It’s dark times. What that means for a festival called Zeitgeist could be seenand heard on Saturday in Doornroosje in Nijmegen. The minor chords may havehad the upper hand, but the playing bands were all packed with energy andenthusiasm. And the audience ate from their hand, because it was alwayscrowded at this tightly sold-out first edition. Nobody wanted to miss a minuteanywhere.
Photography Maren van der Burght
For example, the Nijmegen Eerie Wanda is watching the opening concert againsta packed small hall where the audience quickly changes halls afterwards to seethe Rotterdam Tramhaus. This evening Nijmegen seems to be the ferry betweenRotterdam and England, because after Eerie Wanda the bands come from eitherRotterdam or England.
Anyway, Tramhaus. The band seems a bit impressed by such a full, eager crowd.There are still the busy, elastic dances of singer Lukas Jansen, but the restof the band seems to be making retreating movements. Undeservedly, of course,with such material and such musicality. The only thing with Tram housestill missing is the hand to grab the hall by the throat. Because this band isready for the general public.
O. also has the line-up and approach to grow into a public favorite. Withthe extremely virtuoso drumming Tash Keary and Joe Henwood who always has hisbaritone sax and effects pedal in attack mode, steamy music comes from thestage. Like so many other bands, the English will let you know from the stagetonight how happy they are to be in this line-up and who they all want to seethemselves. O. is a nice band, although it is a bit questionable whether youwill soon set this up at home. Hopefully they will at least do something aboutthat clumsy band name that makes them untraceable online.
Black Country, New Road is one of the two big names on Zeitgeist. Back inNijmegen after their first performance on the European mainland in 2019 at theValkhof Festival. Now without singer Isaac Wood, who has left the band. Aloss, as far as the undersigned is concerned, because the music becomes a bitdull. An opinion that is not often shared, because the public is neverthelessvery enthusiastic. It will be a mismatch between writer and band, with eightbands on one night it can’t always be right.
That’s about it Squid. Just when you hope that a tire will really showteeth, the squid’s beak opens wide. Squid will play the last performance of2022 here, they say, but there is no sign of fatigue on stage. Razor-sharp,steaming and always on target is the music of the quintet from Brighton.Drummer and vocalist Ollie Judge’s varied alarm siren voice keeps everyoneglued to the stage. Crowd surfers, circle pits and lots of jumping fans makethe party even bigger. What a bond.
On that wave of energy is allowed Iguana Death Cult close the festival.’You didn’t pay for us, but you still get us’, says Jeroen Reek about thesudden substitution of the Rotterdam band after the cancellation ofUnschooling. And that is a great introduction with their uptempo mishmash ofvarious guitar styles. Nice ending to a successful first Zeitgeist. Whateverthe zeitgeist may be, these kinds of bands make for a wonderful pastime.