There is no such thing as rolling slowly

True to tradition, Pukkelpop already opens its doors on Thursday for combi ticket holders and Friday tickets officially declare the party open at half capacity. Starting with a bang, that was clearly what the organizers wanted, because at twenty nine fireworks were set off in the Boiler Room. More than that, with a line-up of mostly Belgian charm, it does not require Kiewit to shake for the preceding, because the people were clearly looking forward to it. One thing was for sure, Pukkelpop did not miss his start and was looking forward to what was to come the rest of the weekend.

$hirak @ Dance Hall

As a producer, $hirak has had many hits to his name in recent years. In other words, collaborations with Dutch Hoppers like Ronnie Flex and Lil Kleine, one more controversial than the other, have already caused a crowd of hits. $hirak’s mission in Pukkelpop clearly impressed the Belgian public with these songs as well. His performance was no more than a DJ set with an MC that was just a bit too disturbing, but that didn’t seem to be a problem for the already fairly large fan base. Music fan or not, it’s hard to deny that the duo regularly rock the floor. The man behind the turntable provided a wonderful groove with some seamless transitions, although this is not particularly difficult when every song is shouted from the front row. A solid party to kick off Pukkelpop.

Sophie Street @ Club

Some suitable artists to open the Club this year like Sophie Straat. In a festival like Pukkelpop, where mostly young people rule the house, a protest singer like the Dutch felt like a fish in water. Therefore, everything and everyone was put in its place for an hour, which created a beautiful atmosphere. After a shout “Smartlap is not dead”, the series was soon dedicated to all ‘cancer cancer’ and they went together well done without problems between the sound mix now mediocre. Unfortunately, Street never really took off vocally, but thanks to humpapa’s music, the tent evolved more and more into a cozy Dutch cafeteria where fun was central. Of course, this was regularly interspersed with political statements, such as ‘Justice for Sanda Dia’ and songs about abortion. “Tweede Kamer” was then, although without Goldband, the little piece the red bull needed, and even a leading role for the group members that allowed them to do things one by one. Fleetwood Mac’s wink “It sucks being a cop” kept the fire going, as did provisions in punk and even drum and bass. Sophie Straat gave a shit about everything in the Club, except the public, because she took it all in her shit. His words.

Sophie Straat will be up on Sunday, September 10 Manifesto in Ostend.

black wave @ Dance Hall

In the Grange op stone of Werchter stood black wave. yesterday again in a big tent at one of the biggest festivals in the country. The Dance Hall of Pukkelpop was the setting for one of the duo’s relatively few festival sets, although on the other hand this again meant that the energy level was quite high. The guys again had their seven-piece band with them, which raised the whole music to a sky-high level. “GoodEnough” brought the atmosphere early in, “The Antidote” sent the heated waves from the stage straight to the tent. The fact that the horn section has been given an ever-increasing role naturally contributes to this. no sleep in LA was like a drop of oil on a hot plate, because that’s how “a-okay” became a crowd favorite and “cracked screen” could count on a lot of participation in the Dance Hall. Especially when a series of holes arise in the letter, followed by a pogo on “Whasgood?!”. Closing happened with “BIG Dreams” and “Elusive” and turned out to be the cherry on a groovy cake. One that wave black. with lots of energy and enthusiasm. Started well and completely won.

Blackwave is on Saturday August 26th. on Rock Ternate. Later this year, the group will visit Belgian clubs, with stops in between Trix (November 18 and 19), The Warehouse (November 27 and 28) in VIERNULVIER Arts Center (December 20 and 21).

Psychonaut @ Club

In between all that is done we could use some jet black psychedelic post metal. Enter Psychonaut. The trio from Mechelen released the concept album in October Violating consensus reality out, the fourth throw them aside where they manage to express their emotions expressively. Living in Pukkelpop, this translates into a rough and brutal wall of sound that little (weed) weed could deal with. “All Your Gods Have Gone” was a thunderous and menacing storm upon us, while on “A Pacifist’s Guide to Violence” he entered the fray like an unleashed gladiator. Psychonaut quickly grabbed us by the neck and would not let go. The whirlwind in Mechelen was nothing but regret for a Club that flooded and flattened everything that came close. The closing note was given by the season almost ten minutes long “Autumn of consciousness” in which the three members of the group went beyond the (sound) limits. Psychonaut razed the Club to the ground on day one. It’s called landing on the first day.

On Wednesday, November 22, Psychonaut will be there Cactus Club.

KRANKk @ Booth

We will be very honest, the Booth is not exactly the territory where we Bears spend most of their time in Pukkelpop. We made an exception for the Antwerp collective KRANKk, mainly because their show could be one of the most unique experiences at Pukkelpop 2023. The immersive audio and visual aspect that we promised fell a bit short to be honest, but KRANKk still throw some arrows into the fire. MC on duty Fahad Sariki created just enough added value to unleash some fire in the booth. Yann Gaudille was also allowed to take the microphone from them to showcase his collaboration with KRANKk, although the trio managed to score points mainly with their brand new Selah Sue collaboration. The live aspect was a bit disappointing in the end, but KRANKk turned things upside down in the early booth.

