Roskilde 2011: Concerning the schedule...

Fastpoholmen.

Finally, the band schedule is here! It's always interesting to see how the puzzle winds up, and impressively, even with much fewer must-see acts than last year, there are actually more clashes. Furthermore, it looks like a lot of my festival will be spent at Orange stage. That's OK, since the big stage will get a chance to take revenge from last year, where most of the concerts there were pretty disappointing. It shapes up pretty well though, with an awesome Arctic Monkeys/The Strokes doubleheader on Saturday, and both M.I.A. and Deadmau5 at 01.00!


Anyway, let me talk you through what I see, and how it could all pan out!


THE WARM-UP DAYS contain more acts I want to see than in many years. Actually, when I think of it, the last time I had that much to see Sunday through Wednesday was in my maiden year 2007. Three of the four days see interesting acts at the late slot (22.00), which by the way has been moved back an hour - can't decide whether that's good or bad. Those acts are Fastpoholmen (Sunday), Little Marbles (Tuesday) and Battlekat (Wednesday). Reptile & Retard (Sunday, 20.30) and Kirsten & Marie (Monday, 14.30) will depend on the mood of the day.

Foals.

THURSDAY is always a bit thin, as it's basically only a half day's worth of music. Furthermore, this year's Thursday headliner being Iron Maiden leaves me with a lot of time on my hand. Anyway, Thursday starts right out with a three-way clash. Depending on the ambition level regarding getting in the pits at Orange, I might swing past to catch a quick glimpse at Narasirato (Pavilion, 17.30) before going to either VETO (Orange, 18.00) or Tame Impala (Odeon, 18.00). I guess it'll be the former. From there, it's a direct scramble to get a good spot for Foals (Arena, 20.00), which'll be the last important show of the day. Depending on the spur of the moment, one could pass by Alcoholic Faith Mission (Pavilion, 21.30) on the way back to camp.

Portishead.

FRIDAY is full of bad clashes. First of all, I'm gonna have to choose between Bright Eyes (Arena, 14.00) and Nicolas Jaar (Cosmopol, 14.30). If I'm able to hype Nicolas Jaar sufficiently to get someone to go along, he's actually my preference right now, but I haven't really got much electronic posse with me, so Bright Eyes might be the social choice. That also will enable me to catch a glimpse of Ólöf Arnalds (Gloria, 15.00) afterwards. Just got her newest album by the way, it's pretty sweet.


After that, there's a good long break fit for fueling up on beer, which'll come in handy for the evenings escapades. It might be worth going up to the festival grounds a bit early to catch How To Dress Well (Gloria, 21.00), who I think is sort of mismatched at such a small stage. But other than that, the night's big double header is Portishead (Orange, 22.30) and M.I.A. (Orange, 01.00), both of which will be awesome shows with very unique artists. Magnetic Man (Arena, 22.00) are playing too, and depending on the level of ambition for a good spot for Portishead, it might be worth checking out just ten-fifteen minutes of it. I won't bet on it though. Finally, if there's juice for it, Dâm-Funk (Pavilion, 02.00) are throwing a late-night party.

The Tallest Man On Earth.

SATURDAY is pure bonkers, with 4 of my top 5 names slotted here. Luckily though, none of them clash! Hymns From Nineveh (Odeon, 13.00) is almost impossibly early, so I'll probably be starting the day with The Tallest Man On Earth (Odeon, 15.00). Thankfully, he's playing Odeon, not Arena, but it'll still be worth it being there in good time, in order to get a bit of front-row intimacy. There's room for a bit of a breather after that, before the big three-in-a-row at Orange, kicking off with the absolutely most important concert, Arctic Monkeys (Orange, 19.30). I'll try desperately to find someone who wants to go in the pits for that, which means I'll be spending time en queue, instead of being at TV on the Radio (Arena, 18.00). See, told ya it wouldn't be this time around, huh? 


James Blake (Cosmopol, 20.00) is clashing with it all, but that's really a no brainer. Too bad, and one of the major names I'll have to miss this year. The rest of the evening is set in stone with The Strokes (Orange, 22.30) and Deadmau5 (Orange, 01.00), where I might want to get into the pits. If there's time and energy for it though, it might be worth it to detour over to Arena to catch a glimpse of Chris Cunningham's (Arena, 23.30) show in between.

Gold Panda.

SUNDAY is a breeze as usual, although my old pop is visiting early in the day, so we'll probably catch some random stuff in the early part of the program. Surfer Blood (Odeon, 14.30) might warrant consideration, but otherwise, it looks like the day is gonna kick off with a major clash between Afrocubism (Arena, 16.00) and The Walkmen (Odeon, 16.30). I really think Afrocubism and Bad Religion could easily have swapped places, putting Afrocubism on Orange at 15.00. I don't think it would have been a mismatch, and it would be somewhat of a crowning achievement for a festival that has done so much for both African and Latin American music. Anyway, I think it'll come down to the very day, whether I'm going with Afrocubism or The Walkmen.


Later on, I'd really like to swing past Gold Panda (Gloria, 19.00), which will somewhat justify missing out on Nicolas Jaar a few days earlier, before ending my festival with Battles (Arena, 20.30). I'll probably end up at Kings of Leon (Orange, 22.00), just for the sake and hate of it.