Push to Fire Review: Groezrock 2008
review and photos by Suzy Witts
| Groezrock is a Belgian music festival which takes place every year in a small town called Meerhout, which is practically in the middle of nowhere. The festival has been running for about 14 years, but only truly evolved to a two stage, 15000 attendee event in 2003. We first went in 2007 after a friend suggested it, so this year was my second time at Groezrock. The event took place over two days and featured a total of 37 bands. The campsite was full of people from across the globe and the weather was hot (25'C) and sunny.
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A few days before the event two bands pulled out, Good Charlotte and Lit. There was much disappointment from the fans, but family emergencies were cited as the reasons so it was understandable. However the organisers did a great job at finding replacements and Thursday and The Bouncing Souls flew across from New Jersey to play on Saturday evening. They both played amazing sets and seemed genuinely excited to be at the festival. Dave Hause from The Loved Ones joined The Bouncing Souls on stage for 'True Believers'. Other collaborations over the weekend included Anti-Flag and Silverstein joining Strike Anywhere for a couple of songs, Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music) sang 'Radio' with Alkaline Trio, and Pete and Michael from the Bouncing Souls played 'True Believers' with Hot Water Music.
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Thursday played some new material during their set which sounded a bit different to their old stuff - I'm looking forward to hearing the new record. They performed well even though they were probably jet lagged! The only thing that gave away their lack of sleep was when Geoff Rickley shouted "it's great to be back in Brussels"! Thursday played at the same time as Sick of it All, much to their disappointment as they wanted to see SOIA, so in tribute they divided the crowd and attempted a wall of death. Sick of it All also did this, but I heard that their wall was far more deadly and in three directions! SOIA's crowd was also far greater in volume which suggested they could have had a headline slot at the festival and carried it off.
It was great to see The Blackout (from Wales) on stage on Friday evening. It was the first time I'd seen them and I was left wanting to hear and see more. They had energy and confidence and I think they got some new European fans at the festival. All Time Low were also a new band for me and pretty good. Other highlights on Friday included Strike Anywhere, Hot Water Music and Anti-Flag. Headliners for the first night were Billy Talent who were absolutely awesome. Despite only having two albums worth of material they had a long time slot to fill and everyone knew the songs and was singing along.
The Flatliners opened the main stage on Saturday at 10.30am and played as though it was an evening gig - they claimed to be tired, but you really couldn't tell. There was a lot of excitement about the Fat Wreck band and new and old fans swarmed around their merch stand immediately after their set. The Loved Ones were also a hit with the crowd and A Wilhelm Scream were another highlight of the day.
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I like ska, but I've never really been much of a fan of The Toasters, however they won me over on Saturday afternoon. It was the perfect time for the crowd to have a dance to some ska. The atmosphere was good throughout their set.
I didn't see Agnostic Front, but judging the singing back at the campsite ('gotta gotta gotta go...') they seemed to have made a good impression on the crowd. Bad Religion headlined on Saturday night. They played well and played a range of older and newer songs, but somehow they just didn't get my attention like they did when they played Leeds a few years ago.
I had a great time at Groezrock and although many of the bands also performed at Give it a Name, I think having great weather and camping really made the experience more enjoyable than it would have been if I'd been in an arena somewhere. The festival was like summer had arrived - on the whole, the people were friendly, the bands were interesting and the atmosphere was brilliant. If you ever want to go to a festival outside the UK, I highly recommend Groezrock.
The Groezrock 2008 line up:
FRIDAY Set Your Goals, Mayday Parade, All Time Low, Heaven Shall Burn, Alkaline Trio, Anti-Flag, Billy Talent, The Blackout, Strike Anywhere, The Audition, Silverstein, Finch, Hot Water Music
SATURDAY The Flatliners, The Bones, El Guapo Stuntteam, The Loved Ones, A Wilhelm Scream, The Toasters, No Fun At All, 59 Times the Pain, The Planet Smashers, Face to Face, Thursday, Bad Religion, Bury Your Dead, Suicide Silence, Cursed, This Is Hell, Do Or Die, HORSE The Band, The Setup, The Bouncing Souls, Parkway Drive, Agnostic Front, Sick of It All, Story of the Year
Photos of the bands who played on Friday are available in our photo section. Check out our interview section for an interview with The Blackout. Thanks to Groezrock for the photo pass and entry to the arena on Friday. More info about the event can be found at groezrock.be.
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