Pukkelpop 2016

[TheNewUnion]

16 hours ago, DiscothequeDave said:

Just got back home. What a fantastic edition. 2 out of 3 really decent headliners. LCD were phenomenal and the organisation was top notch. The new stages/area were a great edition and will hopefully be kept for coming years, especially the booth.

Am I right in assuming the headliner who was not top-notch was the late arriving, mime machine Rihanna?

[DDave]

5 hours ago, TheNewUnion said:

Am I right in assuming the headliner who was not top-notch was the late arriving, mime machine Rihanna?

You'd be correct. For all they did for her they got shat on by her diva-ish behaviour. Wardrobe malfunction my arse. Doubt they'd be booking anyone like her again, which is good news for us re: Bieber.

[TheNewUnion]

Everyone else managed to be on time, she didn't. Unacceptable really, she got pretty bad reviews for her V Festival show too, as did Beiber. Hopefully that'll be the end of diva-ish pop stars topping festival bills (that said, Beyonce was on time at Glastonbury and put the effort in and sang live whilst dancing)

[TheNewUnion]

Please excuse, in no particular order, bad grammar, spelling, rambling and continuity issues. Don't feel in any way compelled to read it!

 

Pukkelpop 2016

Wednesday

Once again, the public transport system in Europe excelled and we waltzed from aeroplane to train and arrived in Leuven whilst, I expect, some from our flight were still awaiting their luggage. It was scorchio in Leuven so we decided to grab a beer in the square. Would have been rude not to have a Stella, given our proximity to the brewery. Beer consumed, we got the Pukkelpop express to Hasselt and having checked into our hotel headed out to get our wristbands.

Minor Complaint #1
The bus (aka the Sweaty Bus aka The Sweat Express) took an unnecessarily circuitous route to the festival. I firmly believe I could have walked it in the same time the bus tool. Roads round the back of the festival were not really suitable for a bendy bus and I did fear that we would end up in a ditch at some point.

Got our wristbands and had a mooch round, took in the lay of the land and then headed back to town. Couldn’t be bothered with the sweaty bus so headed to the train station, narrowly missing a train. Walked onwards down kempische steenweg, jumped on the local bus and were whisked back to town in no time at all.

Had a couple of beers in the bar on the corner but didn’t see any of the other efesters, to be fair we were probably overly early. Anyhow, early night ahead of tomorrows adventures.

Thursday
Went for lunch in Hasselt as there wasn’t a great deal we wanted to see early in the day. After we’d eaten we got the bus to the festival. Headed to the bus station and got one of the local busses to avoid enduring the sweat express. Quick journey to the train station then wandered up to the festival.

Minor Complaint #2
They made a right arse of getting everyone in, about 2pm. Huge mass of people outside with very little sign of ever getting in. Seemingly, after about 30 minutes, someone made the decision to give up on the metal detecting and waved us in. Good decision I suppose, the crowd was getting a bit restless outside, some booing and a bit of impatience was setting in.

now, to the music.

Good Charlotte - Actually quite enjoyable. Nicola, who was never part of the nu metal thing at all, thought they were good.

Robbing Millions - Had some time before meeting Greg (who went to see Flatbush Zombies) so headed to Wablief!? Really impressed with Robbing Millions, a touch of The Stone Roses and madchester  sounds, perhaps a bit Tame Impala. Thought they were decent and will certainly give them a listen again.

Tallest Man on Earth - Listened rather than watched, had a beer or two outside the Marquee. I liked the sound of them and perhaps should have been inside rather than outside for that one.

Wolfmother - great band for a hot, hazy sunny afternoon. Really like this gig, proper rocking band giving it the full Led Zep.

Eagles of Death Metal - Good not great. Not sure why i didn’t connect with them. We were quite far back though, so perhaps a bit out of it.

The Last Shadow Puppets - LOVED this. I find Alex Turner’s louche, lounge lizard, Elvis-a-like persona hilarious. I like their sound too, big Scott Walker-esq tunes sounded great. Crowd insanely small though, until we got to the point where Rihanna’s fans started arriving (bloody ages before she turned up)

Chvrches - After last years sound problems they made good. Brilliant show, amusing armpit related stories and she has a lovely voice to accompany some great electronic pop music.

