Festival report: Fluff Fest 2011, day three

24 July, day three

Yet another town trip and a slight delay made us late to catch "Gattaca", luckily we just missed the first song and soon found ourselves a place quite near the stage. Even while we were approaching the main stage it became obvious that we are in for an amazing show. The five piece crust band from the Czech Republic provided just an extremely powerful and epic sound, with an overall feeling of melancholy perfectly radiating from both their tunes and stage movements. I have been in love with their ex-bands, namely "Dakhma" and "Lakme", because of that specific dark and grim tone, but "Gattaca" managed to take it to a whole new level and seeing them play live took that experience even further. "Damokluv Mec", "Ve jmenu pokroku", "Chceme zpet svuj cas" (those songs being from their split with "Clamant") and all other tracks from their set had a superb clean sound and were just a flawless performance overall. I was definitely eager to hear them, but they managed to impress me even beyond my expectations. There is a very good video of their Fluff Fest show on youtube, so go ahead and check it out! Also, I will be doing an interview with "Gattaca" as soon as I grab time to write down the questions, but expect it soon.

Another band from the Czech Republic was up next in the tent, though sadly I did not pay much attention during their performance. "Esazlesa" played inside while I was outside talking to a friend, so both of us just threw a glimpse or two here and there. The post rock/screamo quartet had a truly massive sound which could be strongly felt even that far from the stage and they managed to make me enjoy those periodic moments when I was actually listening. I remember that I caught only the song "Zivoty" in the fullest and the quality of the sound was as if playing a recording, but with much more power and energy. Some of my companions that had their full attention toward the band inside said that it was a really great performance and I must agree with them, despite not witnessing the whole show.

From then on up until 6pm I just walked around and hanged out with people, saving all my energy and enthusiasm for "Raein" on the main stage. When the time finally arrived and they got up on stage, all chaos broke loose with energy and passion just exploding from the stage and the crowd. There is really no need for me to explain in detail the amount of euphoria while the legendary Italian screamo act performed, especially since most of the time during their show I felt completely entranced, as if my brain switched off and my body moved on its own. A clear example of your mind being completely blown away. Not only were the people in front of the stage crazed, but the stage itself had constant movement, both from stage divers and from the band members themselves who were a real enjoyment to watch, just shining with emotions. The audience was granted many songs from their latest record, including one of my favorite songs named "Raein rumore. tre", yet they spiced up the set list with other older incredible pieces such as "The King Is Dead", "On Air" and of course "Tigersuit". Wave after wave of sound just kept hitting the crowd, all building up to a climax intense ending and it was just a spectacular show. As I said, no need for details, bands like these you just have to witness to believe and experience for yourself, simply incredible.

Last band I paid my full attention to on this year's Fluff Festival was none other than "Rosetta", who were up next after "Raein". Okay, this is really strange to write about, simply because I don't know what to say. First to get things out of way, I really love "Rosetta" and enjoy them at home quite much. During their live performance they had the most clean and spectacular sound which was absolutely incredible. But aside of that, there was not much to it, since the overall experience seemed as though I was listening to them at home but with extremely powerful speakers. Maybe I was expecting too much from them or something, but to me their performance seemed somewhat blank and monotone. They failed to grasp my attention entirely and I was more fascinated to watch one of my friends on the ground who became one with the universe while "Rosetta" was playing. So, aside of me not having the "wow" experience, they did manage to provide a good show due to the above mentioned sound quality. They opened up with probably my favorite song from "Wake Lift" named "Red In Tooth And Claw", and later throwing songs like "Release", "Revolve" and if I remember "Renew" as well, all leading up to a great ending in the form of "A Determinism Of Morality". That last song is the only one that managed to see body movement and the screaming of lyrics from me, since the ending was quite epic. All in all, great performance, but somewhat lacking some aspects.

And that is it, my complete experience from Fluff Fest. Amazing bands, an opportunity to hang out with people I was so eager to meet, drooling distros and exquisite food, real enjoyment every step of the way. Several bands I missed due to various factors and we had some troubles along the way, but overall I had the best time ever during these three days. I'd like to say thanks to the organizers and everyone else involved for keeping such an amazing festival alive (especially to the food makers who actually keep us alive), to all the bands for their performances and shared passion. Special thanks and hellos to my travel companions for all the shared mischief/good times, to Lada, Melisa, Botond, Vuk, Zule, Luka, Gabrielius, Joost, Stephan (and his mate who's name I forgot because I suck), Mister Paan and all other wonderful people I managed to meet and hangout with and to Dabar for turning this into a trip of a lifetime. See you all next year!