Sziget Festival
WHAT IS SZIGET FESTIVAL?
…This festival fulfils like no other the demands
of every character and it must be
recommended to everyone who visits
a festival not only for the bands that
perform but also for its unique atmosphere -
Pepsi Sziget festival is the biggest musical and cultural festival in Central Europe, a seven-day multicultural expo offering more than 800 programs on more than 30 venues. Sziget means island in Hungarian and Pepsi Sziget, besides being on an island in the heart of Budapest, is an island in the metaphorical sense. Sziget has a unique atmosphere: it is a meeting place, a musical and cultural show, a life-style, an enormous cafe and party place, a place of learning about the world and each other. No matter what style of music you like listening or dancing to, you will find the place of your taste. You can enjoy performances, shows, you can party and dance or just walk around and gaze at the ever-increasing flow of interesting and different people passing by.
MAIN STAGE:
| August 1 | August 2 | August 3 | August 4 | August 5 | August 6 | August 7 |
| The King | Mambo Kurt |
Bomfunk Mc’s |
Zenzile | Leningrad Cowboys |
Incognito | Zdob si zdub |
| FreshFabrik | Republic | Mr. Con | Bon-bon | Pa-dö-d_ | Másfél | HoboBlues |
| New Model Army | K’sChoice | Noire Désir | Fun-Da-mental | Freestylers | Eagle-eye cherry | ASH |
| Tankcsapda | Kispál & a borz | GanxtaZolee | Sziámi | Yonderboi | Anima Sound S | Sub Bass Monster |
| H-Blockx | HIM | Run DMC | Morcheeba | Faithless | GuanoApes | Placebo |
31st July, Tuesday
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Even though the festival started only on Wednesday, we went out to the Sziget thoroughly equipped with tents, polifoam, big blankets, FOOD, drinks …etc. cuz we wanted to make sure that we would have a great camping place. For our big surprise the Island was already full of people! Anyway we found a cool place – well at the moment we thought it would be perfect…. (Problems came later) – and pitched our 5 tents there. Our German neighbours were pretty funny, they shared their secret with us : they buried a whole lot of food just near the bush, because they were afraid of the thieves out in the Island. Crazy???
A few sentence about Daniel Wesseloh
We snatched Daniel out of the crowd at night, 3:30 actually, to give some answers to our questions. As you can predict it from his name, he is a German subject, so he was talking in German, but we were asking him in EnglishJ So here comes Daniel’s enthusiastic words:
“This is the second time I’m here in the Sziget, cuz we have nothing at home like this thing here! So I really enjoy it! I read it on the Internet that there’s a big party in Hungary in August, so I decided with some friends that we will come and see what is really happening there. We fancy the Hungarian chicks pretty much! I usually consume alcohol, but I don’t scorn orange juice either. I’m in possession of my own tent. I like it here!”
Henceforth Daniel was filmed, guided, laughed at by us, then we promised him we would meet him – approximately right now – on the right side of the Ihavenocluewhich pavilion.
1st August, Wednesday
Yuppi! The first day! We didn’t really get much sleep cuz we spent all the night and dawn at the nearest pub next to the Wanted Stage. I crawled to my “bed” (?!) at 5am and woke up with a start at 9am! There was this terribly loud noise coming out one of this extreme equipment: “flotation”… And I thought we found the best place for our tent!
Anyway Wednesday was a decent day as regards me, I had lots of favourite bands playing today.
Fresh Fabrik – whom I had the chance to become friends with about 2 weeks agoJ – gave a fantaxtic concert. People were right up the front, jumping and moshing, I even managed to crowd surf. They were super cool as usual!
Tankcsapda (TankTrap) They are one of the most famous Hungarian rock bands. I used to be a big fan and went all of their gigs, but then I thought I’m a bit out of moshing at that stuff! But NOWAY! After their set I just realized that even though I’m not going and jumping around with my sweating comrades, I still really love their music and I really fancied standing in the crowd and still remembering their first album’s lyrics! A good experience again!
