All eyes are on Fred again on Saturday night… It is the big headliner of this edition of Lowlands. But the high expectations are not met: the enormous Alpha is a size too big for the pop DJ, who made his image of intimacy and proximity.
It is almost unimaginable that no one had heard of Fred again.. 2.5 years ago. But now he is really the biggest name on the Lowlands poster, and that popularity is noticeable an hour before the show. The entire festival site has turned out for the show of the British dance producer and multi-instrumentalist. It is an act that fits perfectly with Lowlands, and appeals to both lovers of alternative pop, ravers, and everyone in between (like your mother). Everyone comes to dance at Fred.
Bullshit
But people with that wish are partly disappointed. That is already apparent at the beginning: there is no beat to be found for the first 10 minutes. Fred appears to be planning to tell a nuanced and substantive story tonight, but the question is whether many people are interested in that. It quickly leads to a big weekend discussion and especially on the hills and at the back of the field there is a lot of chatter, in anticipation of danceable anthems.
They do come every now and then, but then it always collapses again. It remains a theme throughout the entire set: too much talking, too few bangers. The sentimental sweet-boy act of the born Frederick John Philip Gibson may actually fit a smaller concert hall much better than a gigantic Alpha. Moreover, the sound outside the tent dissipates, making it difficult to hear outside. If you are at all interested in following Fred’s long stories, it is actually almost impossible due to the crackling sound.
In the middle of the Alpha
Of course there are highlights. Out of nowhere Fred appears again.. in the middle of the audience on a stage. Not much later this stage turns out to be a cherry picker and he rises above the audience. For the first time the visitors outside the tent can also see the artist in question (but still not hear him fantastically). Audience favourites ‘places to be’, ‘Marea (we’ve lost dancing)’ and ‘adore u’ get the audience moving. Romy comes by to perform ‘Strong’ together.
That in itself is enough highlights for a headline-worthy set, but because it has to be introduced or concluded with minutes of context about how the record was made or what feeling the track is based on, all flow is sucked out of the show. It all just feels a bit dull, especially after that thundering show of Justice yesterday.
Photo Credit: Kamiel Scholten / Festileaks
Fans will point out that this is just who Fred is: someone who doesn’t want to beat you up, but wants to tell a story. Wants to be emotional, and wants to get some feeling into his set. In contrast to all those other DJs who just want to push a few buttons, he wants to take his audience not only to the highs, but also to the lows. There’s something to be said for that, but then you need an audience that really wants (and can) pay attention all the time, and that might be asking a bit much on these kinds of mega stages.
This proves that the main stage of Lowlands is a size too big for the sentimental stories of one of the most sympathetic artists on earth. The bpm’s may be increased, or the audience numbers decreased: the choice is up to Fred.
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Lowlands 2024
Location Biddinghuizen, Netherlands
Date August 16-18, 2024
Tickets Completely sold out.
