Monday, August 22, 2005
Lowlands
There was a ringing in my ears. I didn’t notice it until I lay my head upon my pillow and pulled my covers over my red shoulders. I was on an excited emotional high the entire weekend with eyes wide open, ears alert, and the perpetual movement of my feet scurrying front tent to tent and stage to stage from the front to the side and to the back. This weekend, my Chuck Taylors earned the respect and character they deserve. They took much abuse, much grass, much dirt, much water, and much sweat. A perfect description of my shoes can be summed up by saying my mom would disapprove of them telling me to wipe them clean much to my refusal.
I still have to overview the program from the weekend again to determine each and every band I watched and every site I saw. Not one show was poor. I know it was a fantastic weekend/festival because there isn’t a solitary highlight; there are several. From jumping with the crowd during the Pixies set, to singing with Marilyn Mason, stomping my feet in the dance tents during the early hours of the morning, and watching previously unknown bands like the Editors and Sons and Daughters all make-up one highlight: the entire weekend. The only disappointment was not having enough time in the day and overlap forcing me to miss some shows I would have liked to have seen. The one show I am very disappointed I missed was Polyphonic Spree…I will see them someday.
The Dutch really know how to throw a festival. About 53,000 people were in attendance. (or so I was told and I believe it.) Camping consisted of a massive sea of tents, flushable toilets, and showers with warm water: camping in luxury. The weather held out all weekend with only a sprinkle of rain but for the greater majority of the weekend my skin was kissed by the sun.
The camping was an experience in itself. I was in the section consisting of campers and tents. A couple of buses of people were placed about include the Frisian bus. Frisians mingled and played music at all hours for surrounding neighbors to enjoy. The bus was equipped with a full functioning sound system and its own Dixie attached to the back of the bus. (A Dixie is a toilet not a paper cup.) Here and there, I even spotted some Dutch comedically walking the grounds in wooden shoes.
I caught a ride home with one of the members of my group that attended the festival. When I arrived home, I talked to my roommate briefly before enjoying a very pleasant shower. I crawled into bed and the ringing began. As I drifted into a slumber, I dreamed of performances. I heard music in my ears. I blinked my eyes open on numerous occasions while my mind played tricks on me. It kept trying to inform me that a stage was located outside my window five stories in the air floating outside of the Stadswonen. I feel asleep to several melodies and awoke to some more before going to work this morning. I sang my way down the elevator before catching the tram and hummed a tune up the stairwell of the office.
Each time I stand, my feet begin to ache and my calves adamantly let me know they are still attached. My neck twinges with a quick twist in any direction. I look at my left wrist and find an accessory that has become part of me. It is a yellow cloth bracelet with blue writing. A Lowlands face stares at me and reminds me of the events from the weekend, a weekend I will never forget. I look back and sing to him.
I still have to overview the program from the weekend again to determine each and every band I watched and every site I saw. Not one show was poor. I know it was a fantastic weekend/festival because there isn’t a solitary highlight; there are several. From jumping with the crowd during the Pixies set, to singing with Marilyn Mason, stomping my feet in the dance tents during the early hours of the morning, and watching previously unknown bands like the Editors and Sons and Daughters all make-up one highlight: the entire weekend. The only disappointment was not having enough time in the day and overlap forcing me to miss some shows I would have liked to have seen. The one show I am very disappointed I missed was Polyphonic Spree…I will see them someday.
The Dutch really know how to throw a festival. About 53,000 people were in attendance. (or so I was told and I believe it.) Camping consisted of a massive sea of tents, flushable toilets, and showers with warm water: camping in luxury. The weather held out all weekend with only a sprinkle of rain but for the greater majority of the weekend my skin was kissed by the sun.
The camping was an experience in itself. I was in the section consisting of campers and tents. A couple of buses of people were placed about include the Frisian bus. Frisians mingled and played music at all hours for surrounding neighbors to enjoy. The bus was equipped with a full functioning sound system and its own Dixie attached to the back of the bus. (A Dixie is a toilet not a paper cup.) Here and there, I even spotted some Dutch comedically walking the grounds in wooden shoes.
I caught a ride home with one of the members of my group that attended the festival. When I arrived home, I talked to my roommate briefly before enjoying a very pleasant shower. I crawled into bed and the ringing began. As I drifted into a slumber, I dreamed of performances. I heard music in my ears. I blinked my eyes open on numerous occasions while my mind played tricks on me. It kept trying to inform me that a stage was located outside my window five stories in the air floating outside of the Stadswonen. I feel asleep to several melodies and awoke to some more before going to work this morning. I sang my way down the elevator before catching the tram and hummed a tune up the stairwell of the office.
Each time I stand, my feet begin to ache and my calves adamantly let me know they are still attached. My neck twinges with a quick twist in any direction. I look at my left wrist and find an accessory that has become part of me. It is a yellow cloth bracelet with blue writing. A Lowlands face stares at me and reminds me of the events from the weekend, a weekend I will never forget. I look back and sing to him.
