‘Le Guess Who?’ in Utrecht is a curious festival. Originally a Dutch event focused on Canadian bands, these days there are top-class acts visiting from all over the world. Among them Deerhoof, Ty Segall and Suuns; the music was rocking harder than your grandmother in a rocking chair on Ritalin. But instead of just plainly telling you about it, we thought we might just let you hear the voice of the people. So we went from venue to venue asking: ‘just who goes to ‘Le Guess Who?’.
Rien and Jacolien – Utrecht, the Netherlands
How about Le Guess who? This is our third time. The festival really is unique in Utrecht. There’s always new bands to see, you can trust the line-up is always good, and the whole experience of biking all over town from venue to venue is great.
Any favourites this year? Broeder Dielman, he’s something special. He’s Dutch and sings in a local dialect, you really need to check him out. But we also look forward to DM Smith and Revival Hour.
Best band you ever discovered at LGW? My Brightest Diamond. What a voice. She has a classical voice that sucks you up when she sings.
Annelise – Brisbane, Australia
How did you end up here? Right now I’m studying cultural anthropology in Amsterdam and I came to check the festival out!
A message for Brisbane? This festival has a vibe you need to experience. Really European. You have to combine your trip to Europe with a festival like this.
What’s European? Don’t know; industrial, underground?
Best band until now? Bersarin Quartet. Sounds weird but they were amazing. The atmosphere and the people were really relaxed.
Any anthropological insights? This city is intriguing compared to Amsterdam; we met the most beautiful people. There’s no tourist bubble going on here like in Amsterdam.
Which bands do you not want to miss? Matthew Dear and Lower Dens.
Ed Rodriguez, guitar player with Deerhoof – Portland, California USA
How’d the gig go? It’s hard to tell where our music will go down well; some cities are rock cities and others aren’t. But tonight everybody was beaming and smiling in the crowd…I was amazed at how sustained their smiles were!
Like the festival? We’re heading to Paris straight after this. So sadly we don’t have time to check out any of the other bands…We need some more sleep; only had about 5 to 7 hours.
Marion – Paris, France
Le Guess Who? It’s strange to be in another country and experience this. I’m here visiting friends for the weekend and didn’t know anything about the festival.
So, any favourites? We didn’t check out the line-up; wanted it to be a surprise. Up until now its been very nice.
Enjoying it? Actually, I feel like I’m in a cocoon. It’s so safe and quiet here, I’ve been dancing all the time. Everybody is so relaxed. It’s hard to find a place where you can feel so at ease like this in Paris.
There’s more! Read the rest of this article on scenewave.com
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