Clubbing Magazines festival reporter went to Denmark’s biggest festival.

It’s warm. It’s really warm. For the second consecutive year the people behind Roskilde Festival have been blessed by the old gods of the weather. Gods that in this part of the world can be a bit moody.
I walk in through the gate and stop. I have to. I want to let it sink in. I’m here. Finally. The last couple of weeks my body has wanted to catch a train out here. Roskilde works like a magnet to me.
I wander about for a bit and opt to just chill and hang out with friends most of the day. Not much I want to hear on this Thursday. But it’s still brilliant to be here. Roskilde is so much more than music. And it helps that the weather is brilliant, the girls lightly dressed and the beer cold.
Gorillaz is the only must of the day, but like most that go to the concert, I’m not jumping up and down of joy. The concert is just a general disappointment. The before so cool cartoon band seems to lose a bit of originality when the amazing guest stars are only with us on tape. Well, they tried and Orange stage is a big stage to fill.
I sneak home early – away from friends who want to party the night away. Three more days to go.
Friday morning I get to the festival early and take a long walk in the camping area where I used to spent a week at the time non stop from Monday before the festival to the day after the last acts have been on stage Sunday night. But that was when I was younger, mind you.
This Saturday looks good for rock and rollers – not so good for fans of electronic music when you scan the program. Not to sound too angry, but Roskilde do need to do more regarding electronic music. And a bit in general. There used to be seven stages – now there are five. There used to be one (once even two – though smaller) stages dedicated only to electronic music. Now there’s none. The electronic music is spread out. It’s a shame. Not just because of the music but also because of the lack of good visuals and deco you can make when you have one special stage to play with. It gives you more freedom. You can even build a cool DJ-stand. But the DJ is on the list of endangered species at Roskilde. Mind you there were some. But nowhere near as many as there used to be. Memories of huge DJ-parties with the likes of JXL playing at Metropol are clear in many memories. This year Roskilde closed the Astoria stage. It wasn’t dedicated to electronic music. But it was used a lot for it, and it was brilliant for that purpose. Completely closed, with great deco and visuals and a hardwood dance floor. But higher cost in hiring bands have apparently forced the festival to cut down.
So Friday is spent listening to various rock acts. One brilliant one – Alice in Chains, one sad one – the after fifteen years apart reunited Danish band Dizzy Mizz Lizzy and a so and so one – Danish Nephew.

Prodigy met a lot of criticism in the media. Clubbing magazine does not agree. A happy man listening to Bizarre Love Triangle.
Saturday – my day

I’ve been looking forward to this Saturday. This is by far the day with the best acts. But besides the music, there’s another event that requires the attention of many of the people at the festival. Especially the Germans. Their football team is playing a country from far, far away in a country just about as far away. It’s the World Cup Quarter final against Argentina. Even though there are probably not that many Argentineans at the festival – there are a lot of Argentinean jerseys. Either because here are a lot of Danish Argentina fans – or because it’s always good fun to taunt the Germans in Denmark.

Several thousand people have found their way to Roskilde’s big screen in the camping area.
I sit down and enjoy the scenery. Drunken Germans eating Frisko ice cream – or Langnese as they call it back home. A guy with a horrendous sunburn has made a hat out of the cardboard from an empty crate of beer to save him from getting burned to even more of a crisp.

A lucky punter is surprised by an extremely big-breasted woman who decides to lean in over him and plant her breasts in his face. He doesn’t look unhappy.

I sip my whisky and coke with a good friend wearing my Argentina Jersey. It’s a short pleasure. The Argentineans (who I genuinely support, by the way) are slaughtered 4-0 and the Germans go berserk.

To comfort my sadness I go the media area where I know exactly what will make me happy. A Sirloin sandwich with mustard sauce that is just to die for. Unfortunately the guys making it don’t have shop outside the festival. Again – that might be a good thing.
After filling up on the grand food, it’s time for the daily injection of music.

The first is Bad Lieutenant. I’ve been looking forward to this. Their first album is good. But there’s more to them than just that album Two of the band members are original Joy Division and New Order members. One of them – Bernard Sumner was the lead singer in New Order – one of my all time favorite bands.

I was hoping for a few songs from the old days, and my wish comes more than true. Besides Sumner being a bit of a drama queen complaining quite a bit to and about the roadies due to technical problems with a laptop and a guitar switch not performed quick enough to his liking the concert is outstanding.

They do the best of the songs from their Bad Lieutenant album Never Cry Another Tear – and many from the New Order heyday. When Bizarre Love Triangle comes on the crowd goes crazy. However – they leave out Blue Monday. Maybe that’s just too much of a trip down memory lane.