Major Complaint #1
She’s a disgrace, rocked up 50 minutes late. Barely went through the motions. Clearly singing over a vocal track, incapable of singing and dancing at the same time. Unable to pronounce Belgium, crappy medly of some of her biggest hits. Didn’t like it one bit.

Bloc Party - Never been a fan, tried and tried but they just don’t land with me. Still, I got to hear "Hunting for Witches” which is one of the few tunes I really like so I was happy with that. Kele had a pop at Rhianna too, which was nice.

We planned to stay for Die Antwoord but were knackered and we’ve seen them a few times now so headed back to Hasselt. Got the sweaty bus which went straight to Hasselt, albeit buy a fairly roundabout route. Still, I would prefer the going home bus to go direct rather than going via Camping B/Relax so that was a plus I suppose.

Friday

Metal detecting was much better today, quick and efficient and no pat downs meant that you didn’t have to go through the palaver of stashing a bottle top so you can have a bottle of water with you throughout the day.

Woodie Smalls first up. Not big on Hip Hop but they were OK. I was confused though as I thought they were Belgian yet they seemed to be American. Not too bad, not really my bag but they put a lot of effort in.

DMA’s - Swaggering mid 90’s Manc indie, but from Australia. They were staying in our hotel. They don’t smile a lot on stage but I’m all for the mid 90’s so enjoyed them.

Jamie Woon - One of the highlights of the festival and the reason we missed our very own Semprini DJing. This was a last minute replacement for someone I cannot remember. He was great, brilliant voice smooth patter, great songs, great band. Best of the day and right up there for the whole event.

Sleaford Mods - I like the music, but it’s just a bit too shouty for me really. Very aggressive.

Saw a bit of NOFX in there too, somewhere. They were OK. Thought they were a bit harsh on that bloke who is always at Pukkelpop, the bald one with the beard, all the wristbands and the cycling shirt. We always see him, wristbands to his elbows on both arms. What’s his story, feels like he must be a Belgian festival minor-celeb or something

Jack Garrett - He’s bloody talented, and a good watch, Liked what he did, crowd were very receptive. All in all, a good show.

Craig David - THIS WAS ACE!!! Essentially a man singing over his own, and other peoples records. I don’t think I have seen many people as “over” with a crowd at Pukkelpop before. A lot of fun, sadly cut a bit short as we had to hoof it over to Main for Noel Gallagher.

NGHFB - Good, not great for me. I like some of their stuff, but the Oasis stuff still lands better with the audience. He’s a good performer, some good patter with the crowd, shout out for Belgium and City’s KDB too, which was nice.

The Chemical Brothers - Burnt at the stake time I’m afraid. Just wasn’t that into them. I think we were too far back but we never really got going with their set so just went for a couple of beers.

Saturday and an early start was necessary as Andre Brasseur and his band were on and I REALLY wanted to see them.

We were not disappointed, one of the most fun shows of the entire weekend. Crowd loved it, everyone had beaming grins on their faces. Lots of dancing and cheering, he was clearly loving it too. He played an encore and left the stage to chants of (I think) Merci Andre, Merci. Great, should open the festival every year.

We almost certainly ended up at the Thatched Cottage at this point, our regular haunt for food and beer. Best value on the Steenweg.

Alunageorge next, who I had heard of but never heard. Really enjoyed their show, nice dance pop tunes. Good atmosphere (probably worth crediting the Belgian kids at this point, they really know they music and can sing along in English to every damn line!). Not sure I would ever listen to Aluna George again, but they were fun.

Anderson Paak - another highlight, bit shouty at first but once him and the band got into their groove it was excellent. He’s a real talent, good performer and entertaining frontman. Very impressed indeed.

Henry Rollins - Hard to say it was one of the best things we say as it’s not really comparing like with like, but impressive, inspiring, moving and intense. Saw him at our first Pukkelpop and wouldn’t have missed him at this one. A very impressive performer.

The Biff, who incidentally were on our flight back to Manchester - Do what they do, not sure they connected with the fairly small crowd, but they gave it both barrels and sounded pretty good.

