Whoever visited this blog in the last week or so saw that I have attended the mandatory screamo festival in Germany, “Cry Me A River”, and that a review of the event was bound to happen. As I am writing these words and leaving a mark of that happening on the blog, I am riding the German railway yet again and currently watching a nuclear powerplant with my girlfriend through the window. This time I’ll be attending the “New Noise” in Karlsruhe, the epic one-day monster festival, featuring bands such as “Celeste”, “Vestiges”, “Downfall of Gaia”, “Church of Ra” and many more. I have no idea when this review will be posted however, since I don't have regular internet access, but just sit back and relax, I have a lot of things to share with you all.
To make it clear from the start, this will be more of a weekend-tour diary than just a plain gig review and thus the entire write-up regarding my weekend in Germany will be split in, probably, three reviews. I haven’t written anything proper in a while, so I’ll definitely explain various random things that happened along the way, which I hope the readers don’t mind and will find fun.
So, my journey started in the early morning hours of 28th June, somewhere around 3AM, when I met with my already mentioned tour companion Vuk. Our trek started rather smoothly, grabbing a ride to the “Nikola Tesla" airport in Belgrade, checking in and boarding the plane successfully despite my genious friend having both a sleeping bag and a regular backpack along, which is actually a big no-no for low-cost flying. Everything was fine and dandy until we were about to take off... because we couldn’t. Apparently there was some technical difficulty which the “engineers are trying to fix as soon as possible” and our flight was delayed for almost an hour. While the passangers were praying to their deities that the metal bird doesn’t crash and burn in mid air, the two Serbian passangers mentioned at the beginning of this write-up took a nap. Soon enough the mechanical issues were removed, but then we couldn’t take off because the Dortmund airport was busy and we wouldn’t be clear for landing. After numerous trials and errors, we somehow arrived to Dortmund almost two hours later. What followed was a rather fast map consultation at the airport and a desperate attempt to find an exit in the weirdly built complex. Once outside, our possible problems and torment with getting to Munster were eased by a random girl which Vuk asked for assistance. Thanks to her we were able to grab a bus, then ride a tram and then hop on the train for a couple of stations, all for a price of only a couple of euros. At that point, we decided to fill our lives with suffering and continue our road along the railroad tracks on foot. What ensued was almost two hours of scorching sunbeams, sharp rocks, thorns, nettles, sweat and fatigue, until we finally came to our senses and got back into the damned train.
At long last, we were in Munster. After briefly regaining our strength in a wonderful park near the train station, we continued down our path and soon we got to the “x” on our map. Before we actually approached the venue, we spent some time laying on the grass and being completely mesmerized next to the mind blowing lake, or was it a river I’m not sure, found close to “Baracke”. At this point I was dead tired and barely kept myself from slipping into a coma, since in the previous 48 hours or more I slept for three hours in total. My travel buddy was also drained, so we decided to keep our minds occupied with something and go to the venue. Until the first band started, a time which I can’t exactly remember, we were hanging in the courtyard, drinking “Club Mate” and anxiously expecting the vegan barbeque which was awesome by the way.
Okay, so it’s finally time to share some thoughts about the actual gig. It was held in the above mentioned venue named “Baracke”, located in Munster. After a nice fifteen minute walk through the city, you are greeted by a tiny building that houses the place. The exterior is darkly colored and decorated with numerous posters, but what definitely makes this place enjoyable is the fact that the lake/river is so near that it always drags your attention towards it and keeps you calm. Inside you will discover a rather plain layout of rooms, with a small greeting corridor leading toward the gig room, a bar and toilets. The small stage is fitted in the right corner and the rest of the place is big enough to receive a really impressive amount of people. Also, the entire space looks like a living room, since it has numerous couches lined up the left side and is brightly lit thanks to both the left and right wall being covered with huge windows.
First in row that night was the local band, “Resurrectionists”. As you all know, in case you read my review of their previous show in Essen found here, I have already seen them play albeit the band was lacking two members at the time. On this occasion however, they were prepared with a full lineup and ready to impress. I was definitely expecting them to be more aggressive and energetic now that they are accompanied by an additional female vocalist and another guitar player, but the way they sculpted their preformance in Munster was beyond my imagination. An enormously destructive wall of sound was created, continually beating your senses into a pulp. The way the band managed to instantly build a massive soundscape and keep it strong during the entire perfromance was really amazing to see and hear. No matter how chaotic they got to be, they kept the flow of their set steady and it really leaves you without a chance to breathe. Without any doubts it was an insane ride and with the full lineup their act was violent and fast enough to make you feel like you’ve been standing there for no more than ten minutes. Absolute enjoyment to watch.