H-Blockx closed the night at the main stage. I was looking forward the German hardcore band really much. Especially cuz H-Blockx was the band whose concert I’ve first gone in my life. WOW! 5 years ago I guess! So I was full of expectations! The drummer broke his hand after the second song, and he couldn’t continue playing! Everyone was shocked and wanted to hear more than just 2 songs. Henning – singer – asked the audience if anyone could play drums just come up and play. Well good idea Hennig, but no one went! After a 10-min-break they tried to improvise some crap, but it didn’t really touched the H-Blocks hunger crowd. Eventually the drummer came back and played half an hour with his broken hand!!!! After that he stood up, walked forward to the stage and showed his hand with a blood-red bandage on! Man!
Even those who hated H-Blockx started clapping and directed some decent words to Mason. Although they didn’t play fast songs, so not my favourite ones, they did it! And it’s not everything. When the whole band left the stage , Henning came out and started undressing. When he only had his boxers on, he started to encourage the audience and when everything rose to fever pitch he pulled his underpants down and showed it…hehe
2nd August, Thursday
K’s Choice, Rage and HIM were on “today’s most popular concerts” list.
But before I have to mention the Krisna pavilion, which was one of the mostly visited tent. You ask why? Well they gave free food ( well I wouldn’t call that FOOD!) out, so you could spent your breakfast, lunch, and even your dinner time at the Krisna tent. They have a cool band, playing hardcore Krisna music. The words are pretty easy: Hare Krisna hare hare, Hare Rama hare hare…and that goes on and on! They only change the tomes, harmonies and accords. You know when you are a bit bored or you have just nothing to do, go to the Krisna tent, and mosh…hehe. It was fun.
K’S CHOICE
The band welcomed representatives of the press in a horribly hot pavilion. K’s Choice is a transition between rock, pop, and folk music. Their songs garnished with weighty emotions won the affection of most of the profession and the audience as early as 1993, when their debutante album, The Great Subconscious, was released.
However, the band, which was also presented by Music Television, haven’t become the member of the club of megastars, and they don’t even wish to be, because in their opinion human relations are more important than promotion. They say that they don’t resemble any other band just themselves, and that’s the way it is right. They love harmonies, the slow and emotional things, but they don’t shrink back from filling all this with some pure rock music.
3rd August, Friday
The Californian Ignite is one of the most interesting American hardcore band for many years. The singer is Zoli Téglás of Hungarian birth, and not only his style is pretty particular, and responsible for magnificent harmonies, but he also rewrote a Hungarian folk song to English: A Place Called Home.
Well I really wanted to see them, but I couldn’t!!!! I could only enjoy the songs from outside of the tent, cuz there were so many people that I couldn’t get in!!! Grrrr
Progress report I
After a long testing I claim: the campari-soda will save the Sziget. Unquestionably it’s not the cheapest drink, but with the mixture of 2dl Campari (1800HUF), 3dl soda (150HUF) and the lots of ice (0 HUF) I managed to cheer myself up! Though I drank 4dl whiskey and 1dl vodka for breki, still not felt myself happy.
So I went to the international restaurant part, where after a short anxious speculation, I ordered something at the Chinese-tent, that not in the least wanted to come out of the roasting dish!!! It was tofu, but the Chinese replace the bamboo-buds with savoy cabbage, which is not by a long way the same!!!! But tofu is tofu, relatively difficult to make a botch of it!
4th August, Saturday
Progress report II
Hmm…the passing of days can be noticed in the “islander” ’s face!
More Chiba
The Morcheeba is indisputably the main attraction of the main stage of Sziget. The three-piece band started up scarcely seven years ago, when the Godfrey brothers (DJ Paul and guitarist Ross) lifted the exotically beautiful Sky Edwards out of the fashion business. The melancholia and pessimism which were typical of their first two albums, have no mark on their latest one, the musically eclectic Fragments of Freedom.
