen a bit unluckily, because the sets there were overpowered by those coming from the main hall and the club. The Rockhalicious had a smaller stage for a more intimate setting, but the music was anything but chill there. I never remember DJ pseudonyms, but the Foyer was for hours in the hands of DJs from d:qliq, who did a good job but got little attention. People were mostly walking past to get to one of the two bigger places. Anyway, before midnight, the place was still empty, which was especially unlucky for Cicada, whose quite repetitive electronica with a strong techno touch was a bit early for the evening, and they didn’t bring their singer, which was disappointing. So only a few people seemed lost in the main hall (with the stage on the right side), whereas Elektrash (Makes Me Sick) had a luckier hand in picking their set. They are already quite well known in Luxembourg, and tonight they started with some black metal intro before overwhelming the growing audience in the club with quite an eclectic set. Between main acts, there were short half hour DJ sets in the main hall and in the club, but they went mostly unnoticed. At midnight, German electro rockers Warren Suicide unleashed a punk inferno in the club. Their guitarist/vocalist tried to impersonate Iggy Pop, but in the end, their sound lacked depth. Too much treble made for exhausted listening. They reminded me though of T.Raumschmiere who played last year’s Electricity festival. The main hall was in the mean time occupied by Cassius Dex\'n\'Fx, and they sounded like their name suggests. Shameboy from Belgium played a well done contemporary electronic set with a lot of distortion and somehow at this moment of the night I got the impression that the sets in the smaller club were much more entertaining that the ones in the giant main hall, mostly due to the fact that the thousands of people didn’t yet fill the venues. Apparently 4.000 tickets were gone in the presale, which isn’t bad at all, but the Rockhal probably can accommodate double that number. At 3 in the morning, I made my way home, past a defect parking machine (hehe, close by parking and even free!), and missed therefore the better known acts Tiefschwarz, Digitalism and Apparat, but as I saw the latter two already last year, it didn’t seem so dramatic. The organisation was mostly good, there were more bars than anybody could drink. My only complaint was that the Rockhalicious thought they had to ask 150% more for certain drinks, for the apparent reason that they are a restaurant. Mmmh, strange restaurant that for this night didn’t have any table and didn’t sell any food. Maybe it’s time for them to get a grip on reality. But apart from that, we can only look forward to the next electronic festival, because the high number of people proves that Luxembourg is in desperate need for a high level electronica scene.
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| Rock um Knuedler (6th July 2008) |
[07 Jul 2008|05:45pm] |
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The Cars - Just What I Needed (Anthology) |
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The Rock um Knuedler is the most important open air festival to sample what’s going on in Luxembourg’s music scene. The headliners are always aimed at our parents’ generation, but the people in charge of the programme had again a good hand at picking a quite varied array of bands, even if some complained that the frugal metalcore scene should have been present too. The festival started at 3pm with Granny’s Favouritz on the Horse stage, followed half an hour later by avant prog big band Traumkapitän on the Lion stage. I missed these two bands because I was still busy doing my radio show at nearby ARA, interviewing five of the local participating bands. When I was discharged at 4pm, gothic pop rockers Pale Obsession had just started their set on the Horse stage, and I am sorry to say that they haven’t improved a bit since their EP one and a half year ago. Their songwriting is much too harmless, the rhythm section too rigid, and everything they do has been done much better before. Metro played in a full d:qliq the night before, and today they were announced on the Lion stage as the band with the hit single “She Went Under” which is also used in an advertisement. Not really a lucky introduction, but their set was tight enough to entrance the already numerous audience. The sunny weather helped of course, but it can also not be denied that the quality level of local music increased dramatically the last few years, which again is due to the better attention the artists get from local radio stations. Now was already the time for me to be banned at one beer stand, where the two women-like creatures tried to cheat me on the beer price, and I decided, not too nicely, that the stupid ****s could keep their beers. Sorry, but I don’t see the point why two stands of the same brewery use two different pricing systems. How stupid do you idiots think we are? Metro may have brought indie rock back to Luxembourg, but Glitter and Trauma are on their way to conquer the throne. The youngsters that met at the European school have sky high egos and a sure hand for great songwriting. So who cares if they stumbled at times when they had so much passion for their show that you couldn’t help being mesmerised by their ferocious attitude. The double vocals also added cool touches. They were definitely the best band of the day! Versus You opened for Avril Lavigne a few weeks before, and today they had an easy game with the audience at the Lion