Graspop 2014
Nag had a good time like last year, and these are things he saw and heard! |
| 1 |  | Anthrax
Among the Living
Among the Living: Anthrax were a lot of fun to watch, more or less what I'd
expected. Belladonna sounded a little tired in the beginning, but recovered quickly
enough. |
| 2 | | Anthrax
Among the Living
Caught in a Mosh: Scott Ian's typical shouts have long been among the many traits
that have set this band apart from their fellow thrashers, and their founder's stage
presence was a vital part of the show, as I imagine it always is. |
| 3 |  | Anthrax
Persistence of Time
Got the Time: they've always liked doing covers, and this is one of their most
successful ones, truly making the original Joe Jackson original something of their
own. Needless to say, it's also a prime live candidate. |
| 4 | | Anthrax
Among the Living
Indians |
| 5 |  | Anthrax
Worship Music
In the End: it's horns up for the portraits of Ronnie James Dio and Dimebag Darrell,
heroes immortalized for both the crowd and the band. |
| 6 |  | Anthrax
Anthems
T.N.T.: a fine example of how covers (especially those of old-school classics) work
out much better in a live setting than they do on record. Obviously it helped that
nearly every soul in attendance knew the words to this AC/DC gem. Great stuff. |
| 7 | | Anthrax
Worship Music
Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't |
| 8 | | Anthrax
Among the Living
I Am the Law: they've never topped this as far as I'm concerned, the essential
Anthrax song. These mighty riffs and mightily fun lyrics/vocals will simply never lose
their charm. Respect the badge! |
| 9 |  | Anthrax
State of Euphoria
Antisocial: their set closer and last of three covers. Effective choice to wrap things
up. |
| 10 |  | Vandenberg
Vandenberg
Burning Heart: Dutch guitarist Adrian Vandenberg's newest band, dubbed
Vandenberg's MoonKings. Went along to this spontaneously before wanting to
catch Alice in Chains, and didn't regret it for a second. Old-school hard rock
delivered with the proper amount of passion. The singer had a good set of pipes on
him, too. |
| 11 |  | Whitesnake
Whitesnake
Here I Go Again: still part of the above. Vandenberg was in Whitesnake for a time
and played on this 80's staple as well (all of which I wasn't aware of beforehand).
They played another Whitesnake cover, but I couldn't say which. A smaller stage
enclosed by a tent tends to make for a much better sound compared to the main
stage outside, and this was no exception. Plus, it's far easier to get a closer view
of the band. |
| 12 |  | Alice in Chains
Dirt
Them Bones: I'm sad to admit that Alice in Chains were my biggest disappointment
last Sunday. The vocal harmonies (and vocals in general) that are such an integral
part of their sound just didn't come together too well, though it's hard to say how
much Cantrell and DuVall were to blame for this. |
| 13 | | Alice in Chains
Dirt
Dam That River |
| 14 |  | Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains
Again: though their set felt a little on the short side (alas, that's the way of the
festival), they included something from all of their albums, the focus still being on
Dirt rather than their two newest records. |
| 15 |  | Alice in Chains
Black Gives Way to Blue
Check My Brain: this is a great song, but I would have been more thrilled to hear A
Looking in View, for instance. Can't have everything! |
| 16 |  | Alice in Chains
Jar of Flies
Nutshell: the original is quite possibly Alice's single most heart-wrenching moment.
Unfortunately, due to problems mentioned above, it just didn't have much impact
here. |
| 17 |  | Alice in Chains
The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here
Hollow: glad they included this, has been one of my favourites from The Devil since
I first heard it. |
| 18 |  | Alice in Chains
Facelift
Man in the Box |
| 19 | | Alice in Chains
Facelift
We Die Young |
| 20 | | Alice in Chains
Dirt
Would? |
| 21 | | Alice in Chains
Dirt
Rooster: easy enough to see this one coming. Too bad they left me more than a
little underwhelmed altogether. |
| 22 |  | Hatebreed
The Divinity of Purpose
The only reason I was hearing them was because they were playing near the
screen showing 'our' team play Mexico. And what a glorious ending that match got!