It turned out at the press conference, which was held before the concert, that the next album won’t be that much happy and lively dance-music, in fact the LP will concentrate more on human relationships, break-ups, divorce and killing a wife. But you shouldn’t take this too serious, cuz Paul, who was the most verbose one of the band, was willing to answer our stupid questions in a pretty witty way. Then it also turned out that Skye (who is a fashion-designer) doesn’t design her own clothes, and Paul works as a DJ in London every now and then, but he never puts their own music up on the recorder, and they loved to learn dancing for the sake of their new video clip, and that they came to Hungary with pleasure.
5th August, Sunday
Freestylers played on the main stage in the afternoon! Man, they did a good show! Loved them soooooooo much!
Anathema (GB), Faithless at night – both concert were phenomenal only that huge amount of people that I can’t stand!!!! Today the Sziget was full again: 70.000 people!!! WOW!
Well I fled from the masses to the New York Party Arena… that’s what you got there:
Party, people, arena
In the neighbourhood of Tilos Radio pavilion party people can find what they have been looking for in a huge pavilion which wears the imaginative name of New York Party Arena. Trance, house, and other pill-slicing music, the greatest names of Hungarian and foreign scratchers, the names of whom I could not really memorize.
Serious lights, blue and red and an almost full house, stomach shivering bass, and crowds of people, the pavilion is moving, bouncing disco knights and Mr Muscles, there wouldn’t be anything wrong with this provided I could listen to this music for more than five minutes. DJs are in full power here and direct the crowd, sometimes chopping, sometimes slowing down, mainly rhythm, party people sometimes shout, sometimes scream, sometimes hail, and sometimes say hey, man. Anyway, if you ask me, I cant see what’s the big thing about putting on an LP, then turning the volume down and putting on another one and keeping on doing this for many long hours but the problem might be in my receiver. So what’s going on is that you can turn yourself up here or just stare in front of you and ponder about the economic situation of developing countries, but it is not recommended without booze, if you see what I mean. When I crawled into the party arena, it was a man called DJ Kühl who was doling out rhythm, for the greatest pleasure of the listeners. Above Kühl, all kinds of animations were being projected continuously, quite nice ones indeed on three projector screens, and while I was staring at them I decided to finish this article with Come on baby, come on! The disco club is already
Recommended to listen to in the NY Party Arena:
Slam Jr., Sven Vath, Grooverider, Palotai, Cadik, David Morales
David Morales
David Morales, claimed king of New York house music, is rightly included in the DJ elite gathering the legendary figures of the scene. His successes are due to his superb remixes, a lot of which could be commented on by Jamiroquai, Mariah Carey and U2. He is sincerely devoted to the profession, still he does not regard himself as a classical DJ: When I say that I am not a real DJ, it does not mean that I could not make music with all my heart. I play my favourite records because I love to share my love of music with the audience. Being a DJ for me is providing the audience with something, and this fact turns me on even now. David is strongly rooted in New York, he was one of the first DJs dealing with house music. He has been the vanguard of the overseas movement since 1985; his released albums and his own publishing company have become significant. His biggest success, however, are his remixes as proved by the two Grammy awards and the winning of the status of Remixer of the Year for many times.
6th August, Monday
Today was the hottest day! About 35C in shade! I gotta search for that repeatedly-mentioned SWIMMING POOL somewhere hidden in the Sziget.
Reporting from the swimming-pool
Who visits Roxy Suncity, will have the feeling as if she left the Sziget, but still not. “I got the music, I got the love”, sounds the heavy disco. Here we can buy salmon-steak seasoned with garlic or spicy tuna for 2400HUF, ready waiters keep changing the ashtrays on the table. You can shove the Roxy Burger for 1300HUF here, the fish-wife salad – its name even tells you a lot about it – can be obtained for 300 money.
