The 4-day Rock Werchter festival, which has been held for 50 years in Flemish Belgium, is not only one of the largest music festivals in Europe but has also been named the best festival in the world several times. The festival family has since been expanded to include the one-day Werchter Boutique (Pop) and TW Classic (Indie, Rock, Pop). And brand new this year is the WERCHTER PARKLIFE - another one-day event that covers the slightly harder side of music, as you can clearly see from the lineup ;)
I have to admit, I only became aware of WERCHTER PARKLIFE because I had to fulfill my nephew’s birthday wish of seeing a LINKIN PARK show (his favorite band); otherwise, the festival would certainly have passed me by, coz of its "mainstream" character.
Well, I’d already officially covered PAPA ROACH for NOCTURNAL HALL - back then at the Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen (2017). This fall they’re set to play the Lanxess Arena in Cologne (quintuplicate in size).
Anyway, WERCHTER PARKLIFE was purely a personal treat but I couldn't resist to write about this festival afterwards. So, no official photos, just a few cell phone snaps.
In the sweltering heat, we headed out to beautiful Aarschot, and luckily, we had an air-conditioned hotel room in an old mill right above the Demer River. It was a very relaxed drive, followed by a short stroll in the evening through town, a delicious dinner, and a nighttime thunderstorm that turned the forecasted 40°C for the next day into a much more pleasant 30°C.
On Sunday at noon, we took the shuttle bus to the Werchter festival grounds There were like 6 up to 8 buses running around the clock until 2 a.m., shuttling back and forth between the festival and the Aarschot train station. There were shuttle services from other cities too, and you could rent a "festival bike". That I call service!
The Werchter Boutique Festival had already taken place the day before, sold out with 50,000 visitors (Katy Perry was the headliner) - but you wouldn’t have noticed a thing. Neither at the festival grounds nor the day before in Aarschot.
At first, I’d assumed that the festival grounds in Werchter were a permanent installation. In addition to the huge main stage, there’s a hall (Barn – open to cool down) and another small stage (Nest), plus countless booths for food, drinks, merch, coins, restrooms, even a mother-and-child facility and breathalyzer stations with instructions for "responsible drinking". They call it Zebra drinking (Alcohol, water, alcohol, water etc.). On top of that, there were free sunscreen stations, free water stations, and snow cannons spraying vaporized water all over the grounds. Crazy!
In reality, though, all of this is only set up for the summer festivals, which all take place more or less one after the other. Before and after that, it’s probably just farmland.
Entry, food and drinks, information, organization, traffic routes, assistance for fans with special needs - everything ran incredibly smooth. You never had to stand in line or wait anywhere for long, you could get help anywhere at any time, and the staff were super friendly. Simply fantastic! After all, WERCHTER PARKLIFE was completely sold out with 50,000 fans too. I’ve been to big festivals in Belgium (and the Netherlands) before - they really know how to organize things with the fans in mind; many German festivals could take a page from their book.
Of course, all of this comes at a price. At the entrance, you receive a wristband with a chip that you have to load with “coins”: 1 coin = 3.90 euros. You then use these to pay for food and drinks. An Indian curry costing 4.3 coins comes to just under 17 euros, an Aperol Spritz at 1.7 coins is 6.63 euros, and a serving of fries at 1.8 coins is 7.02 euros or so. It’s certainly not cheap. The merchandise was also on the pricier side: T-shirts for 45-55 euros, which is typical for events of this size these days.
Overall, this isn’t surprising: Werchter has been sold to Live Nation, and they naturally want to see a return on their investment (similar to what happened with RAR and RIP, which were sold to an investment company that rips off fans since that), even though the festival’s original founder, Herman Schueremans, still organizes the events.
The festival kicked off with the electro-rock duo :: PHANTOGRAM :: from Saratoga Springs, NY, who delivered an incredible sound. It immediately made me want to dance, and I wasn’t the only one in the large circle. I hadn’t heard of PHANTOGRAM before but surely will listen through their records afterwards.
The duo looked a bit lost on the huge stage and could barely use the catwalk, since they kept having to go back to their keyboards. Huge screens to the right and left of the stage ensured that even those, way in the back by the food stands, could still see something.
