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The 2012 Loveland Festival
The 2012 Loveland Festival takes flight with its electronic sounds with a new mascot, the butterfly. Built from the equipment needed for the festival, the butterfly flies with a passion for music, addicted to the rhythm swinging, flying from one setting to another. If you want to attend the Dutch festival, it takes place on the second Saturday in August, from 10:00 am to 11:00 pm, with 6 different stages led by international artists such as Sven Vath, Sasha, Fedde Le Grand and Umek. Now in its seventh year, the Loveland Festival wanted to open all its stages and they will present a surprising line-up with everything you expected and more. The first stage is lit up with the name “Fire!”, featuring Sven Väth, Extrawelt (live), Dubfire, Sébastien Léger, Egbert (live), Secret Cinema and DMZS. Sven Väth, who is the most successful German producer in his country, is the DJ. He’s been the godfather of minimal, trance and techno scene since its inception in the 90´s. He’s also a founder of the label Cocoon. A living legend. The tent “Rise” features the sounds of Sasha, Maya Jane Coles, Gui Boratto (live), Cassy B2B Danny Howells, John Sanchez, Aril Brikha (live) and Dimitri Kneppers. Sasha, the famous DJ and music producer from the UK, is a true veteran of the Loveland Festival. Since 1989 he’s been known for combining different musical styles. He’s also considered one of the world´s most innovative icons of the progressive house scene. In the “Underground” you’ll find Solomun, Martin Buttrich (live), Maceo Plex, Arjuna Schiks (live), Butch, Olivier Weiter and the winner of competition for...
Chino Otsuka Exhibition
We´re not yet in a position to appreciate the tremendous impact the photography had on our lives. We are not only talking about the appearance of a mechanical process that replaced the production of images formed by exposure to iodine vapor on polished silver plates or silver-plated copper daguerreotypes, which were not totally alchemical resonances that were subsequently lost, because of the development of the film darkrooms, in which between magic emulsions of an extraordinary, subtle corrosiveness power were used. But above all, the mass multiplication of these views of essentially omnipresent ghosts of reality, which have been largely replaced. This is, of course, the substantive issue, because in fact the picture, regardless of media and materials used is almost as old as human history and plays a key role in the establishment of some of the myths in Western cultures. Perhaps one of the most disturbing thing in relation to the photographic image, are the ways, in which these are related to memory. We have been suggested repeatedly by a good number of philosophers and poets; born, live and run in the same landscapes that are unique to the imagination, and may be even identifed with a region of this. The relationship between photography and memory is so ambiguous, rich, contradictory and conflicted as the one with what we call reality and in one of the main issues addressed by a retrospective of the last ten years of work by Japanese artist Chino Otsuka that can be seen until the 9th of September at the Photography Museum Huis Marseille in Amsterdam (http://www.huismarseille.nl/en/exhibition/chino-otsuka-a-world-of-memories). The exhibition also includes two recent...
Milkshake Festival at Westerpark in Amsterdam
“For boys who love girls who love girls who love boys who love boys…” That´s the slogan of this gay-friendly festival in its attempt to be the event of the year, which will take place on the 22nd of July at Westerpark, Amsterdam, an event founded by Peter van Vught and Marieke Samallo, who represent the clubs Paradiso and AIR respectively. This event has a clear message to tell the world: no musical choice, social status or style has anything to do with sexuality, to the point that it tries to consider life as a real big party, where the essential ingredients are racial, cultural and sexual diversity among others. But this liberal-minded festival not only will exploit the musical aspect associated to the term ´festival´ but it´s also a firm initiative for added values such as culture, creativity, art and entertainment. For that, in the city there will also be initiatives to gather up and care for all the attending public, trying to pay special attention to the different attending collectives: homosexuals, heterosexuals, transsexuals, bisexuals, blacks, whites, etc. Milkshake Festival Activities and programmes The festival is an initiative to emphasise and go in depth into values such as tolerance and freedom, and will try and manage it with a lively and fun decoration. Through 5 theme blocks or stages, the festival´s theme will be made up by the following stages: – Block Pool Party (Erwin Olaf) This photographer is famous for his popular ´Fucques lesson Balles´, as well as his participations in the club Paradiso. He brings a touch of exuberance and freedom...
