Pukkelpop 2018

[Trufflehound]

52 minutes ago, DiscothequeDave said:

Mauro was in Deus and Evil Superstars. If I remember rightly he curated one of the Pukkelpop stages a couple of years back.

Indeed, and I thought Evil Superstars were very good when they played the Marquee.

[Trufflehound]

39 minutes ago, DiscothequeDave said:

So flights are booked, bought some food and drinks tickets yesterday so we're committed now, just need to find myself a cheap ticket.

Weekend looks something like this for me at the moment, (pending clashes)

16/8 Death From Above - Kelly Lee Owens - UMO - Rag N Bone man - Grizzly Bear - Dua Lipa - Jess Glynne - TWOD - Bonobo or Martin Solveig - Arcade Fire

17/8 John Maus - NERD - Sons of Kemet - Goose - Todd Terje

18/8 Marlon Williams - Confidence Man - Ron Gallo - Gogo Penguin - RBCF - Justice - King Giz - Vitalic - Jungle - Kendrick Lamar

The ones in bold are the must-sees, the rest are expendable.

Looking forward to it now. Let's hope they pull something extra out of the bag for us in the next announcement.

John Maus was excellent at BKS a couple of weeks ago. OMD with yelling... (and weird dancing...)

[TheNewUnion]

Any thoughts on who the Belgian act that'll be announced via the app might be?

[DDave]

2 hours ago, TheNewUnion said:

Any thoughts on who the Belgian act that'll be announced via the app might be?

We'll, it's a band. They're doing a session so doubtful it's a DJ set.

Soulwax have a new album out this week and are probably the obvious choice, especially given there's a lot of repeats from 2016 and there's still a few Dance Hall spots to fill.

Past that I have no idea. Must be someone fairly big to warrant a separate announcement. Balthazar maybe?

 

 

[DDave]

On 6/26/2018 at 4:44 PM, TheNewUnion said:

Nope, not a clue I'm afraid ?

So this guy Willy Sommers is part of this band. Looks like a Belgian Cliff Richard to me. Think that is the Pukkelpop site on the video, he's played Rimpel Rock before, think the video may be from 2011.

He looks fun!

 

 

[TheNewUnion]

That'd be a laugh, the guy opening the Marquee a couple of years ago was a real highlight -Andre Brasseau (sp?) I think- so I would totally support a "legend slot"  

[DDave]

Solo artist. Could be Stromae, would probably be be headlining/closing though so fairly unlikely. Could be Ozark Henry.

Edited June 28, 2018 by DiscothequeDave

[DaveRSV4]

1 hour ago, DiscothequeDave said:

Solo artist. Could be Stromae, would probably be be headlining/closing though so fairly unlikely. Could be Ozark Henry.

Maybe this is a picture of Ruben Block (Triggerfinger) to set us off on the wrong track. Sure hope so. Stromae or Ozark, no thank you!This line-up could do with a little bit more rock ('n 'roll) :-) ??

Edited June 28, 2018 by DaveRSV4

[DDave]

52 minutes ago, DaveRSV4 said:

Maybe this is a picture of Ruben Block (Triggerfinger) to set us off on the wrong track. Sure hope so. Stromae or Ozark, no thank you!This line-up could do with a little bit more rock ('n 'roll) ???

Well this isn't gonna please you then!

Belgians Eurovision 2018 entrant seems to be playing Pukkelpop according to this...

https://www.rtlboulevard.nl/entertainment/artikel/4261471/belgische-sennek-vol-overgave-muziek

Edit - she is also part of Mauro Pawlowski's group, not doing a solo stint

Edited June 28, 2018 by DiscothequeDave

[DDave]

And if it concerns anyone, it will be Diablo BLVD's last tour 

http://bravewords.com/news/diablo-blvd-call-it-quits-announce-final-shows

[DDave]

New band is Warhola (me neither), playing early doors in the Dance Hall on the Friday. Not many decent slots left now.

Edited June 28, 2018 by DiscothequeDave

[TheNewUnion]

Nope, me neither. 

[Trufflehound]

14 minutes ago, DiscothequeDave said:

New band is Warhola (me neither)

They played PKP 2016.

