Review: London Calling

Source: Paradiso

A while ago, I was in Paradiso, for the widely known London Calling event. On this event, many young and talented artists gather to perform their songs - for an overall hipsterish crowd - in the hopes of getting a bit more famous. Nowadays, most of the bands on the stage are already quite wellknown within that same hispsterish crowd, so success is guaranteed. I am no exception to this: one of the headliners on saturday, MS MR, was one of my favourite bands, so they were the main reason I bought a ticket.


What is London Calling? As I mentioned before, the acts are all young, promising, aspiring. It used to be an all-UK party (hence the name), but nowadays, it's a party for everyone with talent. The creators of London Calling have an eye for what's good: names like Florence and the Machine, Tame Impala, The XX, The Editors, Two Door Cinema Club, Foster the People, The Kooks, Kaiser Chiefs, Damien Rice... they've all been in that sweet, sweet Paradiso.

This year, my favourites were The Dodos, Papa, Outfit (I'll write a piece about them later), London Grammar (this is a must-listen. Will write about them later on, too), Ball Park Music and of course MS MR. They're all different, which is probably why I like them so much. But even when you don't know any of the bands performing, London Calling is an event everyone should have been at least once in his or her life. The atmosphere is relaxed, easy-going: if you want to be in the front at one particular act, there is plenty of room to do so. There is enough time between shows to get from one stage to another (and if you don't want to move, that's okay as well), the drinks are not too expensive (not too cheap, either, sadly). If you don't like the music, comfort yourself in knowing that they'll be gone within half an hour. If you do like the music, try and talk to them after their gig (that's how I got the plectrum of the guitarist of Outfit!) and see if you can get in touch with them later on. Some of the bands go to the merchandise stand and have a beer (the artists' entrance is next to the merch)

In short, if you want to go to a festival, but don't have enough money for Lowlands, Pinkpop or Best Kept Secret, simply go to London Calling. It's not that big, there aren't too many artists, but you'll be one of the lucky few to see and hear the bands of next season, for a more than reasonable price, before they're big and expensive. It's the ultimate opportunity to get your share of musical amusement - and all of that in the wonderful concert hall Paradiso. What's not to love about London Calling?