Chippy & Beer

Jamie Liddell - High on the list of the muse sees and didn’t disappoint. Initially I was a bit apprehensive as I was hoping for him to do the full solo sampling and looping thing, but once the band got into the groove it was great. Really fun show, good singer, happy to be there and a good crowd. Very much enjoyed this. It was however cut slightly short as we wanted to get to LCD to ensure a good spot.

LCD - Need not have worried about getting a good spot, crowd was a decent size but well spread out, so we were at the “circle” barrier for a chink of the show then easily wandered up front within 3-5 rows of the front of stage barrier for the later part of the show. I really enjoyed LCD, not someone I ever thought deserved the high billing they got on their return to touring. I was wrong, they put on a brilliant show, clearly very well rehearsed, sounded great, perfect set list and thoroughly enjoyable.

Minor Quibble - Audience don’t seem well prepared for weather. Didn’t rain that much really, but when it started to come down “heavy” people were leaving he show in numbers. Buy a coat people, those 1/2 ticket ponchos are rubbish. I just put old faithful gore-tex jacket on and voila, (in my best french accent) enjoyment continue.

Izzy Bizzu - We’re now into running out of tie territory, PKP is nearly over so cramming time. We went to Lift for Izzy, was fun. Great addition to the festival and knowing what we know now might have spent a bit more time in there when there wasn’t much else on for us.

Camo & Crooked - This just turned into is cocking about, basically. We stood at what we call “Techno corner” which is basically either of the furthest corners on the outdoor stage at Boiler and went mental for a few minutes. Random woman filing us on her phone and the odd kid joining in. Think o hyped up, speeded up version of “Manchester news” from Soccer Saturdy. Good laugh.

Soulwax - Caught the end of Soulwax which was good. Had a wander over the the container thingy which was cool and got a great picture of us in silhouette against the container. Nice end the our festival.

Final festival Juplier at the Thatched and Greg had his standard sausage butty there (we must have had 10 between us over the weekend, they’re great!)

and that was that. Another fantastic edition, gutted I cannot go next year (Family wedding). I have a huge fondness for Pukkelpop, it’s the only festival other than Glastonbury that I would happily return to each and every year. Great organisation once again, I love the crowd, the locals are so friendly and excited for just about everything. Had some nice chats with some kids who I think just found it funny that some Brits old enough to be their parents were there.

Highlights in no particular order

LCD
The Jamies (Liddell and Woon)
Craig David
The Last Shadow Puppets
NGHFB
The hilarious dancing
 
Until 2018 *weeps*

I’ll be live streaming 2017, hope everyone had a great time this year - roll on next year, we’ll be there in spirit!

[TheNewUnion]

and Andre. Andre was a huge highlight, deserves his own post. It was great, he should open every year.

[DDave]

Good review. Not too dissimilar to my experience in terms of vibe, bands and thoughts. So glad I went. Will attempt a write up when I get back from holiday.

[TheNewUnion]

This cat

[Trufflehound]

On 18/08/2016 at 5:05 PM, johnybegood said:

This year I've seen 2 british couples in Express By Holiday Inn in Hasselt that I've seen lot of years here. One is tall with a blonde wife and The other is shorter with also his wife, and I saw both couples saying hello to the other close to he elevator on wednesday afternoon... Are u any of them? Just to say hello to you tomorrow in the breakfast!!

A very belated reply as I'm just back online after a week of sitting in the back garden basking in an unexpecred heatwave.

The tall(ish) one was me. The other couple are our and Semprini's mutual friends (we met them all during the storm year). I did see a Spanish-speaking couple and wondered whether that was you.

[Trufflehound]

On 24/08/2016 at 7:28 PM, TheNewUnion said:

and Andre. Andre was a huge highlight, deserves his own post. It was great, he should open every year.

Totally agree. Great fun. Mrs Trufflehound said he looked like a happy grandad at his grand-daughter's wedding, which I thought was quite apt.

[Trufflehound]

My highlights in chronological order:

Ezra Furman, Battles, Caspian, Gogo Penguin, Thee Oh Sees, André Brasseur, King Gizzard, Henry Rollins, Minor Victories.

Thee Oh Sees probably edged it as band of the weekend for me. They just rocked.

