On Thursday the music started unfortunately so did the biggest downpour of rain Roskilde has ever had. 50mm fell over 24 hours of continuous rain (or something like that) basically it didn't stop for a day. But that didn't stop the punters from enjoying some killer music. We started off by seeing Arcade Fire who were brilliant, followed by LCD Soundsystem who were also great. Then a little of the Killers and Bjork on the main stage but it was too cold and wet to be outside so we checked out some of the smaller acts in the tents instead.
The next day was jam packed full of good bands, so we checked out great music for a solid 11 hours straight more or less It went Stones Throw (J-Rocc, Guilty Simpson, Peanut Butter Wolf), New Young Pony Club (a highlight), Beastie Boys (suprisingly entertaining), the Klaxons (good as expected), Dizzee Rascal (pretty cool), CSS (crazy), the end of Queens of the Stone Age (so so but great finale), Peter Bjorn & John (great live show) and M.A.N.D.Y. (cool). Whew! It was hectic running around all day, we missed bits & pieces of most shows but caught all of the important ones. The rain held out all day too which was nice although getting around in gumboots took it's toll on our feet.
Saturday had mostly club acts in one area so we didn't have to run around so much. After a sleep in we went up to watch Clipse perform (who were good) and after the show we ran into our old neighbour Tyson from Sydney which was pretty crazy. Then it was off to see Erlend Oye play in his new band 'The Whitest Boy Alive' which turned out to be the festival highlight for me. They played for an hour and twenty minutes playing the songs from their album and also jamming, improvising and doing cover songs. Erlend is a great performer and the Scandanavian crowd loved him. It was a really great show that I got a lot out of. Afterwards I would have been happy to go home but Juz was keen on the Brazilian & Portugese acts who were pretty crazy. Bonde Do Role & Buraka Som Sistema were very entertaining and got people moving like crazy. Then Diplo rounded out the evening, initially to a small crowd due to the majority of people watching the Chilli Peppers, but the crowd grew pretty quickly when they heard Diplo's crazy beats.
On Sunday the sun finally came out for a glorious day to close out the festival and the best acts that were mostly on the main stage and we could all (the Fins & the Brits) hang out together becuase we wanted to see the same things. Me & Juz took the morning to wander around soaking up the festival atmosphere and catch some of the karaoke that was going on. Then it was into the front pit (which was really easy to get into) for Arctic Monkeys and then again for my personal favourite Muse (who were great as usual - but thats the 4th time for me so the magic has faded for me). Then regrettably it took too long to organise everyone so I only caught the very nd of Data Rock which looked like a crazy gig with the singer crowd surfing and about 8 guys in tracksuits acting crazy. The big finale was Basement Jaxx which turned out to be a great choice, generally I'm not a huge fan but they put on a great show with singers, dancers, a great band, costume changes, guys in monkey suits then finally some fireworks to send out the night. I forgot how many good songs they have that everyone loves. It was one of those magic moments because we were all together down front dancing & having a good time.
After all the stages had shut down (except one) was when the real fun started as people still hyped up from the week decided to grab any poles, sticks or whatever and start banging them on a closed coffee stand in an African rhythm type gathering. It was more fun than you can imagine with people drumming, dancing & singing up a huge mass of noise that was not musical in the slightest but got people more excited than any band did. When that was broken up by security it was time to head back to the tents, where security were busy putting out tent-fires that people started all over the grounds which is a Roskilde tradition. I needed one last hit of great music so I went back into the festival grounds at 2am to catch the last gig which was Justice.
I had seen them dj before and so wasn't expecting much except ear-bleeding techno music. But they really suprised me by putting on a Chemical Brothers-type show. Reworking all their debut album and remixes on laptops and keyboards. Combined with the great set design and lighting (not to mention the kick-ass Arena tent) and the atmosphere of the last show of Roskilde; the place went off. Their music doesn't make you want to boogie but rather convulse in time to the music. They really know how to make people move.
A great way to wrap up a great week. Many sights were seen, friends were made, storms endured, beers were drank, bands were seen and fun was had. I hope I get to do it again someday before I get too old to be camping out at a rock festival. It was definitely worth the effort of organising it all.
