Pukkelpop 2017

[arteet]

Its nearly time!

Does anyone have any recommendations for places in Hasselt to eat / drink?

[DDave]

7 minutes ago, arteet said:

Its nearly time!

Does anyone have any recommendations for places in Hasselt to eat / drink?

 

7 minutes ago, arteet said:

Its nearly time!

Does anyone have any recommendations for places in Hasselt to eat / drink?

The Grote Markt has lots of great place to eat and drink, expensive but worth it. Tbf there's load of places to eat in Hasselt. There's always the Irish Times for a pint as well.

[SWErik]

On 8/6/2017 at 4:03 PM, Death By Sexy said:

Hi,

You can always camp with me. I am in a small group, and the others will welcome new people without problem

Sent you a PM.

 

Looks like everyone is posting their go to bands so I'll follow suit:

 

Thursday: Sigrid; Youngr; Sigala; Cypress Hill; The Naked and Famous; PJ Harvey; Stormzy; Interpol; Editors; The XX

Fri: Oh Wonder; Tove Lo; George Ezra; The Shins; Perfume Genius; The Flaming Lips; Elbow; Bastille; Parov Stellar

Sat: First Aid Kit; Billy Talent; Mumford and Sons; Band of Horses

Really don't know who else to see on Saturday, feel free to give suggestions.

[DDave]

27 minutes ago, SWErik said:

Sent you a PM.

 

Looks like everyone is posting their go to bands so I'll follow suit:

 

Thursday: Sigrid; Youngr; Sigala; Cypress Hill; The Naked and Famous; PJ Harvey; Stormzy; Interpol; Editors; The XX

Fri: Oh Wonder; Tove Lo; George Ezra; The Shins; Perfume Genius; The Flaming Lips; Elbow; Bastille; Parov Stellar

Sat: First Aid Kit; Billy Talent; Mumford and Sons; Band of Horses

Really don't know who else to see on Saturday, feel free to give suggestions.

Car Seat Headrest are worth a go, saw Dub FX a few years back and will be doing so again. Failing that, Stoke are playing Arsenal at 6.30pm

Edited August 14, 2017 by DiscothequeDave

[Semprini]

Definitely come and see D.D Dumbo!

Think I've just seen the first pics of this years Boiler set up. Looks like at least 50 massive disco balls in a row along the roof of the tent! Will post any updates if I get them. 

[wedgie]

Heading to Pukkelpop on Wednesday for the first time, only found out last week that I was going to be able to make it and I can't wait! Only just got back from Boomtown this afternoon and really don't feel like sorting out food and beer to take with me tomorrow, is there shops nearby where we can buy crates of beer for a similar price to over here or are you stuck with having to drink with festival prices? Also the same with food?

[Frrrraaappp head]

So why isn't Aphex Twin playing this festival, is he not the type of fellah that should be playing it, I don't get it.

[DDave]

3 hours ago, wedgie said:

Heading to Pukkelpop on Wednesday for the first time, only found out last week that I was going to be able to make it and I can't wait! Only just got back from Boomtown this afternoon and really don't feel like sorting out food and beer to take with me tomorrow, is there shops nearby where we can buy crates of beer for a similar price to over here or are you stuck with having to drink with festival prices? Also the same with food?

There is a Spar in Kiewit which is walking distance from the festival or shops in central Hasselt near the station reachable by the free shuttle bus. There's street vendors outside the entrance which sells good food much cheaper than inside the site.

[DDave]

Weather forecast has picked up a bit. Looks like the last bit of rain is Friday AM then pretty clear for the rest of the weekend. Wednesday looks pretty dry so let's just hope the rain on Thursday isn't too bad.

 

[DDave]

On 8/12/2017 at 11:11 AM, SilverLining said:

perfect weekend for me to contract gastric flu :'(, Fly out on Wednesday at 5am I really really hope this clears up or may not make it now. Will be so incredibly gutted.

 

Feeling any better?

[Semprini]

Good news about the weather, let's hope any rain we get isn't enough to dampen the fun (I'll get my coat!).

Well I'm all packed and will be heading to the train station in about an hour. Getting the overnight ferry to Hook of Holland and then spending the day with friends who live just outside Rotterdam. Should get into Hasselt around 7pm and then planning to hit up the pre-party as a friend is DJing in the Booth from 8-10pm. 

