(spoiler alert)
The past few days, we’ve been trying to decide whether to tell you exactly what’s going to happen at The Grand Opening or to keep it all a secret. And the Dutch expression “to make someone happy with a dead sparrow” often came to mind.
We feel we’ve got something extremely cool planned, but we don’t want to disappoint anyone and we totally understand that sometimes things are more important to us than to the rest of the world.
So, if you really like surprises and want to join The Grand Opening regardless of what we’re planning, please be at the City Stage (Stadspodium) on Thursday at 18:30h sharp. Make sure to pick up your wristband first and walk over to Grotekerkplein, where you’ll also find the statue of Erasmus.
And stop reading now.
If you want to know whether it’s worth your time and effort to join The Grand Opening, please read on…
As you know, Left of the Dial is named after a song by The Replacements. The song isn’t exactly well known, but it fits the festival perfectly. That’s why we felt it was our duty to get more versions of Left of the Dial out into the world. Our friends from Deadletter, for example, kindly covered the song at our request. Last year, we even had an old-fashioned Dutch barrel organ AND a church organ play Left of the Dial at the Grand Opening.
This year, we wanted to do something even bigger. Or rather, more public. So, we went to the one place we could think of that plays relatively loud music outdoors:
The Laurens Church.
The Laurens Church was built between 1449 and 1525. It survived the bombing of Rotterdam during the Second World War, although it was badly damaged. By the late 1960s, it had been renovated, and a carillon with 49 bells was installed.
And that carillon with 49 bells is going to play Left of the Dial on Thursday.
We totally understand if that seems a bit lame to you, but to us it’s kind of mind-blowing. We’re not the biggest festival in the world, and it may sound stupid, but having this iconic Rotterdam church play our song feels like a triumph.
After hearing the carillon play Left of the Dial, we’ll lead the way to either Arminius (to see Mên An Tol), Annabel (to see Mock Media), or Waterfront (to see Honk). Naturally, we’ll have some snacks and small presents ready to make it all feel even more Grand Opening-y.
In our minds, it’s already the Grandest of Openings, and it would mean a lot to us to see you all there.
But if it’s just us standing there crying happy tears, that’s totally fine too and we’ll just catch you at one of the other 317 official shows during the festival.
Big love,
The carillonneurs of Left of the Dial
