8,9,10-08-2008 Open Flair Festival

Location: Eschwege (Germany)
By: Nina Mende

„Gheez, what is a festival without rain??“ was I thinking as I left the office early to drive to Open Flair Festival in Eschwege, two hours drive from Frankfurt. In Frankfurt it was pouring down raining and it didn’t seem like it would stop at all. Almost all the way to Eschwege it was raining just as bad…
But as we arrived there, after a couple of traffic jams which made me freak out because they had totally no reason, Eschwege’s weather seemed so much better.

After checking in to our hotel rooms and organizing everything we finally went to the festival ground. The town seemed to be involved to the festival and everybody seemed to feel the “Open Flair” of the festival which was great. Eschwege is a pretty town and the festival ground wasn’t worse either. Two stages across from each other which meant that one band would have to stop before the other could begin. Around the little stage there were shopping booths and of course drinking booths. The festival was sponsored by HR3 (one of the biggest radio stations in Hessen/Germany), Jägermeister, and some others. Then there was this seat-catapult thingy: you get tied up to a chair and get catapulted into the air…. Looked very scary.

The first band we watched after we arrived and took a look around was Kettcar, a German band singing in German. Many people were there watching the band, cheering and singing along, especially many young people. The band consists of 5 people, four of them were singing (maybe even the drummer, but I didn’t see that). The audience had fun watching Kettcar and the boys had fun on stage.
 

Up next on the little stage across were 4lyn, four Germans rocking the stage big time and getting everybody to rock along. Although it was raining a little during the first song, it was stopping quickly and the sun came out again so that we could all rock our minds off without hoodies on. Almost everybody could sing along, but everybody definitely moshed and jumped along, as well as clapped and shouted. The four guys were totally energetic on stage, sharing energy with their fans. For the song “Pearls” Ron (the singer) got a girl of the audience up on stage to sing for her, but somehow didn’t she interact that much. For the rest of us it was still fun watching, but I am sure she didn’t enjoy it too much and was completely nervous being on stage, with 4lyn. A common 4lyn concert tradition is the Brave heart ritual which is basically just a wall of death. They did it here as well and the crowd parted in the middle. It took a little longer than usual, but in the end it still worked out. A great band with a great and energetic live performance. I so can’t wait to see them on tour in October.

Up next on the big stage again was the complete opposite of what we had just seen: Culcha Candela. Seven guys rapping to their hip hop and reggae beats in English, German and Spanish. It was extremely crowded and the girls in the front row who had waited all day, were screaming their lungs out as the guys were performing on stage trying to get everybody “grooving” along and feel their vibes. Somehow everybody did dance and sing along. The crowd seemed in total ecstasy. It was amazing to watch the huge crowd of fans singing and dancing along. You could hear them from afar… That band really made it!

Next on the little stage again was Itchy Poopzkid. A young band, but rocking just like the big ones. It was totally crowded again and there were many people waiting since early hours to see them live. Many people sang along and if it was getting quieter, the band animated the audience to get louder again. That worked out very well. Everybody rocked along with the German boys and had a blast.

Last of the night for us were the gorgeous Swedes The Hives, as many people like to call them and as they call themselves. They are Swedish, indeed. Whether they are gorgeous or not: make up your own mind. The performance is great though and the music gets you going… It seemed like every festival visitor was here to watch them perform. Sometime during their performance they all the sudden stand totally still for a couple minutes, no movement whatsoever. Really amazing to watch, and then they rock on as if nothing has happened… The Hives played all their hits and many more songs, the red lights in the back of the stage as well as the H on their jackets kept on reminding you who you’re watching there. And just in case you couldn’t read, the singer reminded you many times. But that was ok, I mean, they are The Hives. Anyways, a great show and a great closing of the first day. Now it began to rain and we made our way to the hotel singing songs of the day.

Saturday:

Sauna is a great thing, especially in the mornings after a hard day. So after breakfast, morning sauna, a little walk in the beautiful town of Eschwege and getting done we went off to the second day of Open Flair festival. First band we would see today was Bitune, a local band. Their music is nice and melodic but still rocks. The bass player seemed a little nervous; he didn’t look at the audience too much and tried to avoid eye contact. The sun was shining bright during their performance and for these early hours many people were watching already, although nobody stood too close to the stage.

