Good, non-big-name bands playing Roskilde Festival

June 14, 2006 12:41 PM

Got any lesser-known band recommendations for someone going to Roskilde Festival?

So, I'm going to Denmark for Roskilde Festival later this month, and besides some of the big-name acts like Bob Dylan, George Clinton and Tool, I'm not sure what I should definitely be checking out.

Please look over this band list and give me some reccommendations for bands that I've probably not heard.

posted by Zero Gravitas to Media & Arts (26 answers total)

Not exactly non-big-name but PLACEEEEBO!!!!
(sorry. they just happen to be my favourite band)
posted by ClarissaWAM at 12:49 PM on June 14, 2006

I like Coldcut but you may not. They do hiphoppy electronic music. Their video shows are always excellent.
posted by aubilenon at 12:49 PM on June 14, 2006

Response by poster: Well, ClarissaWAN, I was pretty much definitely going to see Placebo anyway.

(BTW, in the past, whenever the classic "Say you were gay - what man would you fuck?" question has come up, Brian Molko has always been a crowd favorite)
posted by Zero Gravitas at 12:58 PM on June 14, 2006

Editors are very big in the UK at the moment - quite dark on CD, but live Tom Smith is very energetic and fun to watch (well, I think anyway). Music has elements of Interpol, Joy Division and Placebo (I so agree with ClarissaWAM there!)


Kaiser Chiefs again are very big in the UK - Ricky Wilson's jumping will keep you entertained and crowd pleasers such as "Oh My God" and "Na Na Na Na" and "Modern Way" will have everyone having a good time. Guitar brit-rock.


Scissor Sisters always put on a FANTASTIC show. Seriously great, more flamboyant than any other act around.


Sigur Ros will keep you soothed and relaxed with their relaxing orchestral sounds - Hoppipolla is always a gem.

That should get you going!
posted by philsi at 1:16 PM on June 14, 2006

Coldcut, Dälek, Front 242 (extremely well-known, but you might not know them), Gogol Bordello (Moldovan/Romanian/Ukrainian awesomeness), Goldfrapp, Happy Mondays, The Streets, Why?, and lastly...

ZDOB ŞI ZDUB of Moldova are awesome!
posted by vkxmai at 1:17 PM on June 14, 2006

Looks like a great line-up; there are at least a dozen or so biggish names I can spot on the list, and twice that I would consider watching, so rather than list them all it would be handy if you could say who you are already planning to see, and what kind of music you like.

Some bands I would probably see:

Gogol Bordello are rip-roaring folk-punk, and I would imagine would be great live.

Sigur Ros, kind groovy mellow post-rock, supposed to be good live.

Roger Waters performing Dark Side.

Opeth for some big metal.
posted by MetaMonkey at 1:18 PM on June 14, 2006

I don't know who you've heard of or what you like, but:

Animal Collective is great, so is The Ex, on the noisy-arty side. GOGOL BORDELLO! I've been dying to see them, and have been too lazy like every one of the, like, 15 times they've been in my city in the last 2 years. They play Ukrainian/Gypsy/Punk. They are fabulous. My boyfriend has a huge crush on Lady Sovereign, so I would stop by that stage to see what all the fuss is about, but that's me. Sigur Ros might not be the best band to see at a festival, but maybe if you wanted to chill for a while. I haven't listened to anything the Two Gallants have put out in a couple of years, but for 2 blonde potheads they can sure sound like their lives are much harder. In a good way.

Wow, this is a good line-up. I'm going to have to check out some of the bands I've never heard of on the list.
posted by ruby.aftermath at 1:18 PM on June 14, 2006

Dalek is fucking awesome apocalyptic hip-hop. Super loud and heavy, distorted beats - more droning railroad skree than "bumpin ' soul samples", with loose streetwise poetry overtop. Absolutely awesome.

Shout Out Louds play some great skritchy indie-pop, kinda like Clap Your Hands but from Sweden. (not seen them live, though.)

I assume you know of the Silver Jews' distorted country magnificence.

I really like Two Gallants - dude with a glittering electric guitar and folk-blues hollerin', teamed with a drummer with six arms and a heart of tin.

Animal Collective are a hella fun psych-beats-folk weirdo pop drum-circle gang.

Gogol Bordello are what the description says, and have a great live reputation.

Spank Rock are awesome fat beats with slamming breaks and lewd, grinning raps. Booty-shaking will, I suspect, be going on.

have fun!
posted by Marquis at 1:21 PM on June 14, 2006

GOGOL BORDELLO (US)
Unique musical mixture of east European folk music and punk.

Oooooh. Gogol Bordello is one of my new fav's. They are very good. I had to work the last time they came to Minneapolis, so unfortunately I don't know how they are live.

On Preview: I third this band. The fact that two others recommended them during the time I wrote this should say something. On second preview: I fourth. See above and substitute accordingly.


MARCELO D2 (BRA)
Hybrid of hip hop, latin funk and samba.

Marcelo D2 is very good. He's a popular brazilian rapper. Don't worry if you're not a fan of rap though. Brazilian rap is very different than US rap right now.
posted by gauchodaspampas at 1:22 PM on June 14, 2006

If I were lucky enough to be going, I'd be sure to catch:

Animal Collective
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!
The Figurines
Gogol Bordello
Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins
The Raconteurs
THE SILVER JEWS, OH MY GOD THE SILVER JEWS

But these really aren't quite non-big-name. Smaller than Dylan or Franz Ferdinand, I guess.
posted by scarylarry at 1:23 PM on June 14, 2006

Response by poster: Well, I'm definitely going to see:

George Clinton
Tool
Bob Dylan (If I can beat the rush)
Franz Ferdinand
Placebo
Scissor Sisters
Roger Waters

And probably:
Primal Scream
The Raconteurs
The Strokes

I won't be seeing Sigur Rós, since I'm Icelandic as well, and have heard quite enough of them, thankyouverymuch.

