Roadburn 2011 ended a little over three weeks ago, yet I am just now getting around to being able to write about it. Had I done so immediately following, the review would consisted of little more than all-caps and mindless babble. The enormity and awesomeness of the festival shocked me, and took a while to sink in. Now, looking back, I believe I can express how it made me feel, and it changed my perception on how a good metal gathering should be constructed.
Setting the stage
I had very little idea what to expect prior to arriving in Tilburg, other than Godflesh was going to be playing Streetcleaner in its entirety the first night (a drunken night randomly trying to discover new music led me to stumbling upon the fest).
My exposure to metal festivals had been limited to outdoor amphitheatres or parking lots: a scattering of metal fans, with a lot of people who just like an excuse for drinking all day long. Fair enough, but that’s a very different experience from a relatively small gathering of 1500 or so people who have traveled from all over the world to see fairly specific sub-genres of music.
I knew some of the bands involved, but knew very little about the majority of them. While normally I would meticulously study the bands and map out my schedule for seeing them, for whatever reason I did the exact opposite and did no studying.
And then there was Roadburn
Our traveling party consisted of me and my good friend John. We spent some time in Amsterdam prior to traveling to Tilburg, mentally preparing for the onslaught, and took a train in Thursday morning, the first day of the festival. Scattered among the cars were several groups of people in obvious metal garb. We felt safe.
There was a connection just outside Tilburg. On the platform, a group of folks with camping bags approached us. “Excuse me, mates (they were from New Zealand, it turned out), but you look like you’re going to Roadburn. I assume we’re on the right track?” They were, indeed, and it felt good to be helping shepherd the throngs of metal fans to their Mecca.
Continue reading: Invisible Oranges: (We Are) The Roadburn Crew.
Tags: Godflesh, Invisible Oranges, Roadburn, Roadburn 2011, Roadburn Festival, Roadburn Festival 2011, Tommy Young
This entry was posted on Monday, May 9th, 2011 at 2:14 pm and is filed under 2011, Festival News . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Amen to that..