- The Bad Bird Catches The Spark -
feat. BAD BREEDING, CRIPPLING ALCOHOLISM and THE BIRD EXPERIENCE
Yes, after that detour with Maud the Moth and Aidan Baker it's finally time to report what happened in the middle of April in Tilburg, South Netherlands!
There's nothing noteworthy to tell about my relatively smoothly car ride from Northern Germany and I don't feel like starting with an essay about the whole meaning of Roadburn Festival within the bigger picture of life, so there are just two little pieces of business before getting to the important stuff:
1. If you're new here and wonder about the weird low-fi visual style of this blog: Most of my Roadburn photos were taken with a Digital Harinezumi 2.0 toy camera (all horizontal or upright rectangular pics) or my not-the-best-at-this smartphone (all square pics).
2. Check-in at my rural accommodations, waiting for my roommate to arrive and saying hello to a couple of the many cats there:
Done. And now let's go straight to the absolutely packed Next Stage in the 013, where the proceedings started with the free warm-up night called The Spark!
Not only the room was filled to the brim, but the stage itself never had been as crowded on a Roadburn Wednesday as well. The Bird Experience, a group headed by Heath singer and insane harmonica (plus pedalboard) wizard Mees Vullings, came as a big band version of twelve muscians. Half of those I couldn't even see most of the time, because the whole brass section and the bass player were hidden behind the Hammond organ from my point of view, while the frontman was blocking the percussion player and gospel background singers.
But at least I could hear everything. After the band entered the stage with masks, which they hung onto a clothes tree, and played an intro track, which felt like an occult incantation, the crowd's reaction was very reserved, because it was alright, but you just didn't know where this was leading yet.
The following answer to that question was a wild exploration of 60's and 70's Psychedelic and Prog Rock and Blues, whose inspirations surely cut deeper than that, but in the moment felt like the voodoo lovechild of Arthur Brown, The Doors and Santana to me. With so many layers of organ, keys, rhythm, guitar, brass, vocals and that damn crazy harmonica The Bird Experience felt like a primal conjuration of Rock'n'Roll spirits for the days ahead. Well done, you soulful, wild dark eyeliner hippies!
But at least I could hear everything. After the band entered the stage with masks, which they hung onto a clothes tree, and played an intro track, which felt like an occult incantation, the crowd's reaction was very reserved, because it was alright, but you just didn't know where this was leading yet.
The following answer to that question was a wild exploration of 60's and 70's Psychedelic and Prog Rock and Blues, whose inspirations surely cut deeper than that, but in the moment felt like the voodoo lovechild of Arthur Brown, The Doors and Santana to me. With so many layers of organ, keys, rhythm, guitar, brass, vocals and that damn crazy harmonica The Bird Experience felt like a primal conjuration of Rock'n'Roll spirits for the days ahead. Well done, you soulful, wild dark eyeliner hippies!
Of course I knew the band by name. How couldn't I? If you've ever heard that there's a group with the name Crippling Alcoholism that's very likely to stick.
Visually they're mostly a blur, because that cozy socks/ open house slippers combo of the tourist guy energy frontman kind of overshadowed everything else. Musically the sextet brought a mix of sometimes Hardcore/Sludge heavy, sometimes wearing-sunglasses-in-the-dark danceable, but always melancholic Post Punk, which - also attitude-wise - very much felt like the Goth version of Chat Pile.
Cool. Repeat in Jake Peralta voice: Coolcoolcoolcool.
Visually they're mostly a blur, because that cozy socks/ open house slippers combo of the tourist guy energy frontman kind of overshadowed everything else. Musically the sextet brought a mix of sometimes Hardcore/Sludge heavy, sometimes wearing-sunglasses-in-the-dark danceable, but always melancholic Post Punk, which - also attitude-wise - very much felt like the Goth version of Chat Pile.
Cool. Repeat in Jake Peralta voice: Coolcoolcoolcool.
Cranking up the crass the night finally exploded with the raw and dirty Crust Punk energy of Bad Breeding, who exceeded in bringing the anarcho spirit of good old English Punk into the here and now. Wild shit and a severe case of Fuckyeah.
And so ended a good warm-up, which I would rate somewhere in the middle of all Sparks (and Hardrock Hideouts in the Cul de Sac bar before that) I've witnessed so far. Even though I liked all three bands, there have been editions which stood out a lot more with their own vibe distinct from the rest of the festival, especially given that both Bad Breeding and Crippling Alcoholism would be playing official and secret shows later on, starting not even twenty-five hours from now.
So The Bird Experience had been the only really exclusive element of The Spark, and I wonder if that was an odd deliberate choice or if it was some kind of compromise, because other plans didn't work out.
However the fire had definitely started and I couldn't wait to see it burning through the road during the four exciting days to come!
And so ended a good warm-up, which I would rate somewhere in the middle of all Sparks (and Hardrock Hideouts in the Cul de Sac bar before that) I've witnessed so far. Even though I liked all three bands, there have been editions which stood out a lot more with their own vibe distinct from the rest of the festival, especially given that both Bad Breeding and Crippling Alcoholism would be playing official and secret shows later on, starting not even twenty-five hours from now.
So The Bird Experience had been the only really exclusive element of The Spark, and I wonder if that was an odd deliberate choice or if it was some kind of compromise, because other plans didn't work out.
However the fire had definitely started and I couldn't wait to see it burning through the road during the four exciting days to come!
reviews of the other festival days:
ROADBURN FESTIVAL 2026 • DAY ONE: Thursday, April 16th
- The Spiritual Sound of Hypnotic Eternity -
ROADBURN FESTIVAL 2026 • DAY TWO: Friday, April 17th
- Psych, Sax and Violence! -ROADBURN FESTIVAL 2026 • DAY THREE: Saturday, April 18th
- I Drifted On Alpine OceansWith The Taste Of The Moon On My Tongue -
ROADBURN FESTIVAL 2026 • DAY FOUR: Sunday, April 19th
- One Last Hug With The Devil -
