Knock knock, don't mind me, just asking how the festival went! Did you have fun? Did you end up watching that scary band after all? Did you make it home safely? The audience (me) wants to know everything!
Definitely not asking this because I miss you, shush, what are you even talking about?
It took a few weeks, but here's the Nova Rock report for you! āØš¦š it's only 4400 words, have fun.
Huh, I didnāt go š„ŗš„ŗššš over "I missed you" and the withdrawal symptoms you mentioned on discord, haha no, what?
The most important things first: I did have so much fun; I did watch the not-actually-scary band, and we did make it home safely and even without any delays (well except the one who had to travel to NRW with the DB but well) with only a weird little sunburn on my back from my shirt with cut-outs at the back.
We took the night train, so I went to the train station, thought "why are there always such weird people here at midnight", then remembered I was sitting there in my pyjamas with my hair still smelling of the fresh hair dye. I read your new chapter, had to stop myself from screaming, asked my sister + friend (NOT the random lady there) what they thought about the blind cat, we found a little ladybug in our compartment who then continued being in our tent, at the camp side, on the train home, and in my room back at home again. Heās actually flying around my lamp right now (well he was when I started writing this, heās since left for the outsides).
We went with a whole bunch of people (like.. 20? My friendās brother and his friends and friends of friends, you know), met two VERY annoying drunk BregenzerwƤlder with their Hƶlzler shoes (who the FUCK wears those shoes to a festival??) and luckily lost them again, but everyone who was with us was really cool and chill to hang out with.
They had to cancel the first few bands because of the deep mud the rain had turned the stage areas into, but nothing I wanted to see luckily (although, go listen to Gloryhammerās āFly Awayā, very fun), so I just sat there at the camping ground with my phone trying to listen to my zoom class (because of course the one lesson the whole semester I really wanted to be at was that week, but well, at least online); and after we went to a band I didnāt know before but someone said they were good, and they were (Coffeshop Company)!
Which is something I really like about festivals, you can just go hang out by the stages for a bit to listen to new bands and see them on stage and if you donāt like them, you can just move along to another stage or sit with others by your tents.
AND AND AND!! Oh yeah, we saw Evanescence for a bit, theyāre okay. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY. I had been trying to see Rise Against live since I was 14, so 10. Years. now, and now I finally did see them!! And they were everything I expected! They were so energetic and they joked around a bit and the singer pointed out a few signs, and their energy and everything was so good! And their songs are fucking amazing live, theyāre SO GOOD. Everyone and their grandmother always insisted on telling me how bad their sound was live, and now I got to judge for myself finally, and they were so GOOD!
BRING ME THE HORIZON BRING ME THE HORIZON BRING ME THE HORIZON! Friday was BMTH day! It was still muddy as hell, like my sister went to the toilets and came back with her whole boots covered up above the ankle in mud, but the organisers really came through and covered the entire stage area with what I learned is called Holzschnitzel (wood chips), so no problems there anymore. We went to see Battle Beast, which ā wow, the singerās voice is unbelievable! She has such power in her voice! We also had some food, my sister dropped a perfectly fine mozzarella stick into the mud (highly relevant info), and my friend and me went to see Maneskin.
I wasnāt that excited for them anymore because I donāt like their new music very much, but I thought Iād go see them for a bit, and well ā they have amazing stage presence! They just come out and start off right off the bat with such power and energy, I can really see how they pull new audiences in at festivals! The ... guitarist? Bassist? Iām not sure which one the woman plays and I canāt tell the difference anyway, but she had some, uuuh, trouble with her outfit, in that she had a bit of tape on her chest and otherwise a net shirt that kept riding down to her stomach and some tech guy or the singer had to keep pulling back up for her. She also had HIGH heels which I donāt understand how she didnāt fall even once, running around in that, good for her. The singer once almost hit someone with a bottle or something and said, āSorry if I hit you, my brother, my sister, whatever you areā, which ššš Theyāre, well... I could do with less sexual stuff but itās their show. It was funny though how within 20 minutes, three of them were wearing almost nothing on top, except the guitarist (?) with his full long-sleeved cowboy outfit and cowboy hat.
