Perhaps I’m a bit jaded after overdoing things at Eurosonic on Wednesday and Thursday. Perhaps, somewhere in the back of my head a sensible voice is telling me that ‘you’re travelling home tomorrow and you don’t want to miss your connections’. Whatever the reason, Friday at ESNS doesn’t kick off with the vigour of the previous days.
I go for a walk around parts of Groningen I’d not previously visited. I commend myself for my pursuit of something healthy as I stroll around a very pretty lake within a park. It starts to snow; not that picture-postcard type of snow but the sludgey variety that quickly turns to icy water underfoot. I curse myself for being out in the open air and yearn for a warm cafe/pub. They’re not difficult to find in these parts.
I am in Lola (Lola is a venue in this town). It’s another place that I failed to visit last year; a compact one-roomed venue, ornately decorated with chandeliers and baroque, garish art. The room is packed as ‘Afterpartees’ take to the stage. I’ve noticed that Dutch bands can anticipate enthusiastic, full crowds, probably to be expected when on home soil. For this show, the queues outside of the venue snake down the road and round the corner. It’s easy to see why. Afterpartees deliver a bubblegum power punk pop with youthful energy. Their lead singer is a ball of energy as he fizzes in angular fashion around the venue. He jumps into the crowd and breaks down, questioning his very existence, in front of a mirror hanging at the back of venue. It’s too much for two older chaps standing behind me who giggle at the ‘schoolboy band’ and yearn for ‘something heavier’. But, I think they should open their minds and chill out a bit. It’s hard not to grin in appreciation when Afterpartees are in full flow.
I’d been inside Lola earlier as well. The BUMA Rocks! showcase sounds interesting and not just because there’s free beer on offer. I say hello to a lovely chap, Waldo, who I met last year when at Fira B! In Mallorca (here). I had no idea that he’s compering this event, something that he seems to do very proficiently even if I have little clue what he’s saying. For I Am King take to the stage. Sonic Breakfast prides itself on being open to all genres of music but confesses that screamo metal mostly passes me by. You can’t get away from the fact though that when done well it’s an exciting live proposition. And For I Am King are great. I’m no expert in this field but I’d hazard a guess that the majority of screamo singers are male; it’s why it’s so great to see Alma Alizadeh front up this band. She does so with incredible presence, her guttural growls at least the equal and often better than male counterparts. The whole band put on a show, guitarists jumping into the spotlight as they unleash complicated solos on us. A moshpit forms and I’m almost tempted to jump on in. But then I remembered I’m an older man. For I Am King have definitely blown away the cobwebs.
I spotted many of the crowd from BUMA Rocks! later in the evening at Myrkur’s gig in the Lutherse Kerk. The Lutherse Kerk is another of Groningen’s wonderful church venues. There’s something wonderfully decadent and a tad inappropriate about drinking beer from a church pew looking out to an antique, wooden pulpit. Myrkur is an enigma; that’s what many say about her. From Denmark, this classically trained wonder has specialised in ethereal, folk-laced dark metal to date. As such, it seems brave to put this on in a church. But the organisers know what they’re doing. Tonight’s show from Myrkur is dreamlike and choral. She moves from piano to acoustic instruments ably supported by her band and singers. I think this might be reworkings of traditional folk songs. It’s beautiful and angelic, not nearly heavy enough for the metal fans who come to explore and leave complaining that it’s not their thing. Those that do stay (and there are many) close their eyes, ignore those grumbles and are taken away to a place of magic. Purely perfect.
Whilst you can quickly walk between many of the Eurosonic venues there are a few that are on the periphery. There are some great acts playing further out of town tonight and if it wasn’t so blooming cold and snowy I could be tempted to go and see Bad Sounds. I saw them three times in 2017 and they never failed to disappoint. I owe them a blog post of their own at some point.
I stay central and after passing time with the fine Altin Gun (1970’s psychedelia with a delightful Turkish glaze), I head to see Zulu Zulu. I had to really after they featured in a previous preview blog post (here). Since that random discovery, I’ve spent a fair bit of time with their album. It meant that I could claim faint familiarity whilst dancing along to their sunshine grooves. The masks, the lights, the sheer euphoria of it all means I never really want it to stop. But, as always happens when you’re enjoying yourself too much it’s all over far too quickly.
And that seems like an appropriate time to call an end to my 2018 Eurosonic experience. The gigs continue on Saturday with the Dutch music showcase, the Noorderslag, taking place in the Oosterport convention centre but reluctantly I have to head back to the UK.
I wander past Vera one final time and make note of the lengthy queues outside as Astroid Boys play inside. It’s been an epic adventure, a wonderful experience to spend these few days in Groningen and I’m already thinking about 2019.
sonicbreakfast 