Marktrock 2009
Last year I told already how Jan has a close link with Marktrock, Leuven's famous downtown rock festival, how he phoned me late at night while being on duty. I also wrote how the festival went broke in 2007 , how they had been trying new formulas.
In the past I've always been more into folk and popular music but not quite a rock chick so I never felt like paying a lot of money for groups I don't know very well. We had some tickets for Fridaynight last year so we went to see some concerts on the Oude Markt that was shockingly empty (not anymore on saturday, so I read)
This year the formula was new again or rather a return to the roots: only Belgian groups but the entire festival was 100% free . It would last only 2 days though. A good reason to head downtown after my choir rehearsal, right? However there was already a very big line to enter the old market square: the new formula sure got enough people moving. Standing in line more than 30 minutes for some type of DJ set....we didn't think about it very much and walked on. The big market square had another DJ on a small side café as well....not quite big enough to name it a real stage. Geeez, the other pubs had more surface than this Stella café. The Vismarkt had from 22u onwards a movie projected....on an almost empty square. Sure. The only place where there seemed plenty of people and a nice atmosphere was the De Laeyenssquare where DJ Zaki was playing. So 3 DJ's and a movie at 22:30. Pffffffff.
We ended up at the Hogeschoolplein where we had no difficulty at all to find an empty table and to get served right away. Hmm pretty weird for Marktrock. So some parts of Leuven were busy whereas others were totally not.
All the media claims the big success and I guess the Oude Markt was constantly filled and 95000 people is quite succesfull. Yet once again it didn't touch me at all. The roads were filthy, there were lots of roudy youngsters out and as I said before, the business was very local....not quite my piece of cake. Rozebrils's post didn't convince me of the opposite either. I don't know what it is, but Marktrock and I just don't hit off. We don't seem to find each other.
Last night there would a concert from Bart Peeters & Yevgueni before that. I'm sure I would have truly enjoyed those concerts and I am also sure the Oude Markt would be packed. But we were still driving back from the family BBQ and couldn't quite make it anymore. So we had to resort to our iPod and a Bart Peeters concert on there which we've both sung out loud in the car while driving back home. Our little private concert after all. It was really good! ;)
In the past I've always been more into folk and popular music but not quite a rock chick so I never felt like paying a lot of money for groups I don't know very well. We had some tickets for Fridaynight last year so we went to see some concerts on the Oude Markt that was shockingly empty (not anymore on saturday, so I read)
This year the formula was new again or rather a return to the roots: only Belgian groups but the entire festival was 100% free . It would last only 2 days though. A good reason to head downtown after my choir rehearsal, right? However there was already a very big line to enter the old market square: the new formula sure got enough people moving. Standing in line more than 30 minutes for some type of DJ set....we didn't think about it very much and walked on. The big market square had another DJ on a small side café as well....not quite big enough to name it a real stage. Geeez, the other pubs had more surface than this Stella café. The Vismarkt had from 22u onwards a movie projected....on an almost empty square. Sure. The only place where there seemed plenty of people and a nice atmosphere was the De Laeyenssquare where DJ Zaki was playing. So 3 DJ's and a movie at 22:30. Pffffffff.
We ended up at the Hogeschoolplein where we had no difficulty at all to find an empty table and to get served right away. Hmm pretty weird for Marktrock. So some parts of Leuven were busy whereas others were totally not.
All the media claims the big success and I guess the Oude Markt was constantly filled and 95000 people is quite succesfull. Yet once again it didn't touch me at all. The roads were filthy, there were lots of roudy youngsters out and as I said before, the business was very local....not quite my piece of cake. Rozebrils's post didn't convince me of the opposite either. I don't know what it is, but Marktrock and I just don't hit off. We don't seem to find each other.
Last night there would a concert from Bart Peeters & Yevgueni before that. I'm sure I would have truly enjoyed those concerts and I am also sure the Oude Markt would be packed. But we were still driving back from the family BBQ and couldn't quite make it anymore. So we had to resort to our iPod and a Bart Peeters concert on there which we've both sung out loud in the car while driving back home. Our little private concert after all. It was really good! ;)
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