We left a bit early and still watched the rest of Skillet š had a snack on the floor while Korn was playing (theyāre not bad actually), and then went into the first... like the areas in front of the stage are divided right? We went into the front section for Heilung. Because BMTH was playing right after them and we really wanted to be towards the front for them because well. Bring Me The Horizon š which meant I had to stand there and suffer through 75 minutes of a god-awful boring weird band. Theyāreā¦ you know, I already talked about them in the blind cat post, Iāll keep it short here: I thought theyād be creepy from seeing their music videos, especially with the red-blinking windmills in the background, but turns out, you canāt scare or creep me out if you just bore the hell out of me first. Their music is so slow it makes me want to scratch my skin off to feel something, they donāt interact with the audience at all, and you canāt understand their lyrics because they sing in I donāt know how many languages, half of them dead. On top of being boring as fuck, theyāre also weird as hell, using instruments made of [redacted] and having very unpleasant to watch parts in their show that I donāt think they should be allowed to just act out like that at a festival that allows 8-year-olds in. Yes, the parents are responsible, but like I said ā at a festival, you also just randomly walk around the stage area and see what happens even if youāre just passing by to a different area. Actually even forgetting about minors, Iām 24 and I didnāt like seeing that. Anyway, theyāre boring, theyāre weird and pretentious, donāt listen to them, @ Nova donāt book them again jesus christ.
ANYWAY. FRIDAY WAS BRING ME THE HORIZON DAY. Aka the absolute highlight. They came on stage, you could see how HAPPY they were to be there, they started out with āCan You Feel My Heartā, theyāre happy, Iām happy, I feel nothing but joy FINALLY hearing them again after having been rescheduled three or so times.
Remember how I said theyād cancelled bands because of the mud, and I said to a friend if I missed BMTH for any reason, Iād cry? Because Iād been waiting to see them since, well. Whenever in 2020 the concert would have been idk man. WELL. Turns out, the security at that festival is abysmal every year (we got checked twice in four days, but god forbid you take a plastic bottle or Tetrapak with you to the stages), and they didnāt close the front area when there were as many people there as allowed. Iām not gonna drag this out with details but long story short, it was okay during the first song but got too bad to stay when the second song + circle pits started (I haveā¦ opinions on them, should I elaborate?), we tried to leave but it was very cramped, we got separated, and next thing I know some guy (thank you <3) pulls me up from the floor and helps a security guy get me over the fence, who then drags me away to the paramedics, whom I tell Iām fine, just a bit dizzy, I just want to sit down on the side and watch from there, I can hear āTeardropsā fading into āDear Diaryā aka the song Iād been fucking annoying about being excited to hear, so naturally, they drag me away to the Red Cross tent. Where I just sit for a few minutes getting more and more upset over missing one of the few bands I really, really wanted to see.
Anyway, we met two others from our group there too, a guy had twisted his ankle or something and his girlfriend, who ā she is SO SWEET, she always asked how everyone was, sheās funny, she gave me Traubenzucker (seriously I still donāt know the English word) and hugged me and said we should just all go out and sit down on the side to watch the rest of BMTH, which we did, and actually suddenly a bunch of our group were there somehow? Anyway, I cried a little more watching them until I calmed down again, and the rest of the show was SO GOOD FUCK. They have such energyand excitement to be there and they go hard on stage, they really do, and the singerās voice is so nice again now that heās recovered, there is so much power behind and in his voice when he sings; anyone who says BMTH have become soft or worse or whatever since they have less screaming can fight me (the Florians?). Iām already looking forward to seeing them again in February (covid donāt even LOOK at February you fucking bitch) so much! They still played āKingslayerā which is always great, āDrownā which is *chefās kiss*, a few more songs (my concert memory is so bad, the most I can usually say is yeah it was great), and ended with āThroneā, which you know, *all the chef kisses in the world*.
