- date: July 6th-9th, 2000
- venue: Open Air (BEL, Dour)
- presale: 1900 LUF , doors: 2100 LUF
- audience: about 30000
As in '98 and '99, I wasn't present on Thursday at the festival for the following reasons:
1) I had to work. 2) Only Techno acts and DJs were performing. I was just a bit sad that The
Flying Dewaele Brothers were already playing that day. They are the heads behind Soulwax and
I would have liked seeing them again.
The festival actually began for me (and Mendaly) on Friday and the first band we watched
were the French Punk Rock Sensation BURNING HEADS from Orléans. Their fast but easy
listening music was the perfect start to improve one's mood on such a rainy day. Although I
enjoyed the concert very much, the sun wasn't interesting in appearing on the sky. Even their Reggea
song '?' couldn't help there.
Next, I saw DAS POP, a Belgian newcomer that will release its first CD in October. Although
they haven't released anything yet, the reactions by the public were overwhelming. They were
playing the typical Belgian New Pop, like lots of bands (dEUS, Moondog Jr,...) already did
before. But Das Pop have the right feeling for beautiful melodies and cute pop songs, and
they may be the next band to shake on Soulwax's throne of Belgian Pop.
As I missed DAY ONE in April when they played in Luxemburg, I was eager to see them in Belgium.
On their CD, they present an easy-listening mixture of Pop and Triphop which doesn't sound bad
at all. But their music isn't suitable for live performances. It sounded too sterile, Day One
were just standing there around and you had the impression that their CD was running in the
background.
Then THE STRANGLERS were playing on the main stage. I first thought that they may have become
old farts, unable to play fresh sounding songs. But I was wrong. The Stranglers were laying
a long list of hits (Always The Sun, Golden Brown, Lola,...). OK, those mid-eighties sterile
sounding Pop Wave music may be an anachronism in the year 2000, but seeing a legend live is
too me at least an interesting experience.
It was time to see another band which I know already for ages; FISHBONE. Six or seven musicians
were celebrating a real party on stage. They were running and dancing around and trying to
create Caribian feelings in Belgium. Even if their mixture of Ska, Reggea, World and Punk was
extremely vivid, it was too cold to stay in front of the open air stage for a long time. If it
were warmer, I would certainly have enjoyed that exotic kind of crossover much more.
A very sick experience was the gig by FANTOMAS, a band which consists of Mike Pattan, another
Mr Bungle musician, Dave Lamborda und a musician from The Melvins. This star ensemble created
strange, weird and jazzy song structures which surely were inspired by John Zorn. Impossible
to follow these songs, we enjoyed them, were laughing a lot and began to invent similar songs.
Definitely amusing and funny!
Not at all up to my taste was the performance by JAH WOBBLE & BILL LASWELL & THE INVADERS OF
THE HEART. Both musicians have reached a cult status during their career and have the reputation
to be excellent bass players. But what they did tonight had to much to do with World Music and
Ethno stuff. Surely interesting, but not for me.
The biggest disappointment this Friday was the gig by SHELTER. Each of their records was a
little jewel so far, but their live performance was miles away from their musical outputs.
First of all, the sound was dumb and it was impossible to hear the vocals. So I was looking
forward in vain to one of the world's greatest Emo Core bands.
At midnight, it was time for MOTÖRHEAD. About two and a half years ago, they played
a fantastic and loud gig in Luxemburg. Tonight they didn't have their best day. First of
all they began with lots of delay, then there were some sound problems. Lemmy got annoyed
and after each song, he left the stage for a short while. As it was too cold for this time,
I saw no reason why I should stay outside and went into the VIP-tent to warm up a bit.
The last band I saw this evening were the English Punk legends BUZZCOCKS. My brother Pascal
warned me that he had seen them 5 or 6 years ago and then, they were only playing new songs
and refused to play the classic ones. Furthermore, they had been absolutely unmotivated. This
time everything had been different. The Buzzcocks were playing their finest Pop Punk tunes
and their set contained a huge number of classics, even 'Orgasm Addict' was played. Pete
Shelley really has a melodic voice and is still sounding fresh, even more than ten years after
the band foundation. After this nostalgic event, it was time to sleep some hours in my tent.
Saturday started quite disappointing. It was still raining and the first band I saw (THE GRAND
PIANO) couldn't convince with boring and melancholic Pop Music. Then it was time for the sickest
act at the entire festival: LTNO. This industrial act fixed the microphone to a naked man and
the male singer was disguised as a real slut. The show was so overwhelming that I didn't pay
much attention to the music, but that wasn't too important at that amusing moment.
Then I watched a band which had also already played several times in Luxemburg; CLUTCH. I can
only say that I've seldom heard so great noise orgys. Distortions belong to this band's strongest
point. After that, I needed to calm down a bit, which was possible thanks to the help of BOB
LOG III. I've never heard of that weirdo before, but this one man gang with mask and guitar
had no difficulties in becoming a fan favourite. A musical comparison may be this other strange
guy who's singer wearing a Mexican wrestling mask, but I don't find his name now. His act wasn't
very precious from the musical point of view, but he definitely deserved the comic award of the
day.