 

[Semprini]

Finally got round to pulling my finger out and writing a review. Was a very different year for me for a number of reasons. First time I'd camped, first time being involved in the festival and first time experiencing some of the perks that go along with that. Musically, there wasn't loads that really jumped out at me or screamed 'legendary set' but that's not to say I didn't see lots of great bands and DJs. Stand out sets on Thursday were Dusky, Detroit Swindle, Ezra Furman, Wolfmother, Nina Kraviz and the Vryll Society. Friday was my favourite day - loved M83, The Chems, Bob Moses, Hunee, DMA's, Jack Garratt, Sleaford Mods, Annix and GoGo Penguin. Saturday stand outs were SG Lewis, Andre (what a legend!), Alunageorge, King Gizzard, Dua Lipa, LCD, George Fitzgerald, Pendulum and Kiani and his Legion (favourite DJ set of the weekend by a mile - he was awesome!).

I normally go into quite a bit of detail on each band/DJ that I saw but I thought this year I'd share some of the experiences I had over the weekend. My intention isn't for this to be self-indulgent or boastful in any way so apologies if anything comes across like that. Being the PKP geek that I am, I've always been interested in how the festival works and what goes on behind the scenes so to have the chance to see and experience it first hand was really special for me. I know many of the regulars on here look at the festival in a similar way so I guess that's where this write up is coming from - to share what I did and saw.

Spent Wednesday with friends in Rotterdam (like pretty much every other year) but ended up catching the train from Antwerp a bit later than planned. This meant I didn't arrive in Hasselt until 20.40 (nearly two hours later than expected) so I jumped on the shuttle bus and headed straight to the site. The bus turned off the main road into the housing estate and then seemed to drive half way round Limburg before finally reaching camping relax. It was starting to get dark at this point and I was conscious of the fact I still needed to get my wristband, find the crew camping area and then pitch up my tent. My bag weighed a tonne and, although it had wheels, it was a real struggle moving it any distance.

I thought from the info I'd been sent that I needed to report to the VIP/Press reception, which was at the far end of the site behind the new Booth stage. From the bus drop off, it was about the furthest point away so I struggled through the crowds in front of the main entrance and dragged my stuff all the way round. When I got there, they said I was at the wrong place and tried to send me back to the main entrance. I had to do some explaining, they made a call and I eventually got my wristband. It's probably the same for most festivals but my wristband had a plastic tag with a QR code on it and then letters on the wristband itself. Mine had 'A, B and C' with A for the VIP/Press areas (there were two - one behind the Boiler next to the entrance of Baraque Futur and another on the other side of the road to the left as you stand at the Main Stage), B for backstage access and C for crew camping.

The best thing about VIP access was that they ran a free shuttle bus service between the two areas. Unfortunately when I arrived on Wednesday they gave me the wrong wristband (it only had B and C on it - it wasn't until Friday that I exchanged it for the correct one) so I had to drag my bag all the way to the crew camping area, which was probably about a mile and a half from the VIP/Press reception. There's a 'road' with paths that run behind all the stages and I was able to use them to move around the site, which saved a bit of time when it was busy. It was gone 10pm by the time I headed off to find the campsite and dark by the time I arrived. The crew camping area was pretty full, with many people staying in caravans, mobile homes and trailer tents, but I didn't have too much trouble finding a spot. It'd been over 10 years since I'd slept in a tent and trying to put it up in the dark when I was feeling very tired and pissed off definitely wasn't a highlight of the weekend, and I did question more than once my decision to cancel the hotel rooms I'd booked!

Trufflehound and the other friends I go with had already been into the arena and gone so by the time I eventually made my way across, at about half 11, I wasn't really in the party mood if I'm honest. The arena was absolutely rammed, busiest I've ever seen it on the Wednesday, and the queue to exchange tokens was huge and more like a rugby scrum. I went out onto the road, got something to eat and had a much needed beer before heading back in much better spirits. I was impressed by the Boiler set up, particularly the outside 'maypole' bit where the sound was just amazing once you stepped into the circular area, although the moving basketball tubes was a bit abstract but effective none the less. I spent much of the evening over at the new Booth stage and for me, this was the real star of PKP16. I thought the lay out was very clever - at night it felt like you were inside a club rather than outdoors - and the two balcony's and tiered platforms gave it an intimate and vibrant feel. The sound was excellent, really crisp and clear all weekend, and the music was right up my street - from classic House and Disco through to underground Techno. It offered a welcome and much needed alternative when the Boiler veered too much towards EDM territory, or the Castello was too hot.

