Only hours after our trip to London for Cage and El-P, HIYF is back again to rate the Supernatural festival! Wanna see how it went? Join us on this hip event in the outskirts of Utrecht.
With the energy and the tiredness of the previous evening still in me, I now find myself on the train heading towards Utrecht. I have never been to the Supernatural festival before, so I did not really know what to expect. I knew that it was a funk-based festival with a lot of pretty girls, but that didn’t matter to me at that moment. I had witnessed a legendary show in London the previous night, and the El-P beats were still ringing in my ear.
Getting on the shuttle bus from Utrecht Central, I saw that the rumors were true. More than half of the bus was filled with retro looking girls, and that’s always a plus. Enjoying the view of the 15 minute bus ride, I got off near the entrance of the festival and something strange hit my eyes. The entrance line for the guest list was three times longer than the normal entrance. Hmmm, were we going to have another Pharaoh Monch incident, but this time in Utrecht?
The first difficulty we ran into was the problem with the mud. (OK, this would prove to be NOTHING compared to what we would go through in the Splash festival in Germany, but still, it was bad). Squishing our way through the different areas, it struck me that the hip-hop tent/area was getting the most attention out of all. The Boemklatsch crew was spinning their records, and the people were feeling it.
Walking around the large mushy terrain, I came across a tent where a lot of blabbing was taking place. Going in, I saw that it was one of those MTV sponsored debate things with people watching and arguing about some pointless played out ultra cliché subject. Geez, I can’t believe the people who would rather stay inside and listen to some folks speak instead of going outside and checking out the scene, Crazy Dutchies. Walking around a bit more, I saw a tent where you could try out the new PSP. Laying down on a chair, I was immediately greeted by a guy with a cheesy smile telling me the specs of this thing. I kind of started walking away when he told me how much the thing actually costs, so the next object was to score some food.
Around four o clock, my stomach started speaking up which meant that it was time to eat. While it’s normal to expect prices to be a bit higher than usual at festivals, but here they were really Supernatural, and I’m talking out of this UNIVERSE prices. I think I could buy a PSP with what they charge for a simple thing… and that is when it struck me. No wonder everyone was getting in for free! These people are not making their money through the entrance fee, but more from the food stands. Argggh! I’d rather stay hungry than give in to these monopolists.
Going through the other tents, it was nice to hear some funk and other 60-70’s style music. Since this is really not my area of expertise, I’m afraid to make an intelligent comment on them. From what I did see, the people were enjoying themselves fully, so that must have been a good thing. But I’m sure I would have found some negative aspects in there anyway if I knew what I was talking about.
The “trendy feel” of the place continued when I saw that annoying MTV guy walk around and stick a microphone into everyone’s face. Funny how we, the rugged looking hiphop heads were not asked to comment upon anything, but Warhead screaming “HIPHOPINJESMOEL.COM” at the top of his lungs while some people were being interviewed was classic. Too bad they didn’t air it, those EmptyV suckers.
DJ Spinna was the first act that I was looking forward to. Warhead had already seen him at Dour, and therefore he knew what to expect. To his surprise, the set was different than the one in Belgium and it was good until, he started spinning house music. I don’t need to list all the classics he spun because it was the regulars going from KRS–ONE to House of Pain but when the American DJ started spinning house music, the only thing I could do was turn my back to it and check out the somewhat darkening sky. But as usual, the easily pleased Dutch crowd loved every second of it.
When it was time for Kurtis Blow to hit the stage, I noticed that I had spent a lot of time there in Utrecht and did not enjoy most of it. Hoping that Mr.Blow would make it better I was once again disappointed. First of all, Kurtis Blow was already in the country a year ago with the Appelsap event, so why book this man once again? OK, he is a legend and all but once he starts spitting over Grandmaster Flash beats and freestyling boring verses, it really makes it not so fun for someone who just saw Cage live the evening before. The played out “when I say x, you say x” formula and other crowd pleasers were fully in effect, and the people were rejoicing with enjoyment. Ha, I wish they had just seen “Deep Space 9mm” being performed live. So yeah, there were basically no mosh pits here, and people were putting their hands up in the sky, waiving them like they just don’t care as instructed by Kurtis Blow. If this was your first or second hiphop show, I’m sure it was fun. But for heads like me and Warhead, it did nothing to our spines.
To be totally honest, Supernatural is not the place for a hip hop head. Nothing of underground value was spun, and everybody in the place looked like they just came out of a fashion magazine. Trendy hair cuts, tight t-shirts, it was all there. Nevertheless, it would have been semi-enjoyable if the weather was a bit better, the ground wasn’t so mushy, and the food prices weren’t sky high. You won’t see me in Utrecht next year, I guarantee you that.
Fixtures:
Hoogtepunt: Mwahh, Nothing really..
Dieptepunt: Mushy ground, expensive food.
Bier: Expensive
WC: Dixie steez
Fotograferen: Yeah
Geluid: OK
Bezoekers: –
Damage: 35 Pleuros
Cijfer: 6
