Rock Werchter 2023

[Jefb]

1 hour ago, BenG92 said:

I mean, so far RW23 is big acts from 18, 19 and 22 😅 hardly inventive with the big names, but yeah, maybe that's a step too far

Last time Stromae at RW was 2014, those separate events don´t count for the main event

[BenG92]

5 minutes ago, Jefb said:

Last time Stromae at RW was 2014, those separate events don´t count for the main event

I agree, but in the context of what the guy I was replying to was saying, I see what he means

Stromae for me is the only exciting one so far, would like to see Rosalia on the same day

[Nicklord]

I mean, last year RW team organized shows with RHCP, Metallica, Pearl Jam, Imagine Dragons, 21 Pilots, Killers, Gorillaz, Nick Cave, Florence and the Machine, Stromae, Placebo... They missed only like Jack White, Muse and Kings of Leon of huge touring rock acts. They're always going to have a lot of repeats 

[charlierc]

4 hours ago, 49Lawson said:

And there’s the Muse confirmation. There’s the ones we knew out of the way, now the real fun can begin…

Well given Muse prematurely announced it themselves, this isn't a surprise.

Last time's undercard for them was pretty weak so it might be interesting to see if that's any different this time. Same with AM, for that matter. Plenty of time for it to be announced in any case.

[polnico]

Just now, charlierc said:

Well given Muse prematurely announced it themselves, this isn't a surprise.

Last time's undercard for them was pretty weak so it might be interesting to see if that's any different this time. Same with AM, for that matter. Plenty of time for it to be announced in any case.

Don't agree about AM's undercard being weak in 2018, Nick Cave subbed them preceded by Noel Gallagher, all while Nine Inch Nails was playing in the Barn. That day also had Idles (fairly unknown at the time), Eels, David Byrne, Parov Stelar, Post Malone,... Muse's undercard in 2019 however, was very weak indeed.

[BenG92]

Man, only Rock Werchter could have New Order, Underworld, Rosalia, Lizzo, Yungblud, Parkway Drive, Zeal & Ador, Greta Van Fleet, Amyl & The Sniffers and Ibibio Sound Machine as the undercard on one day and be considered weak 😅 

[charlierc]

2 minutes ago, polnico said:

Don't agree about AM's undercard being weak in 2018, Nick Cave subbed them preceded by Noel Gallagher, all while Nine Inch Nails was playing in the Barn. That day also had Idles (fairly unknown at the time), Eels, David Byrne, Parov Stelar, Post Malone,... Muse's undercard in 2019 however, was very weak indeed.

Happy to admit I'm corrected then. Maybe I'm misremembering from my 2018 time when I decided that Mad Cool's undercard was more of interest for me to see AM than Werchter. Either that or it came down to ticket availability. Much more solid than I gave it credit for then.

Saying that I didn't care for Noel Gallagher's act when I saw it in Paris. David Byrne would've been awesome though.

I think in general 2018 had stronger line-ups than 2019's festivals in Europe tbf. But yeah. I remember the line-up for Muse day, seeing it and was quite underwhelmed.

[BenG92]

RW18 is one of those posters I show my friends and they think I'm making it up. Absolutely bonkers that a lineup is so strong you have NIN subbing the second stage.

[lighthouse]

15 minutes ago, charlierc said:

Well given Muse prematurely announced it themselves, this isn't a surprise.

Last time's undercard for them was pretty weak so it might be interesting to see if that's any different this time. Same with AM, for that matter. Plenty of time for it to be announced in any case.

You are joking right? That sunday AM was playing was probably the most stacked a single day RW has ever been. Nick Cave alone sells more tickets than the likes of THe Killers, QOTSA, Gorillaz (to name 3 other headliners that year) and he had his own day at TW Classic this year. Plus Nine Inch Nails, David Byrne, Eels, Noel Gallagher, Post Palone in a very early slot, Fever Ray, Idles, Parov Stelar,... They will never top that day.