Just by chance, I bumped into the booker I know from the organisation (who arranged my DJ sets) at the Booth on Wednesday night and I spent a bit of time with him and his brother talking about the festival. He was saying how, despite the fact the festival has grown massively over the years, it's still very much a family affair as many of the people who work there are friends and have done so for years. I also got to know the security manager of one of the stages and walked into the festival with him on Friday morning. We were chatting about how shambolic Rihanna was and he said he spoke to the driver who brought her in from the hotel. Apparently she spent the whole journey complaining about pretty much everything - her hair, make up, clothes she was due to wear etc - and his opinion was that she didn't want to be there. That ties in with much of her behaviour later in the night, which was one of the most disrespectful and unprofessional performances I've had the misfortune to witness. The security guy seemed to think she was kind of forced on to PKP as her original contract was with Live Nation and he believed there would have been a huge fine to pay if she didn't play a concert in Belgium. I don't know how much of that is true but I think that's the last we'll see of this kind of act at PKP, which is of course a good thing.

On the way back to the campsite at about 2.30am after the pre-party, I was able to cut across the section of the arena that was closed off. There was virtually no one around and I stood on my own in the Marquee watching a lighting guy running through some checks. I then walked round to the Main Stage and again stood on my own in front of it - was quite surreal to see it empty and so quiet. There was no one on the gate to the ramp so I thought, 'fuc* it, you don't get many opportunities like this' and walked right up on to the stage itself. I noticed a security guy sitting on a chair to the side of the stage but he wasn't bothered at all so I stood there at the front, in lead singer position, for a few minutes just taking it all in. I got some pictures and took a short video - was a great experience to see the festival from that perspective, even if it was empty!

I was really impressed by the crew camping area, which was situated roughly half way between the arena and camping relax. It was a good 10 minute walk but felt longer on the way home each night! There was an area within it called 'Paradise City' which had a sort of canteen, loads of nice seating areas, hammocks, camp fire, table tennis, badminton, free phone re-charge points, decent toilets and a fantastic shower block that was a godsend each morning! I was pleasantly surprised by how quiet it was and I had no bother getting a decent nights sleep, although by the time I got back I was dead on my feet anyway! All the crew were given a gold paper wristband and this allowed you to get free sandwiches, soup, fruit, cakes and hot and cold soft drinks whenever you wanted. I didn't get mine until Friday morning but all soft drinks and sandwiches were only 1 euro anyway. They also had a few of these crew service stations in the arena (there was one behind the Dance Hall and another in the back stage area between the Petit Bazar and Baroque Futur that I knew of) which I could go into at any time and help myself to free food and drinks, although that sadly didn't extend to beers!

I was also given a red paper bracelet with 'acts' on it that allowed me access to the back stage area between Petit Bazar and Baroque Futur. The people who were responsible for the DJ mobile, and all the other acts in that area, were housed in an office there so that was my unofficial base for the weekend. I bought a locker in the arena on Wednesday night but didn't find out until Thursday morning when I first went in there that I could have had one for free!! They had a nice covered seating area with proper toilets and shower block so I spent a bit of time there each morning watching the performers getting ready and looking at the pictures in the PKP Times. The people in the production office were really sound and looked after me all weekend. I was able to charge my phone whenever I needed and they gave me lots of advice on things to do and see. On Friday and Saturday morning I collected my 'rider' for the day, which consisted of a meal ticket for the crew restaurant, 4 beer tokens and another voucher I could use at any of the stalls to get some food. The crew restaurant was across the road to the side of the Main Stage near the other VIP area. Every member of the crew was given a meal each day and on Friday it was burger, veg and chips and Saturday was chicken fillet, veg and chips. They had fish and vegetarian options too and you could help yourself to salad, yogurts and soft drinks. I was really impressed by the way they looked after the crew members - it felt like they truly valued the contribution they made and were prepared to spend a bit of money making their experience as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. Maybe that happens at all festivals but it was great to see it all the same.