After a small break the quartet from Florida called “Autarkeia” was up next. Described as “epic emo” on last.fm, their sound justifies the tag exceptionally well. Initially, I took a short listen to their recordings prior to this trip and liked what I heard, but I never fathomed that they would be able to surpass that amount of liking live in concert. Not only did they manage to beat my expactations, but they additionally took them that much higher beyond limits and utterly stun me. My utmost attention was grabbed the second their perfromance began, namely when the singer explained that their first song, “Saving Seeds”, is about the corporation known as “Monsanto”. In case some of my readers don’t read my tumblr page, my collage thesis is about this genocide-spreading, GMO producing corporation and I guess it is easy to understand why I was additionally intrigued by this band. Plainly put, “Autarkeia” throws everything at you when it comes to their performance. Slow and gentle buildups accompanied by humming, unexpected outbursts of violence, energetic and passionate screaming, complex and precise melodies with shattering crescendoes, this four-piece is able to make it all happen. Truth be told, their recordings seem mild and somewhat peacefull at moments, but live they are an unstoppable force to be reckoned with and definitely succeed in bringing up that “epic” tag into the spotlight. Songs “Never Quite Content” and “Cold Wooden” were also played, as well as a new song that came as a finisher and I remember that it was quite intense. All in all, this is a somewhat unknown band that you all should definitely check out, I promise it will be worth your time.
My mood was somehow turned upside down and ending up being not so good during the break that followed after “Autarkeia”, half due to exhaustion and half by some other factors, so the end result was both Vuk and me missing out on “Panzram”. Sorry guys, nothing personal, certain things are just out of control. Instead, the only two Serbian dudes present at the venue took their time to eat some lovely veggie burgers, one of them ending up whining and not eating the entire meal due to the food being too spicy. Relaxed and with full bellies, it was time to go inside and watch “Tempest”. After the quartet from Florida finished their set, I thought that there won’t be any more surprises of that caliber on the warm-up show, but “Tempest” flew in and swept me off my feet the moment I got up from the previous knock out. Rushing, aggressive sound backed by a truly energetic performance, the band definitely justifies its name. Before the festival, I listened to them and actually wrote a review of their benefit split with “Masakari”, which you can check out here, and I really loved their work. The first tones created that evening managed to instantly push that love onto an entirely new level. Not only is the core of their performance, the actual sound, extremely solid and strong, but everything gets shaken up by the insane amount of energy bursting from the band by visual means. The singer is a spectacle in his own right, not stopping for a single moment and always jumping around, headbanging, running into the audience and just radiating with all sorts of inspiring vibes that make the crowd either follow in a similar manner or just stand there smiling. I ended up seeing “Tempest” three times and not once was I bored or disappointed. Keep a close eye on this band, I predict that this tempest has no intention on passing any time soon.
Still barely breathing after the previous act, it was time for another heartstopping performance. “Battle Of Wolf 359“. Need I say more? I had the pleasure to see this band play last year on “Fluff Fest” when they made me become stunned beyond belief. Unlike their festival appearance, this was a show with limited attendance and thus had a more personal and intimate feel. Add to that the fact that the band announced that this and the “Cry Me A River” gig will be their two last ever shows and you have one intensly emotional happening. So in essence, to put it simply, this was an astounding performance. “Cyberdine”, “Survellier”, “We Can’t Go On Like This”, “End Times” and many more amazing songs were shaking the venue to its core with absolutely perfect execution and sound quality. The band always seems to have an uncanny ability to move the audience, since in total I saw them three times and not once did the crowd end up unmoved. Still, it seemed to me that the band didn’t really give all it got on this performance and that a massive amount of energy was saved for their last show. Curiously enough, they managed to impress even without going at it in full gear. Much like they spared actions, I’ll spare words and will write more about “Battle Of Wolf 359“ in the “Cry Me A River” review. Believe me, that was an absolute blast, to say the least.
After witnessing the previous two bands I felt absolutely drained of energy. There was still one band coming up and the only thing I was capable of doing was going to the front row and just blessing the band with my presence, since doing anything remotely concerned as dancing would be way too much for me at that point. Last, but absolutely not least, “Loma Prieta”. To be completely honest, I wasn’t entirely into their set both due to the aformentioned fatigue and the fact that I think “Baracke” wasn’t fully capable of supporting the massivness of their sound. Their recordings are extremely violent and noisy in their own right and you could just imagine how monstrous their sound is when performed live. There was just too much crackles and explosions that managed to entirely drown their melodic song sections, which in essence left me just staring at the band in a sea of noise. Luckily, I knew that I will be seeing “Loma Prieta” for four times in total this summer and I was assured that this wasn’t anywhere near their full potential. And I wasn’t wrong at all.
The “Cry Me A River Warm-up” show ended with the last bits of distortion and chaos dying when “Loma Prieta” finished their set. Throughout the entire day I had millions of things I needed to sort out regarding this trip, some concerning the way Vuk and me will actually get to Versmold the day later, so moments after the show started being somewhat frustrating. By insane luck, good memory and my eyes being good enough even without glasses, I managed to recognize a person I briefly met in Prague last year and who ultimately paved a way toward cascading successes. Thus thanks to her I met one of my tumblr friends (small world is small), who ended up providing both rides to the fest, there and back to Munster, and one of her other friends even providing an entire tent for us. So many thanks to Theresa for hooking me up with the people she knows. Additionally, I’d like to thank the people involved with “Baracke” for allowing us to sleep at the venue and for generally being extremely friendly and involved with helping out the weary travellers. There is more to come, so stay tuned!
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