They spin into Chemical Brothers’ song Out of Control in the original fast version. A few people look baffled. But there’s no need to. Sumner provided vocals for this song on the Brothers’ album Surrender in 1999. The crowd is loving it and at the end of the show, Sumner screams ”Does anyone in hear like Joy Division?” The answer is loud and clear and the band starts Love will tear us apart and I can’t help but feel a more than a little grateful that I got to hear these songs live.

If the band had been put on the poster as what they actually played quite a bit of – New Order and Joy Division – the tent wouldn’t have been only half full. The tent wouldn’t have been big enough. Roskilde would have had to stick on the Orange stage. Part of me wish they had. But another part of me loves the fact that it was an intimate concert where you felt you got close to one of the true legends.
After relaxing eating and chilling for a bit we head for some rock ‘n’ roll – Queen style. Muse is headlining Orange stage this Saturday. With big guitars, choirs like Mercury and May and not too many of the sadder quiet songs, they surprise in a positive way.

But we have to rush on – Danish eighties electro-pop influenced Turboweekend is playing on the one of the smallest stages – Odeon.
They are cool dudes, these guys and Tiesto’s remix of their single Trouble is is likely to put them on the international map.
 
This Saturday is packed for me. At the end of Turboweekend’s set I half run to Arena stage to catch some of Robyn. The former teen star has gone cool in her older years. The 31-year old Swede who had her first hit as a teenager with Show Me Love now mixes pop with electro and elements of dancehall and dubstep. An almost full tent –about 17.000 people – are dancing and grooving to Robyn’s beats.
I don’t have time to finish the concert, because Prodigy is playing the main stage – Orange. They get on stage, and at first the sound is a bit low. Their soundman takes action and into the third song, I can feel the bass in my chest. Just like you’re supposed to when these Englishmen play.
 
“It’s great to be back. It’s the first time since 1997,” screams Keith who still sports his twin Mohawk. Some things never get old apparently.
I think back to the concert in 1997, when Prodigy played faster tracks from the two glorious first albums The Experience and Music For The Jilted Generation. We get some of the old classics today as well and Voodoo People get the pretty packed field in front of the stage jumping.
 
1997 was the year of another spectacular concert. Daft Punk playing the Deeday Stage. The concert was amazing, but was also flooded. 1997 was one of the rainiest years ever at Roskilde, and Deeday was situated in a small valley in the festival area. I was in the back of the tent and had water a bit above my ankles. Further into the tent the water was above peoples’ knees. Still they danced away, but in
retrospect it was a miracle no one drowned.
 
Being fired up on Prodigy’s hard beats we head down to catch the last gig of the night. Moderat. It’s plain cool. Three people with each their laptop playing hard stuff. It’s a merger of the two Berlin groups Modeselektor and Apparat and it works. Deep and good. The perfect way to end a Saturday night at Roskilde.
 
After this it gets a bit hazy. A long day has come to an end. And so have I. Usually I go back to Copenhagen, but there’s no energy. I crash out in a friend’s tent.
Bernard Sumner – Lead man in New Order and one of the main players in Joy Division with his new band Bad Lieutenant. Who played a lot of New Order and Joy Division. Brilliant.
A happily surprised punter.
     
Sunday
 Sunday morning I remember why I usually go home to sleep. The temperature of these tents when the sun is shining. Jesus it’s warm. It’s horrendous – especially when you have a hangover. And I do. I stumble to the hot showers and after I feel a bit further from half dead.
I decide to take it a bit easy on the Sunday. I chill to singer song writer Jack Johnson. In the middle of the set the backing band’s piano player climbs onto the piano and starts to sing.
“ I bet him behind the stage, he wouldn’t do it,” laughs Jack Johnson and shortly after he stops in the middle of a song.
” I think we need some medical attention,” he says and points into the crowd.
“There’s a girl who’s not feeling well.”
He waits until he can see the girl is ok before he starts the music back up. Nice guy, this Johnson.
“She’s up again. Right. Let’s do the whistle solo,” he cheers from the stage.
He’s perfect for a mellow Sunday at Roskilde. So is the next guy I go and watch. It’s one of the many Marley juniors – Julian. He’s playing at the cool Cosmopol stage, and his mix of own and daddy’s music is groovy and makes you in that lovethyneighbour-mood that fits Roskilde.
I head back for one last show. The funk father himself, Prince – who is headlining the festival this year. A bizarre cast and I’m frankly quite sceptical. But again, I’m happily surprised. The man might be weird. He might wear pink spandex. He med might be a religious nut job and he might be completely obstructive to all modern progress. But he knows how to play music. Prince/theartistformerlyknownasprince/symbol delivers a brilliant show with Purple Rain and Kiss being the highlights for me.
I sit down after the show and take a breather. Suck in the last bit of Roskilde spirit. A year from now I’ll be back. A year is a long time. Too long.
Words and pictures by Tom Carstensen
(C) Copyright Clubbing Magazine 2001-2011