I had a great time doing the two DJ sets and was really pleased with how they went! I played at the entrance to the Foodwood after GoGo Penguins on Friday and there were quite a few people dancing and enjoying themselves. I played a mix of disco, into some Bowie, Prince and Paul Simon, then some dance remixes/bootlegs of Mr Oizo, New Order, MJ and Fatboy Slim. Quite a lot of people stopped for a few minutes, took pictures and videos before moving on and a couple even asked if I had a business card and was I available for parties?!? Had a tap on the shoulder later that night during the Chems and it was a guy from Scotland who recognised me from earlier in the day. He was there with a couple of friends and they said they really enjoyed my set so that was nice. DJing has always been a hobby for me and all the gigs I play, which is only a few a year now, are at small venues in my home city so to do this was a dream come true really. I'm hoping it will be a regular thing but if it's not then I've still had the experience!

Dave, Trufflehound, Mrs Trufflehound and I all got to do a backstage tour on Thursday afternoon and that was brilliant too. We were taken around the area behind the Main Stage and got to see a few of the dressing rooms - saw some of Catfish and the Bottlemen as we stood outside their cabin. Unfortunately Rihanna had locked down quite a bit of the area so we weren't allowed to wander around too much. We all got a free beer and were then taken round to the bar and restaurant area in the artist village. There were a lot of people milling about but the only one I recognised was the lead singer of Wolfmother, who's not difficult to spot anyway!! Later on Thursday I was walking into the Castello for Detroit Swindle when I saw the security guy I knew standing outside. I stopped to quickly say 'hello' and he told me to meet him at the right of the tent in a couple of minutes. I went there and when he arrived he said, 'you come with me, you can watch them from the side of stage' and led me through to the backstage area!! He gave me a couple of bottles of water, told me to enjoy myself and then wandered off!! It was one of a number of occasions during the weekend when I just stood there with a stupid grin on my face thinking, 'it doesn't get much better than this!'

As I said at the top, it was a very different PKP for me but different in such a positive way. Musically, I've had better ones but in terms of the whole package and experience it was easily the best I've been to. Had a great time hanging out with Dave, Trufflehound and the other friends I go with and I was a lot more relaxed in my approach this time. I'm usually very regimented about who I see and making sure I stick to my timetable. That wasn't so much the case and I enjoyed just wandering around the arena, watching some bands I didn't plan to see and hanging out in the backstage area chatting to people. I asked my friend the booker how he gets feedback each year on the bands and the festival in general and he said he has various people (stage managers, security, friends etc) who report back afterwards on what went well and what could be improved. He said I can send him an email in a week or two with my thoughts so if any of you have any feedback (good or bad) that you think would be useful then please let me know? The changes to the dance area were made on the back of feedback he received as people felt that space was too crowded and there wasn't enough variety of music on offer. From speaking to him and from what I saw myself, they do seem genuinely concerned and interested in what festival goers think and want from PKP. 

Apologies for the length of this post - I didn't intend to run on this much when I started!!

[DDave]

Just back from a post Pukkelpop recovery holiday

So, my weekend....

Probably the best Pukkelpop I've been to out of the 6 visits. Mainly due to a spot-on line up (barring one major fuck up) and the revamped layout. Thought the Booth was an excellent addition and though it got a bit of getting used to the club being behind the Marquee was also a great decision. 

Landed in Charleroi early Thursday so missed the opening party so can't comment on that. My weekend consisted mainly of part sets aside from the odd full set. Got to see a lot of bands this way and for the first time ever, saw an artist on every single stage this year.

1st day - Bits of Edward Sharpe (great) and Tom Odell (shite) sandwiched the backstage tour, which was ace. A real eye opener as to the work that goes behind the scenes. The tour was a big highlight of the weekend. Free beer an all :-) Then over to the lift for Fickle Friends who were decent to begin with but faded towards the end. Opted for Nao next who I saw at Primavera and went down really well. Started to get a bit hazy after that but saw a bit of Catfish, Detroit Swindle (I think) and then spent most of the night in the dance side of it. First big disappointment were Cassius who were a massive let down. Definitely style over substance with that volcano set up. Dusky in the Costello and Martin Solveig showed them how it should be done putting in excellent performances. Then ventured over to Battles who were great. Started to get a bit messy after this so left after Nina Kraviz as sleeping standing up was proving not to be a good look. Very decent 1st day though seen as it was by far my weakest day........