stage. Their whole attitude has become totally professional, and those familiar with the band noticed that there have been so many hits on their two albums, that they had no problem stringing one classic after another. Even three year olds clapped their hands on the shoulders of their mothers. Miaow Miaow also convinced again and were much luckier than a few weeks before in Dudelange when it was raining hard. Their catchy indie pop has enough hooks to make them more than just an interesting addition to the local scene, and what started as something like a supergroup has turned into one of the most consistent local providers of accessible indie rock. The Lion stage had, after half an hour delay, the Band Of Gnawa on next, and their only sales argument was to have Telephone guitarist Louis Bertignac among them. They were nothing but an average cover band with a couple of indigenously dressed Africans to give the whole thing a crossover touch between Seventies rock and Afro rock. This was no Osibisa, but a cheap attempt at cashing in on the ethnic hype. Babyoil meanwhile rocked truer on the Horse stage, and like always, they proved to be one of the meanest and most uncompromising rock bands at the moment. I can’t add much what hasn’t been said before, only that it’s time for them to start with the new songwriting, as the old standards need some refreshing new additions. Sulivan’s indie rock was ok, if a little harmless, and then I wandered to the Lion stage where former Supertramp vocalist Roger Hodgson was interpreting on keyboards and acoustic guitar many classics of his former band. Only accompanied by a saxophonist, he made clear that his voice is still fantastic, and even if these solo versions had deserved a more intimate setting, the thousands of fans were still mesmerised. And that’s when I decided to head home, missing the other headliner Alan Parsons with his Live Project. All in all, this has been one of the better Rock um Knuedler festivals. The weather was just great, the bands mostly very good, and the audience finally takes a higher interest in local music. What else can we wish for?
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| Serge Tonnar & Legotrip at the Rockhal in Esch/Alzette (27th June 2008) |
[28 Jun 2008|01:09pm] |
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Reverend Bizarre - III: So Long Suckers |
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Serge Tonnar is the grey eminence of Luxembourgish rock music, starting in the Eighties, making it through a string of bands (Blue Screw, Battaklang, Taboola Rasa, Zap Zoo) and being actually one of the few local musicians that live from their art without having to make compromises. Tonight he presented his new solo album “Pärele bei d’Sei”, recorded all by himself, although live he was joined by his backing band Legotrip. The evening was started though by hip hop newcomers De Läb who surprisingly won an Elie award last year, which helped them to affirm their position on the still quite underground scene. There are many hip hop artists practicing in Luxembourg, but it is still hard for them to gain access to the typical venues, and if they do from time to time, there is often such a culture shock that acceptance is sparse. Not so with De Läb who are on the one hand firmly grounded in hip hop and rap culture, but on the other hand get rid of all the macho shit from the start and deliver their perfectly rendered songs with a tongue in cheek sense of humour that makes them audience’s favourites from the start. Even tonight, where the age average was quite elevated, greying hippies had to smile at the intelligent, fast lyrics and even moved their arthritis plagued limbs decently to the beats. De Läb and Serge Tonnar an unlikely combination? Absolutely not! Both sing in Luxembourgish and have this wicked sense of black humour. They only use different means to deliver the goods. After a small break, it was time for Serge Tonnar to enter the stage, and it would be wrong to call Legotrip only a backing band. These are all artists older then thirty years, who probably have played together in different bands already a few times, and therefore it all sounded very cohesive and homogenous from the start (unlike last week where I was saddened to see Thorunn with the best musicians money can buy, and they still failed to sound like a real band). His new album “Pärele bei d’Sei” contains dark ballads with a certain cynical edge, with a concept of nothing-is-holy, making fun of old age, disco music, authority and many more. Of course there is an underlying feeling of melancholy, which maybe explains the Eastern European leanings, but everything is always countered with humour, like laughing in the face of despair. There are definitely better skilled musicians than Serge Tonnar in Luxembourg, but he probably knows best that technique is not the alpha and omega of a good song. What you need is a capturing story, authentic feelings and heart blood. He offers all of that, and even if the youngsters today prefer their fashion bands, you need to ask the question where they will be in five years from now. Serge Tonnar will still be around telling his stories about life. With an audience between 100 and 200 (I am so bad at estimating), it was still rather well visited, and the juxtaposition of hip hop and Tonnar’s crossover (blues, singer/songwriter, Eastern European, rock,…) was a great idea, culminating in the encores where De Läb joined Legotrip on stage, proving once and for all that young and old can coexist quite perfectly together.
