Pukkelpop 2008 - Review by Night

It's late, but finally...the big review of a smashing Pukkelpop 2008 with a lot of rock bands and a very interesting electronic music line-up. A lot of names I only know from blogs and online reviews. So check out my personal point of view...here we go!

DAY 1
Midnight Juggernauts: 9/10
Just arrived and we take off with my personal Pukkelpop discovery of 2008...I was so impressed I immediately bought the cd at the Extrazone Shop at Pukkelpop.
Best buy of the summer, no doubt. The cd is so addictive and catchy, but the band is even better live. Wow! And Tombstone is in my summer top 5; love that vocoder!


http://www.myspace.com/midnightjuggernauts

Danko Jones: 7,5/10
This guy has the biggest balls of them all. He' a public entertainer, brings along some fat power chords, definitely more than ok.

http://www.dankojones.com/

Serj Tankian: 7/10
Tankian has that amazing warm voice that teaches you the anti-America way of life. I prefer his SOAD songs, but still, the man is totally nuts and does whatever he likes.
Praise the Lord, pass the ammunition! The show was a little slow, and would have been better at a smaller location instead of the main stage.
http://www.serjtankian.com/

Hadouken! 8,5/10
Known from the cool trashy artwork, some podcasts, and viral stuff. Glad I watched a show that rocked (with dirty synth sounds!) and appreciated by those freaky British trashkids. There is more than the French and German scene out there. A Streetfighter-worthy band! I certainly recommend "Liquid Lives" which made the crowd go totally insane!
And check out these cool handgloves!

http://www.hadouken.co.uk/

SebastiAn 6/10
The most promising producer of the Ed Banger played his party set. Certainly not his best performance, because of the weird/commercial setlist. But the kids liked it, Boiler on fire, no doubt about that. But we 've already seen his tricks and talked about it several times. Next!

http://www.myspace.com/0sebastian0

The Ting Tings: 5/10
Not bad at all, but couldn't grab my attention for more than 2 hitsingles. It's not my peace of cake I guess, sorry hype. Dissappointing but crowded show.

Soulfly (too tired, so no score ;-)
I was so tired, bloody tired, and went straight to bed after 20 minutes of Soulfly. They should install big amps at the back of the Shelter. This kinda music should be played loud all over the place, not just in the front. I even think I like the Cavalera Conspiracy show better at Graspop 2008.

Winner of the day: Midnight Juggernauts

DAY 2
Dusty Kid (Live): 8/10
If you think that Surkin looks like a 12-year old, wait till you see Dusty Kid. He is 12! :-)
2 laptops, great sound between minimal, deep and electro
"Everytime, anywhere: Acid...piew, piew, piew..."
Not bad for Italy...they 're finally crossing the border with more than pizza & vino rosso.
http://www.myspace.com/dustylittlekid

The Count & Sinden 7,5/10
Ok, I admit. I only saw them on the monitors and only know them from some blogs
(Beeper feat. with Kid Sister - you know? But that's a rather irritating song if you overkill it)
So I missed the show, but it sounded very good on the tv+ speakers.
http://www.myspace.com/countandsinden

Radioclit: 0/10
Kick out the MC and we'll talk again. What a waste of time.
http://www.myspace.com/radioclit

Modeselektor & Pfadfinderei: 8,5/10
Surprise of the day. I didn't know Modeselektor kicked the bass that hard. Certainly a good live performance. And I didn't see them at Polsslag because I thought they were too "soft".
Apologies, 'cause these guys kick ass!
http://www.myspace.com/mdslktr

Deadmau5: 9/10
I had tickets to see Deadmau5 in Colombia in Januari 2008, but we decided not to go because of a dangerous road to get there and a bad mood with the (ex)girlfriend. Deadmau5 is know for great remixes, and this young Canadian will be on my "most promising artists" list. And you know what? Deadmau5 can't even mix 2 CDs or vinyls, he's a talented Ableton Live DJ (he's got the Lemurs!!!) using controllers and effect boxes. But he's respected by DJs all over the world, thanks to great productions. An example for all bed- and livingroom DJs!

The Reward is Cheese (live) - Deadmau5 @ Pukkelpop 2008


Surkin: 7,5/10
His arrogance at Dour made me decide to see other bands but in the end we listened to his set from the back of the Boiler. He changed his tracklist and this time he played far better compared to the poor Dour performance.
http://www.myspace.com/surkin

Diplo: 3/10
The part that I saw was pretty hiphop & rnb. So...(jarn)...I left.
http://www.myspace.com/diplo

Erol Alkan: 5/10
Didn't have his day at Pukkelpop I guess, because it was really not good, sorry Erol.
But you don't write bad things about the Gods, so I'll shut up & know you're going to make things right next time. (I Love Techno 2008?)
http://www.myspace.com/erolalkan

Miss Kittin & The Hacker: 4/10
Last time I checked, Miss Kitten was fat, unsexy, looked exhausted, but the music was great (2 years ago). Now she appeared like a young disco queen in blue glitter outfit, with her partner in crime The Hacker...but the music sucked big time.

