Paleo 2007, Tuesday

It's that time of the year again, Paleo time where I will enjoy myself in this huge festival of music, alcohol, junk food, more alcohol and more music. It's my 7th year coming to Paleo already and it seems to be getting bigger and bigger.

On Tuesday the three big headliners were !!!, Arctic Monkeys and Muse. Despite all the traffic, rain, and dog that won't eat, I managed to get there as !!! were halfway through their gig. I heard a couple of their songs already and their live show is energetic. They sound a bit like The Rapture - that kind of electro disco - and they were really going at it on stage. The backing vocalist even flashed her boobs. When !!! played it started to rain but with the sun out as well. There were two rainbows in the sky, one being really beautiful. What a coincidence, since the current Paleo poster has a rainbow in it as well. I got totally drenched but I was having fun already.

Then the beer started flowing and the food was being bought as well. All in the mud. An inch-thick mud. Feels like Glastonbury with less wellies.

After that came Arctic Monkeys. They have been a sensation ever since they hit it with I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor. Alex Turner and his band came out and they just started playing song after song. Great performance music-wise but Alex Turner isn't an entertainer. In fact, some times I got the impression that he was a bit bored singing and playing his guitar. He looks a lot like Harry Potter gone rock & roll without the glasses and scar. Their songs are amazing though and I still can't believe good a songwriter Alex Turner is. He's the motor of the band (with a little help from drummer Matt Helder) and it really shows. I'm sure they will grace Paleo another time.

More beer, more food, more mud.

Then came Muse. I watched them at Paleo 2004 and I watched them last December. I was expecting a gig more or less the same as the one I saw in December. But the last one was an indoor gig and this one is outdoor and the difference is quite obvious. Muse plays much better outdoor. In Decemberthey finished with Knights of Cydonia, this time they opened the concert with it. A mixture of OTT western sci-fi rock, it just set the tone for the whole concert. Matt Bellamy is his usual self, a very shy and quiet magician on the guitar and piano. Chris now sports a moustache reminiscent of Nick Cave, while Dom just pounds away on the drums and keeping the rhythm going. A very good show to close of the first day.

After that more beer, more food and then home.

Up next (today): Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, Arcade Fire, and Bjork.