GARDEN OF DELIGHT weren't absolutely up to my taste. It was one of the first comeback concerts
of this German Electro Gothic band, but I'm not to familiar with that kind of music. The most
interesting was Mendaly's remark about the singer's look; she compared him to the German fashion
designer Rudolph Moshammer and I think she wasn't to wrong.
I needed a drastic musical change and the next three bands I watched came out of the Hardcore
movement: SON OF SKAM, MADBALL and CRO-MAGS. All three were able to entertain the public with
energetic and powerful shows. I first was a bit afraid that the Cro-Mags wouldn't be the same
band I already knew about ten years ago. But the men about Harley Flanagan didn't disappoint
at all. Another surprise was the introduction of the guitar player: Rocky George from the
Suicidal Tendencies. Mr. Flanagan was quite an arrogant a**h*l* on stage, but he doesn't
only play Hardcore, he's living that way of life.
While Mendaly watched the - as I think too much Techno orientated - COVENANT, I was quickly
annoyed by that kind of music and stepped back to the Cannibal Blue Stage where AGNOSTIC FRONT
were playing. The stage was full of fans and it was nearly impossible to see one single musician,
but what I heard wasn't bad at all: "From The Eastside To The Westside, Gotta Gotta Gotta Go...".
I just hope that they didn't just play the CD on stage, but anyway, who cares when the atmosphere
in the tent is just great.
Then I watched YO LA TENGO, a band I always have trouble listening to. Their music isn't
easy listening enough to me. They don't know if they want to play Pop, Rock, Noise or whatever.
But this is of course just a personal opinion and most fans really liked what they did.
Only a bit later, crowds of people were assembling in front of the main stage where it was
time for DIE EINSTÜRZENDEN NEUBAUTEN. This band from Berlin has already been existing
for about 20 years and has reached a huge cult status. Blixa Bargeld were fascinating the
audience with bizarre instruments, lots of improvisations and even more charm. I was just
disappointed that I didn't know a single song which was played during this hour, but this
is definitely my own fault.
Last band of this evening were IN EXTREMO. I really was looking forward to their gig, but I
was so tired that I returned to my tent, and I knew that I could see them one month later
at the Taubertal Festival.
Sunday began with SEESAW, an excellent German Alternative Pop band. They know how to write
beautiful melodies and they enjoyed playing, even if one a few hundred people were watching
while standing in the rain. Highlight of their gig was the cover version of 'Come Back And
Stay' by Paul Young.
Then it was time for three charming ladies; SLEATER KINNEY. Their music is a sweet combination
of Pop, Rock, Noise and Punk, a perfect mix of melodies and distortions. There weren't still
much people standing in front of the stage because of the rain, but all were cheering the
three girls who were always communicating with the public. This was one of the best gigs of
the day.
After having watched a bit of the quite boring French Metalcore band L'ESPRIT DU CLAN, I
returned to the main stage to see DEAD MAN RAY, another interesting Belgian Pop band including
elements like Triphop, Folk, Electro and even a little Techno into their music. The fans
were very popular with that material, and I enjoyed it, too. I even recognized one of their
songs which was often played on Belgian radio station Radio 21.
Back at the Cannibal Blue Stage for GLUECIFER. The hype about Scandinavian Rock'n'Roll already
begins to vanish, but Gluecifer didn't give a shit about it. They combined their dirty Rock
music with some Punk and Glam elements, and that was what the people wanted to listen to. The
singer was quite an arrogant guy, his speeches were boring and annoying, but it was more
important to everyone how energetic the boys acted on stage.
Winner of this Sunday were the Belgian Pop Gods ZITA SWOON. Weird and colourful looking guys,
beautiful, but melancholic and fragile melodies mixed with elements of Rock and Jazz are
the secret of their success. But Zita Swoon are even open to more kinds of music, like
Disco or Rap. While playing 'Disco', they got support from the singer of Starflam and
the Belgians went crazy.
Two disappointing bands were LENGTH OF TIME (primitive Hardcore) and LOUISE ATTAQUE (too
ethnic for my taste). The last two bands I saw at this festival came from the Black Metal
scene. Normally, Black Metal bands are excellent on CD, but have strong sound problems
while playing live. I remember weak gigs by Cradle Of Filth and Dark Funeral. But MARDUK
and IMMORTAL could convince every fan of extreme music tonight. Face painting, metal
clothes, fast guitars, ugly growls and pyro effects transformed both concerts in
unforgettable Black Metal events.
Musically, I was quite satisfied with the 12th edition of the Dour Festival, although I was
a bit sad that some bands had cancelled (Primus, Violent Femmes, Make Up). I will come
back next year and hope that the weather will then be sunnier.