As always, it's been great to share the build up with you all on here and I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend! See you on the other side!!

[DDave]

15 minutes ago, Semprini said:

Good news about the weather, let's hope any rain we get isn't enough to dampen the fun (I'll get my coat!).

Well I'm all packed and will be heading to the train station in about an hour. Getting the overnight ferry to Hook of Holland and then spending the day with friends who live just outside Rotterdam. Should get into Hasselt around 7pm and then planning to hit up the pre-party as a friend is DJing in the Booth from 8-10pm. 

As always, it's been great to share the build up with you all on here and I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend! See you on the other side!!

Safe travels mate - see you over there.

[Death By Sexy]

Everything is packed, and my body is ready.

My journey is not that long as yours (10 minutes by bike, lol), so my tent will be set up tommorow by noon!

[Nightcruiser]

If i can suggest one band it would be STUFF. As a big fan of parov stelar (saw them 8 times now) i am still going to avoid the hectic main stage to enjoy STUFF. They blew me away with a really energetic set a few weeks ago at Gent jazz festival. 

Make sure to polish your dancing shoes!

[DDave]

Couple of really good nights so far. Highlights being the XX, Flaming Lips and band of the weekend so far was definitely Elbow. Lowlight has been the weather which has been a bit shit to say the least. Roll on day 3

[Trufflehound]

Back home now after another great festival.

Day 1 highlight for me was PJ Harvey by a mile. Simply awesome. Followed by Interpol and Strand of Oaks.

Loads of great music on the Friday. The Flaming Lips probably edged it for me on sheer spectacle: the sight of Wayne Coyne riding through the crowd on an LED-covered unicorn will stay with me for a while. But Newmoon, Elbow, The Shins and Parquet Courts were all excellent too.

Yesterday's highlights for me had to be both Cocaine Piss and Ho99o9 (the "Napalm Death of hip-hop"). Glorious mayhem at both. Was happily moshing like a teenager at Ho99o9 - and as those on here who have met me will testify, I am very much not a teenager any more (my first Pukkelpop was 1990 - and my first-ever festival was in 1978...). I emerged from the tent dripping in sweat and only got one shoe in the ear from a crowd surfer, which was nice.

I really have to cut back on the late-night prosecco though. I know I was at Band of Horses yesterday, but I can't for the life of me remember what they were like. And then both Mrs Trufflehound and I were found by friends snoozing in the hotel bar at 2am... Oh dear...

Hotel is already booked for next year. See you all there.

Edited August 20, 2017 by Trufflehound

[Semprini]

Another great addition for me too. Musically it wasn't one of the best but there was more than enough going on to keep me occupied over the whole weekend. Definitely the wettest PKP I've been to in terms of how often it rained but the site held up pretty well really. The negative impact of the rain was really down to where you were at the time as most of the showers were quite short. I was over at Petit Bazar on Friday for the thunderstorm and got pretty soaked but on Saturday I was in the Club when it rained so didn't really notice.

Not sure if I had a favourite performance over the weekend but really enjoyed Maceo Plex, Tank and the Bangas, D.D Dumbo and The xx (who I hadn't even planned on seeing). Spent a lot of time around the dance area and thought the production in the Boiler was very good. However I didn't like the speakers being positioned along the sides as it made the sound quality pretty variable unless you were standing directly next to one (and then you had all the sound coming at you from either the left or right). Enjoyed Cypress Hill, The Naked and Famous and Claptone on Thursday but didn't spend as much time watching some of my planned acts as either the tents were full (Mura Masa and Kollective Turmstrasse) or I was feeling too done in at the time (Moderat). Friday was my quietest day but thought London Grammar, Bjarki and Richie Hawtin were all excellent. Was really looking forward to Clark but it was so loud in the tent I couldn't stay there for long which was disappointing. 