For half an hour, they played some great indie/electro-rock, essentially a “best of” from their older material, since they only performed one song from their latest album, Memory Of A Day (2024).
Band: Sarah Barthel (keys, vox), Joshua Carter (git, keys, vox)
Setlist: You Don't Get Me High Anymore, Fall In Love, Feedback Invisible, Bad Dreams, Cruel World, Black Out Days, When I'm Small
:: pics :: LANDMVRKS ::
A half-hour break between sets - plenty of time to grab a bite, enjoy a cold drink and mist cooling ;) At least I’m already familiar with the French metalcore band :: LANDMVRKS :: The guys tour a lot (they’ll play at Rock Werchter next weekend, and be on tour with Papa Roach this fall), and you really could see it. LANDMVRKS literally set off a fireworks (pyrotechnics, even in this heat) of grooves, riffs, and breaks. They are a force live on stage! It was a blast! My nephew enjoyed it, too ;)
Band: Florent Salfati (vox), Nicolas Exposito (git), Paul "C. Wilson" Cordebard (git), Rudy Purkat (bass), Kévin D’Agostino (drums)
Setlist: Creature, Death, Blistering, A Line In The Dust, Sulfur, LaVvalse du Temps, Lost In A Wave, Rainfall, Blood-Red, Self-Made Black Hole
After these two interesting opening acts, :: ZWANGERE GUY :: took the stage, a Belgian rapper (and actor) who had a lot to say and played even more songs. Judging by the audience’s reaction, he seems to be well-known and popular. Musically, it’s not really my thing, and I found it a bit one-dimensional, but oh well… I passed the time with some Aperol… By then, the festival grounds had filled up nicely with fans in high spirits.
Band: Gorik van Oudheusden
Setlist: DMT, Lege Fles, Monkey Mind, Fally Ipupa, Quatre mains (live debut), Beter leven, Gorik, pt. 1, Grijze Zone, Gorik, pt. 2, OG'z, Niet voor de views, Vecht Voor Papier I, Wie is Guy?, Guttergang, R.A.F. (Rien à foutre), Loin d'ici, Papucho
:: pics :: CLIPSE ::
Actually, I ended up liking the brothers Malice and Pusha T from :: CLIPSE ::. better. The duo has been around for a while and is also quite famous, as I found out later. They’ve even won a Grammy for Chains & Whips, the song they opened their set with. East Coast hip-hop, gangsta rap, hardcore rap… whatever. CLIPSE really got the crowd going. Things got unexpectedly emotional during the track Momma I’m So Sorry - clearly a tribute to their mother, accompanied by numerous photos from their childhood.
Band: Malice (Gene Thornton), Pusha T (Terrence Thornton)
Setlist: Chains & Whips, P.O.V., Popular Demand (Popeyes), What Happened To That Boy (Birdman cover), M.T.B.T.T.F., Inglorious Bastards, Momma I'm So Sorry, Keys Open Doors, Mr. Me Too, Grindin', F.I.C.O., So Be It, Ace Trumpets, The Birds Don't Sing, So Far Ahead
:: pics :: PAPA ROACH ::
Slowly but surely, I was getting back into my musical comfort zone… ;) We then got to experience what a sold-out festival park with 50,000 fans feels like during :: PAPA ROACH :: set. A taste of what was to come from the headliner… Despite the great organization, it was now getting very, very cozy and hot. There was plenty of pyrotechnics too.
PAPA ROACH rocked their hearts out, despite the heat. Jacoby Shaddix ran up and down the catwalk, hyped up the fans, jumped into the photo pit - and sometimes right into the crowd - and just like that, circle pits broke out and crowd surfers started flying through the air. The crowd was jumping, dancing, headbanging, and waving their hands, fists, and devil horns - depending on the cue.
The Californians really gave it their all and you could see the sweat running down their faces. Hats off for this effort! Really. By the way, Jacoby Shaddix had two of his sons with him; Jagger and Brixton each sang a song with daddy.
PAPA ROACH has a new album coming out later this year; with three singles already released. The first one was Even If It Kills Me, they kicked their set of with. With full throttle. What followed was a 90-minute best-of-power show that pushed both the band and the fans to their limits.
