Roskilde Festival

Being caught up in corporate life and Copenhagen summer has sapped my proactive blogging. A lazy Sunday on the couch with Tour de France on the TV and the Wimbledon final on live-update changes that! Granted, a 50-55 hour work week doesn't allow for much fun during the week, but weekends are up for grabs: Yesterday, Saturday was spent at Roskilde Festival.

Roskilde Festival is Denmarks biggest music festival, and one of the big 6 annual European music festivals. The music lasts for 4 days, but it is customary to "warm up" from the previous Saturday, effectively giving 9 days in rural Danish summer. People pitch tents, bring a truckload of alcoholic beverages (as the actual festival site is not yet open, and it is cheaper than buying it in there during the 4 days), and "hygger" (enjoy themselves). Its 1971 hippie-origin is still visible, both in the crowd that the festival attracts, but also through the humanism and culture which permeates it: there are organic eateries, vegetarian is on equal terms with meat, shops and stores are run by non-profit organizations and NGO's, and there is a large focus on sustainability and environment. It is, however, a festival, so it is also muddy, full of drunken, dirty people, and permeated in a musty odour of beer, urine, soil and dried shrub.

I got two tickets for the full 9 days from work, but since I actually had to work during the week and Friday was a near-monsoon, my girlfriend and I decided to push our Roskilde adventure to Saturday, which conveniently also had the best artists by far. After lunch and armed with a six-pack of Carlsberg and wellingtons, we took a 20-minute train to Roskilde and the festival site. The afternoon was spent wandering around in the sun, lazing by the lake, soaking in the Roskilde atmosphere and listening to the impressive funky band The Roots from a distance. By 9 PM we were parked (with everyone else, see photo) to enjoy the highlight of the week, Bruce Springsteen, as he played the concert of the festival for two rock 'n' roll hours. This was immediately followed by the American indie-folk band Bon Iver, who won two Grammys this year and is a personal favourite (the album Bon Iver - best last year). A 30 minute break later and we found ourselves up front to watch the Danish alternative rock band Mew. They finished at 3 AM, and then it was a direct train back to Copenhagen.

 

I really enjoy music festivals, but they also come with a cost. Not only are tickets expensive (1800 DKR for the full 4 days), as is eating and drinking there, but they also imply that one can spend the following week recovering. Sadly I am not in such a position, so a full-on single day was enough for me, but perhaps I'll be back for more next year. My (Roskilde-savvy) sister couldn't dream of me being at Roskilde, but then again, no-one says you must go all out 9 days with no shower, tuna fish sandwiches, and cheap, warm, canned beer. Getting old? :)

On a final note: my girlfriend didn't enjoy Mew as much as I did, seeing as she had never heard of them. To everyone else out there: their album Frengers is a must-hear, as is this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sgJbm1g8f0