Location: Schloss Holte, Bielefeld (Germany)
By: Nina Mende
Second day of Serengeti Festival, luckily it didn’t rain today, and it wasn’t as hot as the days before, a fresh breeze and clouds kept the sun from burning down on the visitors of Serengeti Festival at Schloss Holte nearby Bielefeld. I found the location a little hard to find, the signs leading towards the festival were hung up sporadically – or removed by drunk visitors – and only leading you halfway there. The festival ground was slowly filling up this early afternoon, but would end up terribly crowded. Many of the guests were teenagers, but there were also older people as well as some Dad’s with their kids visiting Serengeti Festival.
| The first band we saw was Civet. Civet is an all-girl punk rock band from Long Beach, California. The self-described “femme fatale punk rock” band made a breakthrough after signing with Hellcat Records and releasing their first album under this label with the title Hell Hath No Fury. In an interview the lead singer Liza Graves said, that the name does not only represent the animal civet, but was used after they heard it means flower in Slavic languages. This girl punk rock band still performed in bright sunlight and heat before the clouds moved in. Blinded by the sun and with some technical problems they still rocked the early afternoon hours big time. Especially the guys loved their performance. The outfits were very ghoul and rockabilly like. The girls were quite tattooed and the singer had a voice that reminded a little bit of Brody Dalle of The Distillers. |
| Next band was another American band but more crazy: Dog Eat Dog. Dog Eat Dog, an American band originally from Bergen County, New Jersey, began in 1990 as part of the hardcore music scenes of New York City and New Jersey. Dog Eat Dog was one of the earliest bands to fuse hardcore and rap, a style that would later become commonplace. Dog Eat Dog has achieved commercial success with singles such as “No Fronts”, “Isms” and “Rocky” – all showcasing their unique blend of hardcore, heavy metal, saxophone and rap. After their first album, the band’s sound has evolved with the incorporation of elements of funk, ska and hip hop. They definitely got the audience go along to their hip hop ska tunes. The singer talked a lot to the audience and the saxophonist posed a lot on stage. Everybody could sing along to the songs and did as the band said. Dog Eat Dog had full control over their fans. The audience danced and moshed along to the music. Dog Eat Dog put up a thriving performance that everybody enjoyed. |
| Valient Thorr was a little different from the previous bands. Valient Thorr is an American rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Valient Thorr began playing together in 2000. The band somehow reminded of rednecks and hillbillies, their performance was energetic and the singer – who reminded of Gimli from Lord Of The Rings – jumped around on stage and got everybody going along. The songs were very out of life and many people could relate to them. Valient Thorr definitely is an interesting band to watch. You should give it a try. |
| Now it was time for a German band again that has a constantly growing fan base: Itchy Poopzkid. The punk rock band Itchy Poopzkid was founded in 2001 by Sibbi, Panzer and Saikov. Since then, these three are inseparable and can be seen together 24/7 travelling around in order to fulfill their big dream: a show at Wembley-Stadium. The old stadium of course, which would have to be rebuilt for this special treat. With the classic line up drums, guitar, bass, and vocals by Sibbi & Panzer, they deliver a rocking show with lots of boldness and even more charm that definitely makes every crowd move around with crazy energy. The trio filled up the big festival stage like they’d be way more. the audience went insane with Itchy Poopzkid on stage. They could all sing along and got a mosh pit going. Itchy Poopzkid even made their fans do a wall of death. They rocked the audience big time. Quite some kids did crowd surfing. They played old and new songs, bass player and guitarist switched instruments half way through the set and they talked quite a lot to their audience. Sibbi also kneeled on the audience. Itchy Poopzkid is definitely a kick ass live band. |
| Back to some more medieval metal Die Apokalyptischen Reiter took over the stage now. The audience changed from cross over to more metal and gothic, the rest went to have a beer break. Die Apokalyptischen Reiter is a Weimar, Germany based heavy metal band signed to Nuclear Blast in Europe and The End Records in North America. Their name translates to The Apocalyptic Horsemen. Their original style (featured on their releases up to and including “Allegro Barbaro” But “All you need is love” has a few songs that go back to their original style) consists of death/thrash metal blended with melodic compositions. In later albums, the death metal influence has declined, resulting in less chaotic composition (often centered around a verse and chorus with a bridge and solo), more constant tempo, longer songs and clean vocals (although not exclusively), resulting in a more polished and accessible sound. They use lyrics in both English and German with a shift from mainly English songs to more German ones on recent albums (“Licht” is purely in German). Their keyboarder came on stage in SM clothing and ran across the stage more than playing the keys while sitting on a swing. They had fireworks and other special effects as well as a great live performance with many props. The audience loved their performance and cheered a lot after each song. The singer talked a lot to the audience. |
