Took place at Château du Karreveld on the first and second of may. A very cool looking and popular location, not only for anime cons but also for weddings and (I assume) other formal affairs, as saturday morning we crossed paths with 6-7 wedding parties.
The program was as follows:
1er MAI 2009
SCENE
-12h45: Ouverture de la scène et message de bienvenue.
-20h: Sai
SALLE REINE ELISABETH
-12h : FOD
-12h30: Blindzik
-13h : Attention à la marche !
-17h : Dial Test
-17h30 : Blindzik
LA CHAPELLE
-DDR en accès libre toute la journée.
LA GRANGE
-14h : Séance de dédicace des groupes européens.
-16h : Fureur
-18h : Remise des prix.
-19h : Next Gen
-20h : Karaoké géant
TONNELLE JEUX VIDEO
-13h: Tournoi Pokémon
2 MAI 2009
SCENE
-14h30 : Ouverture de la scène et message de bienvenue.
-14h45: Lyre
-15h30 : Concours cosplay groupe
-16h30 : Sai
-17h: Concours de chant (il se peut que le concours commence quelques minutes plus tôt ou plus tard).
-18h: Kyrielle
-19h: Ambivalence eve
-20h: Guren
-21h: Pure Q&A
SALLE REINE ELISABETH
-17h : Bulle Battle
-17h30 : Bulle Quiz
LA CHAPPELLE
-16h30 : Tournoi DDR League
Accès libre au DDR toute la journée sauf durant le tournoi évidemment.
LA GRANGE
-14h : Bj music
-14h30 : Kokoku
-15h30 : Séance de dédicace Pure Q&A
-18h : Karaoké géant
-19h : Remise des prix.
-14h: Concours cosplay individuel
-16h: Guren
-17h: Ambivalence eve
-18h: Pure Q&A
-19h: Lyre
TONNELLE JEUX VIDEO
-13h: Kyrielle
-15h: Tournoi Pokémon
In the tonnelle jeux video, aside from pokemon, you could do ParaPara, some old arcade game, a few PlayStation games (Naruto, Gundam,etc) and Guitar Hero.
In the Reigne Elisabeth room you also have a manga reading corner, grace au Club Manga du Biblioteque du Molenbeek, Origami by Belorigami, Shogi by Pasarelle Japon and Go.
Anime nation waiting to get in to Animansion
So pretty much all the activities you’d expect from such and event, with the highlights being the cosplay contests and the Pure Q&A concert. Aside from that, the activities organised by Bulle Japon are always good fun and with left over time you can always learn a new origami figure or such( at animansion I learned the butterfly and this time, the crane).
Maybe for Animansion 3rd stage they’ll incorporate more the Castel in the activities.
The first edition of the Grand Tremplin just wrapped up. The first time is seldomly perfect so it was as good as it gets.
A concerte proof of how good it was was the weather! The day was all sunny and the rain came like one hours after Jeronimo’s concert ended…and if you’ve been in Belgium you how hard it is to get such a day.
Meteo subjectivity aside, it was a wonderfull experience. The mix of music genres (from accapella to metal) was brought together by the atmosphere. Since the bands were not there to make a buck directly but to perform in front of profesionals, there was a certain solidarity and relaxation.
The choice of location matched the festival perfectly. The courtyard between the 3 concert halls at the Ferme du Biereau was heart of the festival. Backstage and VIP area both being traded for the comfort of the grass.
Despite needing a bit of guidance at the start, the public picked up the rhythm of the festival soon enough. 30 minutes recitals succeeded each other with just enough time to get from one room to another. Beer was supplied at all 3 locations to not cause long delays.
Being on the organiser side also gave me the opportunity to meet a very cool bunch of people and it also meant I didn’t get to see all the bands.
Emmanuel was the first I got to see from start to end (plus sound check 
). It was one of the most positive and warm things I’ve heard in a while. With good vibes and a guitar he made the crowd forget there was another concert they needed to rush to.
Go see for yourselves, if in Brussels, at: “Delirium cafe” on Thursday, the “Floris cafe” on Sunday and the “Courant d’Air” on Wednesday.
Bittersweet was one of those bands that just pull you in. Still chilled after Emmanuel’s recital I was drifting around the courtyard and I just wondered in the Ecuries, where they were playing. Performing one member short, they still managed to pull in a good crowd.
