Caprices Festival

Caprices Festival 2013 in Crans-Montana, Switzerland: 9-Day Music Artist Live Concert Event Review & Recap

March 22, 2013 by Jason DeBord 1 Comment

Since this was a pretty special experience and International music event, I thought I would share some thoughts and photos in summary here, mostly in an effort to genuinely promote and recommend this event to those who might not have heard of it or ever considering attending themselves. The 9-day event took place in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, a coming together of twin ski/resort towns to put on Caprices Festival, hosting dozens of musical artists spanning many different genres and styles. I actually only ran into a couple of Americans during the nine days of concerts (both had come out from New York for Tori Amos), so I think spreading some more information about the event on a U.S.-based site might bring out more people from the United States for future incarnations of this annual event, which celebrated it’s 10th anniversary this year, which also happened to mark some big changes and growth in size and line-up. [Read more…]

Travel Destination Journal & Pictorial: Crans-Montana, Switzerland (Caprices Festival 2013)

March 22, 2013 by Jason DeBord 1 Comment

Having recently returned from my trip to Crans-Montana, Switzerland for Caprices Festival, I thought I would share some thoughts and feelings about the ski resort town that hosted the event for those who might have an interested in going there as a travel destination. Since I am not into skiing and snow-related sports, it was not a vacation spot at the top of my list, as it obviously offers a lot of recreation opportunities that do not appeal to me on a personal level. Even so, I really loved exploring the town and completely enjoyed myself, and plan to return for the same festival next year and look forward to making another visit to the two ski resort towns. [Read more…]

Caprices Festival Photojournal | Après-ski & Modernity | Crans-Montana, Switzerland

March 22, 2013 by Jason DeBord 1 Comment

I did not make it to Après-ski and Modernity until the final day of Caprices Festival in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, which actually worked out great as far as Modernity went, as it was the sunniest day and very clear out, so I had a nice opportunity to take in the beautiful mountains from an amazing vantage point. However, at the time I stopped in at Après-ski, there was no scheduled live music (hence the photos of the empty space). I did shoot some video of the amazing views of the Swiss Alps from Modernity, which sits atop the ski slopes during the 9-day long music fesitval, just a short 20 minute walk and fun ride up the mountain from the main arenas and areas for the main part of the annual music festival. [Read more…]

Caprices Festival Day 9 | Cypress Hill, Method Man & Redman, Mix Master Mike, Logic, Rootwords | Crans-Montana, Switzerland | 3/16/2013 (Concert Review)

March 19, 2013 by Jason DeBord Leave a Comment

Day 9 of Caprices Festival in Crans-Montana, Switzerland… it was the final one for the incredible series of a wide-ranging line-up of artist from a variety of music genres that drew thousands upon thousands to the resort area in the Swiss Alps. The themes for the final night, which drew one of the largest and most energetic crowds, was rap music and, well, a marijuana culture. I would have to rate the night near the top as far as high performance and crowd enthusiasm go, regardless of how one might feel about either of those things, as the artists collectively put out more energy than probably any other night’s show – they were each really amazing in their own ways, and gave fans what they wanted as well as probably cultivated some new ones for themselves. Really impressive stuff.

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Caprices Festival Day 8 | Mika, Nelly Furtado, Célien Schneider, Nadine Carina | Crans-Montana, Switzerland | 3/15/2013 (Concert Review)

March 16, 2013 by Jason DeBord 3 Comments

Day 8 of Caprices Festival in Crans-Montana, Switzerland… as the event approached its final two days Friday night, those in attendance seemed to have a desire to keep the party going, as Mika drew the largest crowd to date, not only filling the vast airline hanger-like space of The Moon, but overfilling the standing room only space in front of the stage. The popular British singer-songwriter drew such a crowd people were spilling out, standing watching from the hallway space in-between The Moon and The Tube, and was far and away the largest crowd pulled in thus far for the 9-day festival. The more pop-oriented line-up also included rising star Nadine Carina, local pop/folk singer Célien Schneider, and the ever versatile and classy Nelly Furtado, who put in one of my favorite shows of the past week.