That Muse undercard was also very strong, bar the obvious weak subheadliner. I remeber Lizzo prictically opening The Barn and Parkway Drive playing an afternoon slot. Not menioning the New Order/Underworld double whammy in the tents before/during Muse... 

[polnico]

14 minutes ago, BenG92 said:

Man, only Rock Werchter could have New Order, Underworld, Rosalia, Lizzo, Yungblud, Parkway Drive, Zeal & Ador, Greta Van Fleet, Amyl & The Sniffers and Ibibio Sound Machine as the undercard on one day and be considered weak 😅 

Actually I also stand corrected about that day, line up was great, but Greta subbing was somewhat of a disappointment compared to what I was used too. I think this is the main problem, I am used to some insane combinations, so I get disappointed quickly when they go "subpar". I am just getting old and greedy I guess.

[Floyd_Ams]

With RW it's always good to wait for the full lineup before concluding whether the poster is good or bad. With the exception of that Saturday last summer, The Barn and KlubC will always save the day when I don't fancy what's going on in the main stage. I still remember 2019 when P!nk was announced as headliner. The whole main stage lineup was not that interesting for me that day. But then...Paul Kalkbrenner, Richard Ashcroft, Olafur Arnalds, Mogwai, Maribou, Elbow, The Vintage Caravan came along and all was good 😉

[charlierc]

13 minutes ago, lighthouse said:

You are joking right? That sunday AM was playing was probably the most stacked a single day RW has ever been. Nick Cave alone sells more tickets than the likes of THe Killers, QOTSA, Gorillaz (to name 3 other headliners that year) and he had his own day at TW Classic this year. Plus Nine Inch Nails, David Byrne, Eels, Noel Gallagher, Post Palone in a very early slot, Fever Ray, Idles, Parov Stelar,... They will never top that day.

 

I'm happy to admit my critique of AM day in 2018 was premature and retracted that observation.

[charlierc]

10 minutes ago, polnico said:

Actually I also stand corrected about that day, line up was great, but Greta subbing was somewhat of a disappointment compared to what I was used too. I think this is the main problem, I am used to some insane combinations, so I get disappointed quickly when they go "subpar". I am just getting old and greedy I guess.

Maybe it was just such a prominent role for GvF that didn't help and a stronger name in their stead would've elevated things a bit.

Equally, I seem to recall 2019 in general not being quite as "Oh my god I must see all of this" in comparison to 2018, but maybe it was more of an alright year that struggled to follow a year where a lot of big names were on tour.

[charlierc]

5 minutes ago, Floyd_Ams said:

With RW it's always good to wait for the full lineup before concluding whether the poster is good or bad. With the exception of that Saturday last summer, The Barn and KlubC will always save the day when I don't fancy what's going on in the main stage. I still remember 2019 when P!nk was announced as headliner. The whole main stage lineup was not that interesting for me that day. But then...Paul Kalkbrenner, Richard Ashcroft, Olafur Arnalds, Mogwai, Maribou, Elbow, The Vintage Caravan came along and all was good 😉

I mean, sure - Arctic Monkeys have headlined this 3 times, as have Muse I think. So I can see why a 4th time for each would be more than a bit underwhelming for some, especially given both have done it in the last 4 years, and I say that as someone who is a big fan of both. But a strong undercard bill can still rescue it tbf.

See what happens innit.

