Memorable moments from Roskilde '07-'09, 2 of 3.

8. Nephew, Orange, 2007.

Almost exactly 24 hours after Nephew's career-making crusade onto the big stage underneath the orange canopy, the last tones rang hoarsely from Anthony Kiedis' ill and tormented lungs, to mark the end of one of the most drab and uninspiring experiences I have ever had in front of a stage. The Californian megastars' complete failure was put into an uncompromising perspective when compared to the waves the quintet from Skanderborg sent oscillating through the kingdom the night before. 07/07-07 will be forever cemented in the head of Danish music enthusiasts as the day, when Nephew conquered the biggest stage in the nation, and showed, why musicians should always labour on, in search not of dollars and cents, but of the orgasmic gratification in entertaining your fans, whether they be there in dozens or in hordes, as they were, when the menacing synth of 'Bazooka' signaled the beginning of the most epic few hours in these five musicians' careers, and what a joy it was, to be there in the middle of the crowd, sharing it with everyone.

7. Radiohead, Orange, 2008.

Radiohead '08 was mainly about magnitude. The magnitude of the shockwaves that were sent through the entire music business, when Radiohead released In Rainbows in the fall of 2007, and inviting their fans to pay whatever they wanted. Of course, Radiohead were the obvious candidate to be the first band confirmed for Roskilde '08, and so they were. When Thom Yorke and his disciples entered Orange Stage that summer, we were not there to be entertained - we were in audience of perhaps the most prolific and important band in the world. And speaking of magnitude, we got perhaps one of the longest sets that have ever been performed underneath the Orange canopy. True, there were a wee bit of initial troubles with the sound, which sort of marred the magnificent '15 Step', but what a set! Radiohead have been known to cut a fair bit of corners in their impressive back catalogue, that spans everything from sizzling rock'n'roll, through pensive and painful ballads to electronic ventures, but nothing was amiss here - we not only got 'Karma Police', which beautifully finished off the concert with all 60.000 of us singing along with Thom and his acoustic guitar, we also got 'Paranoid Android', we got 'Idioteque', we got 'Exit Music (For A Film)', and we got 'You And Whose Army?', brilliantly executed through a fish-eye closeup of Thom's eye, that appeared to be staring straight and personally at each and every one of us. A brilliant marathon of an effort by one of the worlds most impressive and innovative outfits.

6. Coldplay, Orange, 2009.

As usual, Roskilde chose to ice the festival-cake of 2009 with one of the most widely acclaimed and appreciated bands on the poster, and none were more appropriate that year than Coldplay. My excitement to finally see this band, that has been one of my favorites for years, was slightly curbed by the fact that I was to see them later that year in Herning again. I went to watch a bit of Yeah Yeah Yeahs beforehand, and thus only got a spot in the middle of the crowd, which however turned out to be not too bad at all. Applying all kinds of creative antics, such as appearing in the middle of the crowd, making Mexican cell-phone waves and launching all kinds of gimmickery into the air, Chris Martin and his posse entertained the 60.000+ crowd at Orange in a flawless and brilliant way. The set got around the impressive back catalogue pretty well, and closed off first with the exquisite sing-along ballad 'The Scientist', which was graciously hummed - not shouted, hummed - by the audience, and then with epic 'Life in Technicolor II', to close off the festival on a sky-high note.

5. The Chemical Brothers, Orange, 2008.

When someone starts off a more than two hour long set at Orange Stage by playing their two arguably biggest hits, you know shit's about to go down. And so it went, in an amazing performance by the two British electronic pioneers, who transformed Orange Stage into the worlds biggest, happiest and most frantic club. It was one of those performances where you keep getting hit smack bang in the head by a menacing combination of beats, sounds and light. When someone really understands how to utilize it, Orange Stage can be one of the most impressive music venues in the world, and it is often best taken advantage of by the big, electronic names. It might not be the same to watch two guys with machines and computers, as it is to watch a guitar virtuoso at his best, but it's a different kind of experience, an intense and overpowering bombardment of sonic and visual impressions that leaves you yelping ecstatically for more.