Messed!Up
Four days of hell was almost over at the start of Wednesday and then it ended in chaos for other reasons. A few shots of malt whisky did the trick and the rest of the germs in my body got enough and left during the day – finally!
Roskilde day 5 started with fairly good weather, at least no rain, and with enough energy to hang out with Camp Vienna at Settle ‘n’ Share for once. And the first ‘real’ festival day was about to start. Until now, the festival has focused on small Scandinavian bands and has given them space to grow their fanbase. Few festivals do it today and it’s a great opportunity to watch bands you’d never hear of otherwise. But today the main festival starts and with that comes some great bands although I only had two on my schedule: Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes and Bar Italia.
Now, the problem is that the decision to have a workday off also means a lot of beer, and after (too) many beers it’s even easier to make decisions no one in their very late forties would ever do – like running wild in a Frank Turner moshpit. From the first song in the set, Carter catapulted himself over the barriers into the crowd and lets the people hoist him into the air, fully upright, to sail through the crowd as a totemic figure. And then moshpits started, first females only, then the rest. For some reason, my balance wasn’t as I remember it and I stumbled, fell to the ground, and got a two-ton man on top of me until we were rescued and continued the race. Now, that shouldn’t have been a problem and at the moment it wasn’t – but later it got nasty.
Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes music has changed a lot over the albums, from the first Gallows-esque Blossom to their latest effort, this year’s rock/poppy album Dark Rainbow, and although I’ve been a loyal supporter from the start (well, ever since he fronted Gallows), the energy released with the older songs is unparalleled. When the set turned into a history walk I also realized that the hit I took in the moshpit earlier may need a check because my left side of the torso started to turn blue-ish.
But first I thought a detour to Bar Italia would do the trick. In case it’s as bad as I thought and I would get the advice to go to a hospital, I wanted to have caught a glimpse of the band. London-based Bar Italia grew quite a fanbase during the pandemic and was part of the super-hyped new bands when the festival circuit restarted in 2022, and although we watched their live show at Primavera Sound in Barcelona last year and weren’t really impressed, I thought you should give bands double chances. But I shouldn’t have.
I don’t get the hype. I remember a review last year in a British magazine that got stuck, ‘A desperately cool band alienate a bored crowd’ – that’s how it was for the second time for me. The issue isn’t the music, it was primarily one of attitude. Bar Italia have a mysterious charm about them. Still, that very mystery, that charm, that undoubted sense of cool that drips from their fresh haircuts and their accidentally-fallen-out-of-bed-into-a-blazer-a-tie attitude causes something of a rift between the band and their audience in a live setting.
That was it, I left to find the medics (for the third time this festival) and just like I thought my ribs had taken a huge hit from the shenanigans at the Frank Carter gig. It’s not the first time and it may not be the last, but cracked ribs are not super fun when you have a cold at the same time and when the doctor tells you ‘Don’t laugh or cough the rest of the festival and should be fine’. Well, they also wanted me to go home-home because staying in a tent isn’t the best at the moment – apparently. But it’s three days left – no way! However, I went back to sleep off some beer and called it a day.
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Day 6 started a bit better, still a rough cold, and some pain in my ribs but meds and a beer got it all sorted. We also had too many gigs to cover – this was the day for While She Sleeps, Belle And Sebastian, The Beaches, and The Last Dinner Party. After the meds kicked in, we left early for While She Sleeps just to find out that heavy rain left the stage shattered with loads of electrical problems but 40min late, the band started. And what a show they put on!
The Sheffield metalcore band know have to pull the strings and there wasn’t a moshpit-free second during the whole show. While She Sleeps use the opportunity to cycle through their hits old and new, reminding fans of the sheer amount of bangers they have produced to date and it’s like a rubber band being pulled back. As soon as the opening notes play, the crowd snaps. They are one living organism who are moving together. You don’t need to be a metalcore fan to get the energy the band release on stage. A quick run for food and we were back at the same stage to wait for Belle And Sebastian.
One advantage of having a career spanning almost three decades is that the live nine-piece has an impressive back catalogue of songs, thus they have become one of the defining bands of their generation. The chemistry among band members is easy with chat and quips, and engagement with an audience that, surprisingly for me, ranges from teenagers and upward. My friend ran to the fence like she was back in her late teens, not her late forties, and came back with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen after shooting something in between a selfie and a close-up shot. I think that represents what the concert was about: connecting friends, (old) fans, and the band and creating an atmosphere of familiarity. With lots of energy, a plethora of quirky lyrics, fun pop songs, and soothing and haunting sounds from strings and clarinets, Belle and Sebastian delivered a perfectly blended motley of songs, that further reinforced the impression of this being the best festival day so far.
Another quick break and we were off to the GAIA stage to watch The Beaches, a band that deserve far more attention than they’ve got so far. The Toronto band’s 2017 debut album Late Show went straight into our Top10 list that year and their sophomore album, last year’s Blame My Ex, establishes the four-piece as a high-quality band with a feel for writing banger songs. And it was a banger show!
With their exaggerated stage presence, striking lighting running around, and stepping on every inch of that stage; the four-piece played with the intensity of an arena rather than the vestige building they occupied. And with equal kinetic energy, the attentive and chaotic audience ate it up. Each song they performed had its own deeper meaning, which lead singer and bass player Jordan Miller made sure to let the crowd know about in-between performances. The Beaches effortlessly flaunted their talents for bringing old-school rock, new-wave, and power-pop into an accessible music language, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the band takes the next step very soon – never miss a chance to watch them live!
And that was it, having a touch of cold, a bit of fever, probably a few bruised ribs, and trying to keep warm in the very cold Roskilde night was enough – I went straight to bed and just hoped it would turn out better tomorrow.