Black Box Revelation @ Sal Dans

Since the release of the very solid Poetic Rivalry Black Box Revelation had another positive reason to dominate the Belgian stages. A busy summer schedule was the logical consequence, so Pukkelpop could not be missing from this list. As a lifelong fan of the festival, it was clearly also a special series for Jan Paternoster, as witnessed by the enthusiasm with which Black Box Revelation immediately kicked off with “Set Your Head On Fire”. The audience was clearly looking forward to it, because the Ballroom was already very hot from the first notes. The mixture of new songs, which were surprisingly well received, and classics like “Never alone, always together”, which did not lose their luster, ensured that the fire was never extinguished at any time. In other words, Reverend Paternoster and his entourage have already provided one of the highlights of this edition of Pukkelpop.

Black Box Revelation will be released on Friday, August 25th Rock Ternate. Later this year, the group will visit Flemish clubs, with stops in between C-Mine (October 18), Roma (October 19), The Warehouse (October 21), VIERNULVIER Arts Center (October 26), Cactus Club (October 27) in The Wild West (October 28).

Tsar B @ Club

Due to health problems in Portland, Eppo Janssen allowed his address book to be pulled again, and so he put Tsar B on the bill. Spirit star Justine Bourgeus has been on tour for a while now in the stars, an album that was awarded with no less than five stars. So it was and should be worth it in the Club, with a dream and at times evoke “ouch” that sets the tone. nonetheless, things really got cool when Bourgeus started mixing the rhythms with his violin, one of which he smashed to pieces ten minutes later. An immediate flare-up of the concert action, because you notice that Pukkelpop and Tsar B were not one hundred percent match. This of course had a lot to do with the fact that the singer does not have the most accessible sound, although it must be said that he became better as the series progressed. The series of the trio was very solid and managed to intrigue more than once. “Escalate” and “Rattlesnake” were dark hits, but it wasn’t until closing track “Don’t Wanna Lose Nobody” that really blew things up. The track, touching techno, made the bass vibrate in the speakers, making it a more appropriate outro in itself. Very solid music so Tsar B, but in terms of action unfortunately not positive.

The subs + special guests @ Dance Hall

Madness. In fact, no more words are needed to describe The Subs’ marathon session on Pukkelpop’s first night. The hype was already there, because a week ago the group announced that a series of special guests would be given a place in the series. The honor of the first fell to Sylvie Kreusch, who was allowed to bring her own “Just A Touch Away” in a fairly solid version. So the temperature in the Dance Hall rose very quickly, but only with the rave version of “Paranoia”, in which Chibi Ichigo also set the tent on fire, they reached a first boiling point. The first hour and a half also follows one crazy and absurd highlight after another, to the point that the wooden floor almost gave way.

After those ninety minutes of ecstasy, nonetheless, things fall apart a bit. The trio chose to change from a full show full of guest appearances and their own hits to a, still solid, DJ set with the three of them behind the turntables. While during the first part songs like “The Face Of The Planet” and “I Want To Dance Again” got the whole tent singing and dancing along, the big techno songs in the second part were a bit difficult for the chosen part. done on purpose was not drawn to the Boiler Room. The remix of Sylvie’s “Walk Walk” got some people together and sounded pleasantly surprised, but then the set died down more and more in the end. In other words, the first hour and a half was perhaps the best that will happen in Pukkelpop this year, but it should stop there.

Hickey Underworld @ The Club

The most unexpected comeback of the year can certainly be attributed to the Hickey Underworld. The group broke up in 2016, but returned in force this year. The group is busy working on new music, which means that a new record is inevitable, but the first live performance had to work in a bit. Where’s the foursome at Rock Herk always sounded dirty, it was completely finished in Pukkelpop. The band clearly saw their previous shows as a rehearsal for the festival, as the band sounded tight throughout. They started with a bone hard version of “Zero Hour”, then “Whistling” put the flame in the cauldron. In this way, The Hickey Underworld continued in a furious and just explosive way one tight song after another. The new songs may have received a bit lukewarm and the frontman was also waiting for more energy in the tent, but it will not be the band’s fault. Once “Future Words” and “Blonde Fire” finally wrapped up at the end of the set, the room was completely dancing. The group did not know they still had time after that and this way we were treated to some riffs and sharp guitar solos in the closing song. The Hickey Underworld is back in force and Pukkelpop will know it.

On Saturday 26th August, The Hickey Underworld will be on Trax Festival in RoeselareThursday, September 7 The studio in AntwerpSaturday September 9th Weekend skippers in Menenon Thursday, September 14 Piece starts in Leuven and Friday, September 15 Lefangleur.

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These reviews were written by Lucas Parliament, Niels Brewer, Simon Meyer-Horn in Simon Vyverman.