Lowlands 2009 FTW

[beLIEveR]

Disagree, purely cos of band timings, at Leeds you get the dance acts on during the day while the 'real' bands are on... Lowlands you can chill in the day watching rock bands then dance all night to some really good dance acts...

At leeds watching a drum n bass act at 3pm just isn't the same... especially when you're missing a decent rock band to do so!

Also there are usually so many acts I wanna see on the Leeds lineup that I can see some at Lowlands and save me having to see them at Leeds (unless they're really good, then I can see them twice )

[Sam.]

You lucky buggers getting the Arctic Monkeys.

[Paul ™]

Elbow last year were fantastic

[Chris12345]

Never been to Leeds but you're right. The dance tent at Reading is a joke, they should just have three days of the Lockup and have some live dance acts on at night.

It just goes to show how concepts like "noise pollution" can ruin British festivals- if the noise is that much of a problem then don't shove the main stage 200m from a residential area. Lowlands is in the middle of nowhere and the result is there for all to see.

[lovlowlands]

After going in 06 and 07, and missing out in 08, I've already bought my tix for this year!

For anyone who hasn't been before I can't recommend it enough, but in a way I'm glad its never got like Benni, its about <5% British so still feels like mine and my mates' little secret!

One thing I only recently found out is that you don't have to go to Amsterdam to buy weed etc. (Although it makes sense if you're flying in!) most cities have coffeeshops, and I prefer places like Rotterdam and The Hague to Amsterdam, obviously no hookers though..

Anyway... Get There!

[beLIEveR]

I'm in exactly the same bout as you lovlowlands, missed out last year because "I thought they'd never sell out as early as they did..."

I know a bright spark who thought because he was going by train it would be okay to bring weed via the UK. Fool.

But yeah, while Reading is becoming something of a tradition, if I could only do one festival per year it would be Lowlands without a shadow of a doubt.

[ecosse_posse]

Im on board LOWLANDS! Gotv one of those 10,000 early ticket thingmajigs

I think it will be a Coldplay / Kings OF Leon / Arctics headliners...(In that Order) Mark my words.

[badleg08]

looking at booking our flights for this now, does anybody know the times for when the campsite opens and closes? Is it cheap to get the train from amsterdam to the festival?

[Chris12345]

looking at booking our flights for this now, does anybody know the times for when the campsite opens and closes? Is it cheap to get the train from amsterdam to the festival?

[Semprini]

Boys Noize has self-confirmed on myspace for the 23rd August.

[badleg08]

so does the campsite open on the thursday and close on the monday? I'm keen to know so i can book flights

[Paul ™]

so does the campsite open on the thursday and close on the monday? I'm keen to know so i can book flights

[Chris12345]

Yeah 14 euros each way sounds about right...

[beLIEveR]

Amsterdam to Lelystad? 14 Euro each way wouldn't be a bad price compared to what I'd pay on a comparable journey in the South East, but I could've sworn it was much cheaper than that.

Don't suppose anyone knows how much 1 Munt will be in Euros this year? As far as I can tell one munt will always buy you the same amount of food or drink, but the cost of a Munt goes up. What with the disastrous exchange rate I'm just trying to get my head around how much more it'll cost than in 2007.

[Chris12345]

I'm almost certain it was about 30 euros return (possibly more), if it were significantly cheaper I'd remember cos I went back to Amsterdam for a couple of hours on the Saturday to watch the Spurs match and we lost to Mboro and I came back complaining that i'd spent a stupidly large amount of money watching us lose on TV

[Paul ™]

Just checked the NS train journey planner, comes up as

One-way journey € 9.00

Weekend return journey € 16.50

Cheaper than I thought it was

http://www.ns.nl/cs/Satellite/travellers

Edited February 21, 2009 by Paul ™

[beLIEveR]

Yeah that's about what I thought I paid (€15ish in 2007). They did a Lowlands special ticket which was effectively an extended weekend ticket. Partly to get around the weekend issue, partly to avoid wasting time with English people trying to work out the Dutch for "what's the cheapest way to get to Lowlands?"

