The 22nd edition of the Lowlands Festival took place this weekend at the usual venue of the land near the Walibi park in Biddinghuizen (Flevoland), with Skrillex, Queens Of The Stone Age or Stromae as major claims and the final feeling of a better result than expected, when in the first weeks of selling tickets they were not exhausted in a few days as usually due to a not so spectacular line up as full of big names as in the past editions. However, viewing the final result of crowd and the quality of the performances which has been done, it is no doubt to qualify as successful this 2014 edition.
Photo taken by Esther Vicente. All rights reserved.
The first day started with interesting concerts such as Glass Animals, Blood Red Shoes and Kaiser Chiefs, but because of our job duties we did arrive to the site just to view the beginning of Mando Diao in Grolsh scenario, the second in capacity of the enclosure. Under a generalised aesthetic Ibiza good vibes, the Swedish band offered a plane and lacking impetus concert, in which continuous Gustaf Norén talks cooled too little pace that already the concert had, even receiving some whistled by the public when referred to the intake of beer, mixed with the influence on children and beautiful women.. Just below the main stage Alpha received the Belgian Triggerfinger, who for more than 45 minutes delighted us into the contrary, a show full of hard rock and in which they were mainly focused on their last two jobs All This Dancin 'around (2010) and the recent By Absence Of the Sun (2014). Their colourful dress and their desire onstage dazzled at a local audience who loves them and that only "protested" due to they did not sing their wonderful version of "I Follow Rivers" by Lykke Li.
Photo taken by Esther Vicente. All rights reserved.
The same stage would be just 45 minutes after the show of the expected Imagine Dragons, who were already in the last edition of the festival and a few contented beyond fans permeating the front rows of the audience. Their show full of senseless percussion and very easy rhythms , who repeat until turning some songs in endless choruses, is weary because of wanting to be for 45 minutes a mixture of the most commercial of their countrymen The Killers and Coldplay, as demonstrated by the ornate performance of "Radioactive". However, we must recognise that when move away from the majesty of the drums and the movement of their singer, they can deliver marvels like "On Top Of The World" that live sounded fresh and fun. We understand as a toll to pay the presence of this kind of groups in crowded scenarios due to the mass they attract, whenever later it provided the organisation to present concerts like Janelle Monae in Grolsh stage, a marvel that with the passage of days has been confirmed as the best concert of the entire festival. American offered a SHOW in capital letters where equally highlighting outstanding scenery with unrivalled musical quality, where Janelle serves as a perfect master of ceremonies of a band that includes a chorus with an impressive vocal range, as well as a horn section and percussion reminiscent of the great orchestrations of the Motown era. For nearly an hour Kansas' Diva show takes a tour by her three live albums, interspersed in some subjects claims in favour of sexual freedom and, above all, against racial discrimination, dedicating to recent victims from Missouri her hit "Cold War". There would still be time for Janelle thanked dedication to the public rushing upon it in the final moments of "Come Alive", showing that while her musical style will approach more like Aretha Franklin or James Brown, also has things from diva mass style like Rihanna or Beyonce.
Photo taken by Esther Vicente. All rights reserved.
For the final concert of the night we had the doubt among British Disclosure, which we saw recently over a year ago on Pitch festival on the main stage or Argentina's La Yegros on the Lima small stage. The commitment to South America was a success In accordance with what we saw, a show in which the mixture of percussion with Argentine rhythms like cumbia or chamamé merged perfectly with the speedy voice of the Buenos Aires singer. One of the biggest surprises of the festival was to observe the response of the Dutch public (majority around the festival, with almost no presence of other nationalities), following the artist even in new songs like "Señora Chichera", trying to sing the songs in a more than decent Spanish or success in her duet with Cata Pirata by Skip & Die. So, excellent end to a day dominated by females and where the disappointments of Imagine Dragons and Mando Diao have exposed the shortcomings of which was probably the most weak day of the entire festival.
Photo taken by Esther Vicente. All rights reserved.