Doesn't make them any less shit though. Lightweight pop for the kids...

Edited June 28, 2018 by Trufflehound

[DaveRSV4]

47 minutes ago, DiscothequeDave said:

New band is Warhola (me neither), playing early doors in the Dance Hall on the Friday. Not many decent slots left now.

Another boring act ? Only hope now is to get a couple of decent RW-acts. We'll probably here about it next week. Fingers crossed (again) 

[DDave]

39 minutes ago, DaveRSV4 said:

Another boring act ? Only hope now is to get a couple of decent RW-acts. We'll probably here about it next week. Fingers crossed (again) 

I thought we'd get Fleet Foxes personally but the only day they can play is Friday and the club and Marquee are pretty much full, can't see them playing the main either. Can't see James Bay hopping from PKP to the Uk and back to Lowlands but doesn't rule him out.

I'd say if we are to get any of the RW it'll more likely be out of Franz Ferdinand, Chvrches, the Vaccines and Post Malone. Most of the other contenders are either ruled out, v.unlikely or not big enough to have Belgian exclusivity clauses. Post Malone is in Finland on the same weekend and is pure Pukkelpop fodder so I'd say he's the most likely, unfortunately.

[Semprini]

So any other English folk considering boycotting Pukkelpop after that result tonight? Seriously, what a bunch of ungrateful buggers. All these years we've been travelling over there, boosting their economy and they have the audacity to beat us in the World Cup?!? They might make nice beer and chocolates and put on decent festivals but this is a whole other level. Shocking behaviour.

Anyway, if (and it's a BIG if) I do still go there's actually quite a lot I'm looking forward to seeing. Not sure what the announcement policy is this year, what with the random Belgian bands getting released over the last couple of weeks, but now I've spent a bit of time trawling through the nether regions of the line up I'm more than happy with what's on offer (Friday excluded of course). Been into them for a good while now but didn't really appreciate until recently just how great the new TWOD album is. They're definite headline material for me and could have probably propped Thursday up on their own (with support from Dua Lipa) but Arcade Fire on top just takes the Main to another level of bigness. Only issue for me that night is what's also on offer in the Boiler and Castello as would love to see Marcel Dettman, Kiasmos and especially Bicep (probably my no. 1 for the whole weekend so not missing them for anyone). Horse Meat Disco and Denis Sulta in the Booth are on my list but will probably be able to dip in and out of both.

Friday isn't as much of a write off for me as it is for others, mainly because of the Boiler. I love a bit of DnB and Dimension was actually one of my wish list acts so will definitely be there for him. DJ Hype is a legend and Sub Focus is one of my favourite producers (would have preferred a live set and not really sure why that wasn't booked?). As for the other stages, SOPHIE, David August and Todd Terje in the Castello will all be decent and I'll definitely try to check out OR:LA and Call Super in the Booth. Looking forward to wandering around the stages in between those acts as there's always something to find. Still holding out hopes for Despacio (it's long overdue at PKP) as could quite easily lose a few hours in there (toilet/beer breaks permitting). 

Saturday is shaping up to be potentially one of the best days in the history of the festival (for me anyway). Confidence Man will be on another level of amazing and I've got RBCF on rotation at the moment so can't wait for them. Ron Gallo, Jungle , Sleaford Mods, Gogo Penguin, Maribou State, King Gizz, The Joy Formidable, The Blaze and Vitalic are all on my list which should (clashes permitting) nicely fill up the afternoon and evening. Pretty sure I'll see Justice but Nina Kraviz is a more than welcome alternative if not. Boiler is great too as will definitely check out Kolsch, Tiga and my big DJ find this year - Patrice Baumal b2b Guy J. Awesome Tapes from Africa and The Egyptian Lover in the Booth will both be well worth a look too.