Anyone heard any rumours apart from the confirmed acts? Looks pretty rubbish so far. I'd still go regardless, but I need some sort of convincer to get some of my mates to buy into it.

[popcornmaster]

i'm quite gutted i can't go this year (went in 07) because it clashes with A2 results : / never used to just this year.

Great atmosphere, great people, great country, great music...thought the munts were a bleedin rip off though and with exchange rates its going to hurt quite a lot this year, still will definately be going back when i can so possibly next year.

i totally recommend it

[pezza010]

I'm almost certain it was about 30 euros return (possibly more), if it were significantly cheaper I'd remember cos I went back to Amsterdam for a couple of hours on the Saturday to watch the Spurs match and we lost to Mboro and I came back complaining that i'd spent a stupidly large amount of money watching us lose on TV

[Cheimoon]

Yeah € 16,50 for the journey; as someone mentioned, info is available at the website of the Dutch railways: http://www.ns.nl/cs/Satellite/travellers. The Lowlands website says there are free busses from Lelystad station going to the festival site, so it's really only the train fare.

Coins were € 2,30 last year, so it'll be at least the same this year. Let's hope this crisis thingy will stop them from raising the prices at least for once! Pretty crazy how things have become more expensive there since the first time I went (2003).

The camping site opens Thursday afternoon and closes Monday at noon. The 24hours tents / Lowlands cafe / Duracell thingy / whateveritsnameis gets going Thursday already as well, so no reason not to come early...

Oh, the Lowlands website has three new names: Boyz Noise (German techno-ish), Enter Shikari, Sonata Arctica ('uplifting' (?!?) Finnish powermetal). Yeah, I know, probably not the names everyone has been waiting for, but then that's not what you should be going to Lowlands for anyway! I mean, the atmosphere is just the most brilliant thing, and re. bands, they hardly ever have big names (and if they do, the Alpha tent is too small; I have already given up on seeing Arctic Monkeys). The great thing is cool new stuff that I didn't know about before. And Dutch bands of course; they should get De Staat and Kyteman's Hiphop Orchestra *now*! (after failing to have Voicst last year)

So not much chance of them getting Coldplay or Oasis (too big; if they played, Kings of Leon probably wouldn't even be a headliner, btw) - but I'm hoping for Placebo nonetheless!

[Cheimoon]

Oh, I might have added that most of the Lowlands line-up isn't announced until the last day of the Pinkpop Festival, which is June 1 this year. But even after that, bands continue to be added. Before that, you'll have to do with small bits (like theatre acts and tiny bands), random rumours and bands that break the ban (by including Lowlands or its site, Biddinghuizen, in their touring calendar). Having said that, I'm rather surprised Arctic Monkeys have been announced so early; that kind of band I'd normally expect to be part of the 'Pinkpop batch'.

[inspectedinspector]

Oh, I might have added that most of the Lowlands line-up isn't announced until the last day of the Pinkpop Festival, which is June 1 this year. But even after that, bands continue to be added. Before that, you'll have to do with small bits (like theatre acts and tiny bands), random rumours and bands that break the ban (by including Lowlands or its site, Biddinghuizen, in their touring calendar). Having said that, I'm rather surprised Arctic Monkeys have been announced so early; that kind of band I'd normally expect to be part of the 'Pinkpop batch'.

[Hannahaha]

Yeah that's about what I thought I paid (€15ish in 2007). They did a Lowlands special ticket which was effectively an extended weekend ticket. Partly to get around the weekend issue, partly to avoid wasting time with English people trying to work out the Dutch for "what's the cheapest way to get to Lowlands?"

Anyone heard any rumours apart from the confirmed acts? Looks pretty rubbish so far. I'd still go regardless, but I need some sort of convincer to get some of my mates to buy into it.

[Cheimoon]

Ah I see, thanks for that. So I guess that means that they share quite a few acts then..? Or is it some weird ticketing arrangement?

[beLIEveR]

ps. dutch for "what's the cheapest way to get to Lowlands?" is 'Wat is de goedkoopste manier om naar lowlands te reizen?'