Seriously, if you like BMTH and ever get the chance to see them live ā GO! Theyāre SO GOOD live, theyāre so happy to be there, their energy takes over the audience immediately, you can scream along or just be there and vibeā¦ Theyāre just such a great band, in general and to see live (ignoring my situation here, not the bandās fault but the securityās + drunk large guys who donāt look out for others), itās so fun to be at their shows ā oh, everyone who likes BMTH should get the chance to see them live! Theyāre so GOOD my god Iām excited for the new single tomorrow.
Have you listened to the 30 second thingy they put out already? I canāt get over the way he sings āforeverā, someone who actually knows something about music explain to me what it is about that particular way he sings that makes it so š„ŗāØšš Something about the way his voiceā¦ vibrates? So to say, and the slight rasp maybe? Not even mentioning the lyrics themselves! This week sure is a busy week for me with a new BMTH song tomorrow plus the BC album on Thursday and then everything else going on as well plus weaselling my way into the playlist with whatever BC song Iāll like the most by then at the drag party so Iāll see what youāll come up with to bribe me.
Saturday was Electric Callboy day! It was finally warm and sunny and one guy convinced all of us to go to a band no one knew but said were fun to see live, and they were (Liedfett)! I wouldnāt listen to them otherwise but live there, they were fun, and somehow our group turned their band name into a Marco Polo thing. Also, since pretty much almost all of us were there, we asked a guy to take a picture of us and Iām 95% sure the guy was high of some sorts, but the photos turned out well. Also, another guy took a picture of all of us at the camping side once and I donāt know if he was a photographer or something, but he moved around, changed angles and took about 40 pictures, āso youāll have a really good one!ā
My sister, friend, and me went to a Ferris wheel they had put up and from the top, you could see across the whole area, which was both huge but also looked smaller than I had expected. A few of us got some food and watched a bit of Jinjer, theyāre okay but a bit boring maybe.
But but but! After them, Electric Callboy played! Awww Ruby, I wish I had a picture of their faces pretty much anytime they showed them on the screens up-close, they looked so HAPPY, it was beautiful to see! They were so GOOD and so excited to be there and play their show and they always smiled and laughed so beautifully*, it was wonderful to see š„ŗ And it was so fun too, they talked quite a bit, once before āSpacemanā, the smaller singer Nico, as Fine taught me, took Kevin to the front of the stage to teach the audience the lalala-ish sound, but the way he did that was to take Kevin by the hand and walk with him to the front of the stage hand in hand while saying something like āKomm mal mit mein Lieber, also der Typ, der kann Sachen machen mit seiner Zunge, ich schau ihm jeden Tag beim Ćben zu, haltet eure Freundinnen und Freunde fest, da kƶnnt ihr noch was lernenā.. oder so. Ngl for a second I was wondering if surely he wouldnāt just go ahead and kiss the guy, right? Oh, a few others of our group who didnāt or not really know them came too and they all loved them, some even said they were their highlight of the festival! Which is not at all surprising, I mean youāve seen them too, right, you know how justā¦ Their energy and fucking around and their easy-to-vibe-with music make it really easy I think for anyone to really, really enjoy their concerts, even if you donāt really know them. I know I already loved them in April when I forgot to listen to more of their songs than I knew at the time before their EC/BC Munich concert, and it was still so much fun. Their stage presence and happy-go-lucky attitude and how obviously happy they are to play their music just makes it really easy to have fun.
*I asked Fine, Laura, and Lou if it would be very weird to send them a message or email or something telling them how nice it was to see how happy they were on stage and how beautiful their smiles and laughs were, and got an āyou are so cuteā in return, but Iām telling you ā they were the cute ones with how utterly HAPPY they were š„ŗ I feel like I havenāt said a lot besides āit was so nice to see how happy they wereā in various shades and slightly to the left but it just cannot be said enough. It was beautiful to see. Maybe Iāll still write them a message or a letter or something.
