When I first looked at the running order before coming to Roadburn the second day looked to me the least promising. I only wanted to see 4 bands, and all the four were to play in the evening. Time to search for surprises at other stages again. And I found my surprises, since both bands I checked before the obligatory shows I liked so much, that I stayed until the end of their sets.
The first were Farflung, who got a lot of time -- 1.5 hours -- to play, though they played not on the main stage. Good-quality space rock. Before Roadburn I had only heard one song, so I was familiriasing myself with their material right there. And I liked what I heard and saw. The vocalist with his keyboards looked like a lecturer in some kind of stoner university, teaching smoked students.
Cool show.
The second were Solstafir. The descendants of Icelandic vikings looked appropriately; long hair and beards, and the bass player even had plaits. I wish the guitar player also had a horned helmet instead of a fedora hat on him. I hadn't ever heard to them before, but when I came to their concert -- I stayed until the end. Despite the fact that the concert was quite long, they got almost two hours to play, they held me there for the whole show. One of the discoveries of this Roadburn.
After the great Icelanders I glimpsed on Witch. Not my kind of music neither on the record, nor on the stage. Just hanged there for a couple of songs.
And so the time of the expected bands came. And the first was Yob. I already saw them two years ago at Roadburn 2010, so everything looked familiar and of course I didn't feel the same excitement as for the first time.
But nevertheless their familiar wall of sound and their cool presentation on stage are always worth to behold and hear. And you must visit their concerts for a very long time to become tired of them.
After Yob I had some time to check the band in Green Room -- Black Breath. Very forceful! Enormously cool! Stagediving and mosh at Roadburn! Think I can call them one of the discoveries of the fest.
But I couldn't enjoy their whole set -- wanted to come in time to the smallest stage again to see AUN.
I like to see electronic bands live. The members can press a couple of keys and then start talking to each other, while the sound goes on :) But it was better not to look at the still standing musicians, but to close the eyes and let the vibes carry you somewhere far away. And when you decided to open your eyes after some time -- you could enjoy a cool video projected to the stage background.
I wanted to hear to the whole set of AUN, but something was pulling me to Patronaat, where GNOD started already. I thank myself that I let my intuition carry me there: GNOD became my best discovery at the fest!
I came during a pause and was surprised to see a vocalist of (supposedly) psychedelic/drone band wearing big disco sunglasses. But when they started playing the next song -- I realised I were, for the first time in my live, at the real stoner-disco! The rhythms of the songs greatly resembled the pumps in the night clubs, had the pumps been played with bass and guitars and had an evident touch of doom in them. No surprise I have never seen so many girls at any other Roadburn's act. The girls, and not only the girls, were jumping and dancing to the throbbing rhythm, excited also by passionate and ecstatic behaviour of the musicians on the stage.
Even after GNOD had long finished I still continued to sing quietly the incredible grooving rhythms.
After GNOD there was one more band for me to see -- the French misanthropes Celeste. But I couldn't see them. No, I was at the concert, and I had a good overlook of the stage from the Green Room's balcony. But they don't have this promo picture for nothing. When the band came on the stage -- they had red headlamps on their heads, but all the other light in the room was turned off. So the stage looked like this:
Sometimes, however, like this:
But even in the last case I don't dare to say "I saw Celeste". I heard them live, but not saw. It's a pity.
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