Metallica: 8,5/10
So I did not see Boys Noize, 'cause Metallica was headliner. My first Metallica concert ever, so yes I was really impressed. Only one thing, "Me Metallica, you Pukkelpop"? And euh...Lars, if you want to make people happy with some drums sticks, don't waste 15 min on giving them acting like the Hunckback of the Notre Dame. A bit childish communication with the crowd, a pity, cause they are still the most respected metal band in the world. But I've seen that attitude before...Deftones lead singer Chino Moreno is also a better musician than he is a communicator. So I guess rock stars need to act stupid sometimes. Anyway...the show was KABOUM! But the crowd lazy. "Yeahiyeaah!"
http://www.metallica.com/

Winner of the day: Deadmau5

DAY 3
The Whip: 9/10
I only witnessed 20 minutes of the show, but now I wanna be trash too, and I become the trigger for your gun! ;-) Very impressive!
Enjoy the live video!
http://www.myspace.com/thewhipmanchester


The Bloody Beetroots: 8,5/10
Italy sends his masked heroes. And at Phantombynight.com we kinda like those acts :-)) And we can show their real faces, but then again, it's not a beauty contest, so let's focus on the music: forza bounce & trash!
http://www.myspace.com/thebloodybeetroots

Late Of The Pier: 5/10
Erol Alkan helped LOTP with the production on the debut album, so we had high expectations. But they couldn't convince me. Not ready (too young?) for the big festivals. Daddy Erol, please teach 'em how to entertain the crowd please.
http://www.myspace.com/lateofthepier

Crookers: 9/10
Everybody likes the Crookers! And maybe they were sad because we kicked Italy out of the Olympic games soccer that day. Anyway, they did very well. Hope to see you them again at I Love Techno!
http://www.myspace.com/crookers

A-Trak: 8/10
Another Canadian talent, and firend of Boys Noize, they'll start touring together in September. A real DJ, winning prizes at the age of 15, but these days also very comfortable on the Serrato box. Apparently he was also the tour dj for Kanye West. But was he any good at Pukkelpop?
Yes.
http://www.myspace.com/djatrak

Bloc Party: 6/10
is Bloc Party I guess. Can't say much about it, I was eating delicious calamares, and that was far more tasty than Bloc Party.
http://www.myspace.com/blocparty

Simian Mobile Disco: 8,5/10
What a show! They were stolen by Justice who unofficially claimed the "We are You Friends". song, but...Simian is hard, genuine, chaos synths, rave.
The cd is so nice, and sweet & soft. Yes that's right.
But the live show was powerful and the stage smokey but impressive.
http://www.myspace.com/simianmobiledisco

Dr. Lektroluv: 8/10
Recorded his live album at Pukkelpop, coming out in a few weeks.
The Boiler was packed so I didn't even see him...on the list: Papillon - The Subs, Busy P - To Protect & Entertain, Danse en France - Fisherspooner, etc.
http://www.drlektroluv.be/

Etienne de Crécy: 9/10
Surprise of the day. The old man does it again! At Petrol he already convinced me with the right tunes. But his live show was convincing and very impressive! A cubic light show with 3D-effects that reminded me of the Daft Punk Show, except they are using the million dollar Pyramid of course ;-)
http://www.myspace.com/etiennedecrecy

UPDATE: see the online video - more or less the same show!

NEPTUNE
par eyero

Crystal Castles: 7/10
Is what you get when your Atari starts to behave like HAL in 2001 A Space Odyssey, and a hysterical wife with a joystick in her hands. I'd love to see a battle between the screaming voices of Vive La Fête & Crystal Castles. But I'm not sure who I'd slap first.
A good album, a slightly over-acting live performance with screaming Alice Glass.
http://www.myspace.com/crystalcastles

Conclusion

Freak of the week: Crystal Castles

Dissappointing:
- Radioclit (that MC ruined everything)
- Late of the Pier
- The Ting Tings (boring)

Best show: Etienne de Crécy

Most promising:
1. Midnight Juggernauts
2. The Whip
3. Dusty Kid
4. Hadouken

I warned ya!

10 Minutes of Fame/Pain (the video)

Some say it's produced...no it's not. Enjoy! ;-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFs8Q0iuNAc



With thanks to the neighbours! (they MUST be deaf ;-)

10 Minutes Of...Fame/Pain (you choose)

Download Trash 6-In-10

(and guess who makes a guest appearance)

Changes in the URL!

Dear readers!

Please update your direct article links, blogrolls, etc.

http://tomdebelg.blogspot.com has finally been changed to

http://phantombynight.blogspot.com

or use the everlasting

www.phantombynight.com

It was about time to kill that old "tomdebelg"-URL.