Credit: Rebekah Shirley

Due to pure exhaustion and a hangover of the deadliest kind I was not present for the Arctic Monkeys or the Strokes

29th-2nd July 06

It has been called the 'Glastonbury Festival of Continental Europe'. It draws approximately the same amount of fans, up to 100,000 per year and has been going since '71 (Glastonbury started in '70). Roskilde Festival seems even more organized than Glastonbury, employing an army of voluntary litter collectors who miraculously manage to keep the grounds clear of rubbish for four days and recycle most of it; even the toilets are clean- copious amounts of toilet roll and no shit mountains to contend with.

That said the festival has had its ups and downs, the lowest point being when nine fans were crushed to death at a Pearl Jam concert in 2000. A tragedy indeed but one which has forced organizers to implement even better stage organization which means die-hard fans (excuse the pun) have the opportunity to queue for the space in front of the stage which is cordoned off from the rest of the arena/field and holds about 400 people. The layout is in fact so good that no matter where you are you have a clear view of the stage which prevents the usual pushing and overcrowding.
 
Unlike the Brits and their festivals, Scandinavians knew how to set up camp in style, with huge gazebos, sofas and reclining chairs arranged in the camp sites to comprise outdoor lounges. One guy even had operational 1210s and a fully lit cocktail bar in his tent! Beer is bought by the crate, and boy do these guys put the average British lager lout to shame- the rule of thumb is a crate per person per day and that’s before you’ve started on the vodka/whisky/rum. As one worker at the festival's cinema tent described it, "Lawyers have come here to be hippies for the weekend."

It’s basically, a cleaner-cut version of Glastonbury, with the drug-taking a lot less apparent. People get their jollies in their tents versus standing in the middle of fields screaming "E! Anyone selling E?”. That said the festival certainly aint tame, it ticks all the boxes as festivals go; drunk naked people, mud, poo under bushes and a stonking great line-up of bands and DJ’s from around the world.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah put on ‘the performance of their lives’ according to a guy called Hank who was following them on their world tour and the atmosphere really lit up with their edgy, indie harmonies. Sigur Ros played a stunning set from their latest album Takk (Thanks) which was filled with many a sparkly, angelic moment set off perfectly by the spectacular visuals and decorations.  

Clear blue skies on Saturday, left audiences light-hearted and headed as they began their evening merriment with a lively set from the Shout Out Louds at the Pavilion Stage, followed by a banging set by Hyper in the Metropol. Unfortunately the mood was somewhat dampened by Bob Dylan who came on stage with a face like a slapped arse and managed to sober up 10,000 originally happy drunken fans. I’m sorry Bob I don’t care who you are or what you’ve done, its time to retire and that’s that.

German band Seeed have always been a energetic act and their high spirits had everyone dancing hard on Saturday with their combination of dub-reggae and funky mixes of RnB favorites. Thanks must be given to DJ Grazzhoppas Dj Bigband whose frankly dire performance caused many a person to head into The Ballroom where a wonderful group called Orange Blossom played a mysterious set of afro-Asian beats on traditional instruments with a not so traditional outcome- two thousand people dancing and stamping their feet like an old-school drum and bass rave circa 1996.

Aging funk master George Clinton put on an excellent show in the Arena with Parliament, a group of the finest caliber. This set truly was the highlight of the weekend and a real joy to anyone who has ever felt a distinct lack of funk at other festivals.

From one aging star to another in the making and moving from piano to guitar with an ease which is rarely seen in an RnB star today Kanye West showed what he was made of and performed hits from his most recent album ‘Late Registration’ such as the mammoth hit ‘Gold Digger’ to a staggering crowd of about 60,000.

Sunday turned out to be another scorcher with most deciding to lounge by the lakes where swimming and fishing was the name of the game. By mid afternoon most had made their way into the arenas where an impressive line-up had been fitted into the few short hours before the festival ended. Due to pure exhaustion and a hangover of the deadliest kind I was not present for the Arctic Monkeys or the Strokes who both played great sets according to those message board freaks I met later. By 7pm I was back in business and enjoyed great performances from Franz Ferdinand and The Raconteurs. Jack White had more energy than the average seven year old boy and was bouncing around the stage clearly enjoying being back on top with his new band.