The staff’ main regret is that the party always ends at 10pm, Roxy Radio starts out quietly, and the guests come to visit the Suncity, only cuz of the most confi chairs of the Sziget. The red striped adjustable backed chairs truly has a great impact on the mood. And yes! The attraction, the POOL. It seems like they adjusted the opening hours (12-02) to the “Islanders” lifestyle, not like the rules: no alcohol and cigarettes around the pool!
My casual friend, the bulky and a lil’ drunken Attila, wasn’t allowed in, they said: “eightmillion In-kal security will be incite to you if you go in!”
Theoretically, we can’t splash without swimming suit, though Ian from Jamaica said, he was called from outside why he swims in his boxers!
According to the bar-attendant, the Roxy pavilion is visited by the same people as the New York Arena. Oh, and according to my knowledge this is the only place in the Sziget where the beer is given in glass!!!
Overkill played on Metal Hammer stage….hmmm…not my cup of tea!
Guano Apes was also playing on the main stage. They are pretty much a trend band. Even their audience is fake! Ugh! I really like listening to their CD at home, they rock, but not when they play live! And tonight it was even worse, cuz there were some problems with the sound techniques, so they sounded extremely crappy!!! I went crowd surfing – I had to have some fun somehow – but probably I chose the wrong audience! They tried to pull my pants off! No comment!
7th August, Tuesday
Unsatisfied desire (Bungee jumping in the Sziget)
John.P a Budapest resident, changed his mind in the afternoon, a few minutes before six. He has been preparing for the big spectacle for 3 years. Flying is his life! But only in his fantasy. He had to move!
- Money in my packet, friends love me, I have to go – he thought – a couple of short drinks and I can do it! They are counting on me!
He was standing on the top of the tower and didn’t feel himself secured at all!
- Jump dickhead!- the crowd made excessive demands – John didn’t. Cuz he is gutless.
Good-bye
This was the last day for everyone’s sorrow! But two English bands were playing tonight, the Irish ASH and the British Placebo. Both of them are on very intimate terms with my heartJ
The Placebo effect
When a sexy guy appears in a ‘I love to make boys cry’ T-Shirt, that tells you a lot about him. When he admits that he puts on make-up everyday, one’s daughter can only say: ‘too bad!’ Each member of Placebo turned up in dark sunnies at the press conference. They said after touring for 14 months , they would like to go home, live civil life, and somebody should pay the bills at last! Molko, the singer admitted he smokes at least 2 packs of cigarettes a day, if we are talking only about tobacco, but now he’s gonna smoke 10 in succession.
And when the frame of mind starts to be in low spirit, he shares his favourite joke with us: Two lesbians are walking on the street, rummaging in each other’s knickers. What do they do?
The bloomies of the main stage
The youngest ones of the main stage is the Irish band, Ash, whose members’ average age is 25, but they have been recognized in their hometown Downpartick, moreover in London since the age of 17.The four-piece band’s male members – Rick “Rock” McMurry (drums), Tim Wheeler (guitar, vocal), Mark Hamilton (bass) – were recruited in high school and were experimenting with punk rock tons. The slim and charming genuine girl from London (Charlotte) taught the boys how to play real British pop.
The era definitely left its mark on the offspring of the Star Wars generation, they published their first single, Jack Names the Planet in 1000 copies. Not only the British pop industry had demands on their popular, easily-sold albums, but in overseas, where people started to be fed up with Green Day. In addition it was always easier for the Yanks to become one with the Irish than with the British. The 7-track mini-album in 1994, Kung Fu, was followed by the album 1977. And then came a style-change when the punk music was worn off of pop-punk. Everyone accused them of becoming so Garbage like, which totally characterize the album, Nu-Clear Sounds published in 1999. Their latest album Free All Angels can be only listened to in pink shirt! Here you go Sex Pistols!
Hmm what else could I say…. All apologies for not mentioning and writing about the other 600 bands that were performing in the Sziget!
I had a blast, I didn’t get robbed, I met eightmillion new people and I obtained new friends.
Next year, next time, right here, we meet!
Hugs,
Kata
Leave a Reply