Shoeless Open Air 2010

Written by Thijs van Dun

Shoeless; the only party where you leave besides your jacket, your shoes behind at the entrance. It all started out as a joke by a group of friends and music lovers alike back in 2007; a party where everybody dances shoeless.

 

In the past few years Shoeless has become a constant factor in the Amsterdam partyscene. And due to the fact that the last two Open Air editions were both sold out Shoeless had to move to a bigger venue. Last Saturday saw Shoeless Open Air 2010 premiere at this new location; the 'Rijk van de Keizer'. The venue just outside of Amsterdam, is a small location which is suitable for all kinds of events. Around 1500 people visited the 2010 Open Air edition and, again, this party was sold out!

As we entered the festival site the organization really insisted on everybody taking their shoes off. So everybody put them in the lockers, hung them around their necks or just wore flip-flops, since these were allowed. There where three areas, the big amphitheatre, a chill area at the water and a market place. A nice and cozy venue, which created a perfect flow of visitors between the three areas. The bar area wasn't too crowded either which resulted in a quick refreshment anytime you needed it.

The BeatsandBeyond crew checked out Oliver Weiter's set. He played a mix of melodic techno and uplifting minimal music and carefully chose his music and moved the crowd. He must have had a awesome view from his DJ-booth looking out over the amfi-theatre and seeing everybody going wild on Joris Voorn's banger 'The Secret'! The last two hours the energy level quadrupled. No doubt about that!

But than, it was almost around ten 'o clock, the last record was being played. The MC thanked everybody for coming, and asked the DJ to play the very last record. Oliver Weiter had to choose his encore. A minimal version of Inner City's 'Good Life', did the job outstanding. We might have preferred the techno edit, but for the closure of this festival the minimal version of this awesome hit was a perfect choice.

The whole festival had a very nice vibe, good music and an even better crowd! We've read on other websites that Shoeless can be addictive. Once you go, you'll never miss another one! We can most definitely confirm that one, we'll be back next year! The Shoeless organization did an amazing job in creating a perfect festival, thumbs up!

← Loveland Festival 2010		Gil Scott Heron @ Somerset House, London →

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