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Looking for this year's festival info? Follow the link below:
Heineken Opener Festival 2007!
Yes it’s that time of year! The Heineken Opener Festival in Gdynia is nearly upon us – and what a year it promises to be in 2006! Previous events have seen the likes of Chemical Brothers, Cassius, Massive Attack, Fatboy Slim, White Stripes and even Snoop Doggy Dog grace the shores of the Tri-City, but this year the line-up looks stronger than ever, with an amazing variety of top international dance, rock and pop artists being supported by Poland’s finest acts. Check below to see who’s coming…
July 6th
Placebo
The original Nancy Boys have been thrilling their fans since time immemorial with their distinctive brand of synth rock. The fact that they are still going strong after six albums is a testament to the power of their song-writing. Charismatic lead man, Brian Molko, is an icon and sex symbol for depressed teenagers everywhere, but we at Gdansk Life will be more interested in jumping up and down to the meaty guitar riffs of this British uber-band.
Manu Chao
The global phenomenon that is Manu Chao (real name Jose-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao) will be bringing the Latin spirit to the Baltic Coast on the opening day of the festival. His brand of modern acoustic sounds has converted people who normally run a mile at the mention of folk music!
Pharell Williams
The enigmatic American R’n’B is a curious, but welcome addition to a festival dominated by indie, electro and dance sounds. Expect plenty of fainting girls as the Neptunes front man does his solo thing… “You’re beautiful… I want you to know, you’re my favourite girl.”
Matthew Herbert
The musically-savvy amongst you will already know about Matthew Herbert, most famous for his production work with Roisin Murphy of Moloko. The ‘sampling wizard’ will be enthralling Gdynia with some electro magic come July!
July 7th
Franz Ferdinand
Their second album may not have had the impact of their first self-titled effort, but Franz Ferdinand are still the big draw of Opener 2006 – and anyone who’s had the privelege of seeing them live will know why! The boys from Glasgow certainly know how to rock and when the first notes of 'Take Me Out' are played there’s no doubt about it – the crowd will go wild!
Sigur Ros
Musos everywhere are fighting each other right now over who ‘discovered’ Sigur Ros first, whilst frantically buying up their back catalogue. Whilst they have been going since 1994 they only made it big in 2000 after record labels from the UK and the US managed to attain their illustrious signatures. Achingly beautiful, albeit haunting, melodies mean that the geezers (or should that be geysers?) from Iceland will have you asking “Bjork who?” half way through the first track of their set.
Scissor Sisters
“Some of the Scissor Sisters are gay,” according to front man Jake Shears, which seems like a bit of an understatement considering this ultra-hip outfit’s penchant for cross-dressing and generally mincing around. Their self-titled album was the soundtrack of the summer of 2004 and we at Gdansk Life can’t wait to feel two years younger this July. Please heed a Gdansk Life warning however: if you see a grown man crying during “Mary”, whatever you do DO NOT ask him to tell you his story…
Cold Cut
Proving that dance acts never die, the English duo are enjoying a golden autumn in their career as house and electro kids flock to pay homage to those original pioneers. Expect something special.
Ladytron
Wow, these guys aren’t even a main act, and the Gdansk Life team would willingly sacrifice our left hands to go and see them (...well, we need our right hand for our sex life). Ladyton are officially THE coolest band on the planet, meaning Gdynia is going to be rocked by some of the best 80s-influenced electro grooves and deeply ironic vocals they’ve ever heard!
July 8th
Basement Jaxx
Big up the South London masseeve! Yes, yes y’all, the best dance act IN THE WORLD is coming to Poland rocking you Brixton stylee. But enough street talk – these boys are simply the best, most innovative, most funky band around and keep going from strength to strength. If they don’t have you exclaiming “Oh my gosh!” in seconds we’ll personally refund the price of your tickets (Editor's disclaimer: no we won’t).
The Streets
One London act not enough for you – we don’t blame you. Enter South London’s second finest! Part poet, part musician The Streets tells it like it is, and gets ‘nuff respect for it. One of the Gdansk Life team has even run into old Micky Skinner in a South London bar, and we can truthfully say he’s a right diamond geezer! Big up to Beckenham, Bromley, Brixton and Birmingham!
Kanye West
The Opener Festivals second hip hop act (if Pharrell squeezes into that category), Mr. West has won worldwide critical acclaim plus all sorts of American awards that we don’t know anything about. He’s worth it too – a killer style, thoughtful lyrics and polished production means that Kanye isn’t just the latest flash in the pan from the US.
Groove Armada
Jump on board the Groove Armada for a guaranteed great day out. These guys are festival pros and can get even the sober/unintoxicated festival-goers going wild on the dancefloor (viz. patch of muddy grass). “Shak’in that ass” is without doubt the most annoying song they’ve ever produced - but if the sexy Polish girls follow suit we won’t be complaining!
Roger Sanchez
Rounding off the Heineken Opener 2006 in style will be none other than cheesy house impressario Roger Sanchez. If you’ve got any drugs left now’s the time to take them and go wild to the tracks laid down by the DJ from NYC. Little known fact - Roger’s greatest hit ‘Another Chance’ uses a sample from Toto’s ‘I won’t hold you back’. (Incidentally does anyone else think Mr. Sanchez looks and sounds exactly like Armand Van Helden?)
Event details
The action will take place from 6th-8th July at the airport Babie Doly in Gdynia, with a free bus service shuttling punters every half hour from the main train station. Tickets are a snip at 249 zloty for three days, or 149 for a one-dayer. Last year all the tickets sold out so get yours now at the Opener Festival official website www.opener.pl
See you there!
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