Next on the little stage as well (we skipped on one band while we got some food and stuff…) was the British band The Courteneers. I guess I would call it Brit punk though it was quite melodic. The Manchester accent of the guys was great to listen to. Unfortunately the audience was not too thrilled of their performance.

Big stage again: Danko Jones from Canada. I’ve seen them at Provinssi before and the show was pretty close to the one back then. Their pure rock music kicked ass and got everybody rocking along. The crowd was quite huge. The three guys had a straight face during their performance and didn’t smile. They rocked for about an hour in the sun.

Back to the little stage again to see Blackmail. Aydo (the singer) tried the crowd surfing while singing again but it didn’t work out as well as it did at Rheinkultur. Neither did the wall of death really work out so everybody had to sit down in the middle which worked out a little better. It was quite crowded, many people clapped, danced and sang along. It was a great show with a familiar feeling, great guys, good music and nice light. I always enjoy seeing Blackmail live.

Now I was running over, totally excited to see the following band again. I had seen them before at Rheinkultur, which was my first time seeing that band as well and I was amazed by their show and loved their music: Anti-Flag from Pennsylvania. It was totally crowded, everybody jumped around to the music and did everything the band wanted. Chris (the bass player) was kneeling on the crowd again while playing bass. Him and Justin (singer and guitar player) jumped around a lot putting up a totally energetic performance which was also getting close to your mind with their messages. There were several circle pits going on in the audience and a huge mosh pit in the middle. The boys dedicated their song “In The End” to the Donots. A gorgeous performance that I could have watched on forever, but it was already over after about an hour.

Last band for us, since we were no big Die Ärzte fans and decided not to watch them, was the Donots. Many people were already waiting for them, totally excited and enthused, thrilled to see them live. They were cheering big time as the guys entered the stage and began to rock. The audience was rocking along with them, jumping and moshing. Really fun to watch.

After them everybody was running over to the big stage to see the surprise headliner who turned out to be Die Ärzte. Only some other people left with us, because we didn’t feel like seeing them. So this was the end of the second day full of rock. One more to go.

Sunday:

What a beautiful day, hey hey. Last day at the festival, somehow sad, but after two super gorgeous days it was alright. There would be great bands on the stages as well on this last day.
First of our bands of the day was Jennifer Rostock, German rock with a female vocalist who got the crowd to do really everything. She got girls to take off their shirts and throw their bras up to the stage. A totally crazy performance but it was great.

Up next, over at the big stage again, was a band that got me totally excited again: Turbostaat. Last time I had seen them as they were on tour with the Beatsteaks. Turbostaat is a gorgeous German rock band from Flensburg. They sing in German, the lyrics are very thoughtful and out of life. Their performance was very true and positive, the guys made some fun and talked a lot to the audience and just had a great time. So did we. Many people were there already rocking along, although it was still quite early. Also many people were singing along, jumping around. What a great show, can’t wait till they are on tour either.

Next band got me just as excited and happy: Bloodlights, a great Norwegian band that I really began to like during this year. Their shows are always lots of fun. The Open Flair guests enjoyed their show just as much as I did. Several people from the Turbojugend where in the audience as well. Many were dancing along and rocking. Some were even singing along. Bloodlights also played some new songs, but also played the “The Damned” cover “New Rose”. The guys seemed to have fun on stage, and the audience enjoyed the show as well.

Last band before we took a break to hang out with friends, eat and drink something and chill was the American band Boy Hits Car from Southern California. Some of their songs reminded me of Disturbed. The singer played acoustic guitar at times and rocked around on stage barefoot. A great show.

The last band of the festival we watched after our break was Adam Green. A crazy performance of a crazy New Yorker, but it was amazing watching him. Somehow the performance was very catchy and even touchy. There were two female black backing vocalists, great women. Adam Green is a very interesting band, interesting music. The singer has a dark voice which you wouldn’t expect looking at him. A gorgeous voice and a funky performance. We all totally enjoyed watching it, and so did the huge audience that was cheering big time, dancing and singing along.

What a great festival it was. Thanks to everybody!!
And hope to see you all again next year.