when: 9-11 august 2012
where: rees-haldern, germany
who: afghan whigs, the maccabees, ben howard, oberhofer, other lives, wilco, guillemots etc.
highlights: nigel wright, jamie n commons, honig, alt-j, zulu winter
it may sound a bit weird to people who’ve never been to this festival and even though it’s only been my second time, driving to haldern felt a bit like driving home. the atmosphere at the haldern pop festival is not easy to describe and probably very hard to understand for people who’ve never experienced the kindness of the people who attend and organise this festival. my own and other people’s experience shows that not only the festival goers, but also the staff, from security to the barmen to the young folks who sell the drink tokens (the poptaler), is extremely friendly and always happy to help if asked for assistance with anything. one thing is for sure, i’ll be back once again next year to celebrate the 30th haldern pop festival. but for now, let’s have a look what this little but nevertheless very special festival had to offer this year…
things kicked off with four young gentlemen from denmark – iceage opened the spiegeltent at this year’s festival. it’s no secret that the haldern pop festival line up is always quite diverse and iceage is a band you might not necessarily expect on the line up. besides the fact that i’m not a fan of (post-)punk music, i’m still wondering if iceage really were the best way to start the festival. a fan of this kind of music or not, the fact that the band, except for the lead singer perhaps, seemed to be bored out of their minds, didn’t really add anything to their performance.
on the plus side, we were sure it could only get better and much to my surprise, kraftklub actually proved us right. i never thought that a german band would be able to entertain me this much. due to another band having to cancel their festival appearance there was a surprise set and the act wasn’t revealed till the day. judging by the crowd’s response, kraftklub definitely was a brilliant choice. they opened the newly added beergarden stage with the statement "we are t.b.a.!" fantastic stage banter, lots of sunshine and a rock-pop sound that got the audience dancing… there wasn’t much more to ask for. in the spiegeltent, willis earl beal offered quite an usual show. an old tape recorder, a bottle of rum, a black cape, an electric guitar and a tooth pick belonged to his stage equipment. despite his rather strange stage appearance, his powerful voice left everyone more than impressed and i finally understood why people were looking forward to his set so much. it was impossible to resist his voice.
same goes for jamie n commons. having seen him and his band twice before, he was on top of my list of bands to see on thursday. i remember playing my dad some of his songs and the first thing he said to me was "this guy sounds like a young joe cocker!" and i guess he has a point. when you see jamie, you wouldn’t expect such a voice but combined with his (folk-)rock sound, he delivered a set that simply left you wanting even more. but of course we were at a festival, so there was no chance for an encore. we decided to head out again to catch the last bit of the war on drugs set on the beergarden stage. nothing really to say here as we didn’t get to see much but to be perfectly honest, what i saw was enough for me. no stage presence whatsoever, simply another bored band up on stage. no matter how good the music might be, if the band is bored, the audience is bored. thankfully that was not the case with charles bradley. we watched his entire spiegeltent set outside on the big screen and i guess we were happy that we didn’t bother to go back into the tent. don’t get me wrong, his band was great (especially the brass section), he’s got one hell of a voice and delivered a special and touching performance but we probably had massive question marks on our foreheads when charles bradley walked through the audience after his set and randomly started hugging people. i still have absolutely no idea what that was all about but in the end the only thing that counts is his music and that was just a joy to listen to.
we started our second day at the haldern pop festival by listening to wye oak while browsing through the vinyl stand near the main stage. they were recommended to me but none of us really bothered to actually go and see them. therefore there’s not much to say about them as we only listened with one ear basically and didn’t pay attention at all. the next act on the main stage though certainly grabbed us – again. other lives played at the festival last year and delivered one of the best sets of the entire festival, even though we didn’t really get to see them per se as they played at the haldern pop bar and we didn’t get in cos we were late. but considering the fact that we got their album after their set, they were so impressive that we were looking forward to seeing them again. unfortunately the soundcheck took longer than expected which meant that we had to leave after two songs to secure good spots in the spiegeltent for the next two bands. but as always, other lives is a band that you just can’t ignore. the sheer amount of instruments that they have on stage can only mean something special is about to happen and that really is the case every time i see them live. their alternative folk-rock sound never fails to impress.
