Friday 15-08 - Day 2, Pukkelpop 2008

The second day we woke up at a reasonable time. I slept slightly better than before but still I was exhausted. Once again I awoke in a pool of my own sweat. I cleaned up and together we all left for the festival grounds. Before we got in we walked up and down the street looking for food and a nicer bathroom than the cubicles at the camp site. Everyday they were getting worse and worse. In the end we decided to just hold it in until we reached the festival site.

Almost every band we wanted to see that day was at an undercover stage called the chateau. It was air conditioned I think because it wasn´t as hot as outside. There was also shade from the surprising amount of sun.

The first act we saw was the Dodos. I only knew a couple of songs but even that was enough to make me excited. We rushed to the bathrooms then to find a spot at the front. They were mind blowing. So much energy and so much sound for just three people. I am a total convert.



We stayed where we were at the front. We sat backs against the wall and drank some cherry beer until the next act. Caribou. They also blew my mind. Two strings and 2 percussion. Synchronised drum moves and seizure inducing light show. Well awesome and deserving of their reputation.





Again we sat by the stage. Soon the next band, Los Campesinos, were playing. They were fun but they didn´t blow my mind or inspire me like most the other acts had. Compared to what I had seen over the last few days these guys were nothing too special. Not that I didn´t enjoy their set. I had a great time. I had just been spoilt before. They played all my most beloved songs from their short repetior. We danced around.



We sat again in our positions and waited for Tuung to start. I had seen them play only a week earlier at Field Day, but needed to see them again. During the break I ran to fetch more beer. I also picked up a bag of goodies from the Haribo stall and was vegetarian spring rolls. We snacked on all these things. We shared them with the people around us. The dutch group we had made friends with were next to us again, we must have had similar taste.

Tuung were good for the second time. They played the same set as at Field Day. After Tuung we had a break so we got out of the tent to long needed fresh air. We walked around a bit more. Then we got some food from one of the stalls.



Than festival pasta.



The nest we wanted to see was Tokyo Police Club, on the same stage. We really wanted a prime spot so we decided to see the act before as well. They were called Alphabeat. We got pretty near the front just before they started. The first thing I noticed was that the crowd were all very young. Most of them looked a maximum of 16. But not in the way that most people think I look 16, I mean REALLY young. We wondered why they would all congregate here.

My question was answered when the band started to play. They were a light heart bubble pop electro band. They probably acheived quite high chart ratings. The girls screamed so loudly I was shaken from any tiredness I might have felt.

The crowd cleared out very quickly after the band finished, with only 4 or 5 people save us staying for the next act. This meant that we got an amazing spot to watch from. Tokyo Police Club were well worth it. We danced and sung and had a great time. We were beat by the end of the night so we basically went straight to bed.