#festival review

[squishykotetsu]

The Great "Squishy went to a Festival" Post

I wrote a thing for some friends but they said to put it online, so here comes:

a little guide to the bands I watched at this years PartySan, written for people that don't know anything about metal, because more people should listen to metal :3

This is a list of all of the bands I watched, with a quick blurb about what they sound like, how the concert was, and a link to a song for checking them out!

Rope Sect BIG recommend, very chill groovy dark goth-y rock with nice gritty dirty production, I love their first EP to bits! The concert was wonderful and the guys are lovely. Give them a listen, even if you're not into metal at all! Track recommendation: Tarantist https://open.spotify.com/track/6lxekwquW2tnlvBNeIwGg0?si=c455db23e99a48ac

Mephorash very cool black metal (meaning there is screams n shid) - epic, kind of unconventional, makes you feel like there's some satanic fuckery afoot :D The concert was in the same vein, very ritualistic and mystical - good stuff Track recommendation: Sanguinem https://open.spotify.com/track/2JQQhdTBOhRV8knLclnF83?si=377bf940b41a441f

Left to Die they're a coverband, so I'll just talk about Death, the band that they're playing, cuz they nailed the sound (granted they do, I think, have some of the original members). Death were a huuuuugely influential band for the genre of, you guessed it, death metal absolute killer riffs - fast, catchy, groovy, technically and musically interesting and progressive, keeps you on your toes the concert had me honestly wondering what we've been doing these past like 40 years that we still can't top them Track recommendation: Left to Die https://open.spotify.com/track/0BO5g7FXNhZgQuC8xIORDm?si=5cf7cd9dea2e4da9

Ritual Death More "advanced", probably harder to get into if you don't already like black metal - they're still pretty new, but the black metal scene is keeping a close eye on them cuz they're interesting and weird. Musically very cool, more on the experimental side, but not too crazy. Just giving their own take on things. The concert was great, the frontman (guitar & vocals) was wearing this cool, tall mask/hood thing that hid his face completely, which made for an interesting experience in watching him sing - no visible mic, no visible face, only gestures and motions, very eery in a way that's hard to describe Track recommendation: Ancient Devil Worship https://open.spotify.com/track/0iVLWVXyoc1WABbtwpVfVh?si=b8984ed8165147a1

Darkend Nocturn Slaughtercult just really fuckin solid black metal - fast, evil, great riffs, lofi production, screeching vocals, blastbeats galore. Bonus: Female vocalist, always cool to see in this sausage fest of a scene (on te bands' side, the audience was fairly mixed) I sadly didn't enjoy their concert all that much cuz the sound was shite - the drums were drowning out the guitars completely. They do have an awesome stage presence though! Gonna try to catch them again somewhere else Track recommendation: A Sweven Most Devout https://open.spotify.com/track/4pkA0avPTHSA5QZz7dI3Op?si=50ab46fa9ffb412a

Schammasch I'd say it's post-black metal, so focussing on atmosphere and deeper lyrics rather than violence and just plain evil satan business - I really recommend checking out this song cuz it has exclusively clean vocals, might be a cool way to check out the other elements of black metal if you're usually put off by the screaming lol The concert was meditative, atmospheric and very moving - I nearly cried during one song :D Track recommendation: Metanoia https://open.spotify.com/track/3bj4gLDzAT8gTC8YdpOMRs?si=5eaeff94f32f4c96

Afsky really good example of a different common variant of black metal that isn't evil aggression: atmospheric melancholy. Wonderfully touching sad songs that use the harsh elements to bring voice to the darker parts of life, I love this kind of stuff The band impressively made these songs work under the 2pm sun, quite the feat Track recommendation: Altid Veltilfreds https://open.spotify.com/track/3dKyLNbYun1timBlPx3Wlp?si=dcce815edb2f456f

Batushka Do you have catholic trauma? This is the band to work it out to. It's black metal from Russia with orthodox male choir elements - epic, dark, mighty, really cool unique shit. Their theatrical, church-y performance was perfect to bring this sound to a live setting Track recommendation: Песнь 1 https://open.spotify.com/track/34FWlbZHTtjslQ9u07ghTY?si=643bec22ba684bbf

Non Est Deus again, just absolutely solid black metal. Good production, kinda lacking in creativity with the lyrics (church bad hurr durr), the guy's other project is much more impressive (they're called Kanonenfieber and they write about WW1) - still really good (epic, fast, dark), just not all that unique imo cuz I think they're too close to Mgła, who are just the best at this particular style of black metal. Bangin show though, you can tell these guys have been on a stage before :D Track recommendation: Thousand Years of Sand https://open.spotify.com/track/7CXCoEqwKrYnHnzAkpmt2Y?si=fb8029a4bd8e4122

Solstafir Kind of chill, kind of psychedelic, progressive blend of influences from within and without the spectrum of metal music - no two songs are really alike, so I'll just recommend a chill one that's easy on the metal bits and should be quite enjoyable for everyone. I used their concert for a bit of a sit-down to relax my back, have a beer and just float around in their soundscapes, so I can't say too much about the front and center before the stage experience. Sound was fantastic tho Track recommendation: Ótta https://open.spotify.com/track/2LJZE1yXy9SdglruufEDHG?si=f239271b14df4838

Konvent This is the heavy shit. The genre is called "doom metal" for a reason. Slow, hard-hitting, dark and unrelenting. A beatdown of a listening experience, but in the best way possible - these ladies don't fuck around. Probably the concert that I had the most physical experience with, I felt like I got run over by a steamroller (affectionate) Track recommendation: Puritan Masochism https://open.spotify.com/track/770HRSwohWkdbOOk6ByEeT?si=6e13a384cb8c451d