Granted there's definitely room for improvement in a lot of areas and there's quite a few bands that are potentially available but missing. However you've got to be realistic in terms of budget and the timetable so in that sense I don't think they've done a bad job this year. Big impression I'm getting off social media is that the 'older crowd' (I include myself in this) are at a bit of a cross roads with the festival and feel dis-attached from the line up and apparent direction they're heading in. I think the Marquee last year went a long way towards appeasing that crowd but it's not the case this time. I'm pretty sure some of my regular friends are going more out of tradition and loyalty than any affiliation or connection with the line up but how long that continues I don't know? I still think there's enough space in a 200 plus line up to please both the youngsters and us old folk but it's a balancing act that perhaps needs a bit more attention than has been given the past couple of years.

But I digress, let's not let any of this distract us from the fact that those pesky Belgian's have got well above their station tonight. We'll see who's smiling when they play Brazil in the quarters while we coast through against whoever has the misfortune to meet us in the 'easy' half of the draw. 

[DDave]

7 hours ago, Semprini said:

 Big impression I'm getting off social media is that the 'older crowd' (I include myself in this) are at a bit of a cross roads with the festival and feel dis-attached from the line up and apparent direction they're heading in.

Agreed. In all honesty this will probably be my last Pukkelpop. If it wasn't for Arcade Fire I don't think I'd be going this year and this'll be the 4th time I'll have seen them in 2 years so could have really skipped it altogether. It's a pity cos I love the festival and it's nicely timed in the year for me. Gonna go out with a bang though and as you say that Saturday has the potential to be one of the best Pukkelpop days yet.

[DDave]

15 hours ago, Semprini said:

Still holding out hopes for Despacio (it's long overdue at PKP) as could quite easily lose a few hours in there (toilet/beer breaks permitting). 

 

 

Just noticed that 2manyDJs are playing Pacha in Ibiza on the Saturday, pretty much rules them out for Despacio as they normally spread it over the whole weekends of festivals. Could happen I suppose with a private jet and an early finish on the Saturday for them or with some guest DJ's instead but can't see it tbh.

Edited June 29, 2018 by DiscothequeDave

[TheNewUnion]

7 hours ago, DiscothequeDave said:

Agreed. In all honesty this will probably be my last Pukkelpop. If it wasn't for Arcade Fire I don't think I'd be going this year and this'll be the 4th time I'll have seen them in 2 years so could have really skipped it altogether. It's a pity cos I love the festival and it's nicely timed in the year for me. Gonna go out with a bang though and as you say that Saturday has the potential to be one of the best Pukkelpop days yet.

Yeah, I can see this being my last too sadly. I'm also heading to NOS Alive in Portugal and whilst it's not a "real" festival in the same way PKP is (it's a bit more of a gig in a carpark) it represents much better value for money. Hotels are cheaper, and tickets are cheaper and the lineup is always incredibly strong (Arctic Monkeys, Queens of the Stone Age, Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails etc this year and The Stone Roses, The Cure and Radiohead the first time I went) and they tend a bit more towards guitars which is my preference. Such a shame as I have had some of my very best festival days at Pukkel. I am sure I will not go next year but will inevitably be tempted back in a couple of years.

[DDave]

57 minutes ago, TheNewUnion said:

Yeah, I can see this being my last too sadly. I'm also heading to NOS Alive in Portugal and whilst it's not a "real" festival in the same way PKP is (it's a bit more of a gig in a carpark) it represents much better value for money. Hotels are cheaper, and tickets are cheaper and the lineup is always incredibly strong (Arctic Monkeys, Queens of the Stone Age, Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails etc this year and The Stone Roses, The Cure and Radiohead the first time I went) and they tend a bit more towards guitars which is my preference. Such a shame as I have had some of my very best festival days at Pukkel. I am sure I will not go next year but will inevitably be tempted back in a couple of years.

 I'll be looking at Nos Alive next year as well as BBK Bilbao. BBK is probably the festival I would have gone to instead of Pukkelpop had the line ups been released at the same time, think they've done a great job, particularly with the competition from Mad Cool this year. The downside of Pukkelpop is that by the time the line up is released, if it's not to your taste most of the other festivals have either sold out or the flights increase in price which is the situation with BBK this year.  

I'm also determined to tick more bands off my list, which has already got a lot of ticks on it, and the bigger, more established bands that I've not seen are unlikely to be the bands that will be booked for Pukkelpop for the foreseeable future (the likes of Neil Young, The Strokes, New Order, The Cure, Kasabian etc) These bands won't be around forever you know!

