Hot Press’ feet took a battering again but despite all the pavement pounding and at times torrential rain, Day Two of Eurosonic was another cracker that started with an early afternoon chat to Richard Bolhuis, the House Of Cosy Cushions’ mainman who told us about the city’s communist leanings and explained how the Dutch D-I-Y scene bolts together. Apparently some of the best gigs are to be found in squats, which Holland’s new rightist government is trying to outlaw. Richard and his trusty guitar were having their photo taken by Hot Press in front of Groningen’s answer to Whelan’s, Vera, when he was approached by a man from Italian state radio and asked if he’d like to go upstairs to their makeshift studio and play a couple of tunes. Result! Incidentally, House Of Cosy Cushions have a new single and Irish tour planned for March.
Vera was also home for the week to RTÉ 2fm who were occupying the same space that John Peel used when he broadcast his BBC show from Eurosonic. The resident Dutch technician, Henk, explained how they had to smuggle Peely in and out of the building to avoid over-zealous fans and CD-touting bands. The DJ spent his Groningen downtime searching through the bins in Happy Daze - a High Fidelity-style record shop, which left Team Hot Press a couple of hundred euro worse off this week. We are however returning home with some fabulous 180 gram White Lies, Nirvana, Tom Waits and Bruce Springsteen vinyl.
Dan Hegarty celebrated his birthday on air with a live set from James Vincent McMorrow who stuffed the Grand Theatre’s sit-down loft venue. Pouring his own tea from a pot and enthusing about how great Clare Maguire had been downstairs earlier in the night – he’s an excellent judge of talent – McMorrow charmed the pants off the mainly local crowd who’d queued for up to half-an-hour to see him. Dan signed off from Eurosonic with three songs from White Lies who were back at the festival having played their very first overseas show there in 2009.
Before treating a rammed 3FM tent to a nine-song set that climaxed with an almost Ramones-y take on ‘Death’, the band had over a couple of fine Dutch beers told us about working with Nine Inch Nails producer Alan Moulder, the fab time they had at last summer’s Indiependence festival in Mitchelstown and the cases of champagne and Guinness Bono sent them when they supported Coldplay in the Phoenix Park so they could make themselves Black Velvets. We also got some seriously mean ‘n’ moody shots of the trio, which you’ll be seeing in our next issue.
More quality time was spent with Brother, the much-touted Slough gritpoppers – their description, not ours – who had their own tales to tell about working with Stephen Street, being dissed by Liam Gallagher and running into Mick Jones and Pete Doherty of a Saturday afternoon at QPR.
We also got to check out a truckload of acts – Anna Calvi, Sacred Animals, Yuck, Retro Stefson, Youthless, De Staat, My Awesome Mixtape and the aforementioned Clare Maguire among them – who we’ll be telling you about in our next issue. To whet your appetites, we’ve a gallery of live shots - check them out our pics here.

Our Eurosonic stay was made all the more pleasurable by getting to hang out with 2fm producer Ian Wilson whose enthusiasm for the event is contagious, manager of The Coronas Jim Lawless who’s looking forward to the band’s European tour with The Script, Indiependence majordomo Shane Dunne, Alexis Vokos from Delphi Records, First Music Contact’s Angela Dorgan, Nikki and Clare from Global Publicity, Universal Holland’s Laura Kiesow and some seriously lovely Dutch punters. Bedankt, tot ziens and see you all next year!

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Darling Buds of May (Demo) by BROTHERslough