Based on this, I'm thinking of checking out Gogol Bordello (Well, almost for certain based on this thread), Zdob Şi Zdub, Why? and maybe Lady Sovereign.

I'm still pretty much open to suggestions - keep it coming.
posted by Zero Gravitas at 1:36 PM on June 14, 2006

Dälek. Never seen them live but I imagine it would be incredible, especially at a festival. Try downloading a few songs and see what you think, "Ever Somber" is good.
posted by fire&wings at 1:43 PM on June 14, 2006

I'll put a word in for the two excellent Belgian bands, dEUS (arty/rootsy guitar pop). (Hear their set recorded at the Pinkpop festival) and Front 242 (industrial/ebm).

Personally, I'd go see Rufus and Martha Wainwright, and Kanye West. But I'm sure you're familiar with them.
posted by prolific at 2:02 PM on June 14, 2006

Definitely go and dance like a mad thing to "Radio Soulwax presents 2manyDJs". Their mash-ups are things of funky beauty.
posted by patricio at 2:22 PM on June 14, 2006

Probably won't be the same without Slash, but...

GUNS N' F'ING ROSES!
posted by giantfist at 2:23 PM on June 14, 2006

Gogol Bordello's live show is absolutely intense. When we brought them to our small college, they still played a 90 minute set bringing out a giant crazy drum to dance on into the middle of the audience during the encore.

Sigur Ros also has an allegedly ridiculous live show in the opposite way. A Sigur Ros-obsessed friend tells me the booming, rich sounds of the last album come out beautifully on stage.

Franz Ferdinand and Death Cab For Cutie are loved by pretty much everyone who hears them save the most jaded hipsters.

The Silver Jews, despite having only completed their first tour in 15 years, are worth seeing if only for David Berman's intriguing stage presence. The dude's a genius with words (check out his poetry), and the songs take on a whole new meaning in the live show.
posted by themadjuggler at 2:47 PM on June 14, 2006

Oooh, there's some good stuff there. I'd go see:

* Deus
* Wolfmother - all your 1970's rock/metal bands in one
* Rufus Wainwright (other people have mentioned Martha Wainwright - I like the album but found her voice reallt grating live)
* Two Gallants - 2 white guys playing raw blues (a la, I guess, the Black Keys)
* Tool (doesn't fit your wish list, but I love that group and they were stunning last night)
* The Shout Out Louds - good indie guitar band, get good press in the UK
* Josh Rouse - nice, comfy, alt-country. Earlier stuff was sad, but he lives in Spain now and is happier
* The Raconteurs
* Jenny Lewis
* Editors - getting big in the UK - think Interpol/Joy Division. Meant to be excellent live, and the album is amazing
* Sigur Ros - what everyone else has said. They're amazing live (although what they'd be like outside, I don't know)
* Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
posted by TheDonF at 3:16 PM on June 14, 2006

Everyone's already mentioned the ones I would suggest, and you have no chance of seeing them all. Given that, Phoenix is supposed to be great and French, according to this AskMe question.
posted by smackfu at 4:05 PM on June 14, 2006

Response by poster: I think I'll be able to catch a lot of these bands - at least I'll be relatively sober, not dead drunk and throwing boomerangs in the middle of the camping ground, like a friend of mine did last year when he was there.

(Can you believe they actually sell boomerangs in the middle of a crowded festival?)
posted by Zero Gravitas at 4:13 PM on June 14, 2006

Roskilde Festival is great! This year's lineup is very very cool, it will be very interesting to see how the program looks... Hopefully there won't be too many great acts on at the same time.
posted by fondle at 4:31 PM on June 14, 2006

great lineup! -- the bands I would go and see

Gogol Bordello
--- kick ass! Seeing them is the closest thing to being abducted by gypsies...
Balkan Beat Box
Bellowhead
--- 10-piece English band; don't be put off by the "folk" tag
Ba Cissokho
Deltahead
---- 2 Swedish guys playing noisy blues-punk thru weird resonating thingies
Toumani Diabate
Fat Freddy's Drop
Babar Luck
Anoushka Shankar
Sigur Ros
Tool
posted by omnidrew at 4:45 PM on June 14, 2006

Fourthing (or whatever) Dalek. Saw 'em a month or two ago and was very, very impressed. Great music, really good live act.
posted by Dr. Wu at 5:52 PM on June 14, 2006

Avsolutely Animal Collective and Silver Jews and Why?. Also, Ms John Soda.

I'm dying to see Why?--my fave album of 2005 is Elephant Eyelash.
posted by dobbs at 6:17 PM on June 14, 2006

I saw Burst supporting Mastodon at a gig last year. Rather good hardcore, if not too special. Worth checking out if you feel like something heavier. I'd also suggest Deftones, but they're quite far removed from 'non-big-named bands'.

I'd also go see Front 242, never having seen them live. Industrial stuff.

A friend of mine recommends Lagwagon. He says they're amazing live. A metal (Iron Maiden) inspired punk band that's been evolving into a better/tighter group over the years with crazy live shows. Not sure if punk's your scene, but these guys are good.
posted by slimepuppy at 3:45 AM on June 15, 2006

If you want to include a Danish group, I'd go with L.O.C. Danish hiphop sucks but in the best way possible.

Are you camping at Roskilde? If so, we could start a whole Ask MeFi thread on camping tips (hint: stay far far away from the fences).
posted by bethm at 12:37 PM on June 15, 2006

And Camping West is the best place to put up your tent if you aren't totally insane.
posted by fondle at 12:33 PM on June 16, 2006