Day 4, Saturday August 26th
It’s already the last day at Zürich Openair, last but not least!
One Sentence. Supervisor, Tent Stage, 3pm-3.45pm
One Sentence. Supervisor is a Swiss band from Baden. They play mostly instrumental music, in a few songs the singer sings but never too much. In some of the tunes, repetitive drum beats and bass lines remain in the background as the two guitars lead another way. The addictive sounds the band creates take you out into space and beyond.
These guys show that sometimes sounds can convey more than a hundred words. The band’s first album Temporär Musik 1-13 was chosen as album of the year in 2016 by the association IndieSuisse.
Meute, Main Stage, 4pm-5pm
German techno marching band Meute counts none less than 12 members! From saxophone to trombone they deliver a party music combined with electronic beats that make people dance under the hot sun.
Von Wegen Lisbeth, Main Stage, 6pm-7pm
Von Wegen Lisbeth is another German band that positively surprised me. When it comes to bands that sing in a language other than English I’m always a bit skeptical but it’s probably because I’m not used to it.
Von Wegen Lisbeth plays a fresh indie-rock with guitar and bass riffs chasing each other at a fast pace. They add to their spectrum of sounds also xylophone and keys, as well as some synth sounds rendering it more colourful. Their debut album Grande was released in 2016 and is totally worth a listen!
Metronomy, Main Stage, 8pm-9pm
English band Metronomy combines effectively electronic music with indie-pop guitars and drumbeats. The public starts grooving to the beats straight away. Electronic sounds overlap with keys and guitar riffs creating a funky rhythm, such as when they play “The Look” where the keys are ever present.
London Grammar, Tent Stage, 9pm-10pm
Guitarist Dan Rothman, and multi instrumentalist Dominic ‘Dot’ Major come on stage and start jamming, followed a few minutes later by singer Hannah Reid. They begin playing “Hey now” and as soon as Hannah Reid starts singing the audience screams. Her voice is just mind-blowing, at times deep and at times higher, it gives you goose bumps each and every time.
London Grammar play new songs taken from their last album Truth Is a Beautiful Thing (2017), as well as older songs from their previous album If You Wait (2013). They create a dream-like atmosphere by combining electronic beats, keys and guitar riffs. In the back, a screen is at times switched off and at times shows images of places, mountains, cliffs, woods and other things, making you travel with the mind and vision.
The band plays many old songs and singer Hannah Reid asks the audience to sing along to the outstanding “Strong”. During the show fans throw on stage chocolate and toys and the singer thanks them for the gifts. The three members are all very sweet with the audience.
The Prodigy, Main Stage, 00.30am-2am
I gave a third chance to The Prodigy. This time I did like it more than the other two times I saw them. Perhaps it was because there were no scary images popping up in the show or maybe I was in the right mood for this type of music, and that’s pretty important as well. Their electronic beats are hard and strong, and overlapped with guitar riffs.
The audience gets crazy straight away, forming circles and creating huge mosh-pits. The band incites the public to sit down and then jump up again simultaneously as the songs become livelier. Whether jumping like crazy or bumping into one another the audience has a great time!
Zürich Openair 2017 is over, four days filled with indie-rock and electronic music. A 7th edition characterized by a hot sun as well as a stormy day. This year 80000 people attended Zürich Openair, an absolute record! So nothing better than to look forward to the 8th edition from the 22 to 25th of August 2018.
Simona @TakeMe2aConcert
The Liberation 