faith/fate

finally it was the day of the Rise And Fall release show. I’ve been looking forward to this since the day it got announced. I arrived a bit late, so I missed Sex Drive. from what I’ve heard, they were pretty good. something in the vein of Pissed Jeans. first band I saw then was Hessian. I’m glad I finally got to see them. there are a lot of young bands around, but Hessian is one of the few I actually like. either that, or I’m missing out on a bunch of cool bands. Dead Swans were next. it was kinda disappointing. don’t get me wrong, they didn’t play a bad show or anything. there just wasn’t any reaction of the audience. there was a big open space in front of the stage, which didn’t help at all. they mostly played songs of their new album, Anxiety And Everything Else. worth mentioning that Theo from Last Witness did guest-vocals during Southern Blue. pretty rad! second to last band, Iron Age! first off, big thank you to guys in Rise And Fall to convince these guys to fly over, and play a one-time reunion. it was mind blowing. I think they almost played everything that’s on The Sleeping Eye, and that happens to be my favorite Iron Age release. then for the major bummer of the evening; I only saw 15 minutes of Rise And Fall. I had to catch the last train, and there was no other way to get home. anyway, the five songs I saw were amazing. I already said it once, but Rise And Fall will never disappoint I guess. I just hope the next time I get to see their full set! as for purchases: I scored Faith with the release show sleeve, limited to only 80. besides that I also bought Rise And Fall’s Deceiver 7”, and the Ceremony - Zoo 12”.

the long march

thanks to Kristof, who gave me a ride, I managed go see Henry Rollins tonight. I admire Henry Rollins, in so many ways, for so many things. it’s impossible to tell how glad I am I finally saw one his spoken words. he came on stage tonight, and started talking for the full 2 hours and 40 minutes. not a “hey, how are you all doing?”. no, straight to the point. the next almost 3 hours were like a whirlwind of words. story, after story, after story. going from when he was playing a show with Black Flag where a girl lost her eye, to traveling to Vietnam to hear their side of the American war (as they like to call it), only to end up with an old man named Kha who likes to make fun of John McCain. he can tell a bunch of serious things, but then suddenly tell something hilarious (but still all very true). this man sees and experiences so much, it’s crazy. needless to say, time flew by. those 3 hours merely felt like 30 minutes. I just want to sit down, and listen for days to all the things he has to say.

Ieperfest '11 (day 3)

I was gonna go all three days but I got a bit sick and didn’t think it was a god idea to go camping for 3 days then. luckily for me a friend of mine drove to Ieperfest today and I got to drive along. roadtrip! first band we saw was Betrayal, the reason why my friend went in the first place. they were actually kinda good. I didn’t really listen to them a lot, but they surprised me, cool band! second band was Black haven. I hadn’t seen them yet since the release of Harmbringer earlier this year, so I was really looking forward to seeing them. they were tight, fuck. they would’ve been a lot cooler if they played on the smaller stage, but that’s just a detail. I’m already I got see them. after them we saw Fatal recoil. one word; meh. afterwards we went to see EF. kind of the odd one out, but they were nice. I should definitely listen more to them in the future. next up was Death before dishonor, but I only saw them from a distance. after them we saw For the fallen dreams. really not my kind of music. I don’t see any appeal to it. the next band would me make forget all about them; The secret. forget everything you think you know about heavy music. this band, wow. their music was like a bulldozer riding over your head at high speed, with the exception of two songs. hard, heavy, really slow. another band I’m happy about that I saw them. after The secret, Kvelertak was up. holy hell, they were just brilliant. already supercool on CD but live it’s twice as awesome. headbanged through their set. final band for us was Bury your dead. just released a new album + they re-united with their former singer. indescribable hard. they played a lot of old songs (particularly from Cover your tracks), including Magnolia. perfect song to end this day.

Ode to youth

Flood floor shows. apparently a new promoter, that will organize floor show, as the name already says. first band on tonight’s bill was More than meets the eye. not really my cup of tea but they weren’t bad. they’re good at what they do. the only thing that bothered me was the amount of youngsters that had to show off their latest dancing-moves. second band was Lasting traces. I’ve already seen them at Perceptions-fest last year, so I was looking forward to them. to me this show was way better. the sound was better, they just sounded better. everybody stood close to the band, that helped as well. next up was Midnight souls, one of the best Belgian bands at the moment. no complains, they’re always tight. I saw them at Rock Herk a couple of weeks ago but the atmosphere here was much better, due to the fact it was a rather small venue. second to last band, Grieved. never heard them before, but they really blew me away. the entire band was so full of energy, it was amazing. they played a short set though, because they had to stick to the time-table. then it was time for Gold kids. I only go to see one song at Rock Herk so I was glad they played here again. they were amazing, but I wasn’t expecting anything less. another band full of energy, just the way I like them. I have the feeling their set was a bit shorter than usual as well. nevertheless, I enjoyed them.

Rock Herk '11

Rock Herk was awesome. really wet, but awesome. Otto Von Schirach was the only thing I wanted to see on Friday. he was fun, as always, but some of his songs were too dubstep-isch for me. Saturday started off with Midnight souls. they never disappoint, good start off the day. next band was Kingdom, the Belgian one. first time ever I saw them and they really impressed me. goosebumps all over. I was supposed to see Gold kids next but the running order changed and I only saw the last song of their set, bummer. maybe I’ll go see them in a couple of weeks. More than life were late so they started an hour late. so glad I finally got to see them again, good set. last but not least, Swans. the most intense show I’ve ever seen I think. goosebumps all over, again. so glad I got to see them.