Krezip and Pinkpop are inextricably linked. The band from Tilburg broke through there in 2000, made a comeback in 2019 and is now doing one of the last shows with their drummer. “It felt like a solemn moment,” says the band.
“It was almost as if I was going to experience my wedding day, just before we went on stage,” says singer Jacqueline Govaert to NU.nl after the show.
The performance is loaded in several ways for the Tilburg band. It is not only an anniversary but also one of the last shows they will play with drummer Bram van der Berg. He has been playing with U2 recently and has only just reunited with Krezip. Now he is definitively saying goodbye after their Ziggo Dome concert in November.
That is also reflected on the stage. The band starts Lost Without You after Govaert puts him in the spotlight. “The drummer is the base of the band, so you notice the difference when you play with someone else. It was great to have him back. Occasionally I turned around and saw him sitting there. He always radiates such confidence and peace,” says Govaert.
During the last song of their seventh Pinkpop show, Sweet Goodbyes, not only the audience can’t keep it completely dry. “When I stood next to Bram for a moment, I also shed a little tear,” admits Govaert. “But we are now seasoned in saying goodbye,” says keyboardist Annelies Kuijsters laughing.
Krezip – I Would Stay
‘The guestbook had completely exploded’
When Krezip is booked for Pinkpop for the first time in 2000, they are not yet known nationally, but they have already gathered some fans thanks to live performances. A few weeks after their performance at the festival, I Would Stay suddenly tops the charts, the start of a successful career. The images of the crowd at their show are used for the music video of the song. The clip is unmissable on TMF.
But what do Govaert and Kuijsters still know about that performance? “How tense we were was really not normal. We were completely tight and very serious. And everything went wrong. We only really loosened up a bit at the end,” they look back.
The realization that their show has made a big impact only comes the day after when it is broadcast on television. “When we saw the images back, we had tears in our eyes. We then looked in the guestbook of the website and it had completely exploded.”
If the members of Krezip could give themselves advice from the past, they would advise themselves to have a little more fun. “Of course, that perfectionism has also ensured that we have come this far, but I recently saw the images back from Pinkpop 2003. I thought: have some fun. We were so serious, everything had to be good. Now we also know: if something goes wrong once, it will be okay again. Above all, enjoy it a bit.”
‘Sweating is part of it’
Govaert also notices today that a small mistake can happen when she briefly forgets the lyrics of their new single Shot In The Dark. That was not immediately noticeable in the audience. “The high notes at the end went well, so it felt good,” says Govaert.
Krezip hasn’t forgotten how to rock either. When the band starts All Unsaid from their first album, Govaert takes a tour of the audience and there is a lot of jumping there. “That sweating is part of it and only makes it better,” says Kuijsters about the heat in Landgraaf. “That’s how a show should be.”
The band chooses a subdued ending with, in addition to Sweet Goodbyes, also I Would Stay, which is sung along loudly by the full field. Another special Pinkpop memory for the band. The fans also have plenty of them. Govaert: “I just ran into two people who met during our Pinkpop show in 2009. They have been together for sixteen years now. How nice is that!”