Sunday, July 5, 2009

Roskilde



Photo from www.coldplay.com

Photo from www.coldplay.com

Photo from www.coldplay.com




Listening to: I Ran Away by: Coldplay

The festival was quite an amazing experience. We were fortunate to have good weather except it was too hot for me to take sometimes. I slept in a tent with my friend in a restricted camping area which was great because it was away from the crazy camp grounds of the festival. We arrived Thursday afternoon around 3pm and it took us a bit to check in and set up. I was soo happy we left when we did because the summer sun was intense and by the time we got to the festival it was getting cooler. Thursday was a decent line up of bands that I wanted to see. My friend and I had access to the Orange Stage media area which was a pretty cool area and more civilized than the rest of the festival areas. Mew was the first band that I wanted to see of the festival and the show proved to be great. I have seen them play a number of times in NYC but never in their hometown. It is at a totally different caliber from what I am used to. The venue was packed and everyone sang along to all the songs. That is not the case so much in the states. You have some Mew fans but nothing like Scandinavia. It was a great experience. Then it was off to see Trentemøller. This was the same situation. I saw him play a few times in NYC but the show he put on at Roskilde blew me away. He played for a few hours and had special guests such as Mikael Simpson, Henrik Vibskov and Ane Trolle. I met up with a few of my other friends at the festival as well and it was a great way to end the night or should I say morning. The sun was coming up right toward the end of the show. It was really beautiful. Time to go off to the tent. Little did I realize I would be waking up in an oven. It was about 8am and the intense sun made the tent feel like an oven. I couldn't wait to get out of there and get a shower. Today was my first day of work. I got hired to get the dressing rooms ready for the bands who play Orange Stage which is the biggest stage at the festival. I was a bit nervous as I wasn't sure what to expect. My shift started at 2pm. For the first few hours it was just about getting to know everyone I was working with and learning about my role. There was a lot of standing around too which drove me nuts because I am used to constantly working. I ended up arranging Nick Cave's room. Wow that was pretty cool I thought. When the band arrived I got a bit nervous because you end up standing in the same room as a legend. He talked to the girl I was working with and thanked us both and I introduced myself. He is soo nice and down to earth. It is a great feeling to meet someone in the spotlight that doesn't act like they are better than you. After my shift was over I met up with my friend from NYC that was doing sound for a NYC band called Gang Gang Dance. I have never seen them play in NYC weirdly enough and was really impressed with the set. It was also really great to be surrounded by friends from NYC. After the show I hung out with my friend and caught the Nine Inch Nails show. Not a huge fan of NIN but it was a decent show. Then the offer came up if I wanted to go back to the hotel to have some proper sleep and a shower. I just couldn't pass it up. It was soo nice to be sleeping on a bed and taking a shower. You never realize how much you appreciate those things. In the morning we ended up getting a free breakfast at the hotel which was soo good and then ended up taking another rest. Finally we woke up and decided to go the mall. I couldn't believe I was going to hang out at the mall. Reminded me of home! We went to this three story mall called City 2. The town we were in was about 20 minutes away from Roskilde called Høje Taastrup. There was nothing there except for the mall and the hotel. It was actually a lot of fun and we ended up getting some pizza and ice cream. I really felt like I was back in Pennsylvania. Made me a bit homesick. Around 6pm we finally headed back to the festival. It was soo nice to feel human again. I ended up running into some friends and we had quite a few drinks that toward the end of the night I felt sick and just ended up going back to the tent. I wake up and it is actually comfortable in the tent. For once it is cloudy out and a bit cold. I love it. A break from the hot weather. I had to work all day as well. I am in charge of arranging Coldplay's dressing room. I am excited about this because there are a few people on the crew that I have known for a while and it was nice to see them again. Most of the day the weather stayed cloudy which was perfect and made it nice to work in. Toward evening it started to brighten up and get really nice out. Coldplay was very easy to work with and I enjoyed the day. My work day ended right before the concert so I got to see them play. They only flew in for the show and then left. I enjoyed the concert but really missed my sisters. I think that was the first Coldplay concert I went to without my sisters so it made me a bit sad. After the concert the festival was pretty much over. I couldn't believe it. It went soo fast. We packed up the next day and got back to Copenhagen Monday afternoon. I was soo happy to be back in the apartment. I really don't think I am the festival type. If I go back next year I will have to have better accommodations. :) However, this festival is a Danish tradition. Copenhagen becomes a ghost town and there are soo many people that have grown up going to this festival. I am so glad that I was a part of it.

Here is the Coldplay blog from the festival:

http://coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=434&page=0

No comments:

Post a Comment