And now for something completely different

The picture on the right was taken on the first day of this year's Roadburn festival. The venue you see is Het Patronaat (formerly an annex to the nearby catholic church) although most concerts are in 013. For lovers of psychedelic/sludge/stoner/post/doom/whatever rock, Roadburn is the place to be. I mostly prefer the stoner and desert rock bands (I still regret not having seen Fatso Jetson in their own café when I had the chance), but occasionally you see stuff you thought you'd hate but that turns out to be actually quite good. My revelation this year was Sleep, which I thought nothing special on CD but was very convincing on stage.

Another devout Roadburner

Getting a ticket to Roadburn is no easy task: last year tickets were sold out in 15 minutes when they came on sale at 10am CET. Nevertheless, it has a very international audience with visitors from all over Europe and even the United States. That's right: some folks on the American east coast are willing to stay up at 4am to buy a ticket so they can cross the Atlantic Ocean to Roadburn.

One thing I have never understood though: does it really have to be this LOUD? I know the question sounds lame, but at some concerts at least half the audience wears earplugs. I also wear them - I mean, if you're a music lover your ears should be precious to you. It's not just about hearing loss, I once met somebody whose hyperacusis almost drove him to suicide. So why not put the volume down a bit?