Paaspop 2009 - Opening the festival season

Face Tomorrow
The honour of opening the festival at the Masters Of Rock stage was reserved for the Rotterdam-based indie rock band Face Tomorrow. Unfortunately they couldn’t totally convince the crew why watching bands perform was the best activity to do during this festival, instead of drinking beer at the camp site. Especially in the beginning of their 45-minutes lasting show, they were way too tame. At the end of their set they played some older songs like ‘Sign Up’ and ‘Worth The Wait’ which were of the level we had hoped the whole show would be. It’s not that the newer songs are total crap; their latest single ‘Overpowered’ for example is a really good song. The thing is just that the contrast between the older and newer songs is too big and due to an unbalanced setlist they clearly emphasised it themselves.
Gilles
The Blackout
One and a half year ago I saw The Blackout on the Rockstar Taste Of Chaos tour with bands like Rise Against and The Used. Back then they didn’t impress me at all, but at least there were a lot of young people enjoying their emocore. On Paaspop the music was equally awful, but the young audience wasn’t there to scream and clap along. Most people were more attracted to a cold beer, while enjoying the beautiful weather, instead of listening to some very predictable music. Can’t blame them.
Gilles
BZB
There’s hardly an edition of Paaspop where BZB hasn’t been present on the lineup and there's a reason for that. This band, which plays a mixture of folk and rock ‘n roll, is a typical party band with the ditto lyrics. At the beginning of the set it was already very crowded and hot in the main stage tent. With the first tones of ´Ik Leer Het Nooit´ from their latest album 'Bart' the shit hit the fan and the crowd went wild. From there on it’s just one little step further for another great show of BZB. With both old and new songs, that are both chanted along by a lot of people in the tent, they manage to start the party and hold it on for the entire set. Just like the usual another great party.
Niamen
Action in DC
To be honest I’m not the most dedicated AC/DC fan. Of course I have an album of them somewhere and I did see one or two shows on the TV but that’s about it. This didn’t stop me to go and see the best AC/DC coverband that Holland's got to offer. With a lot of oldies but goodies they immediately stole the hearts of the audience. Of course every thing is better with the real thing but considering the fact that the real deal is very hard to see live these days I can say that this is a great substitute. Of course all the hits where played and they even pulled out the big guns during their encore of ´For Those About To Rock´
Niamen
Pestilence
Paaspop would not be Paaspop if there wasn't at least one extreme metal band on the bill. This year marked the return of a certain Dutch death metal legend called Pestilence, making way for giggling stuff like 'hihi, Pestilence and Novastar playing the same festival'. You gotta admire the festival organisation for this bold kind of programming. A decision met with a lukewarm audience representation; after two songs most of the attending folks walked out again with a look on their faces that read 'this is too much'. The longhairs who stayed inside enjoyed the return with a smile and an occasionally raised beer in between songs, headbanging to one of Holland's finest. Not for the easy listening music fan, the complex and harsh metal divided the attending audience into two groups: those who were disgusted and those who were eating it. Unfortunately for Pestilence; the latter turned out to be the minority.
Lex
Tenement Kids
Tenement Kids is a Dutch band that consists of four guys from Utrecht. They play energetic punk-orientated rock, but the audience at Paaspop seemingly couldn’t care less. During the performance of another band - Drive Like Maria, half an hour earlier - the place was overcrowded. During Tenement Kids it was almost empty in front of the stage. In Belgium they are way more popular than in their own country, so this probably must have felt as a rehearsal for their gig at the Groezrock festival next weekend for them. Hopefully then they do get the attention they deserve.
Gilles
Peter Pan Speedrock
When the first names for the Paaspop festival start drizzling through around January, there's always one band you can put your money on: the 'house band' Peter Pan Speedrock. This three-piece band from Eindhoven is the only band to play the festival every year, never failing to entertain the crowd with their solid and still underrated classics. Standing there, seeing the band play Paaspop for the millionth time you start to wonder: why is it that every CD player on the campsite and every DJ that plays the music in between bands still bothers us with 'Highway to Hell', 'Killing in the Name Of' and 'Bro Hymn', when the Dutch have their own 'Resurrection'? Why? The Germans love their own shitty Toten Hosen and Artze, and know their songs by heart. Still, in Holland it takes a live gig in the Masters of Rock tent to remind everyone of the excellence the band's material and the just live reputation. Peter Pan Speedrock should have been one of the biggest bands around by now. The fact that they aren't doesn't seem to bother these guys by the way, as they still play their nuts off, no matter if it's ten or a thousand people attending. Same thing for this millionth Paaspop show; a perfect atmosphere of drunk and crude singing of home baked lyrics and air guitar fun. With - as ever - 'mascot' Dikke Dennis being the light of the party, trotting the stage with his butt crack exposed delivering the shows only small surprise: a brand new song that sounded alright. Until Paaspop 2010, I guess.
Lex
Day 2
Zo Moeilijk
Every year it’s obvious that Paaspop is booking a wider range of bands. The result of that development was the programming of 4 hiphop acts in one row. Indeed I said hiphop. This means that all the narrow minded readers can skip this part. The first hiphop act to climb the Extrema stage was Zo Moeilijk. At first sight it looked pretty okay but after a while they kept doing the same trick over and over again. Next to this was the fact that the sound was way too loud which caused the lyrics to drown in the beat.
Niamen
Rico & Sticks

Niamen
The Fringe
After the great show of Rico & Sticks it was time for The Fringe. A Dutch rap group that has its influences from the Beastie Boys. The energy was pretty good on stage: The members were constantly making contact with the audience, and the music just screamed for a little party onstage. Finally in the end the party turned to the dancefloor. It was just a shame that The Fringe had only a lousy 15 minutes playing time. I loved to see more of them live.
Niamen
De Jeugd Van Tegenwoordig
The headliner of these couple hours of rap was the famous Dutch rapgroup De Jeugd Van Tegenwoordig. Considering the crowded tent it was obvious that a lot of people were there to check them out. Starting with their first hit ‘Watskebeurt’ gave a lot of good response from the audience. After this it was more of the same hits of De Jeugd Van Tegenwoordig. The only problem was that the same songs that sounds so funny on the radio didn't convince me live. The longer I stayed to see them, the more I started to think about a nice cold beer and some food in my stomach.
Niamen
Elle Bandita

Niamen
Walls Of Jericho

Buzzin Hornet
Triggerfinger

Lex
Epica

Buzzin Hornet
Creature With The Atom Brain

Lex
Volbeat

Niamen