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| Rock A Field at Roeser (21st June 2008) |
[22 Jun 2008|05:32pm] |
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Sotajumala - Teloitus |
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It may not have been a lucky move to have the third instalment of the Rock A Field festival at the same time as the Fête de la Musique all over the country, and the lack of really hip bands may have been another reason why there were “only” 8.500 people on the vast clearing near the town of Roeser. The last two years, the festival was on Sundays, which was a reason why I didn’t go there. This year I decided to have a look at the mostly rather popular bands, and after cruising for a couple of minutes through Bettembourg, not knowing where to find the WSA parking, we finally found some signs that brought us eventually to the large halls where everything was perfectly organised. The shuttle bus brought us to a forest behind Crauthem where we had to walk approximately one kilometre before we reached the entrance. The friendly weather made this bearable, and because people didn’t show up all at once, the files in front of the entrance were quite small. The festival started already at noon with Eternal Tango (who didn’t seem so happy later on when they had to pay for their drinks after having gone through their apparently too few backstage beers), who must have played in front of a growing audience, but I missed them as well as the Cribs and was just in time to see Culcha Candela, a German hip hop reggae band I only knew from a feature on MTV a few days earlier. Their music may have well been in touch with the hot weather, but overall their sound didn’t dare enough and was just too clean for its own good. Anti-Flag were next, and they must have been the most atypical band of the festival. Where most artists were into the more fashionable kinds of chart hitting rock music, the Pennsylvanians offered gritty punk rock with street appeal, with an emphasis on fast rhythms and a certain rock’n’roll feeling. What a nice way to lighten up the moods of the people who started suffering from the sun and were begging the Protection Civile for sun lotion. Brooklyn indie post punks We Are Scientiests’ more arty approach kept me mesmerised for the first twenty minutes, but eventually staring into the sun (the stage would have been better located at the other end of the clearing) became too tough for me, and I was crouching in one of the few shadier places. Dirty Pretty Things had to cancel their gig due to an acute hospitalisation of their vocalist, so that it was already time for Mando Diao, a Swedish band that has accumulated its share of fans over the years, also in Luxembourg. Their recent material seems smoother, and together with a horn section, they played groovy Sweden rock full of soul. The evening could start! First highlight of the evening for many people were The Kooks, one of those hyped British bands that adhere strongly to a Sixties sound, had a singer who sounded really strange when he was talking (according to Wikipedia, this is due to a speech impediment) in between songs, and I couldn’t really decide if I should admire their catchy songwriting or rather be disappointed at their too riskless approach. At least they seemed to have an authentic mellotron on stage. Hardly any band these days dares to travel with one of those bulky items. The kids in the audience seemed to like it, the sun was setting finally behind the stage, and the time for the headliner came closer and closer. The Verve may not have been active in the last ten years, although their vocalist Richard Ashcroft released a few solo albums that never reached the status of his band, but tonight they were back and it was clear that they were the act most people had been waiting for. I have to admit that I was only familiar with their hits “Bitter Sweet Symphony” and “The Drugs Don’t Work” (beautifully performed on acoustic guitar), and always had the impression that they never got the deserved attention behind more mediatised bands like Oasis and Blur, but Richard Ashcroft proved to be a truly charismatic frontman tonight, offering classic upon classic for the fans, and I think it must have been on “Life’s An Ocean” where they really got into some great instrumental parts. Of course, their melancholic approach isn’t really party material, but good music it was all the same. Trip hop act Unkle ended the evening, and it