82 In-spire LS
"Poland, you are f**king amazing. This has been the best
gig of the tour so far" shouted out Josh Homme at some
point during Queens of the Stone Age's set before the band
left the stage to allegedly have a party with fans backstage.
This attitude was shared by the majority during this year's
Heineken Opener Festival in Gdynia, Poland.
Over 60,000 people came to the small, average seaside
town to enjoy not only the exquisite choice of music
performers but also experience the atmosphere music
festivals create the friendliness, excitement, unity with
other fans and endless talks about music.
Although the line-up heavily featured guitar based bands,
acts were diverse as always and everyone could find
something for themselves. Also the organisers treated
those, who purchased the full, four days pass to a free
Rihanna concert on Sunday, 7
th
.
Main stage was on fire from the first night when Blur
proved they still have what it takes during their engaging
performance. For a while, 90s brit pop was at its best and
the oldies proved their superiority again when Nick Cave
& The Bad Seeds took to the stage the following night.
Having a great interaction with the audience, the veteran
rock man was running around, jumping, dancing and
joking with the audience. Something Alex Turner and co.
could learn from him as many found their performance
disappointing after it was said they played the best gig of
their careers at Glastonbury the weekend before.
Disclosure, the young French duo was the most
anticipated act on Friday with the Tent Stage reaching its
capacity and people having to stand outside as well. With
their debut album released only two days earlier, brothers
Guy and Howard were not expecting a warm welcome
and such vast crowds; an exciting and pleasant surprise
for everyone.
Before the massive crowd gathered in front of the Opener
Stage again to see Kings of Leon rocking away and making
everyone shout out to strangers that their sex is on fire,
Crystal Fighters ruled the Alter Stage. Setting a positive
mood with their quirky music and instruments for many
they were the discovery of the festival.
There was also plenty of time to visit all of the other
attractions the festival had to offer. Apart from the usual
drinks and food stalls offering cuisines from the local
Polish to all kinds of Greek delicacies and hugely popular
fruits in chocolate, there was plenty to see.
Theatre with several stages and various performances
featured on a daily basis, merchandising areas but also
stalls with eco-friendly, handmade jewellery and clothes
as well as the cinema, which with comfortable benches
and bin bags available, seemed to have been a napping
area for tired fans in the early morning hours. Also a
chilling lounge with deckchairs and dimmed lights was
open to the public and so was the Heineken lounge a pub
standing in the middle of the field with a terrace on the
roof to see the acts whilst sipping lager.
Words by Kate Appelt @kateappelt
Heineken
Opener Festival
2013
Festival Special:
In-spire LS Reviews