Oh I also saw parts of The Offspring, Bad Religion, Seiler und Speer, Dame, and Deichkind later that day but none really convinced me, so in the end I had an early night (like... midnight āearlyā).
Sunday was Billy Talent day! Also a few other bands before that, Kissinā Dynamite are fun to watch and their singer seems like a little shit (I could see him and Joonas fucking around on stage together), a bit of Eluveitie (boring) and In Flames (better than I remembered). We went around a bit before Billy Talent for food and then one booth had just run out of all meats, mozzarella sticks, whatever else, idk they only had fries left so we went to get a pizza, had a discussion in line with some guys about what the pizza names mean, and found out some sinners put eggplant on pizza. My friend works at a zoo and told us they can only feed eggplants to one breed of their stags because not even the pigs eat those.
Oooh, Billy Talent were also so fun to watch! Iām not sure why there were so many more people than the day before, maybe because they were the second-to-last band to play? Anyway, very fun! Almost all of our group were there again, I knew about half of the songs they played and itās just so easy to sing along and see everyone else also sing and jump along and just enjoy being there! Except the couple right in front of us who just spent the whole show making out. Why. Move. The singer made fun of the shape of the stage, talked a bit about other stuff and joked around, they also just have a presence that makes you enjoy their concert regardless of how well you know them, they make it easy to have fun.
Ah, the last band was Five Finger Death Punch, which I didnāt really know before, maybe a song or two in passing, but they were really entertaining to watch. To me ā apparently quite a few people thought the singer talked to much or sang weirdly or was drunk? I donāt know, I didnāt hear it, I just had fun with his jokes and I thought his voice was quite powerful too. I donāt really know them but I think they were a good final act to put on.
Thereās not much to be said about the trip home, we got up at 5 or so to avoid the āeveryone leavingā waves, had some more floor breakfast at the Vienna train station, chatted some more, and on the train everyone fell asleep one after the other, but not before witnessing me almost losing my jacket with no idea how it ended up there and despite looking at it several times before another traveller asked his friend whose jacket that was, and throwing my phone on the floor five seconds later. I had to get off earlier than the others at my uni town, which meant I got a hug goodbye from the only guy still motivated to stand up (feel you), almost forgot my chair, and then almost fell down the train stairs. I was tired okay. Also at like... 8pm or so, a few hours after Iād already showered and thrown everything into the dishwasher washing machine, we finally got the text from the one who had to take the DB to NRW that sheād arrived home, about two hours late, unsurprisingly. I know I complain about the ĆBB a lot and rightfully so I think, but how do you all just live like that regularly?
Remember how you said on discord youād gotten withdrawal symptoms and I said it was five days and you said, "5 days in which anything could have happened you know"? Well. Nothing happened for me (where is my festival romance huh? BC concert first date idea? Huh, did someone say something?), however. I sit at the camping side with a bunch of others on Saturday noon, enjoying the sun finally being here, when I hear my sister + friend say my name, so I go over to see what theyāre gossiping about me, only for my sister to tell me a guy from our group randomly (ārandomlyā, you should have been there, it was so fucking obvious there was something there, and thatās from me who never notices shit until itās pointed out to me) asked her if sheās single the day before, she later asked him to do something after the festival and he said he would have asked her if she hadnāt asked first. Theyāve had a few dates since then, I think itās going well.