Me and my fellow Dutchmen were a euphoric crowd. Hatebreed's background noise
played no part in that euphoria, however. And thank you Graspop for allowing all of
us to see this! |
| 23 |  | Soundgarden
Badmotorfinger
Searching With My Good Eye Closed: the timing of the match (or more specifically:
the second half) couldn't have been better either; Soundgarden came on seconds
after it ended. I was expecting lots and lots of Superunknown, especially when
Chris Cornell announced it was the album's 20th anniversary this year, but while
there was plenty of it, there also was a fair bit of Badmotorfinger, including this
here opener. |
| 24 |  | Soundgarden
Superunknown
Spoonman: a shame the vocal issues of the day didn't end here. Now, I'm not so
foolish as to believe Cornell would still be able to sing like it was 1994, but his voice
didn't seem to be in the best shape two days ago, and was often severely lacking
in volume. |
| 25 |  | Soundgarden
Ultramega OK
Flower: good performance overall and a nice set though, including two from their
earliest days. |
| 26 | | Soundgarden
Badmotorfinger
Outshined |
| 27 | | Soundgarden
Superunknown
Black Hole Sun |
| 28 | | Soundgarden
Badmotorfinger
Jesus Christ Pose |
| 29 | | Soundgarden
Superunknown
The Day I Tried to Live |
| 30 | | Soundgarden
Superunknown
My Wave |
| 31 | | Soundgarden
Superunknown
Superunknown: their most popular album's title track was one of the more surprising
entries. |
| 32 | | Soundgarden
Superunknown
Fell on Black Days |
| 33 |  | Soundgarden
King Animal
A Thousand Days Before: the necessary newer cut, and not a bad one at that. |
| 34 | | Soundgarden
Badmotorfinger
Rusty Cage: I had a faint hope for Room a Thousand Years Wide, but let's be
realistic. This rules hard too, anyway. |
| 35 | | Soundgarden
Ultramega OK
Behind the Wheel: Kim Thayil walked off last, after some guitar tinkering. |
| 36 |  | Metal Church
Metal Church
Gods of Wrath: only saw them for a short while, with some time left before Black
Sabbath, and don't know them well enough to recognize much. |
| 37 |  | Metal Church
Generation Nothing
They sounded pretty good though. Some things from this were included for obvious
reasons. |
| 38 |  | Black Sabbath
Paranoid
War Pigs: in the end, everyone had come to see heavy metal's founding fathers one
more (and possibly last) time. AND IT WAS SO FUCKING WORTH IT. |
| 39 |  | Black Sabbath
Master of Reality
Into the Void: the entire experience had a positively surreal atmosphere to it. Ozzy
was in pretty good shape really, Geezer Butler's thundering bass work could be
heard all across the field throughout the entire set, and TONY IOMMI, oh my. He
moved along the stage with an indescribable, serene splendor, churning out all
those eternal RIFFS OF DOOM he invented. The man is still undergoing cancer
treatment in between shows (this actually being the penultimate concert of their
tour), which made his presence and determined playing even more special. |
| 40 |  | Black Sabbath
Vol. 4
Snowblind: this was still echoing in my head by the time I got home, along with
many other things (most of those things being played by Sabbath). |
| 41 |  | Black Sabbath
13
Age of Reason: nothing on 13 comes remotely close to touching the classics, but
this did well enough. |
| 42 |  | Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath: ah, that which started it all. BLACK SABBATH. |
| 43 | | Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Behind the Wall of Sleep |
| 44 | | Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
N.I.B.: including the customary extended bass intro, naturally. |
| 45 | | Black Sabbath
Paranoid
Fairies Wear Boots |
| 46 | | Black Sabbath
Paranoid
Rat Salad: oddly enough this came after Fairies. Led into a fairly lengthy drum solo,
so the old men could take a break. |
| 47 | | Black Sabbath
Paranoid
Iron Man: got the crowd going more than anything else. |
| 48 | | Black Sabbath
13
God is Dead?: this actually sounded really great, certainly more powerful than on
record. |
| 49 | | Black Sabbath
Master of Reality
Children of the Grave: an absolute must, a classic among classics. Probably my
personal favourite Sabbath after War Pigs. |
| 50 | | Black Sabbath
Paranoid
Paranoid: preceded by the intro of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Megadeth were originally meant to
play after, before they cancelled, but my disappointment was all forgotten thanks to The
Immortal Masters. The night couldn't have had a better ending. |
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