Band: Jacoby Shaddix (vox), Jerry Horton (git, vox), Tobin Esperance (bass, vox), Tony Palermo (drums, vox)
Setlist: Even If It Kills Me, Blood Brothers, Dead Cell, ...To Be Loved, Kill The Noise, Getting Away With Murder, See U In Hell (with Jagger Shaddix), California Love (2Pac cover), Liar, Braindead (with Brixton Shaddix), Falling Apart, Scars, Help, Born For Greatness // Between Angels And Insects, Blind/My Own Summer (Shove It)/Break Stuff/Chop Suey, Last Resort
:: pics :: LINKIN PARK ::
This time, the chamge-over lasted a little longer - the stage was completely rearranged. In between, there were cheers as technicians acrobatically rappelled down from the stage roof, where they had been replacing lights. Now it was time for many fans to leave the “pit,” which was reserved exclusively for “pit” ticket holders. Just as we were breathing a sigh of relief because there was finally air and space to move and breathe again, the gates were opened for those “pit” ticket holders who were still standing outside…
Then the lights finally went out and it began… with a trailer. It looks like :: LINKIN PARK :: will be releasing a documentary and concert film called Unshatter later this year, directed by Joe Hahn (DJ, vocals), which explores the band’s new beginning following the death of Chester Bennington.
After that, it remained dark and a countdown started… lasting 8 minutes…
And then… a truly spectacular, breathtaking 2-hour show began!
The set was divided into four acts, plus an encore. There were no pyrotechnics, but there were lasers and CO2 jets, and a fantastic light show. And confetti.
LINKIN PARK has been on tour for two years now, and it shows. Emily Armstrong, in particular, looked visibly tired and exhausted, and her voice sounded hoarse. The band played professionally, but also very statically and in a choreographed manner. There wasn’t the same energy and verve as with Papa Roach. But that didn’t seem to really bother anyone. The audience went absolutely wild and, of course, gave the band a huge reception.
I found it interesting that Emily Armstrong can not only sing but also play guitar and drums, as she impressively demonstrated.
For Numb, Mike Shinoda let the audience decide which style the song should be played in: disco, punk, or reggae… I would have loved to hear the disco style, but it ended up being reggae. It was still fun, though.
What’s left to say in the end? This was my first LINKIN PARK show, and I have to say, the hype is justified, despite my own reservations.
If I read that correctly, this evening was the penultimate show of the From Zero World Tour. I hope the band takes enough down time to recharge their batteries, as guitarist Brad Delson for example won’t be playing live with LINKIN PARK anymore (for the time being, he says), but he remains a band member.
Band: Emily Armstrong (vox), Mike Shinoda (vox, git), Brad Delson (git, vox), Dave Farrell (bass), Colin Brittain (drums), Joe Hahn (DJ, vox)
Setlist: Unshatter Movie Trailer // countdown 8min // Act I • Inception Intro C, The Emptiness Machine, Points Of Authority, New Divide, Up From The Bottom, Somewhere I Belong // Act II • Creation Intro C, The Catalyst, Burn It Down, Cut The Bridge, Where'd You Go, Waiting For The End, Lying From You, Two Faced, Empty Spaces, When They Come for Me/Remember The Name, Casualty, One Step Closer // Act III • Break/Collapse, Lost, Breaking The Habit, Stained, What I've Done // Act IV • Kintsugi, Overflow, From The Inside, Numb (w/ reggae style "Numb/Encore" intro), Heavy Is The Crown, Bleed It Out // Resolution Intro C, Papercut, In The End, Faint
Bottom line: The birthday present was a huge success; my nephew was speechless - or rather voiceless afterwards ;)
When 50,000 people want to go home at the same time, it takes a while. Even the walk to the bus was one big traffic jam. Anyone who wondered when arriving, why there were crowd control barriers and crowd management systems at the bus stop now had their answer. It took a while before we were on the bus, and even longer before we got to Aarschot (traffic). A refreshing shower and off to bed - at 3 a.m. on Monday morning… Now that was a great weekend!
By the way, WERCHTER PARKLIFE will be back again next year :) |
