[Report] Intents Festival: The Harder Styles (NL)

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I'm not much of a party-goer, I attend maybe two festivals a year. It's not that I don't like it, I just have my priorities. Besides that, me and my friends usually don't agree on what party to go to. There is however one festival I didn't skip once over the six past years: Intents Festival. Well, to be honest: Except for the name, Intents Festival is completely different than what it was back then. Over the last few years organizer De Kloontjes knew to turn a village festival starring some Dutch folk singers into one of the biggest Hard Dance festivals in The Netherlands (and therefore the world). The only familiar name on the 2006 Intents poster is MC Apster. Back then he hosted the event standing next to headliner Marcel Woods, this year he shared the stage with names like Partyraiser, Art of Fighters and Unexist. Times change. But enough history, let the magic begin!

Around 2.00 PM we arrived at Oisterwijk station. In front of the station the free shuttle bus was already waiting, it took us to the festival ground in about 5 minutes. The shuttle bus service is great, the only thing is that the last bus back to the station departs before the event is over. But hey, it's free. When we got to the entrance we realized that we weren't exactly in yet, there was a major line. After half an hour we finally got through the security and got ourselves some tokens. It's time to get this party started!

Oh, and I think it's best to mention this right away: We mainly stood at the main stage. If you're looking for a report of the DJ's playing at one of the other stages, this isn't the party report for you I'm afraid.

When we walked up to the "Mysterious Magic" main stage, Isaac had just started his set. The main stage was decorated with two big hands holding playing cards. We were certain that we would see some magic happening there later on in the day. We decided to get a nice cold beer first (no waiting at the bar, nice!) and take a quick tour around the festival. All the stages were built around one central court where people could chill in one of the lounge sofas.
The first area we encountered was the Black Magic tent, here Tommyknocker already got the place cracking. Hanging up on the ceiling was a big skull and all across the stage there were tombstones, some of them naming the DJ's performing. It all looked really cozy but after embarrassing ourselves trying to "blend in", we moved on.
Next up was the Magical Insanity tent. Last year they got the entire outdoor area for themselves but unfortunately this year all they had was a small tent. It felt a bit tucked away and the place could have been busier. Anyway, later on we would return here from time to time, surprising ourselves with what was playing.
The final area was the Scantraxx "Magical Illusions" tent. The first thing I noticed was that the sound here wasn't great. You could still hear the main stage and hardcore tent from there. However one of the coolest things about this area is that it was broadcast live on YouTube. I think this is a great achievement by both the organization and Scantraxx and I hope to see this more in the future (preferably at parties I'm not already attending).

After our tour we returned to the main stage where we stayed almost all day. We saw the Psyko Punkz coming by, doing what they do best: They played some of their hits like BassBoom, Dirty Soundz and Pull Your Strings 2011. It really set the mood and it was great to hear these tracks under the blazing hot sun. Meanwhile, I was really looking forward to AVIO Live, they always give their shows an extra touch with custom intros etc. Besides that I just love their unique sound. Also this time they didn't disappoint me. Starting off with a special edit of Alphaverbs' The Greatest Show On Earth remix, for me the fist pumping could really begin. Again I noticed the sound wasn't always great, it could be due to the wind but I'm used to better from De Kloontjes.

After Alphaverb & Intractable One, it was Deepacks' turn to climb the wheels of steel. However, we felt it was time get something in our stomachs. We headed off to the food stands. The organizers created a nice food court with lots of different foods to choose from (hamburgers, fries, kebab, sandwiches, smoothies, ...). Even though we weren't the only ones who decided to go eat something, it didn't take long before I was standing with a burger in one hand and fries in the other.

Back at the main stage it was time to put the pedal to the metal. First up: Crypsis! Wow, this guy knows how to get things going. I've been a fan of his productions for a long time but I hadn't seen him perform yet. The only downside of his performance is that that would be as hard and raw as it would get. It was Zatox who had the heavy duty to live up to the previous set. Fortunately this Italian legend knows how to keep the crowd going. The man is immensely popular nowadays and the public really showed their appreciation. With tracks like To The Top, The Future, Oldskool and the Tanz Electrik remix, what did you expect?
After the Italian tour, B-Front picked up where Zatox left off. Again the crowd went mad. I think there must be some great shots in the aftermovie of everyone jumping up at once. The atmosphere was just great!
The Fusion-madness wasn't over yet: The time had come for the Donkey Rollers. Their shows are just pure craziness. This is gonna be legen- .... wait for it...

I want to make use of this moment by brining up one little issue. As mentioned before, it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and it was close to 30 degrees Celsius. I was pretty much thirsty all the time. However, there wasn't any water at the toilets (at least not drinkable) and a bottle of water cost €5,-. I know such a price isn't uncommon at festivals, but still...

DARY!!!
These guys turned the party into a blast. If you were there and you didn't jump up and down like crazy during their act, then I'm sorry but it is you. They know how to play the crowd, they really put down a show, that combined with some sick tunes is just awesome! They took an advance on the closing show by letting the people create their own firework (made by carton): goosebumps.

After the set of the Donkey Rollers I really felt like it was over, it was the moment supreme for me. However, we still had the Noisecontrollers and D-Block & S-te-Fan to go. I think both of them make great music but after all this violence, it kinda lost its impact. They created a lot of hands-up-in-the-air moments and that would have been fun in the afternoon, but by now I just wanted to go harder. It's a common problem at parties: the biggest names need to close the event. I think it's sad that organizations won't change their attitude towards this. I know for example that I would have loved to hear all the Digital Age stuff come by, just not at that time. Luckily by the time the anthem was played, everyone livened up again, creating one more great moment. The end show was fun but I don't understand why they didn't put a DJ up there, even if it's just for appearance.

To conclude: I'm not sure if it was magical but I had a great, fun day. The crowd was amazing I think, everyone joined in. The organization arranged everything very well, they've put down a great line-up and all that for a relatively small price. The sound wasn't always great but it didn't suppress the enjoyment. I could really recommend this party. It's rare that a small organization like De Kloontjes knows how to put something like this together, great respect! All that's left for me to say is: See you next year! Oh, and by the way, check out the aftermovie teaser.