Gazigann I got to see before during their workshop days, and I was quite looking forward to hearing them again. I think they could have done with a bigger room as they are one loud band. But they’re a rock band and loud they should be. When mentioning Gazigann I cannot but mention their presentation” after playing separate projects for several years, in 2004 they decided to work together”. And the years of experience can be heard in their playing as they sound like a band that was been playing for over 5 years, what does it matter that they were 11 years old back then.
Finally I got to see Jeronimo playing live. And does he rock! I didn’t much know what expect as he is a very gentle manner person. It is nice how he keeps that in his music even when he is rocking out.
Pics, vids, links to follow after at least one night’s rest. Don’t forget Animansion also this weekend in Brussels.
see ya space cowboys!
1 day, 3 stages, 11 bands and 1 main act and 2 weeks of workshops.
The Grand Tremplin is meant to be much more than just a music festival. Created by the Province of Braban Wallon and the CCBW , its purpose is to help the best emerging bands in the area break through. After lengthy preselections within various other festivals the lucky few are each given specialized advice from profesionals in the buisness, during the two weeks of workshops.
The concert will take place in the coolest venue in Louvain la Neuve, La Ferme du Biereau.
So, be there and have fun !
And again:
The Bleach fillers have go from Ok to bad to downright annoying . The latest one KarakuraRaiser/Riser take us to an entire new level of idiocy and I feel it is the result of what Eddie would call “a 3am decision”.
It is a bit cute that the people that are making Bleach are Gundam 00 fans and that they decided to add a few tributes to the newly ended show.
ex:
00 Raiser/Riser ….Karakura Raiser/Riser
Kon wanting to activated his watch by saying “Trans”(…am?!)
I do know that they put Don K.whatshisface in there just to piss us off. No doubt about it. They might think of it as cute teasing, but it is NOT!
Why did they put Chizuru instead of Mizuiro in the team?
To top off the randomness:
taaaadaaaa
Bunny Arrancan
I can only count down the days untill the randomness is over.
Finally I got to go to see a theatre play. Thank you CandiUlb.
“Les Chemins de fer” is not at all bad.
The atmosphere of the time took a while to be set, thing which I place on a few extras present in the first scene which were totally now in the right century and just plain expressive. Luckily by the half of the first act all was well in acting town and everyone was in character.
If they were trying to make a point with the costumes by keeping them 90% in black and white, I totally missed that point. They could have been a bit richer.
Sets were OK. Also black and white. I do feel the director or someone was trying to make a point or something.
The music saved the show! The small live band was integrated into the set beautifully, by placing them in the dimly lit background, behind a semi transparent canvas. They could have just played the entire 2h and everyone would have been just as happy.
It’s not brilliant, life altering, philosophical, breathtaking… in other words … it’s no” The Picture of Dorian Gray” but it’s just right for a Tuesday evening, light and entertaining and since I like the 19th century quite a bit, I enjoyed the play, all in all.
I’ve come to think that the best music comes out of odd decades. For example:
the ’90s: from the “So ‘90″ VH-1 show to all the “reasons why the ’90s rocked” groups of facebook, there seems to be a general nostalgia regarding this not-so-long-departed decade. I do agree. I guess kicking off with Nirvana and G’n'R was a good start for it.
the’80s: always good for a chuckle; generally mocked on faux-rock hair bands, disco, awful fashion and the birth of corporate culture
the’70: ah the pedestal on which this decade was put. I do understand it, after reading a bit on them I do feel that atmosphere, the built-up tension that was released though music.
the ‘60: flower power and such. A stand up comedian once said “where would your record collection be without drugs”. Well, I guess in the ‘60 them where on their way to finding the right ones yet not quite there.
the ’50s: the good ‘ol rock’n'roll days, the post ward angst, the motorcycles, the rebellion
etc
Yes, the Beatles, the Stones, Elvis, etc. there were bands that transcended decades yet I do feel the odd decades are much “cooler” and celebrated than the even ones.
Which brings me to now: the first decade of the XXI century is almost over. Undeniably, there was good music yet no revolution was propelled by it.
Like the ’90s had a “rocking” start I think this decade debuted with nostalgia, at least in cinematography: Almost Famous, Rock star, Velvet Goldmine (yes, one year before the millennium but close enough). I’ve heard so many lectures in the past few years on the glory of decades past and the superficial junk which covers today. Also, so much retro was pack into the last few years of fashion. ’nuff said.
I do hope that these times will find their own identity and yet I fear it will be based on … world music.
See you space cowboy…
The weather here is insane.
Yesterday the day kicked off with a warm sunny morning and concluded with 2 hale storms 
.