back in the tent, steve smyth was about to entertain us next. another recommendation from a friend, we were more or less forced to go and see him – in a good way though. with a voice like this and the ability to be this fascinating, the crowd was on his side from the first song on. an immense rock sound that left you stunned. well done, mr smyth. up next was one of my personal highlights of the entire festival, a band that i honestly didn’t have high hopes for after seeing them once before supporting another band in folkestone almost three months ago. maybe it was the fact that i didn’t know them then or maybe it was because they seemed a bit lost on this massive stage, but zulu winter’s support set wasn’t that impressive. a whole different story in haldern, zulu winter (photo on the right) delivered one of the most fun and entertaining sets i’ve seen at the festival this year. five genuinely nice guys who seemed to enjoy themselves just as much as the audience enjoyed them. zulu winter are definitely worth checking out and i will make sure to see them again.
meanwhile dan mangan conquered the main stage after last year’s appearance in the spiegeltent. having seen him before, we weren’t that motivated to actually go and watch his set. the heat probably really got to us by that point. but not seeing him didn’t mean we couldn’t hear him. he’s got such a distinctive voice that you can’t ignore. he’s well worth seeing after all. thees uhlmann and his band were up next. none of us really wanted to see him as we’re all not into german music (or german lyrics) at all. nevertheless we made our way to the stage in order to try to get a decent spot for ben howard. much to our surprise, thees uhlmann turned out to be quite fun. he certainly enjoyed being up on stage and people singing along to his songs. i’m still not quite convinced but i guess it was a massive show for his fans.
the third male singer in a row was ben howard, another act that previously performed at the festival. having seen him live three times before, this year’s haldern set was probably the worst i’ve ever seen him play – not because of him or his band but the sound was more than horrible. don’t know if the guys at the sound desk didn’t hear that or if they simply couldn’t do anything about it. unfortunately this kind of ruined it for us, even though ben himself was obviously in a good mood and very much enjoyed being back at the festival. it was a shame that his beautiful voice and unique guitar playing didn’t really come across due to the sound issues. two door cinema club seemed to be the complete opposite of dan mangan and ben howard – their description on facebook starts with "two door cinema club are 3 people with the help of technology and a thirst for anything quirky" and that’s exactly what it was. still don’t know what it really was but they sounded quite british to me. bombay bicycle club, two door cinema club, the maccabees… sooner or later they all start to sound the same. not necessarily bad, just the same. two door cinema club’s electro pop sound got the crowd dancing, maybe even a bit too much. they delivered a pretty good performance and that’s basically what it's all about.
at breakfast on saturday morning, we were discussing who each of us wanted to see that day. as always, we agreed on most acts. not on all of them which meant i spent the entire day in the spiegeltent while the others walked over to the main stage once to check out patrick watson and the maccabees. but the last day started with the guillemots in the spiegeltent. i was quite looking forward to seeing them as i've heard many good things about them. gotta admit though that i really wasn’t into them. their pop/indie/folk sound might have been quite nice but fyfe dangerdfield’s voice reminded me way too much of mika (whose voice i just can’t stand). fortunately, honig (photo on the right side) was about to follow them and he did not disappoint at all. he’s about to release his second album empty orchestra on haldern pop recordings next month, so of course we expected him to play at the festival as well. and thank god he did. the singer-songwriter from düsseldorf has an immense stage presence (which i honestly did not expect) and sure knows how to interact with the audience. it seemed like he was determined to make every single song the best one of the set. i remember saying that if his new album is anything like his song in my drunken head, we’ll be in for a real treat. judging by his live performance and the songs he played with his band, the album will be (or actually is) something very special and definitely should be part of every good record collection…
…just like nigel wright’s millfoil which was released earlier this year on butterfly collectors. now if you actually know and love this album as much as i do, then you’ll be amazed by the live quality of those songs. i was worried that the intensity of the songs might not come across live as the focus is clearly on the vocals on the album and less on the instruments. but no need to worry at all – as soon as the first notes of solid muse filled the spiegeltent, nigel and his band won me over completely. i’m almost ashamed to say that i was worried but they certainly taught me a lesson. while the album sound is quite mellow, it’s amazing to see (or better hear) what they can do with those songs. and no, nigel’s vocals do not suffer at all live, the entire set was built upon them. they sound even better than i would’ve expected… and there was me thinking that wasn’t possible. nigel’s set was way too short if you ask me, but the rest of the day looked promising as well.