I'll keep an eye on 2019 for sure and I've even reserved the rooms already just in case but if it carries on the way it is going then I'll be elsewhere, sadly.

 

P.S @TheNewUnion Simon Day from the Fast Show at NOS wtf? lol

Edited June 29, 2018 by DiscothequeDave

[TheNewUnion]

I saw Simon Day on the lineup, I assume he is performing in English?

BBK Lineup does (for my taste) look a heck of a lot better than Pukkel this year. NOS is a good festival, we stay in Estoril which is a beach resort on the Cascais to Lisbon train line. Nice beach, nice walk to Cascais, plenty of nice restaurants etc. NOS only starts about 5-6pm too, so you can have a day at the pool/beach then head in once the weather has cooled. Trains run all night and are included in your ticket price. There's a lot going for it, just check out the past lineups, very few dud headliners. (http://nosalive.com/en/previous-editions/)

 

 

 

[arcuse]

3 hours ago, DiscothequeDave said:

Just noticed that 2manyDJs are playing Pacha in Ibiza on the Saturday, pretty much rules them out for Despacio as they normally spread it over the whole weekends of festivals. Could happen I suppose with a private jet and an early finish on the Saturday for them or with some guest DJ's instead but can't see it tbh.

I don't think they have to be there all weekend I think. I think they played somewhere else aswell when they did DESPACIO at Sonar.

[DDave]

2 hours ago, arcuse said:

I don't think they have to be there all weekend I think. I think they played somewhere else aswell when they did DESPACIO at Sonar.

The fairly early set times give me a little hope..

https://sonar.es/es/2018/artistas/despacio-james-murphy-2manydjs

[Semprini]

On 6/29/2018 at 4:26 PM, DiscothequeDave said:

I'm also determined to tick more bands off my list, which has already got a lot of ticks on it, and the bigger, more established bands that I've not seen are unlikely to be the bands that will be booked for Pukkelpop for the foreseeable future (the likes of Neil Young, The Strokes, New Order, The Cure, Kasabian etc) These bands won't be around forever you know!

This is probably the main issue I have with the festival this year. I completely get that they're trying to reach out to a younger demographic by booking all these hip hop and rap artists but when you've got 8 stages why can't you fill a couple of them with more contemporary and (for want of a better description) old acts? They struck a really nice balance last year and the Marquee was shaping up to be the 'go to' stage for us old folk but it just seems muddled and a bit of a mess this year (Shelter day aside, which isn't of much interest to me personally but I'm happy to see it there all the same).

I'm willing to bet they'll be a bigger crowd at the Main for Dua Lipa than (definitely) TWOD and (possibly) Arcade Fire. That's no dig at either of those two bands but more a reflection on the direction the festival is going in. For what it's worth I think they should fill the Main with all the stuff the kids want to see to keep them happy and put all the bands us old folk like in the Marquee and Club. Most of them probably only go to the Dance Hall (which has died a death in the last couple of years imo), Boiler and Main so they don't care who is on the other stages.

[DDave]

1 hour ago, Semprini said:

This is probably the main issue I have with the festival this year. I completely get that they're trying to reach out to a younger demographic by booking all these hip hop and rap artists but when you've got 8 stages why can't you fill a couple of them with more contemporary and (for want of a better description) old acts? They struck a really nice balance last year and the Marquee was shaping up to be the 'go to' stage for us old folk but it just seems muddled and a bit of a mess this year (Shelter day aside, which isn't of much interest to me personally but I'm happy to see it there all the same).

I'm willing to bet they'll be a bigger crowd at the Main for Dua Lipa than (definitely) TWOD and (possibly) Arcade Fire. That's no dig at either of those two bands but more a reflection on the direction the festival is going in. For what it's worth I think they should fill the Main with all the stuff the kids want to see to keep them happy and put all the bands us old folk like in the Marquee and Club. Most of them probably only go to the Dance Hall (which has died a death in the last couple of years imo), Boiler and Main so they don't care who is on the other stages.

Agree with all of that. I reckon Dua Lipa and Kendrick will be the biggest crowds of the weekend.