Extrema Outdoor 2010

Written by the B&B Crew

With this year's edition being the 15th, Extrema Outdoor is one of the oldest dance music festivals in The Netherlands. What once started out as a single-stage with just a handful of local ravers affair has anno 2010 evolved into a gathering attracting 50,000 visitors, dancing their asses off to the world's biggest jocks. BnB was present on that sunny day on July 17th, 2010. Here's what we experienced.

For its 15th anniversary, the organization went that extra mile to get the best of the best in terms of artists, decoration, and its famous end show. The result was a line-up including some of the world's finest acts spread across 10 stages featuring the likes of John Digweed, Sven Vath, Tobi Neumann, Steve Lawler, Josh Wink, Steve Bug, Wally Lopez, Danny Howells, Guy J, and Sneak to name but a few. No wonder the festival was completely sold out. And for some reason Extrema is favored by the weather gods, given the fact that every edition bathes in sunlight.

However, one of Extrema's recurring problems every year is the immense crowd at the main stage. This year this was once again a major issue even though the area was moved to the far back of the site. Last year's position was now covered by another huge stage, making it a tough task to get from one side to another. Of course there were two other routes, but for one of them you had to go to the very edge of the terrain and take the bridge, and the other route incorporated a toilet area which led to another traffic jam. The only option was to break through the crowd and hope for the best. That didn't ruin or day though, 'cuz that's what you get at events the size of a small village.

Erik : "After a quick entry we took care of all the usual festival affairs during which we did not encounter any real queues. The wait? Lockers: 5 minutes tops. Drink tokens: Likewise. A tasty sandwich? Less than 2 minutes (that doesn't say anything about the quality of food, it was delicious). Good stuff. The first area we visited was the Cocoon area where Egbert was just finishing his live set. We only caught a glimpse of it but all sounded pretty damn nice. After Egbert it was Dubfire who took over. Even though he started with a lower tempo then Egbert, his set immediately grabbed me. The deep bass, and ongoing groove got me dancing right from the start. The sound in the Cocoon tent though was horrendous. Sure, letting some food stand outside of the area having its own sound system is nice and all, but not when its sound reaches the front rows of the Cocoon tent. Or is it normal that a small Bagel & Juice stage has its volume turned up higher than Sven Vath?"

Youri: "No. No it's not. And yes, getting in was easy. And upon entering, the event immediately revealed its grandeur. Palmtrees, giant statues, nicely decorated stages, subtle decoration details... awesome. We first went to see Estroe at the Cocoon stage, who delivered a very enjoyable mellow set after which we visited Benny Rodrigues over at the Ovum stage. The man dropped a smooth blend of house and techno, but we soon enough moved to the RAUW stage where A-Trak was supposed to play. He showed up no less than 45 minutes late by which we got to see an extended set by Tommie 'man looks like a hardrocker' Sunshine. Soaring, devastating electrohouse is the man's game, but in between those distorted synths he cheekily squeezed in AC/DC's Highway To Hell too. Fists were raised, over there at the waterside let me tell you that. A-Trak couldn't really live up to the expectations, but it was about time to head over to the Cocoon stage anyway. 16.30: Sven Vath.

Estroe Extrema Outdoor July2010 by estroe

Erik: Indeed, time to check out that crazy German raver. Unfortunately, Sven didn't rock it as hard as we'd expected now did he? A mish mash of monotone beats and cheesy techno tunes marked at least 60% of his set, and I got the idea that the crowd wasn't really feeling it either."

Youri: "Agreed. Too bad you didn't hang around longer to check out Extrawelt. Man, that first track alone... wow, just wow. Ace performance, one of the day's highlights. Great to see that dark, filthy, smokey tent going loco to the deep, mysterious sound of these boys. Genius.

"Whereas Extrema was once renowned for its extremely diverse lineup, it seems as if the focus over the years has gotten more towards electrohouse. At least that's what I heard pretty much all day long. And by electrohouse we mean both that dreadful 'handbag house' type as the more hardrocking side of things. But it's still electrohouse. "

Erik: "Then again, Extrema is also known as one of the very few Dutch festivals who dare to add a progressive house lineup to its roster. And that was quite something now wasn't it? Marco Bailey dropped some filthy tech and progressive bombs. You already mentioned that great gig by Estroe. Now Danny Howells really rocked the roof too. And that end gig by John Digweed. Seriously man, best set of the day. Deep proggy choons, some acid nastiness in between... and that incredible vibe with people just not being able to stand still. Woah."

Youri: "Yeah, Digweed was the man of the match. Downright awesome performance, a great gig that definitely met expectations. It did remind me of that Extrema gig of his back in '05 or '06. Good times... Anyway, that Bedrock stage had that fantastic vibe, great decoration inside with all those visuals, and a fantastic place to hang out and enjoy a beer or two in the shadow. Definitely the best place of the festival"

Erik: Did I already mention the madness going on in Steve Lawler's Viva tent? The sexy, soulful, steamy and hypnotizing tunes in there were among the best of the day. Audiofly, M.A.N.D.Y. and Steve Lawler all made it into my Top 5 of this year's Extrema... only topped by John Digweed's closing set.

Youri: "John Digweed and Extrawelt really did it for me. I didn't hear that much exciting other than those two, but I don't really care to be honest. Why not, you ask? Because I don't go to Extrema for the music. The reason why I have been going for the past, what is it, 7 years now is its vibe, the fantastic mellow super-summerish atmosphere that seems to get better by the year. No one could have swiped that grin of my face when I stood barefooted in the water with a chilled Mojito surrounded by friends. That's what Extrema is to me. Sun. Fun. A perfect day to both chill down AND listen to electronic grooves. And let's face it, isn't that what it's all about? "

Erik: Be that as it may, but don't you agree that that hyped fireworks show, which was said to be Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious brilliant let just a little bit down? Seeing 50,000 people enjoying the end show at the waterside is great, but I expected more of it after all those stories."

Youri: "Absolutely, although I have to add that it greatly depended on where you were standing around the lake. Some elements of the show only came to life when you were on the right beach."

Erik: "Nonetheless, Extrema Outdoor 2010 has been a very well organized event with a great variety of rocking and not-so-rocking DJs, but overall speaking we must say that Extrema Outdoor, even after all those years, still is one of those quintessential summer visits. Praise where praise is due."

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