Festival report: Fluff Fest 2012, day one

 "Ieperfest" and my trip to Belgium is long over, thus I am home once again. At this point I have no further travelling plans, which really bums me out since it means that I won't be seeing my better half any time soon. I do, however, have some local gigs coming up and definitely expect to read about  those in the near future, as well as an "Ieperfest" review of course. There are also some changes and upgrades which I am currently planing for the blog, so stay tuned about that. Additionally, I have a lot of unanswered e-mails and releases waiting to be written about, so thanks to everyone who provided continual attention and patience for my feedback. Until I get back to all of you, here are my thoughts concerning this year's "Fluff Fest".

Celebrating its twelfth edition, this year "Fluff Fest" was held from 20th to 22nd July 2012 at the well known Rokycany Airfield, the Czech Republic. This was my second consecutive year on the event and I already wrote briefly about the happening in my previous festival report regarding it. Even despite my words about it on this blog, the festival has become all too known and has definitely grabbed an almost cult following over the years. With a lengthy list of bands that have played and a solid message and ethics, "Fluff Fest" is a synonym for both good entertaining times, friendship and education of its attendants.

Without further ado, here is the timetable for the main and tent stages on the first festival day, 20 July 2012:

Main Stage:

2:45 PM - Wojczech

3:30 PM - Weekend Nachos

4:15 PM - Reign Supreme

5:05 PM - Coke Bust

6:00 PM - End Of A Year aka Self Defense Family

7:00 PM - Graf Orlock

8:00 PM - Loma Prieta

9:00 PM - Defeater

Tent Stage:

3:20 PM - My Turn

4:05 PM - Sick Fix

4:55 PM - Comfort Woman

5:45 PM - Grieved

6:45 PM - Nine Eleven

7:45 PM - Code Orange Kids

8:50 PM - No Omega

10:00 PM - Former Thieves

Since we arrived deep into the night on the 19th July, we had enough time during the following day to make sure that "Wojczech" was grabbed first. I never heard about this band before, but I was quickly noted that it has a fair bit of history behind itself. And when I say a "bit" I actually mean sixteen years, so that particular fact left me quite flabbergasted. Either way, the band's performance was nothing short of brutal. Extremely heavy and maniacal hardcore grind mixture with a lot of precise melody shifts and amazing vocals. The vocals were the thing that definitely grabbed the most of my attention. Vocal duties were bouncing between two band members and their outlet was simply awesome. Although it was just the two of them, they managed to produce a score of various vocal sounds, providing a really interesting diversity to the songs. All in all, this was a real surprise for me and the band definitely made me want to check them out properly at home and keep an eye out for them.

“Weekend Nachos” arrived next and it was one hell of a punch to the senses. Throw a massive batch of hardcore, powerviolence and grind into the mixing pot and there you have it, a deadly concoction for a weekend meal of aggression. I have to say that I don't remember bits and pieces of their set, thus I'll keep this short, but I recall being utterly mesmerized with the amount of violence and chaos they unleashed. Despite all the madness and short songs, the band manages to implement a lot of interesting twists and turns regarding melodies in their tunes, which makes it a not so typical chaotic band. I seriously feel like their performance lasted only a couple of minutes, since the whirlwind under their name just rushed past everything. In short, just check them out and stop missing out.

“Coke Bust”. Straight edge, angry and insanely fast. A band hailing from Washington, DC, they attacked with short spasm-like songs and an "in your face" attitude. Their entire set was a true beating to the ears and it just kept coming, over and over again. "Fumigation", "No Authority", "Pain And Suffering", all were thrown at the audience in a maddening rush. The sound was presented with an amazing quality and flawless execution which is a huge plus for a band of this caliber. At that point in time I knew that there was a small, but possible, chance that I get to see "Coke Bust" again on "Ieperfest" and seeing them once more would be awesome. Since you'll be reading about the band twice, I'll stop here and save some material for later. Until then, definitely check them out, this band is a must.

It was time to go catch “Grieved”, a Swedish quintet which actually teamed up with "No Omega" for a  European tour and made "Fluff Fest" one of their stops along the way. Although I find the band to be a rather typical incarnation of dark hardcore, which I do enjoy at home I might add, they proved to be entertaining live. The sound was massive and pounding, which always spells out chaos when such a band is placed on the tent stage. I didn't stick around for the entire set, but even the part that I did witness was enough for me to be completely satisfied. The band and its members are still young, so I presume there is a lot more to come from them and it should be kept under a watchful eye.

