I had never been to the Lief Festival before but had bought early bird tickets months before. The big day came and I was really looking forward to it. After taking the train and a shuttle bus I arrived at the festival terrein where a line of people were waiting to get in. I felt excited anticipation as I saw the tents and stages across the lake and heard the music from the distance. Behind the festival grounds was pasture land. After having my purse checked by security I headed for the locker box near the entrance to stow my jacket and rain poncho.
 
The first thing I passed was a surprising bright pink and white painted mini caravan which served as the Rebellion Underground stage on the lake. Van Meeteren and Hyde were listed on the program as performing there. I was too eager to see the rest of the festival grounds to stop and listen. There were some booths selling T shirts and other merchandise at the beginning as well. Then I passed the tent which was named the Hectic Eclectic Forest. I could not see any resemblance to a forest but OK... I peeked in and saw Jeroenski was spinning funk but continued on. I was disappointed that I had arrived later than I had planned and had just missed Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano on the main stage. They are on my short list of favorite DJs I follow (as opposed to my long list of DJs whose music I like). So after buying tokens for food and drinks, I headed for the the Solid Grooves Techno stage. On the way I passed the Lief and Super Sunday Main Stage where Gregor Salto was now playing some nice house music. I had heard him not so long ago at Zandfoort Alive so I decided to go for the techno. He had gathered a good crowd even though the park was not yet filled up at 3:45.
 
Quince was playing live in the techno tent. I had never heard him before and his music was really good! I danced for all of his set. A woman who is over 35 came up and started a friendly conversation with me. I guess she could relate to me as an older festival goer. Next on the program were Warren Fellow vs. Benny Rodriguez. They were great! I danced through their whole set. I caught Bennys eye while he was playing and waved to him. He grinned and winked at me. Benny is also on my short list and he recognizes me from his performances in Amsterdam and Utrecht.
 
Two boys who were there together with other friends danced with me off and on. They were mirroring my moves and it was fun. Then one of them snuck up behind me and playfully pinched me on the butt. I caught him and let him know thats a no-no with me. I have pretty good instincts about people sneaking up behind me and have caught some guys making erotic moves behind my back -another of my no-nos.
 
One of the boys said to me in a friendly concerned way, "Snoep niet alles door elkaar, OK?" When I realized what he was getting at I reassured him that I was 100% sober. He said he was too.  On the way in, I had noticed a booth set up with some bean bags for lounging on. It was called Unity Drugs and Alcohol Info. They had a quiz you could take about drug effects and little cards with info about various party drugs. I gave them a thumbs up for this good initiative.
 
After dancing in the techno tent for a few hours straight, my feet were getting pretty tired so I bought some water ( I spent 30 euros that day on water and 2 slices of decent pizza on the beach area). A guy managed to spill several plastic cups of beer on my jeans and rubber boots when he tripped. I was glad I had not worn something more delicate. It dried pretty quickly in the great sunshine we had that day. The weather was gorgeous! There were very few places to sit at this festival but I found a cement block by the techno tent and stretched my legs out to rest them. That was right next to the small ferris wheel people were taking rides on. It gave the festival another fun dimension. First a woman and then a man came up and asked me if I was OK. Im not sure why they thought I might not be OK but I was touched by their concern.
 
Meanwhile Eric E had drawn a good sized crowd at the main stage. The main stage was decorated with two giant tree motiefs with an bear totem pole design on the right side. The decor was artistic and charming and without the sophistication of the decor at the Loveland Festival. (There are lots of great pictures of the Lief  Festival on many websites so you can see for yourself). I just listened to Eric E from my cement block. Then I headed over to hear Ron Carroll as I had never managed to see him in person yet. I made my way through the crowd to the front right under the stage and was dancing enthusiastically to some great house music. I could not see the DJ. Some dancers in costumes came on a lower platform of the main stage about that time. The strange thing was, it turned out not to be Ron Carrolls music I was enjoying but Lucien Foorts. Must have been a last minute schedule change. Oh well, still havent seen Ron Carroll but did enjoy Lucien Foort, as I always have before. I ran into him later on the beach area and gave him a thumbs up. He made a gesture of thanks back. Next I danced a bit to Alan Braxe, who is from France. I had never heard him before and he was good and was doing well with the dancing crowd. Then it was time for another pit stop.
 
There were two toilet areas at the festival with lots of portolets. Even though there were urinals for the men, there was an awful lot of wildplassen going on at practically every tree in the park. The urinals began to overflow later on in the evening which was not a pleasant experience! :-/  I was sure glad I was wearing my rubber boots. I was also glad I had loaded my pockets with toilet paper because it inevitably ran out for a while. I learned that tip from a woman once in Hotel Arena- always carry a little stash of toilet paper in your pocket, purse or boots.
 
I popped back into the techno tent. Secret Cinema was playing live.  His music had a very fast beat. I danced for a short while but it was too intense for me after I had already danced for hours. The crowd in the tent though was dancing with great relish.
 
There was a good crowd all day at the Subculture Beach stage. That was creatively built over the water and had modern looking curved shelters for the performers. Even though the music was very tempting,  I avoided dancing there because I have learned that it is not good for my weak ankles to dance on sand.
 
I did manage to score some pizza and fruit to eat at 5:30 at the food area on the beach. There were other fast foods to choose from too. There were a few bean bags under a little tent to lounge on and some picnic tables but those were about the only places you could rest. These areas were already pretty well occupied.
 
After dark Dr. Lectroluv came onto the main stage. It was now lit up and had dramatic fog effects. I had never managed to see Dr. Lectroluv before. What a showman! His music was fantastic and his performance was exciting with him wearing his characteristic green mask and a silver jacket. The crowd loved him and so did I. After dancing to his music for a short while, I was too tired to stay for the two hour closing set he was doing, so I decided to leave for home.
 
On the way out I heard some very tempting minimal-techno music being played by Patch Park on the little underground caravan stage on the lake shore. He is another DJ I had never heard before. I was so impressed that I managed to summon up the energy to dance a bit more to his music. Two men were dancing very nicely on the grassy area as well. There were a small number of fans also enjoying Patch Park. The moon was shining in the sky over the lake behind the DJ caravan-booth. The atmosphere was so nice and I felt so happy that I thought "It just doesnt get any better than this!" I am resolved to go and hear him again the next chance I get. When I left I gave him a thumbs up and he gave me one back.
 
I collected my things from the locker, put on my jacket and headed back down the dark road toward the shuttle bus. My conclusion was- a really fun festival with some room for improvement on toilet facilities and resting areas. If felt good to be able to sit in the comfortable tour bus which brought us back to Utrecht Central Station. I definitely want to attend the Lief Festival next year. The music and atmosphere were great and the people I encountered there were really lief !
 
Keep on dancing,
Love,
Dancin Queen