Last night I packed up my camera and headed on over to the Paradiso to check out the talents of the young Patrick Wolf, and I’ll certainly say one thing for him, he has some serious stage presence!

As you might expect from a typical Wolf gig he managed to go to town on a wide variety of instruments including the ukulele, piano and viola making the evening a veritable smorgasbord of musical diversity. Interestingly enough whilst performing his final song he even managed to slip out for a full costume change before running back out on stage to the applause of his adoring fans.

For those of you who are new to Patrick, he’s well known for combining electronic sampling with classical instruments, Wolf’s styles range from Romantic folk to techno-pop.

Firstly, I have to admit Grace Jones was not my list of things to see and it was a toss up between seeing her and The Artic Monkeys who I have heard put on a pretty amazing live show. But as bad as this sounds I chose to Grace Jones purely because I had exhausted my veto rights and Olly (not Dolly, but Olly for Olga, the better half of Rogers) had a few left to spare. And as much as I don’t want to admit it, she was right. For me it was the performance of the festival and a reminder that nothing beats pure talent. Another example of talent shining through is Them Crooked Vultures. I know this is the second post in a row that includes them but they again proved that they are worth the hype. Another group that really impressed me was Fever Ray. Their show was like watching that scene in Close Encounters of the Third Kind where the aliens landed, performed, then flew away.

Also, next time your at a festival in Holland please think of the zwervers and don’t crush your cups.

Just when I had given up on rock these two pearlers come along that you must check out. The Dead Weather includes members of  The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Kills and Queens of the Stone Age. The clip for Treat Me Like Your Mother is awesome! Think it can’t get any better? Think again. I’m of to see Them Crooked Vultures tonight. Members are Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age and Eagles of Death Metal, Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters and Nirvana, and John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin.

PS. It’s now the next day and I have to say that Them Crooked Vultures were amazing! Go see them if you get the chance.

I just logged onto the The Age to see the headline “Rise and Rise of the Empire” referring to Empire of the Sun topping the charts around the world. Their debut album has been playing here at Dolly Rogers HQ for about a year now and we are huge fans of this Australian duo and we thought we should tell you about their other two bands. The Sleepy Jackson have been around for ages and have released some brilliant albums that forecast the sound of bands like MGMT. Pnau hail from Sydney and have been THE dance act in Australia for about the past five years. I remember sneaking into one of their gigs years ago and loving every second of it. If you live in the UK send me an email and I’ll send you an invite for Spotify.

The KlankKleurFestival is one of my favourite weekends in Amsterdam. A bi-yearly celebration devoted to sound and colour ~ and the colour of sound.

You can experience everything from Beethoven sonatas to a performing balloon orchestra.   A collective of more than 50 artists and musicians come together and create a unique fusion of music, art, performance and sound experiences ~ packaged in a colourful collage of mixed media.

I will be there as the official festival photographer, documenting the events on stage and behind the scenes. If you’ve never been to a KlankKleurFestival, make sure you don’t wait another two years to experience it! Check out the festival program at www.klankkleurfestival.nl

THURSDAY 11 JUNE – SUNDAY 14 JUNE, Uilenburger Synagoge, Nieuwe Uilenburgerstraat 91, Amsterdam.