| Next on stage was Skinred. Skindred is a Welsh rock band from Newport. The band was formed in 1998 following the disbandment of vocalist Benji Webbe’s previous band, Dub War. Skindred’s musical style mixes alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and reggae. The group refers to this style as “reggae metal”. Powerful and blasting they began their performance and got the audience to dance and sing along. Skinred rocked around on stage spreading a good mood across the audience. Everybody was with them, sang and danced along to the music, felt the beats and supported the band where they could. The singer talked a lot with the audience, asked them for response and made them go along. Skinred thanked all the other bands for playing at this festival and was also very thankful towards their audience for the great support. Skinred always put up a great show and spread great vibes. |
 Getting closer to the end of the festival, Flogging Molly was up next. Flogging Molly is a seven-piece Irish-American Celtic punk band that formed in Los Angeles, California and is currently signed to SideOneDummy Records. Flogging Molly’s music is influenced by artists such as The Pogues, The Dubliners, Horslips, Johnny Cash, and The Clash. The album “Within a Mile of Home” is dedicated to Joe Strummer and Johnny Cash. Their music ranges from boisterous celtic punk, like the pirate-themed “Salty Dog”, “Cruel Mistress”, and “Seven Deadly Sins”, or the defiant “What’s Left of the Flag”, “Drunken Lullabies”, and “Rebels of the Sacred Heart” to more somber songs like “Far Away Boys”, “The Son Never Shines (On Closed Doors)”, and “Float.” Lyrics typically touch on subjects such as Ireland and its history, drinking, politics, love, death, and include several references to the Roman Catholic Church. “What’s Left of the Flag” and “The Likes of You Again” were written as tributes to King’s father who died while he was a young boy. with Flogging Molly on stage the audience went totally insane. It seemed like literally everybody had gathered in front of the stage. Nobody was standing still, everywhere you could find little moshpits and people singing and dancing along. A whole lot of people also did crowd surfing. There was no second of silence or peace during Flogging Molly. The band spread a lot of energy and good mood with their Irish folk rock, the audience loved it big time. The singer talked a lot to the audience and also introduced the band throughout the show. Flogging Molly are definitely an amazing live band. |
| Now it was time for Papa Roach to enter the stage. Papa Roach is an American rock band from Vacaville, California. Their first major-label release was the triple-platinum debut album “Infest” (2000). The group’s success continued with their gold album “Lovehatetragedy” (2002), their platinum album “Getting Away with Murde”r (2004) and “The Paramour Sessions” (2006). Their latest album, “Metamorphosis”, was released on March 24, 2009. The band’s new live album, “Time for Annihilation”, will be released on August 31, 2010. Papa Roach has sold more than 10 million album copies worldwide, and are known for their hits “Last Resort”, “Scars”, “Forever”, and “Lifeline”, among others. After an intro the guys entered the stage and made the audience scream out loud before Jacoby began screaming and starting the song. The guys rocked their guts out and the audience gave them tons of energy back. Jacoby jumped around all over the stage, never standing still for a second blasting out old and new songs, as well as the brand new song “Kick In The Teeth”. The crowd sang along strongly and sometimes even sang for Jacoby. Even though the audience was already going crazy, Jacoby still asked them to give more, and they gave more. Papa Roach rocked for a little over an hour. It had become cold by now, but Papa Roach made everybody sweat a lot. It was an awesome show with great light and sound. The backdrop with the explosion pattern behind the band name looked amazing. Serengeti was another great festival. Can’t wait till next year. |
Links:
Civet MySpace
Dog Eat Dog MySpace
Valient Thorr MySpace
Itchy Poopzkid MySpace
Reiter Mania MySpace
Skindred MySpace
Floggin Molly MySpace
Papa Roach MySpace
Serengeti Festival Website
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