15-09-2012 Backyard Festival

Venue: Greven (Germany)
By: Sabine van Gameren

Backyard Festival is hold in the German place Greven. It is a cosy festival that attracts youth from the whole area and some from further.

The band Five Slaps Down was honoured to open this year’s edition of the festival. The band had their first show in 2011 so is still quite young and fresh. They had some friends and curious souls watching them but their pop/punk music did not easily convince the listeners. Musically they had a good sound considering they are still finding their place but it was mainly the performance that failed to make the impression. Time to grow is there, their vocalist shows some good moments but needs to discover his strongest points and highlight these more.

Performance wise the band Discord does a little more effort, but infertile unfortunately. The female fronted formation makes Alternative rock and seems a little more experienced. Vocalist Anna showed in their sound check to have a strong voice but should bring this power into the show a little more. No need to be shy, walk up front to that stage and demand the attention of the listeners you would almost want to scream to them. The guitars were maybe not the strongest point yet, some work may be done to support the sound of Anna a bit better. Yet, as long as these youngsters remain having fun in what they do and will open up a bit more, we’ll hear from them again some when.

Metalcore formation True Reason seem to take the stress of it all. Confident on stage the show starts to get going. Most of the credits go to guitarist Dennis Bücker which lets the music speak for him most. Others are more up for the show and so it seems everyone brings their part into it all. Only their drummer may profile himself a bit better. He falls a bit behind which is not needed at all. Fair enough, the group succeeded in bringing the energy to the festival and set the tone for whatever comes up next.

Under Hoods proved to be involved with monkey business, as literally as you can take that. The band makes hardcore and benefits from the mood that True Reason sets for them. Though, the band takes too lengthy breaks between tracks which slows the show a bit down. Musically they are quite solid but the guys are not bringing a new face to the stage. The stereotypes of the genre are well presented and that is where their success seems built on. Hoping that the guys would step beyond it all and take it a bit further was just something that did not happen today. An ok show, but these guys are not getting the maximum out of their band (yet?).

Stand Fast was up next and these guys are the first ones that show an unique face here. They are active, use the stage very well and seem to live up the music while playing. Good to see that drive here, because it immediately makes you feel more connected to their music. The audience follows it straight away and this interaction shows that the guys know how to put up a decent show. What also is standing out with these guys is how everyone makes themselves present while not losing the team, exactly how a band should be. A nice show.

Then Metal formation Victima brings a change into it all. They are more melodic and a great part of that lays in the keys. Their classic Heavy Metal has a strong instrumental base where their vocalist can find a good back up. His voice has a raw edge here and there and that exactly gives it charm. It is not as shiny and polished as you may expected. The guys built their set very well and altogether they might be mentioned as the surprise of the festival. Works for the metal heads of all ages and brings nostalgia into a crowd with many youngsters.

The winners of the local band contest were up next, it was Spin My Fate and that the guys have made themselves a name here seems clear as they have some people lined up for them already. Last year the band released their second full length album “Act II: When Worlds Collide” of which they based their set here today. Their performance was quite energetic but left some moments to calm down as well. The songs played really have two sides and the contrast that is found within creates a tension field that makes sure you keep your attention with these guys.

Due to an interview we missed the start of the Dutch band Striking Justice but as soon as we returned we noticed that there was a whole battlefield going on in front of the stage. From moshing crowd to band members coming a bit closer to their fans. Obviously a big hit here.

Hard rocking trio Eat The Gun was taking care of one of the headlining positions and the band fulfills this task with flair. A major on-going mosh madness, people at the front row climbing speakers, crowd surfers, the guys got the madness starting. Those 500+ live gigs they did since 2002 clearly paid off! The band plays with the intensity levels and take no time to breathe with it, good to see the boys have got their act together very well. The strong bass gives the music a good body while those pounding drums are taking care for some extra heavy sound. The flirting vocals finish it all Eat The Gun presents the right package to have a great show here going.

It is every festival’s nightmare to see your headliner cancel just a short time before the festival takes place. Unfortunately The Resistance could not make it this year but luckily they have found a good replacement in the band Deadlock. The band has quite some years on the counter and with their latest release from 2011 in the pocket they had plenty of material to entertain us with. In the beginning of the set it was mainly John Gahlert that made an impression with his voice and charismatic way of performing but later on in the set it was femme Sabine that stole the show. Must be said, in bands like these there is not always the greatest balance in the sound level which was engraved in my memory from the show of this band we saw in 2009 but here they showed how you do it right. Always nice to keep a positive memory considering a band instead of negative one. Guitars are giving the melody a kick on its arse while some samples make it all very playful. While the audience is still jumping the band leaves the stage while their set is over, an encore was given but then the party is gone.
Such a vibrant day and many good bands were presented at this Saturday in Greven. Let’s see what next year will bring.