“Graf Orlock” strike two. And what to say more other than the fact that this was the first band this  year which made "Fluff Fest" go absolutely nuts. Immediate stage diving, crowd surfing, screaming and just total mayhem ensued while the band lashed out with their movie samples and choking melodies. The band had a fairly similar setlist like last time I saw them, which was on "Cry Me A River" and you can read about it here, but here the sound was much more powerful and heavier. As chaotic as their songs are, their sound was unbelievably clear and technical now, so their performance was stunning in every way possible. As the show kept getting more intense and crazy, the band members seemed more and more amazed by the crowd and their reception, so they went wild themselves. The singer kept stage diving and interacting with the audience, which made the entire gig that much more awesome. Once again "The Dream Left Behind" was played last, but this time the entire band crowd surfed away, marking the end of the show with style.

“Loma Prieta” strike four. Aside of meeting the guys from the band once again, since I got to know them a little bit thanks to my girlfriend, it was amazing to see them play one last time on their European tour. This was by far their loudest and most gigantic sounding performance I saw and heard, although as nearly chaotic as the show in Munster. They swallowed the entire audience with the mayhem they brewed, backed up by interesting visual entertainment, since I always found it interesting to gaze at the insane speed with which they play. The band itself was equally alive, so much in fact that the closure of their set almost ended up in their equipment being thrashed. Part of the drum kit ended up being dismantled, a guitar flew into the set, the bass dropped to the ground. After four reviews there really isn't much left to say, other than that you should try to grab a gig and keep this band under your radar for the future. It was really nice meeting them in person, so if you can go and talk to them at a show just do so, they are truly awesome people.

As soon as the quartet from the US finished their set, it was time for “No Omega”. I have seen this band last year on the Pre-Fluff gig in Prague, about which you can read here, and after that performance I completely fell for the project. Recently a new outlet from the band came in the form of an album named "Metropolis", which I took a really long and good listen to, and I have to say that they kept my liking firmly. As a result, I was extremely excited about seeing the new material being performed live. Songs like "Breathe" and "Heavy Rain" were played, along with my old time favorite "Raven's Fair", and once again they managed to blow me away live. Their sound remained to be very heavy and dark, although the band implemented more melodic and faster parts on the new recordings which made their set that much wilder. The crowd responded respectively, displaying a lot of dancing, kinda annoying karate kid moshing and jumping on stage. I did a tiny bit of dancing, more focusing on singing along and just enjoying the overall scene. I also briefly saw the band once more on the "After Fluff Matinee", which I won't do a write-up on, and they remain to be entertaining time and time again.

Skipping "Defeater" for reasons that are obvious and staying at the tent, “Former Thieves” were up next. I won't spend that much time writing this section of the review, simply because I didn't really enjoy the band. Aside of the huge attention they mustered in recent time, they just failed to grasp my attention and I ended up staying at their show due to the fact that one of my friends wanted to see them. If it was up to me, I'd much rather go and eat or loom over distros. Still, I realized that the project really has a crowd that is enjoying their tunes, so cheers to the band in that regard.
The first day was over after a really nice batch of bands and for me it was calling it quits for the night, since I was insanely tired, so I drifted away into slumber whilst disco was blasting in the party tent. Stay tuned for more!

Gig review: Anchor, No Guts No Glory, No Omega, Stay Hungry, Col-lapse

The arrival of my friends and me to Prague was welcomed by raindrops and some pretty dark weather. That very day, namely 21 July, I realized that instead of going to the actual pre-Fluff gig in Rokycany we will see "Anchor" play in Prague. To be completely honest, I was excited for both gigs in the same amount since the bands playing on those gigs were completely unknown to me. Of course, I have heard of "Anchor" before, but never actually took a listen to them and this gig came as a great way to correct that mistake. Due to the fact that I haven't listened to a single band prior to this gig, expect this review to be a short one since I'm relying on  only a vague memory of what happened, despite the amount of fun I had on the concert.

So as I mentioned above, the show took place on 21 July 2011 in "Cafe Na Pul Cesty", Prague. Literally everything about that venue is amazing, from location and design to the very sound it managed to provide. The cafe is located in a park of sorts quite near the train station, so we needed no more then ten minutes to find the place. It is a small and enjoyable structure, with only a single floor and a longish porch surrounding it. Inside there are a couple of tables and a bar, while the walls are covered with big windows so everything is quite light filled. Well, as much light as it could be mustered from the brooding weather outside. Speaking of the weather, I heard that this was supposed to be an open air show, the band playing on the porch outside the venue, but sadly the climate sabotaged that idea. The dude who organized the gig expressed his concern about whether everyone will manage to get into the cafe due to its size and the number of expected people. It turned out to be quite great, the venue fully packed and a lot of people hanging outside, having fun despite the rain and constantly circulating through the cafe and the porch.

