There are thousands of festivals in Europe, particularly
in the summer time, but none quite like the Haldern Pop festival, in the Lower
Rhine of Germany.In it's 27th
year, you'd think the word would spread a little more - because this festival
is something more than special.Spectacularly set on country grounds in the Rees-Haldern area, not too
far from the Dutch border, thousands flock to witness the spectacular shows put
on some of the worlds greatest artists - notably Beirut, Mumford and Sons and
closers The National this year, alongside up and coming rising stars from
around the globe.A festival that
sells out almost instantly, it's not just the punters who return year after year,
but the bands, such is the magical atmosphere.Set alongside a lake, amongst the greenest grass, despite
the big names - past bands have included Muse, Franz Ferdinand, Kelis - this
festival is renowned for its cozy atmosphere, with only a maximum capacity of
around 5,000 - which aims to stay that way - much to the delight and merriment
to any who have experienced the Haldern magic.
4. Haldern Pop : Day One (Reviews/Concert Reviews)
Author : Jayne Yong A rainy Day One of Germany's Haldern Pop Festival saw bands from all over the north Atlantic.
5. Hot Hot Heat : Future Breeds (Reviews/Album Reviews)
Author : Ted Chase The Future has not been kind to Hot Hot Heat - or, rather, they have not been kind to it.
HARD Summer finally happened Saturday, August 7th in L.A.'s
State Historic Park.After the
HARD LA date on July 17th was cancelled, many disappointed fans had to wait to
get their HARD fix, and they had to be content with a new lineup of
headliners.Official reasons for
the cancellation and rescheduling are unknown, but some suspect that it was
partly due to poor ticket sales and LA County's recent establishment of a rave
safety task force in response to the most recent Electric Daisy Carnival, where
many were hospitalized and one fifteen year old girl died.HARD LA's promoter, Gary Richards,
a.k.a. Destructo, spoke to the L.A. Times
saying, "We do not allow raves.Raves have a stigma attached to them."The definition of ‘rave' is, of course, totally unclear, and
even at this concert, the onstage LED screen at a certain time asked, "Is this
a rave?"
Thousands
came out to Governors Island (QRO venue review) for HARD NYC, an eight-hour
festival showcasing some of the most talked about up and comers and biggest
names in dance.With several
events and festivals under their belt on the west coast, HARD NYC is one of the
first major forays in bringing dance and techno to the east coast by organizers
HARD.
8. Holy Fuck : Latin (Reviews/Album Reviews)
Author : Brendan MaGee The most important rule of the music
industry is to let the music speak for itself, an fortunately
for listeners, it does just that on Holy Fuck's latest, Latin.
9. High Places : High Places Vs. Mankind (Reviews/Album Reviews)
Author : Jonathan Byram On the vanguard of sound design, High
Places delivers a deep experience of far-out timbres, but falls short of
reaching their full compositional potential.
10. Holy Fuck (Reviews/Concert Reviews)
Author : Jayne Yong On a wave of critical acclaim since breaking
into music scene some years ago, Holy Fuck came to Boston's Middle East
to show
New England what it's all about.