On Saturday night, Calvin Harris proves that Pinkpop 2024 can have a dance headliner. A breath of recent air for the oldest pageant within the Netherlands, though there are nonetheless numerous areas for enchancment for his present.
Though the Scottish disc jockey can often be present in celebration golf equipment resembling Ushuaïa (Ibiza) in LIV (Las Vegas), he often enters the meadows of music. Calvin Harris has by no means given an open-air present within the Netherlands till the Saturday night of Pinkpop 2024. He’s a model new headliner; a brand new act that had by no means been allowed to enter the primary stage of Landgraaf earlier than and had not given a Dutch present for greater than ten years. Whether or not a DJ belongs on the primary stage of Pinkpop, at the same time as a headliner, continues to be a sore level for some, but when the pageant desires to maintain up with the instances, a refreshing principal act is a should.
Picture: Martin Hols / Pinkpop 2024
Unintended pounding session
It is as much as Calvin Harris to rework the Landgraaf meadow right into a discotheque. In any case, he should not have it for the primary half hour. The beginning of his present is explosive, with summary visible pictures, spectacular lights and smoke machines from the primary second. Perhaps Harris thought we had been in a membership all day and he had flown in to serve dessert. Quite the opposite, as a result of the Pinkpop viewers appeared tame on Saturday afternoon. Maybe Oliver Heldens’ pre-party within the tent may heat up a few of the revelers, however Harris’ tempo is just too quick for many. Settle down, we simply want a second.
It makes for a troublesome begin, during which a number of songs are rushed by way of in a short while. The recognizable tune of ‘Bounce’ performs by way of the audio system, however the music shouldn’t be formally on the setlist and has to make manner for the subsequent one after just a few seconds. The variety of tracks shouldn’t be even the largest drawback. It’s primarily the pointless remixes that flip each music right into a pounding session. By throwing all of the hits right into a blender and extracting a techno puree, the disc jockey makes it very troublesome for his viewers to correctly get into the set. The primary half due to this fact lacks any type of construction and Calvins Harris’ playing cards appear to be on the desk from second one.
Pinkpop 2024. Picture credit score: Buro Pinkpop.
Emergency brake
An excessive amount of stomp, not sufficient pop. We’re on the rollercoaster known as ‘Calvins Technofeest’ and it at all times has the identical three stops: singing alongside to the lyrics of a widely known hit, adopted by a tough remix, and an abrupt ending. After a number of rides on the identical curler coaster, we really feel tempted to tug the emergency brake. Calvin, preserve your toes off your rock-solid hits! We would not be fast to confess it, however proper now we’re simply hoping we hear the precise studio variations as we all know them. It comes as no shock to anybody that the Scot has a large repertoire of excellent songs. However he works in opposition to them with pointless bells and whistles.
As if the driving force senses that panic is breaking out amongst his passengers, the DJ performs ‘Blame’ with out too many new parts. We breathe a sigh of aid when the rollercoaster appears to be getting again on monitor. From right here Calvin Harris picks himself up; he continues to fireside hit after hit on the viewers at a speedy tempo – together with the accompanying pyro – however solely the great, danceable variations. It actually doesn’t at all times need to be precisely the identical because the studio model. A great instance of that is the combo of ‘Exterior’, which is barely extra melodic than we’re used to, however together with the visuals provides worth to the music.
Poplasers
After that, issues do not go as we anticipated just a few extra instances and it stays thrilling to see how the combo seems with every music. ‘You Received The Love’ by Candi Staton and ‘Keep Excessive’ by Tove Lo begin robust, however these songs even have to resist the remix blow. Fortuitously, the disc jockey continues simply as shortly with certainly one of his most listened to hits. ‘Summer season’ can depend on the loud singing of a number of pageant goers whose faces have been burned by the summer season rays as we speak. He has already expertly edited ‘Spectrum’ within the studio, in order that the unique model stays intact through the DJ set.
Though not each music is combined equally effectively, the viewers appears to be having a good time. From teams of pals who parade hand in hand to the beat to a person in a Nirvana shirt who can not preserve nonetheless both. Landgraaf likes it, desires to bop, and Calvin Harris offers them that for an hour and a half at Pinkpop 2024. Along with his lasers he tickles the Tent Stage the place John Coffey is performing on the similar time. Distinctive, as a result of there may be often no various to the headliner at Pinkpop, and apparently not likely vital, as a result of the turnout is low. The bias that Pinkpopgoers can not reside with out rock seems to be much less true than ever.
Ft of the scraps
Calvin Harris is forgiven for the troublesome begin and he manages to captivate the viewers together with his present till the stroke of midnight. Along with an arsenal of authentic tracks, songs resembling Satisfaction by Benny Benassi and Vacation spot Calabria by Alex Gaudino are additionally featured. Classics within the style, however extraordinarily efficient at getting the viewers going. We wished extra hits? You ask, we ship, Harris thought. ‘Candy Nothing’, ‘You are Not Alone’ and ‘We Discovered Love’ repeatedly get the group dancing. With the latter, the DJ builds as much as the drop just a bit longer and stretches the music in a great way; one thing we’d have appreciated to see come again extra usually. It would not need to be blasting on the similar stage for an hour and a half.
On the finish, the twisted remix of ‘Miracle’ feels virtually comical, as if the DJ has simply realized how to not do it, however then does it once more to unlearn it. The identical goes for the request that the viewers leap one final time – broad leap, sing in palms within the air Calvin Harris has few calls for for his viewers. However that now not issues in any respect, as a result of at that second the dance strikes of the pageant goers can now not be stopped. After some delay, Calvin’s curler coaster manages to succeed in the tip station and transports the membership to the meadow. And really he solely wanted the minimal for that.
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Pinkpop 2024
Location Landgraaf, Netherlands
Date 21-23 June 2024
Tickets Not out there.