In any case, we arrived way to early, so some tea/coffee/non-alcoholic bear later the show started, "No Guts No Glory" producing the first live music sounds that day. The five piece melodic hardcore/punk band from France managed to provide an outstanding performance and completely grasp my attention. Their set was fast and explosive, the songs just speeding through the venue with their catchy melodies and great singalongs. I remember my head constantly swinging back and forth, since the tunes really send an impulse toward you to keep constantly moving and dancing. Even now as I listen to their recordings at home the wish to just surrender yourself to the sound is present. It saddens me thought that I can't recall which songs were played, so their part of the review must rely on these few words in order to get your attention and influence you to take a listen to "No Guts No Glory". You can get in touch with the band on their myspace page found here.

Following them, "Col-lapse" played. The outfit from Barcelona is composed of ex members of "Cinder", meaning they are bound to be heard about before. Their performance I didn't follow visually, since we decided to spend some time in front of the venue, catching some fresh air and getting a bit wet from the persistent rain. The cool thing was that the music could be perfectly heard even outside, giving me a chance to at least enjoy the audio manifestation of the band. Also found in the melodic hardcore/punk waters, "Col-lapse" could be easily compared to the first playing band, being a sort of rougher version of "No Guts No Glory". Maybe a stupid comparison, since I spend a low amount of time in that specific genre, so to save my reviewer reputation I will mention that "Col-lapse" has been compared to bands such as "Embrace" and "Dag Nasty", by others at least. In any case, I enjoyed their sound and they are definitely worth a listen, which you can do on their bandcamp page here.

After "Col-lapse", "No Omega" hit the venue. And when I say hit the venue, I mean completely devastate and annihilate. Following those melodic tunes produced by the previous two bands, the monster that is "No Omega" fell heavy on the audience with their thundering and massive sound which went perfectly with the dark climate hovering over Prague. The quartet hailing from Sweden managed to absolutely blow me away with their music, walking on the line between an immensely depressive form of hardcore, post metal and at times even crust. This combination of genres provided an excellent live experience since you get to be utterly slowed down by some sluggish, almost sludge, tones and in the next second you are faced with an extremely fast, beating and trampling tone. "Ravens Fair" and "The Design" are definitely signature songs for this band since they show you exactly what this band is capable of. Be sure not to miss out on this project, absolutely worth keeping an eye out for. Check them out on their myspace page here and their facebook page here.

"Stay Hungry" was up next, yet we decided not to stay hungry and go outside to grab something to eat. Whilst nomming and filling our bellies with some vegan food, the band played inside. Yet another project coming from Sweden, "Stay Hungry" brought with them the sounds of straight edge hardcore. Sad to say that this band caught the least amount of attention from yours truly, simply because I never enjoyed this type of music. This doesn't mean they aren't good of course, since as much as I saw they managed to make the crowd go wild with a lot of dancing, stage diving and everything in between.

Last, but definitely not least, "Anchor" took the stage and succeeded in punching me in the face for not listening to them earlier. From the second their set started and all up until the very end and final tone, "Anchor" sent so much energy and power throughout the venue, making the audience go completely nuts. Stage diving, moshing, dancing, singalongs and an overall positive vibe pulsing through the cafe during their performance. I was standing way back in the gig space and had an excellent view of everything going on, a real sight to behold. It was funny how I was standing back there and thinking about how I want to go climb up at the bar and stage dive from there. The very second I decided to do that, one girl got up and jumped in the same fashion I imagined and actually almost slipping on some drink on the bar. This made me laugh so much that I actually forgot to do it later. In any case, "Anchor" were just relentless with the amount of amazing tunes and pure passion they radiated toward the people in the venue, their performance being quite a surprise and a huge highlight of the entire gig, in the end leaving me with a wish to go say hi to some of the members and grabbing a piece of their merch. If you made the same mistake as I did, definitely check them out and don't let them slip from your ears. They will be touring with "Trial" and "Run With The Hunted" over Europe in a few months, so try to grab them if you can. Check out "Anchor" on their bandcamp page found here.

Overall, an extremely fun gig with great people and atmosphere, featuring some pretty interesting and inspiring bands. Stay tuned for more reports from my trips, gonna write more in a day or two.