In the middle of all that was about 5 minutes of Rihanna. Total and utter shite. 

To be continued...

[DDave]

2nd day - 

Arrived for Go Go Penguin who were really good, never heard of them before, bit embarrassing as they're a manchester band. Then onto our very own Semprini's set just behind the Club. Some great floorfillers thrown in and got a decent crowd dancing along. Good to see him living his dream! Sleaford Mods after that, who are a fucking odd one. Still not sure what to make of them, they're like Ian Dury with tourettes.

Then on to two of the surprising highlights of the weekend, Jess Glynne and Craig David. There's one thing that Pukkelpop did well this year and it was the pop acts. Jess Glynne and in particular Craig David were ace and Dua Lipa was a very good addition the day after.

A run of Noel G (great but clearly narked off by crowd size and participation), Roisin Murphy (Not so good....quite clearly bonkers too) then the Chems who were as always brilliant. Had a blank for the next 45 minutes but ended with Thee Oh Sees who as Trufflehound stated were absolutely brilliant.

A very, very good day.

[DDave]

3rd day - 

Watched the football early doors so first caught the end of King Gizzard, who I'd go and see again. Definite theme of multiple drummers this year...King Gizzard, Thee Oh Sees had 2 each, Soulwax had 3 and I believe Caspian had 5 at one point!

Then a bit of Riton, Grandaddy and Henry Rollins who was another unexpected highlight. Would definitely like to see more spoken word and even a bit of stand up at future editions.

Onto Dua Lipa next who has built up quite a buzz this summer. The Dance Hall was absolutely packed and couldn't get in to the tent until the last 20 odd minutes. Never seen it that busy. There's a case for putting big screens outside certain tents and having them on when they are full to ease the congestion and to ensure people don't miss out. 

Hour and a half in the Boiler for Hannah Wants and Amelie Lens who was a really great but really unknown replacement for Eric Prydz. Thought she filled in excellently.

Then the big three for me of Miike Snow, LCD and Soulwax. Gutted about the MS and LCD overlap but at least got to see 'Paddling out' before going to see LCD

LCD absolutely nailed it, it was everything I'd hoped their set at Primavera was but wasn't. Not the biggest headliner they've ever booked but certainly one of the best. 10/10

Soulwax - again a massive pull for me and seemingly thousands of others, Dance Hall rammed again and took a bit of jostling to get anywhere near the front. Should have been a main stage closer instead of Chase and Fucking Status.

Saw a bit of OATW and the Ramones thing before catching the last half of Minor Victories who were really really good.

Caught up with Semprini for one last beer at the booth which was a great way to finish. Felt like a really good club even though it was outside. Definitely a keeper for next year. The dance side of the site was buzzing on the Saturday night.

Points of note for me were....

Got near the front of virtually every set I wanted to. The relatively sparse crowds for Noel G, The Chems and LCD had it's advantages. I'd love it if they went for quality over popularity and reduced the size of the main stage capacity. Apart from a couple of big names per year there are often times that its woefully underused.

Increased drinks prices. I know the beer prices had gone up but hadn't realised they were now charging the same amount for soft drinks. What is in effect 6 euros for a pint of water is out of order.

Overall organisation was first class, the shorter bus journey back to Hasselt being a major plus point.

What's with all the people with leg braces and/or crutches, there was loads of em!

In short a very, very good year, 9/10 for me...

Roll on 2017

 

 

[SilverLining]

I know I'm a bit late here (went straight to Croatia after PKP for Outlook festival/had no internet) but Pukkelpop is by far the best festival I have ever went to. I totally fell in love with the place, the people and the overall organisation.

When do tickets go on sale for the usually next year as I'm more than likely going to be there.

[DDave]

Usually March. Glad to hear you had a great time :-)