Saturday was probably my favourite day as the weather was good and I spent quite a bit of time just wondering around without a fixed agenda. The Subs' classic set in the Boiler was great and I'd have loved to stayed for the whole thing but we did the backstage tour again. Was really nice going behind the scenes and we saw Dub FX and then Jackmaster and AVH in the artist village. Headed straight from there to the Boiler for the much anticipated b2b but was left feeling pretty disappointed by how it panned out. Jackmaster seemed to be taking most of the deck time and his selections weren't really what I would describe as crowd-pleasing festival favourites. AVH played quite a few very well received classics when he finally got to have a go but there was no flow between the two of them and it felt disjointed and a bit of a mess tbh. Wish I'd have gone to see Talaboman but decided to stay for the first part of Paul Kalkbrenner and that was just OK. Really enjoyed Ben UFO and then Jackmaster on his own was a lot better afterwards to round off the weekend.

Spent a fair bit of time each day in the Food Wood and although it was expensive the food was much better than elsewhere around the site. Possibly the best atmosphere I consistently saw over the weekend was in the Petit Bazar as the place was always busy and jumping. Saw a few funny things over the weekend and even made it into the inflatable church one night to enjoy some old school tunes!

I'm pretty certain I'll be back again next year but there is a part of me that's tempted to try somewhere else. My family and work commitments mean it would be difficult for me to do two euro fests in a summer so it's unlikely I'm going to choose something else over PKP just yet. 

[DDave]

Only just got round to my review having been on holiday since the start of the festival. 

Thought it was a great edition. Not the best but definitely up there - the weather definitely took a bit of shine off it tbh.

Day 1 was a good un with a fairly packed schedule. Early flight meant we got to Hasselt for 1pm and up to the site for 4pm. Started off with Cypress Hill who were good fun then Amelie Lens, then a bit of a walk round the site. Couldn't get in to the Marquee for PJ, definitely the biggest crowd I saw in that tent. Had me worried for Elbow and the Flaming Lips - luckily my fears were unfounded. Got a bit messy after that and Stormzy, Interpol, Solange and Moderat were all a nice blur. Solange I thought was excellent. The XX put in a great performance, thought they suited that slot really well. Best main stage band from the very few main stage performances I saw.

Got to day 2 again around 4 after a few beers in Hasselt once my horrendous hangover had subsided. Started with Parquet Courts who were very samey, I got a bit bored and had a wander about, one of the only lulls of the weekend. I can confirm that George Ezra is still shit.

Flaming Lips were very very good, definitely hands down, the band with the most showmanship with the tunes to boot. Elbow was my favourite show of the whole weekend and one of my favourite ever sets at Pukkelpop. I've seen them headline a festival before and got quickly bored but this set was timed just right at an hour and was a lot more involving. Guy Garvey and the band were quite clearly well up for it and the call and response stuff from Garvey was brilliant. Like Bury's answer to Freddie Mercury. Afterwards, 2manydjs were excellent as always and Boys Noize were a surprise highlight. Caught bits of Nicholas Jaar and Blaze of Feather who both sounded pretty good.

Saturday was the weakest day on paper for me but it's nice sometimes not to be tied to a schedule. Began with Car Seat Headrest who again, like Parquet Courts got a bit boring for us so we made our way to the lift to see what was on. There's always really one really stand out surprise act that comes out of nowhere and that band this year was Shame. Absolutely electric atmosphere and performance and they did an encore due to the crowds demand. Don't think I've ever seen that before at PP apart from the headliners. The lead singer was sick a few times and seems to be a bit mental. Has the makings of a great front man. 

Afghan Whigs were ok, but probably should have been in a tent. Biggest disappointment as Semprini said, was the AVH back to back with Jackmaster - very poor set overall. That said the dance line up on the whole was very strong this year and we spent a lot more time in the boiler than previous year. The Booth was excellent at times again. Didn't trouble the Castello once for the first time ever.

Overall, a great edition despite 3 incredibly poor headliners. That said, they probably got it right for the demographic which was reflected in the increased ticket sales - 21,000 more tickets sold than last year I read somewhere. Met a few stars this year as well - shared a lift with the keyboard player from Elbow, had a short chat about insurance with Marcus Mumford and said hi to AVH and Dub FX on the backstage tour which again was a real highlight. As per usual, people were very friendly and the overall organisation of it was excellent. Only one cancellation all weekend which must be a record for them.

Hotel is booked for next year but with a house move planned for next year I'll only be doing one European festival next year and it'll be pretty much chosen on the line up alone so it may or not be PP. We shall see.

8/10