I havenāt talked about the sunsets yet! Oooh, so that festival is in the Pannonia fields, which basically means in the middle of nowhere on some farmersā fields which are packed with windmills which at night blink red rhythmically and that looks so cool at night! Just a few dozen windmills in the background blinking red in sync. And the sunsets were beautiful! Just being by the stage, listening to or waiting for a great band to play, and left and right of the stage seeing the sunset over the fields š„° (donāt go there to see mountains, the areaās highest one is 302m)
Oooh!! Do you know how I hate phones at concerts a little? Like I get taking a few pictures or short videos, but Iām really annoyed by people recording whole songs or the whole concert wth is wrong with people because the people behind you canāt see goddamn it. I donāt want to be mean to or about teenage audiences, I donāt. It has to be said though, the difference in phone usage at concerts with a primarily teenage audience vs a primarily adult audience is staggering. This year, Iāve been to a Louis Tomlinson, 5SOS, and EC/BC concert and now the festival, and the difference in the audience is huge. At LT + 5SOS, there were so many people there who were constantly recording and watching so much of the concerts through their phones (you miss everything?!), whereas at EC/BC and the festival, people also took photos or recorded but likeā¦ very, very few people constantly did so, most took a picture or video of their favorite songs and then put their phones away again. And I have to say, the difference in the energy of the audience is very noticeable. People are just much more into it, just being there enjoying the show, singing and jumping along etc. etc., you know what Iām talking about. I once saw a video of a Halsey show where phones were banned, and I havenāt been able to stop thinking about that since then every time I see people constantly on their phones at concerts.
It was also so goddamn nice to be ā well technically youāre reachable, most people have their phones with them, but in reality, I can just turn on flight mode and only take it off that when I need to find my friends (well and that one class) and ignore everything else for four days. Ideal existence tbh. No uni, no work, no being contacted if you donāt want to, no other adult responsibilities, just hanging out with fun people, sharing snacks, and enjoying good music together, half of the days even in the sunshine. Speaking of sun, why did no one tell me my hat looked stupid, I wore that for the whole weekend š¤ oh, also, I got a BMTH shirt! Itās so pretty and itās white but somehow still too warm for a 30-degree day. Then again everything is, probably. But I had a clean shirt to wear for the journey home with my dust-covered skirt, that was nice.
I met a woman with really pretty multi-coloured hair at the showers. Once there was suddenly a bridal party at the camping spot asking for a beer for their flunky ball bridal party game and invited us to join and offered glitter tattoos. Oh, the guy who hurt his ankle, some of our group borrowed aā¦ those small things you can put boxes or other stuff on you need to transport and wheel it around? One of those to have the guy stand on and wheel him back to our camping area. We found a really nice spot a bit farther away from one of the stages for when we wanted to see a band but just relax and vibe, maybe have some food there and sit down a bit, that was a good spot, I swear we werenāt just on our feet 12h every day in front of the stages. Just peppering in all the random things here that Iām remembering that didnāt fit elsewhere. We built the ladybug a little home in one of the glass holder nets in my camping chair. You said you missed me. Oh, we camped in the Green Area which is just like, less trash and noise, and by day two, there was a hole in the fence which was quite practical because it made the way to the stage area shorter. By day four, a whole fence thingy had been moved. Also, that area was supposed to be quieter but they had a party area or something that played music with heavy bass until 4am or so, which apparently bothered quite a few people about sleeping, but I found quite soothing actually. Oh, the fiancĆ©/husband of the bride with her bridal party was also somewhere with his friends, I kept seeing them in their pink safety vests vs. the women in the orange ones.
So yeah, the security, paramedics, and non-alcoholic drink situation where not it (they hadā¦ Red Bull and water stations, but 95% of the drinks sold were alcoholic ā please remember the minimum age is 8, also some people (hi) donāt like to drink, especially not at festivals), but the people I was there with, the bands, how obviously happy they all were to be there, the eating food on the floor with each other, the shared snacks at the camping area, the just hanging out and chatting at the camping area talking about the bands and whatever else really, the āguess what I just saw on my way to the toiletsā stories shared, the random people around us, the ātravelling together and having food and listening to music togetherā human experience ā yeah, that was very much it š„°š„°š„°šāØšš¦š Writing all that down took about 2 pages of my happy memories book, 100/10 would recommend grabbing your favorite snacks and a few friends, putting your phones into flight mode, and wandering off to a festival for a few days š„°š„°š„°
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