Paul Simon concert in Amsterdam
It is known that Amsterdam is a city where many musicians have always gone to have fun. Thus, in rock history, Amsterdam, always is remembered for the famous concert by The Doors in September 1968 in which they appeared without Jim Morrison. Was it the new false phase of The Doors after Jim´s death? Not at all. Jim died back in 1970, The chaos in Amsterdam is remembered till date by the band and the fans, being a particularly restless and unforgettable night , and the events that triggered it of course involve drugs and rock n roll. The story goes like this: apparently, The Doors had spent time touring with Canned Heat. During the tour, the fabulous singer of Canned Heat, Bob “The Bear” Hite, gave Jim a piece of hashish, who of course waited for the best time to consume it and kept it in his pocket. When The Doors were about to come to Holland, his manager told him it would be best to get rid of all the drugs they carried. Morrison, faced with this situation, swallowed the piece of hashish “The Bear” had given him in front of the astonished gaze of the other band members. During that evening, before going on stage with The Doors, Jim continued to drink alcohol, especially whiskey. While the time to hit the stage approached, Jim was getting lost further into space and during the performance of Jefferson Airplane, who opened the concert for The Doors, Morrison went on stage to dance and sing with them. He attempted to kiss Grace Slick as she sang, and then went on dancing,...
Amsterdam Roots Festival
Summer and music always go hand in hand, and the Amsterdam Roots Festival is perfect proof of that, because in its 15th edition it still attracts lovers of good music and cultural diversity in Amsterdam. This year the festival, that gathers different cultures and worlds, will take place between the 5th and the 8th of July, and just like in past editions there´ll be an indoor programme called ´Interior Roots´ and another one that will take place in the open air. This festival is a pioneer in the world, not only because it covers a diversity that we can rarely find in summer festivals but also because it has different versions, finishing off with an open-air concert at Oosterpark that´s completely free to attend. Different cultures and people of different ages gather there from midday to 10pm, and also enjoy an exotic product market, activities for children, dance and other activities that take place in a unique natural environment. To enjoy your picnic or your walk around the close to 120 stalls even more, where you can find food and even tarot readings, you´ll have the legendary Angolan musician Bonga, Danyel Waro, Bad JuJu, Systema Solar from Colombia, Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara among many others. The three days of ´Interior Roots´ concerts will take place on different stages: Galaxy, Paradiso, Bimhuis and Muziekgebouw aan ´t IJ. In these concerts there´ll be many international artists, such as Ana Moura, performing the nostalgic fados from Lisbon; there´ll also be the jazz band of the Lebanese trumpet player Ibrahim Maalouf; Celso Piña´s cumbia through Sudamericano; the alternative Philadelphia hip hop band Chiddy...
Incubus Concert in Amsterdam
There are cities that strive to offer their least official side, more liberal and anarchist. And if there´s one city that takes pride in bearing this standard of freedom that´s undoubtedly Amsterdam. Well, despite the latest restrictions (in sales, not consumption) on marihuana or to access the Red Light District, to put forward just two examples of its lenient laws, all of the cultural programme of Amsterdam revolves around those frontiers between commercial and lesser-known, between stale and new. In this aspect you could add the numerous concerts that take place in all of those venues scattered across the city. If this happens in the capital, the shockwave arrives to all corners of this small but beautiful country. All of this is apropos of the Incubus concert programmed for the 10th of July. At first it was going to take place at the Heineken Music Hall, but the successful pop-rock band has decided, for logistic reasons explained on their blog, to move the gig to the town of Tilburg, just an hour south of Amsterdam, keeping the same date and time. The chosen place could not be more perfect for this band´s ´garage´ music, because 013 is a multifunctional space that can be used for live concerts or to record songs by independent bands. Conceived for the enjoyment of all music lovers, it won´t disappoint the most demanding travellers. The place, designed as if it was a padded room (just like recording studios), is visible and recognizable among the landscape of the place. I won´t go on with practical details, so here´s the link of the event where you can...