[BenG92]

5 minutes ago, Floyd_Ams said:

With the exception of that Saturday last summer, The Barn and KlubC will always save the day

Even that Saturday had Bicep closing Klub and it was easily a top 3 set of the weekend for us! And NBT and Phoebe, just a lot of downtime around that. We used it to go to a cash machine to pay back a food vendor outside we'd shortchanged 😅

[polnico]

2 minutes ago, Floyd_Ams said:

With RW it's always good to wait for the full lineup before concluding whether the poster is good or bad. With the exception of that Saturday last summer, The Barn and KlubC will always save the day when I don't fancy what's going on in the main stage. I still remember 2019 when P!nk was announced as headliner. The whole main stage lineup was not that interesting for me that day. But then...Paul Kalkbrenner, Richard Ashcroft, Olafur Arnalds, Mogwai, Maribou, Elbow, The Vintage Caravan came along and all was good 😉

Fully agree with this, my only real disappoitment regarding recent lineups is the cancellation of 2020, man did this poster look amazing. Other than that, never had a fully empty day there, Saturday 2022 was the closest, but the dance closing acts (Jamie XX and Bicep) in tents more than made up for it on my side.

[Floyd_Ams]

Yup, I agree! Even on that Saturday (the weakest RW day I can remember for my taste) we had plenty of fun at the end. That Bicep set was awesome indeed!

[Floyd_Ams]

6 minutes ago, charlierc said:

I mean, sure - Arctic Monkeys have headlined this 3 times, as have Muse I think. So I can see why a 4th time for each would be more than a bit underwhelming for some, especially given both have done it in the last 4 years, and I say that as someone who is a big fan of both. But a strong undercard bill can still rescue it tbf.

See what happens innit.

I'll be very surprised if there isn't a strong undercard this year cause...well, there (almost) always is! So I remain hopeful although the three first announcements didn't excite me one bit.

[Aech2ElectricBoogaloo]

The crowd for Muse at the front was so bad last time I've never seen a crowd like it. It was as if Ed Sheeran was playing was next and they were waiting at the front for him. Even Matt was getting annoyed with how brain dead the crowd were. 

[Nicklord]

Who headlined RW the most? Pearl Jam, RHCP? Anyone want to do some math lol

[Archi]

8 minutes ago, Nicklord said:

Who headlined RW the most? Pearl Jam, RHCP? Anyone want to do some math lol

8 Metallica
6 Pearl Jam
5 Muse
4 Red Hot Chili Peppers - Rammstein
3 Editors - Arctic Monkeys - Green Day

[BenG92]

4 minutes ago, Archi said:

8 Metallica
6 Pearl Jam
5 Muse
4 Red Hot Chili Peppers - Rammstein
3 Editors - Arctic Monkeys - Green Day

Bored at work, my very non-scientific count for the last 20 years only was something like:

6: Pearl Jam, Metallica, Muse

5: Rammstein, Kings of Leon

4: Chemical Brothers, Coldplay, RHCP

3: The Cure, Florence, Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead, Editors, REM, Green Day

Probably wrong on a few, just eyed it up

[Dales]

Lifted from the Madcool Festival English Facebook group. No idea is ligit.

[Archi]

13 minutes ago, BenG92 said:

Bored at work, my very non-scientific count for the last 20 years only was something like:

6: Pearl Jam, Metallica, Muse

5: Rammstein, Kings of Leon

4: Chemical Brothers, Coldplay, RHCP

3: The Cure, Florence, Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead, Editors, REM, Green Day

Probably wrong on a few, just eyed it up

It depends on how you count headline / co-headline indeed. Rammstein and Red Hot were like co-headliners in 2002 but RHCP was the biggest name on the flyer. For Metallica, I also count 1993 and 1999... Good point for Coldplay, I forget them. Btw they were like co-headline in 2003 with REM. In 2015, Florence wasn't really an headliner after Foo Fighters cancelled so I'd count her only twice. 

In 2022, with Metallica, Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers, we almost had an all-star line-up... only missed Muse.

[Archi]

1 minute ago, Dales said:

Lifted from the Madcool Festival English Facebook group. No idea is ligit.

Stromae is not on the poster. Depeche Mode don't play Graspop and would never be below Muse. It's impossible to image such a metal day on Friday: RATM + SOAD + BMTH + KoRn + Architects + Gojira... too many big acts and too many metal bands. The design is also horrible and far away from what RW usually does. Just a bad fake tbh!