was a good choice to have a lesser known band finish, so that not everybody would leave at once, overburdening the shuttle service. Unkle were in a real rock mood though, coming with a regular band consisting among others of two guitarists, a bass player and a live drummer. There were two or three people playing electronics, but they somehow drowned in the rock instrumentarium. A little bit more electronica would have been welcome after all. The weather was great, the bands all more or less good, the people mostly behaved, the uniformed police officers seemed friendly, so you can say that despite less people, the festival was a success. The Atelier proved that they are also masters of organisation, with perfect transport, and acceptable files at the bar (it was smartest to get your drinks during the live sets). The half hour breaks between bands was a little on the long side, but at least the DJ had a good hand for picking only classics. The stage location was a bit unlucky, as the sun was in your eyes for most part of the afternoon. But apart from that, no complaints! In my personal opinion, it was a good idea to have the festival on a Saturday, as not everyone has the strength to make it through so many bands on a Sunday, so let’s hope that next year, they will be back again with an interesting program.
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| Fête de la Musique in Dudelange (14th June 2008) |
[15 Jun 2008|05:42pm] |
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some SACEM compilation I picked up at the Fête de la Musique |
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God doesn’t love the city of Dudelange, ruled by socialist mayors since the eve of civilisation. Or how can you explain that He adds one day of rain and cold winds in an otherwise string of dry days? When I arrived shortly after 6pm, the weather was still friendly enough, although at the Planet Luxembourg stage, Spleen proved that they are one of the most insipid local bands ever. Their music is so harmless, they try really hard not to be offensive, that their style deserves to be labelled fast food pop. Next! Only a few meters to the left stood the Main Stage which had the weakest program of the day. German kiddie pop punks Peilomat were stuck in one pattern, and their prepubescent lyrics were clearly aimed at the dozen twelve year old girls who were in heaven to have their heroes just for themselves. Nobody else was interested in their lame performance. I wonder if they fare better at the eLake festival in Echternach later this year in Autumn. The Why Not Stage had been relocated in front of the church, which made for a nice setting, giving Babyoil suitable surroundings for their dark alt rock songs. Sebb looked a little pale today, but apart from that, this was a good, routine set, offering even one new song. I stayed here, waiting for Six Pax to start their set at the same time as the rain decided to fall. It’s hard to get any party atmosphere started under these meteorological conditions. Bad weather means few people, and early hours means not yet enough beer, so Six Pax are probably better in a dry and late place. Fuck the fucking rain, as Testament’s Chuck Billy used to say on a legendary late-Eighties live set, and when I was at the Village de la Musique where the bands were selling their merchandise, I got stuck for many minutes under a tent, catching raindrops with my empty beer cup and waiting for the fuck the fucking rain to end. I heard Miaow Miaow playing in the distance, but don’t expect me to get all wet to be in front of the stage. Then I was hungry and went inside a kebab place, overhearing Stanfour play the main stage, but they didn’t sound that exciting from far away. Food was more enticing at the particular moment. The rain stopped when Winterkids started their set at the Why Not stage, and that’s no surprise, considering their friendly emo indie pop. More of this! Instead Hal Flavin were on next, and they were greeted by some more rain, for a change. I was standing under the awning of the pharmacy, getting upset by the weather, and even the Swedish band The Horror The Horror couldn’t make the clouds go away. Beer was as cheap as 1,50€, and the food was nice and plenty too. Let’s only wish now that Dudelange will have better weather for next year’s instalment. There were more bands up to play, but to me this only meant: screw you guys, I’m going home!
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