Messed!Up
All hopes of having the hottest festival in a decade are called off after the thunderstorm and you just have to accept to layer up a bit to stand the chilly winds that plague the campsite at the moment. But I’m used to it. If you have survived the mayhem years of 1997 and 2007 a little drizzle isn’t much to whine about.
Where still in the pre-festival stage which means hanging out at campsites and joining the fun at Settle ‘n Share. Camp Vienna, the German camp we’re following, had a small accident when the wind broke their flagpole and the mighty Camp Vienna flag won’t work as a beacon for Settle ‘n Share anymore this year. The first happening of the day was a music quiz in one of Vienna’s neighboring camps, and although no one understood how it worked out nor knew any music they played – mostly Danish hip hop – we all got free drinks and, above all, free Gammeldansk, a type of bitter alcohol that works as (a good?) substitution to brushing your teeth.
My team managed to get half a point because one of the songs was a cover of a D-A-D song coated in a hip hop outfit, and as the organizer felt sorry for us they gave us a few extra shots of Gammeldansk. With that much Gammeldansk in the bloodstream I had to sit down for a powernap in my chair or the day would have ended here. If you also consider that I had to take part in the final online conference before the holidays officially started on my paid work, it was sort of a challenge to get through the fumes of Gammeldansk.
The concerts started fairly early and post punk-tinged Tender Youth opened up at the Gaia stage represented by a frontman that could have been the baby brother of late Ian Curtis. He did a great job keeping himself and the audience warm enough to forget the chilly summer day for a while but although I’m an avid post punk listener it didn’t really stick to me, save for a great live performance (and that can be good enough at times). After a quick visit to the Koskenkorva bar, I returned to the Gais stage to watch Stockholm’s sensational indie rock band Girl Scout.
Taking inspiration from formative indie rock bands such as The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys, the four-piece set off at full throttle and did an outstanding performance. Apparently, the band is much bigger internationally than in Sweden and it’s not hard to understand when considering the British indie rock sound they’ve made their trademark. To me, it sounded like the wistful beauty of artists like Alvvays, or a fusion of Britpop and the more melodic side of ’90s alt rock. In a break later I sat down and listened to their debut EP Real Life Human Garbage, an excellent piece of music that promises something great in the future. There was nothing else on the schedule after Girl Scout but lots of time left and I left to catch a glimpse of the hyped artist called Sulka at the Eos stage, but again, I am not a hip hop fan, and the more I try, the more reluctant I get.
A friend of mine later convinced me to watch Evil House Party, promising me it was the new Mazzy Star, but quite soon it turned into an electronic party of the boring kind with a DJ and a vocalist. Here’s a piece of advice to all new bands out there whatever music you play: work on your performance – that’s what gets you new fans at festivals. The sound is usually crappy thus the performance becomes super important to haul in people that will listen to your singles and EPs later. What I’ve seen from most of the new bands so far is a lack of authenticity. Do your homework!
Tuesday was done and we went to the Koskenkorva bar once more before bedtime.
