During the first night we had a lot of rain and strong winds, making it impossible to sleep. The tent was shaking like in an earthquake. The morning found us tired and after having a breakfast, we slept a bit more just to have energy for making it during the day. That was the reason we missed Banda De La Muerte and Yama. Yama was a last moment addition, replacing Moonless who couldn't make it to the festival because their bass player broke his wrist in a bike accident (wish him a quick recovery).
Mamont was the perfect company to our coffee as we were trying to wake up. Their monster riffs injected doses of fuzz in our brain and combined with caffeine and nicotine, turned as again to fully functional music absorbers. The shitty weather didn't prevent them of giving a great show and putting us in a freak mood.
Αs we were making the transition from coffee to beer, The Egocentrics from Romania got up on stage to spread their heavy psychedelic vibes. Being one of the instrumental bands taking part in the fest, they played tunes from both their albums. They sounded even better than in studio, since their music is created mainly for live having this characteristic jam feeling.
Pet The Preacher were next on schedule. I only had listened a couple of songs by this Danish band but their debut album "The Panjo" has made quite an impression out there.
A very energetic band on stage, generously offering their view on heavy rock. Being one of the more metal oriented bands of the fest, they managed to move the metalheads as well as people who like some blues in their heaviness. They also performed songs from their latest "Papa Zen" EP with "Concrete Prophet" being my personal highlight.
Video by Pet The Preacher
Pet The Preacher may made the rain go away, but the next band brought us sunshine. Actually an Orange Sunshine. Freak Valley made one of my wishes come true. I can't hide the fact that they're one of my favorite bands and to catch them finally live was an amazing experience.
Although I was a little bit skeptical since I had heard that their live performances aren't so good. But the three musketeers from Netherlands proved rumors wrong. All three were full of energy and enthusiasm being true to the spirit of motor rock. Blast!
What I liked was seeing people who didn't know them, enjoying their music a lot! And how is possible not to do when we're dealing with Sunshine's explosive rock blitzkrieg.
They kicked us in the face, dragged us into the mud and put us in a time capsule sending us back to '69. It's a fact that the vast majority of the bands which have a drummer-singer are kicking ass. Orange Sunshine are a strong proof of it. And after a short talk with Guy and his short teaching of Greek philosophy, I appreciated this guy even more. Hush hush!
Videos by CosmicShrine
After the massive number of strokes I had with Orange Sunshine, The Muggs took up the role of calming us down with their blues rock. Making the beer run out faster and having weather on their side, they gave a more "classical" touch in FVF.
And they were on of the pleasant surprises of the weekend. Beside the music - which although is being included in this retro-heavy rock movement, it's much more groovy-oriented and highly enjoyable for my taste - they had a very decent and down to earth presence on stage.
Funny, entertaining and having a great interaction with the audience, they made time pass by very quickly and left the best impression possible. Besides their self-titled album's songs, we listened some tunes of their new album - "Behind The Mountains" - too, with "Big Fat Boogie" being the highlight.
Video by BeyondCaptain
Darkness was there and we were changing mood in order to welcome hell's children, aka Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats. I'm sure that Uncle Acid was on of the biggest motivations for many of the attendees to join FVF, taking into consideration the hype created around their name in the last couple of years. On the one hand I wanted to catch them live but I was also afraid to mess with the image I had created for the band by their music without having any visual experience of them.
After some delay, Uncle Acid and his Deadbeats got up on stage. The result? Four guys simply kicking ass with their music, without any theatrical element or helper. They played songs from all three albums, bringing the haze and ecstasy to each and every one of us. Simplistic perfection I say. "Crystal Spiders" and "Vampire Circus" sent me to hell and back. A trip I would gladly make again...
Among others we listened to their latest "Poison Apple", "Mt. Abraxas" and "Mind Crawler". Just a small parenthesis here. I wasn't able to enjoy "Mind Control" personal favorite, "Mind Crawler" since one drunk dumbass thought it was a great idea to push and hit girls in order to get in the front. The result was to drag me into a small fight which was fortunately stopped quickly since a couple of guys helped to get him away. Of course most of the people around there found it entertaining to have a guy like this among them... Anyway. I hope he enjoyed the show from the back where he deserves to be.
Overall Uncle Acid were way better than I expected, leaving us pleased and happy we saw them in their first gig in Germany.
Videos by inaleaguewithsatan
Videos by BeyondCaptain
After Uncle Acid's blasting performance where they proved that they can be equally mind-blowing live as in their albums, it was time for Friday's last band, Naam. And what a better way to close a night like this. Coming all the way from USA and with a brand new album in their pockets, they just finished us off. Naam are showing continuous evolution with every new release and "Vow" is another step forward.
Vocals, guitar, bass, drums and organs were so tight that you were able to feel their sound's thickness in your breathing. The visuals in the background added an extra-terrestrial layer in their music, transforming the whole thing into an audio-visual experience (all the alcohol during the day was an extra helping hand too).
Their new songs are fucking great and keys are playing an even major role, something I liked a lot. "On The Hour" was one of the tunes I kept having its melody in my head for a few days. Their bassist like a modern Zeus was throwing thunderbolts all over the place. I fucking love this guy. Naam were the worthy representatives of USA in FVF and I hope they will keep the wheel turning as far as their musical progression concerns.
Their new songs are fucking great and keys are playing an even major role, something I liked a lot. "On The Hour" was one of the tunes I kept having its melody in my head for a few days. Their bassist like a modern Zeus was throwing thunderbolts all over the place. I fucking love this guy. Naam were the worthy representatives of USA in FVF and I hope they will keep the wheel turning as far as their musical progression concerns.
Naam added the last brick of awesomeness in FVF's second day and they sent us for sleep, satisfied and with a smile on our faces. A smile that I was hoping not freeze there forever because of the night's cold...
by Thanos
No comments:
Post a Comment