Kmeron, our home photographer, managed to process the hundreds and hundreds of pictures he took during his 4 day stay at the Dour Festival, so it’s about time we present our experience of Lefto’s stage.

The day didn’t quite start off in the way we hoped for but since making a fuzz wouldn’t improve the situation, I just went with it. After seeing a train depart in front of my nose and wi-fi-ing for an hour in Brussels Central Station I arrived at Saint-Ghislain, where I got into a pleasant conversation with a friendly guy who turned out to be going to Dour just because his friends were there. If he wanted to see anything in particular? “Nah, not really… It’s just about the vibe.” Always interesting. Damage at that point? Missed Pablo Andres and Crown City Rockers (the latter hurt). Didn’t get feedback on Pablo but CCRockers put on a solid performance… or so I was told by many. Luckily Kmeron was already present to serve you some images.

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Meanwhile, I was making my way to the entrance as fast as I could. Would someone please explain why the ‘merchandise village’ was now put up before the entrance, extending our route by 3 to 400 meters? Please give me the choice whether to waste time on strolling by the same old festival merchants… Luckily, the service at the entrance was on point. Name on the list: check, bracelet: check.

Pulled a little sprint to Lefto’s stage and saw about 400 people enjoying Breakestra & Chali2na. Time to focus. Hook up with Lefto, check the premises and see where I could position myself best to collect some reactions by the artists after their performance. Approach fronstage-fence, show bracelet, passed… almost… “Ow excuse me sir! Could I see that bracelet again?” “Of course sir, it’s Press” “Yes it is, but it’s a number 5…” “Pardon?” “You need at least a number 8 or a frontstage pass to pass the fences.” So there I was. Flashmic ready, headphones ready, all focused… but no access. So off I went to the Press Village. Positive note: Kmeron did receive his needed frontstage pass right away so let us present his view on the show.

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Found out that there was no other pass waiting for me. Best option: write down phone numbers of managers and then ask them if their ‘clients’ would have 5 minutes for us. In short: not exactly what we had planned. I sent a mail quickly explaining things, waited a bit for a response but not willing to miss another gig. Time came to catch Mayer Hawthorne so I left the pass issue aside and went to enjoy some music. To me personally Mayer and The County played one of their best shows I saw so far. I’m talking tight, well balanced setlist, right amount of interaction… On the other hand, you need to see Mayer in a club, which works so much better for his personality.

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Next on the menu was Bilal. I admit that the neo-soul label was present in my head since I was familiar with his debut album and some collabos. His second and shelved album ‘Love for Sale’, didn’t reach my ears yet. I can keep this one really short. Bilal’s performance was utterly amazing. Outside the box, full force, edgy and… pretty darn rocking. I for one was mind blown.

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After Bilal’s performance I paid a quick visit to the press village and checked my mail. “Frontstage pass at my disposal”. Problem solved. Back to Lefto’s where I saw the second half of Lee Fields’ show. The man just did what he, rightfully so, is madly respected for. Giving himself to the very last bit, keeping the true vibe of funk and soul music alive. The Expressions hail from the same stable as The Dap Kings, The Sugarman Three, Menahan Street Band,… so you know we’re talking rock solid grooves.

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Afterwards, the man himself was kind enough to free some minutes and answer some questions I posed. A humble and energetic man with a lot of passion to share.

Witnessed a bit of De La Soul on the main stage. No surprises but if you want a massive and diverse crowd, age 14 to 50, to enjoy hiphop, De La still is your A-Team.

Time for other legends: Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth. Great to see how C.L. was focusing sidestage. They were really readying themselves to make a mark. Quick pep talk with Pete and off they went to set the stage on fire. Honestly, I did see better musical performances before, but then again, few hiphop gigs ever made it to my top ‘experiences’. But make no mistake, take their back catalogue, their energy and a crowd that was more than ready to rock and you have a Dour highlight right there. No surprise either T.R.O.Y. rounded up the show, delivering the anticipated climax.

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Traded Exile for Gentleman, who played the crowd with classics from Journey To Jah and newer material, which sounded rather poppy. Nonetheless, the man is a great performer and does know how to put together a dynamic show. Kmeron was present at Exile though, who got Raashan Ahmad to back him up since Fashawn didn’t make it.

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To finish the day, I headed back to Lefto’s stage to see Débruit, one of the most interesting producers who’s sound reached me early 2009. From downtempo, wobbly, hard hitting breaks to uplifting four to the floor tracks with a twist, this guy showed he’s clearly having fun doing his own thing. And with ease, those good vibes were transferred to the crowd, ready to party.

After his set I asked him for 5 minutes of his time, if he felt like it that was, and ended up spending over 30 min. with this enthusiastic, friendly and funny guy. After talking about his background, approach, influences, etc. there was nothing left but to thank him.

After almost an hour of Lefto & Simbad freestyling back to back, I had the opportunity to hop in a car heading to Brussels and I decided to play it safe… Thanks again to Dour Festival (Claire, Flore and Juliette) & Lefto for organizing one the most adventurous festivals in Europe and having us there!

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