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Caprices Festival Day 7 | Alice Cooper, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BRMC), The Heavy, Demi mondAine | Crans-Montana, Switzerland | 3/14/2013 (Concert Review)

March 15, 2013 by Jason DeBord 4 Comments

Day 7 of Caprices Festival in Crans-Montana, Switzerland… Definitely one of the strongest nights for performances, if not the strongest overall, with a really unique and stellar line-up including The Heavy, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and Alice Cooper. The theme tonight was rock and roll (though in a variety of different packages), and it was really like a triple headliner. I also had the unique opportunity to meet with and interview two of the four bands that took to the stage at The Moon at Caprices.

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Caprices Festival Day 6 | The Spinto Band, 2ManyDJs, SebastiAn, March | Crans-Montana, Switzerland | 3/13/2013 (Concert Review)

March 13, 2013 by Jason DeBord Leave a Comment

Day 6 of Caprices Festival in Crans-Montana, Switzerland was unfortunately one of disappointment for all involved, as headliner The Killers were not able to make to to play their set due to weather conditions. I was really looking forward to seeing them again after their epic show in their hometown of Las Vegas that closed out 2012. The rest of the line up for the evening was present, and this included many, many acts, of which I viewed four in whole or part, including the headliner by default The Spinto Band, 2ManyDJs, SebastiAn, and March. It was a high energy night for both rock and DJ/electronic music.

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Caprices Festival Day 5 | Portishead, Baxter Dury, Model 500 | Crans-Montana, Switzerland | 03/12/2013 (Concert Review)

March 12, 2013 by Jason DeBord 2 Comments

Day 5 of Caprices Festival in Crans-Montana, Switzerland… wow, what a night. I’ve loved Portishead since their first album, but never had an opportunity to see them live until last night. They completely and utterly exceeded all of my expectations – brilliant performance, every aspect of it. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. I also saw Baxter Dury, who opened for them on The Moon stage, and they made me a fan. Late into the night, I also got to see Model 500 featuring Juan Atkins, one of the originators of techno music. Caprices has put together such a stellar line-up of entertainment, and experiencing the entire show, day by day, with it’s wide ranging collection of artists, provides a different atmosphere for music each night, and I would count last night as one of the highlights.

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Caprices Festival Day 4 | Bjork, The Weeknd, Leila | Crans-Montana, Switzerland | 3/11/2013 (Concert Review)

March 11, 2013 by Jason DeBord 1 Comment

Day 4 of Caprices Festival in Crans-Montana, Switzerland was somewhat about expectations and culture… my own expectations about performances proved incorrect (good and bad) and I’m beginning to get a better sense of how culture in Switzerland intersects musical tastes and preferences. Björk’s fans filled The Moon stage – which is massive – as much as any other artist here at Caprices thus far, and while she was one of the artists I most looked forward to seeing, I guess I just didn’t quite get her music and her set overall. The Weeknd followed, and while they didn’t retain the Björk fans, in my mind at least The Weekend saved the weekday (with Day 4 falling on a Monday), as I thought they were fantastic. But I guess that’s the thing about music – nothing is quite as subjective and to each person’s own taste… as music.

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Caprices Festival Day 3 | Tori Amos, Roger Hodgson (The Voice of Supertramp), Noa | Crans-Montana, Switzerland | 3/10/2013 (Concert Review)

March 10, 2013 by Jason DeBord

Day 3 of Caprices Festival in Crans-Montana, Switzerland showcased entirely different styles of music from Day 1 and Day 2, and drew a different crowd as well. This shows just how dynamic the overall line up is for this festival, to the point where in many cases there is nearly no crossover at all. Personally, Tori Amos has been the highlight for me thus far, and may remain so for the balance of the 9-day concert event, as she is one of my all-time favorite music artists. Also of headliner stature, Roger Hodgson – The Legendary Voice of Supertramp – performed as well, and I count his “The Logical Song” as one of my all-time favorites, and it was really a special moment for me to finally see and hear it performed live. Also performing was Noa, who I was not previously familiar with, but for being first on the bill for The Moon at Caprices, she filled out the capacity of the vast indoor special purpose space quite well. Each of the three artists actually seemed to turn out their own fan base, as I noticed the crowd shifted from set to set. All in all it was an awesome night, and that is one of the best performances I’ve seen Tori Amos put on (and I’ve seen her a number of times).

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