when damien jurado walked on stage, he gave us the impression he wasn’t really in the mood to actually play anything. that quickly changed as soon as he started talking in between songs, telling us stories about what his fans think some of his songs mean (which is, according to him, normally not what he had in mind when he wrote those songs). as much as i like his music, i wish he would’ve played with a band as i think it is usually quite difficult to keep the audience entertained when it’s just you and your guitar. if you want it or not, the songs start to sound alike and people start losing interest. but all in all, damien jurado is simply someone you have to see live at least once and when he came down to the barrier to perform the last song unplugged, there was no one in the audience that didn’t grant him the favour of singing along. megafaun from north carolina, performed next. obviously quite different to damien jurado, they delivered a set that wasn’t necessarily full of energy but nevertheless convinced me. all four of them seemed a bit unmotivated, though always smiling. their sound is based somewhere between folk and indie i would say and full of catchy tunes. i certainly wouldn’t mind seeing them again, hopefully a bit more energetic the next time though.
the energy that i was missing during megafaun’s set definitely showed up when boy & bear came on stage. haven’t heard too much about them before, i didn’t have any expectations whatsoever but one thing is for sure, if there really is someone out there who did not enjoy this set, they simply have to be deaf. someone said boy & bear sound just like so many other bands – they might but their performance was really great and that’s what sets them apart. their indie/rock/folk sound is addictive, even though dave hosking’s voice is similar to charlie fink’s (who i’m not a big fan of). boy & bear were a great discovery at this year’s haldern pop festival. there wasn’t much time to relax as alcoholic faith mission continued to get the audience to dance. the band from denmark wasn’t really on my list but i’m glad i got to see them because their indie/alternative sound was quite impressive on stage. the mix of male and female vocals added the last special bit to their music that basically left everyone in the spiegeltent wanting more. no surprise at all, i could’ve listened to them for longer too. the dancing theme continued with arthur beatrice who were up next. on facebook they describe their genre as "other" and they’re probably not wrong about this. i’m not quite sure how to describe their sound, it’s not quite dance, not quite indie or rock – somewhere in between probably. no matter in which category their music actually belongs, their set was fun to watch and listen to, despite the two blokes behind me who had to scream like little girls as soon as ella girardot’s top was a little out of place. grow up, guys.
alittle more than two long hours were ahead of us before alt-j finally came on stage to end this wonderful festival, but hanging around for those guys was definitely worth it. next to nigel wright, honig and jamie n commons, alt-j were the ones i was looking forward to the most. i had the pleasure of seeing them twice before and therefore knew what to expect. despite the fact that it was already 2am, the spiegeltent was packed – rightly so. the people who weren’t there missed out on something amazing. alt-j’s sound has been compared to wild beasts' quite often. it’s obvious where people are coming from with this and it’s probably one of those comparisons alt-j can be proud of. nevertheless, alt-j have their own sound which is mostly defined by the quite unusual percussions (as there are no cymbals whatsoever) and of course joe newman’s falsetto voice. hard to imagine that there are still people out there who haven’t heard of alt-j yet and if you’re one of those people, go and check them out. the haldern pop festival could not have ended in a better way. staying up this late and waiting for what felt like an eternity just to catch alt-j’s set was more than worth it.
and that was haldern 2012 – sad it’s all over again as it was so much fun. many many thanks to everyone at haldern pop for organising such an incredible event year after year and all the lovely people i got to meet this year (you all know who you are!). new and old faces, we’ll see you again next year to celebrate the 30th episode of this extraordinary festival!