Pearl Jam in Concert at Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam
It’s difficult not to think of the American band Pearl Jam, who will give two concerts in the brand new Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam on June 26 and 27 http://www.ziggodome.nl as true survivors. They are, after all, one of the very few bands dubbedSeattle sound from the first half of the 90s that remain active. Along with Nirvana they were leaders of the grunge movement, although they were polarized by the media into a rivalry similar to that seen between the Rolling Stones and the Beatles in the 60s. Unlike the latter, however, members of Pearl Jam sent signals of believing that they were the antagonists of Nirvana, who achieved great press quickly, despite the many points of contacts between the two groups, and were catapulted into massive stardom in a surprising and unfortunate way which for a significant part of a whole generation was converted into little more than a lifestyle. It was only after the suicide of Kurt Cobain in 1994, who was unable to cope with the fact that his group had become the most objectified and popular band worldwide or to live with the fact that the existential angst and anti-system anger of his most memorable songs had been transformed into a spectacle and a sought-after object of consumption, that Eddie Vedder, the singer and charismatic leader of Pearl Jam, seemed to realize the absurdity of having contributed in some way to the above-mentioned confrontation with someone who was actually a friend with common interests and a similar history of marginalization. The tragic death of Cobain made it impossible to know which direction his music would...
The Mother’s Day in Amsterdam
The new traveling families are not the same that used to be just a decade ago. Today, they are more cosmopolitan, inquisitive and curious. Any occasion is good to leave the house with the excuse of holding any event. Isn’t the Mother´s Day stated on the family calendar as a special day? Well of course. Wouldn’t it be a good idea then to take a weekend off to explore Amsterdam, the city of canals and bicycles? And if the family lives or is there by chance, you can also have fun with any of the events organized and are scattered around this educated and libertarian city. But when is the Mother´s Day celebrated? Well, depends on the country where you are, if you travel during the spring, you can even celebrate it twice. Your mom certainly deserve it, she has anyways made a great effort for you and will do more, even though sometimes you don’t understand why she is constantly moody. Your mother is the one who lays the foundation of what you really are and, like it or not, you will always be conditioned by her presence. That´s why moms have a special day in every country in the world. Dates are mixed and in some nations it matches in December, with the religious celebration of the Immaculate, as is the case of Panama, but usually it falls in the spring days of May: in Spain, like Portugal or Hungary, the first of the month, but more often it is the second Sunday in May, which in 2012 is the 13th of May. In Peru, Holland,...
Queensday in Amsterdam
The 30th of April is Queensday in Amsterdam, the birthday of the Queen Mother. Despite that it´s special in Amsterdam, this festival is celebrated throughout the Netherlands with open-air parties and covering everything in orange. The first celebration of Queensday was on the 31st of August 1885, with the birth of Queen Wilhelmina. In 1949, sixty-four years later, they began to celebrate the birthday of Queen Juliana, April 30th, as a tribute of her coronation. Today, Queen Beatrix still celebrates this party, keeping the tradition in her mother´s honour. The party begins around 7pm and the city goes onto the streets, with everyone walking around Niuewmarkt and the Jordaan, open spaces that start the party on the street. There are plenty of parties, street salesmen, activities for children, DJs for young people and adults and classical music concerts. To summarise, there are activities for all ages. One of the most curious activities of this day is that you can buy all sorts of second hand objects because everyone has the right to go on the street and sell whatever they want, transforming the city into one big flea market. For that, many people set up stalls in the parks, on the sidewalks and even on the roads, and sell sweets, books and various interesting objects, because nobody pays tax on this day. The canals are full of boats of all shapes and sizes, where people celebrate Queensday (Koninginnedag in Dutch) with music, dancing and drinks. However, if there´s something that makes it special is the distinctive use of the colour orange. You can see people in orange wigs, t-shirts...
