Elbow-Weather to Fly

Rock Off!

Things to expect at a Rock festival:
1. Music
2. People
3. People shouting "WOO!" a lot and randomly waving their hands in the air.
4. People throwing various objects, usually a container of some sort filled with liquid, possibly beer (mmm...) or possibly water. Old hands at festivals will not wear their best or favourite items of clothing. I was once on the edge of a Chinese take-away shower at the V Fest in Chelmsford, England a few years ago and although I missed my share of sweet and sour pork balls, it taught me a valuable lesson. On friday, a group of teenage girls about five sardines in front of me, caught the full force of a cup of water. The look of outrage on one girls face made me laugh, which she saw and I think she suspected that I had thrown it. If looks could kill...Of course, there are other things that get thrown: toilet paper(unused), inflatable balls and the odd hat. It must be said that most people find in hard to resist throwing a sombrero to see if it flies like a frisbee!
5. Small people. I think there should be a height restriction for Festivals, like there are for some rides at Fun Fairs. Small people live under the mistaken belief that they are missing out on something if they can't see the stage. They don't realise that everyone else watches the big screens for much of the time and so they insist on sitting on a friends shoulders so they get a good view of really tiny groups on the stage and everyone else behind them gets to see NOTHING except their stupid backs!
6. Beer and the hazards of trying to negotiate your way to the beer tent from the middle of a group of people and trying to find the way back without spilling any! Lucky for me someone else went! Thanks hun!
7. Rock stars asking everyone if they are alright.
Guy Garvey (Elbow)- How's everyone doing?
Everyone except me- WOO!
Me- Actually, my feet really hurt!

Brandon Flowers (The Killers)- Hi, how's everyone doing?
Everyone except me- WOO!
Me- I could really do with a foot massage!

Chris Martin (Coldplay)- Hi , everyone having a good time?
Everyone except me- WOO!
Me- Get me an armchair and a pouffe!
8. Laws of averages dictate that when you get many thousands of people standing together in a field, then a certain proportion of them will be annoying idiots. Or Dutch. Or both. I had the pleasure of standing next to a group of Dutch people, one of whom blagged a squeeze of my finacée's sun cream and then insisted on using my sun glasses so he could see his reflection, because he didn't know where abouts on his face his nose was. He then announced that I was a really cool dude and then returned to his friends. There was a gap of a few seconds and then he suddenly shouted "Hey! She is a lady boy!" and pointed to one of his female friends. I'm not sure if he meant to say "Hey, she is a lady, boy!"(which didn't need pointing out to me) or, I think he might have meant" He is a lady boy." Whatever. We didn't exchange email addresses.
9. Funny fags. I have never smoked anything stronger than a Silk Cut, I guess I led a sheltered life in my youth, but I've never smoked pot. At every gig I've ever attended you always get a waft of burning un-washed socks, which I presume is either pot or actually is un-washed socks being burnt in some sort of secret Rock Festival ritual that I know nothing about, a little like the Masonic secret handshake.
10. Really drunk people. Usually, drunk people are only funny when you are just as drunk as they are. But, I find it amusing to watch drunk people walk (or try to) and it was especially funny on friday night to see a young man who was really drunk do what no one else could do and that was part the sea of human bodies that was trying to leave the Festival grounds. He half ran, half stumbled with impressive dexterity, through a crowd of maybe fifty people until inevitably he disappeared from view as his legs caught up with his drink addled brain. It was good while it lasted!
We had a great time at Rock Werchter, Elbow were majestic, The Killers were excellent in places and Coldplay were not as good as the first time I saw them, but still rocked. The weather was excellent, none of that promised rain, just hot weather and some nice cloud cover. And yes, my feet still hurt!

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Rock On!

For a few days every year, the village of Werchter becomes the Rock capital of Belgium. As you can see from the picture, it's taking place this year and I shall be going. My fiancée and myself decided last year that we would do a day at the festival, if the groups were good enough. When the line-up was announced earlier in the year, it was a toss up between today and friday. Today, Oasis are performing and I would love to see them. But how could we resist Elbow, The Killers and Coldplay, all playing on the same day! It was a no brainer. If that wasn't enough, tomorrow we are promised thunderstorms! Brilliant! I shall take my wellies...
Another thing going on over the weekend in this neck of the woods is Braderij. I'm not sure if it should be 'a Braderij' or 'the Braderij,' but whatever it's called, it's on and it's here! It's one of those things that we don't have in England. I'm not sure if it's unique to Belgium, probably not, but it is something that I really couldn't see being held in Britain.
Once a year, in the town, they close a number of roads and the shop keepers have a sale, bringing their goods outside and making a sort of impromptu street market. Not only that, but a travelling Fun Fair sets up in every available nook and cranny.
Actually, that's another thing that is different to Britain. In Britain, Fun Fairs are usually set up on fields or empty car parks. In Belgium they are set up in the most unlikely of places. If it wont fit in a car park then they will just put a Shooting Gallery or Food Stall in the next bit of space they can find. Hence, the road opposite our apartment being closed and a ride of some sort being erected across its width. It's still a bit weird to me after 3 years.
But, I have to say that despite this bit of Belgian strangeness, it creates a nice atmosphere, especially with a couple of beer stalls dotted around the place. Braderij takes place over 3 days and I expect we shall take a stroll down the road to see if there are any bargains to be had.

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