Roskilde, Denmark: Day Three (01/07/06)

Mon 3rd Jul, 2006 in Gig Reviews

For me it’s taken until this third day of the festival for things to really settle into place. It could be because my two favourite bands played, it could be because the temperature has climbed a few degrees and the wind has subsided and it could even be the litre of red wine that I consumed. All I know is that today was the day and everyone could feel it. This is home now, I know all the shortcuts, I have my favourite food stalls and I’m even getting used to the whole pissing in public thing. I’ll never be European enough that I actually accept it, but when there’s guys waving their willies about at every turn you eventually stop being shocked by it. And don’t for a second think that pissing publicly is exclusively for the boys – oh no. I’ve witnessed perfectly normal and sweet looking girls hike up their skirts and squat in full view of passers-by. And while I’m Dane-bashing here, can I say these people could really learn a thing or two about queue etiquette? I understand that endless queueing comes with festival territory, and maybe I’ve been in Britain too long, but up here they have no bones whatsoever about pushing in front of you and it makes my blood boil. I refuse to play their pushing game and inevitably I end up ignored – to the point where a simple falafel stop has me close to tears.

Anyways, falafel or not, my first act of the day was Deftones and I was excited to say the least. I made my first foray into the main stage pit – in Roskilde they have a sectioned off area at the front not unlike the new BDO set-up. You have to queue beforehand and they only let a limited number of people in at limited times. The festival organisers are particularly conscious of crowd safety because of a tragic accident in 2000 when nine men were killed in a slippery moshpit crush. Although it is a pain missing bands while queueing, the system does work well and once in the pit there is plenty of moving space. Which is exactly what I did when Sacramento’s finest appeared and rocked everyone’s asses. Though Deftones are pioneers in their field (hip-hop infused melodic metal) and have produced four incredible albums, I’ve never seen them do themselves justice as a live act until today. Especially in the festival environment, they are somewhat of a fragile band whose performance rests largely on what kind of mood singer Chino is in, and luckily he was happy as Larry today. They opened with a new track from their album due in September and then launched into a set heavily featuring tracks from their White Pony album and peppered with all the singalongs. A seriously tight show which proved they still have it in them as much as ever, certainly a positive indicator for the new material.

So there I was on a high after seeing my second favourite band play their career-best gig (well for me anyway) and what did I have to look forward to but my favouite band – nay, my reason for living – Tool. So while I would like to tell you about how warm and fuzzy Josh Rouse’s set was and how Primal Scream blitzed through their classics, in truth none of it really sunk in. I can tell you this though; main stages like this were designed for a band like Tool and Tool were designed for a stage like this. The lights, the visuals, the music, the lyrics – you have to let an experience like Tool wash over you and they are one of those rare bands where an intimate setting doesn’t do them any favours. This is where they’re in their element, where the show is about letting the music prevail instead of what they are wearing for the gig. Interestingly, they were the only band on the mainstage that didn’t have onstage cameras projecting Maynard’s mug on the massive screens. I suppose when you’re a band with the stature and respect of Tool you can call the shots (so to speak).

As you may have surmised it was an amazing, mindblowing set where they played all the crowd favourites from their back catalogue (including the title track from their first EP, Opiate) and many from the new album 10, 000 Days. While on other gigs during this tour they have seemed to be going through the motions, there was nothing of the sort tonight and if there was anyone who could walk in a straight line for 30 minutes after it finished I would be very surprised. Mark my words, lives were changed during that gig.

And so it was that after an hour spent I can only guess wandering in a daze that I went to check out French band Pheonix. Though at first it seemed there were a hell of a lot of people on stage for a pop band it soon transpired that the words ´well crafted pop’ were coined for a band like Pheonix and all players were necessary. They are instantly likeable, with very full and old fashioned sound that worked very nicely indeed in a big tent with a great light system. Though they only had one or two songs that were particularly notable (‘Run Run Run’ being one of them) they were entertaining and uplifting and deserve exposure in Australia where I think they would find an appreciative audience.

Well that’s it for day three, just one more day of music left can but it can only possibly be downhill from here.