Regarde Les Hommes Tomber "watch humanity fall", fantastic french black metal - more on the dark and atmospheric than the enraged and evil side of things, but they keep it interesting, it's never formulaic - howling lamenting vocals, fast and straightforward but effective drums, nicely layered guitar harmonies that drive the mood of the tracks, is gud shit Very energetic live show, they really went all out Track recommendation: A New Order https://open.spotify.com/track/6eL3uPBHe6H23O9AcbhKJB?si=b9a4f709dc274b83

Unto Others Continuation of the 80s with modern technology. It's more rock than metal, but you can hear the influences. Absolute gods of the v i b e Catchy, groovy, but also melancholic and introspective at times, biiig recommend, again something that should be wayyy easier to get into than all that screaming insanity lol Track Recommendation: It doesn't really matter (that is both the song name and also just actual advice, all their stuff slaps lol) https://open.spotify.com/track/5uMml4h2o7eGfkqmXo2n7a?si=0310fa3faa924963

Sulphur Aeon My beloved, the band I was looking forward to the most - cosmic horrors made audible. Sometimes chaotic and fast, sometimes epic and majestic, sometimes slow and brooding, they're definitely conjuring something. Mostly harsh vocals with the occasional clean part. All-around highly competent musicians and songwriters They played a good selection of tracks and I had a blast! Shoutout to the guy from Bogota I stood next to who knew all the lyrics, you made an already awesome concert even better brother! Track recommendation: Usurper of the Earth and Sea https://open.spotify.com/track/0ZOCudJOOzIfV5P5JF0Cns?si=10c258aa203e4d00

Hellripper We're drunk, let's party! This is a crossover between black- and thrash metal, a very successful combination. Fast, virtuous, heavy, just a blast to listen to and to watch live - they bring the heat! It's the dirty sound of black metal without the depression, and the speed and ferocity of thrash without the shitty vocals lol (he scream tho). This is peak moshpit music and the concert was, accordingly, just pure insanity Track recommendation: All Hail the Goat https://open.spotify.com/track/79PE0a8VfZKSxhLVeUq3rd?si=f89cb77d2a8848be

Anaal Nathrak Death metal of the more modern variety. Very hard, very fast, but it's not just mindless brutality - they actually have very clever and effective songwriting - try to make it through the first minute so you can get to the chorus of this one, it's worth it! I didn't see much of the concert, it was another exhausted sit-down one, but they audibly enjoyed themselves and the vocalist was pretty funny in his between-song quips and stories about his own time at this festival as a fan some years back Track recommendation: Endarkenment https://open.spotify.com/track/2IUO6hWyrG7FYDkJZrFpQP?si=1240e071f87840bd

Paradise Lost this band has a huuuge discography, covering a plethora of metal subgenres, but they're probably most famous for their more gothic-leaning work. "Sway in the wind at a graveyard" type music - dark, melancholic, epic, atmospheric, clean but hard vocals. Excellent song- and lyrics writing, a bit more refined you could say. Not too out there tho, I find their music very approachable so it's another recommend to definitely check out if you wanna ease into the genre. The concert was phenomenal, you could tell the years and years of experience and mastery from everyone involved, including sound and light. Fun fact: you know the meme about how you can find the people with depression at a party by how loud they sing "I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all" when Bohemian Rhapsody plays? I found the goth version of this at this concert, when this song played and we screamed "VANQUISH THE PAIN" in unison :D Track recommendation: Faith Devides Us - Death Unites Us https://open.spotify.com/track/5gOjvocmJZQ05QBSE9xIkR?si=9800cb39b7364b37

Sodom absolute titans of the genre, they practically invented German thrash metal. Simple, fast, hard, there's a reason that they're still so successful even though they're getting old. One of the most solid live bands you can see, they know how to light a fire in the crowd Track recommendation: Agent Orange https://open.spotify.com/track/3Ks3K2RmCxSUcXS6cOvd43?si=91c3c9df2afb43ee

[skylark913]

Appalachian Summer Solstice 2023 Festival Review

[musicftmisfits]

Photo review: Heartland Festival - A triumphant debut into our hearts and our calendars

Heartland Festival is a brand new festival that got it right with a blend of established artists, contemporary stars, and up-and-comers.

Photos + text by Mike Rushby Photography Heartland Festival is a brand new festival that got it right with a blend of established artists, contemporary stars, and up-and-comers. Pitlochry in Scotland is a beautiful setting for the brand new Heartland Festival; a charming affair with around 7,500 over the weekend enjoying a single main stage alternating with a “discovery stage” showcasing new…

[gbhbl]

Festival Review: Bloodstock Open Air 2024

Another Bloodstock is in the bag and what an epic event it was. From legends, to those solidifying their name, to those building up a steady reputation, and those who are fresh-faced and about to play the biggest show of their fledging careers, we saw a hell of a lot. Here is our review of Bloodstock 2024 and the bands we saw!

Another Bloodstock is in the bag and what an epic event it was. From the moment we excitedly stepped foot on site to the moment we slowly dragged our weary feet out of there, our smiles were broad. Not only was it, once again, an incredibly well-run festival but just about every aspect of our experience was top-notch. From the moment we rocked up to the VIP car park (big shout-out to the…

[speckofglitter]

Is yardland the new frachella?

We’ve seen countless festivals try to dethrone Coachella as the number one musical festival over the past couple of years. From huge successes such as Wireless to epic failures such as the Fyre festival, the realm of musical festivals has not lacked new entrants.  Despite the abundance of new festivals entering the scene, many have struggled to truly innovate and capture the imagination of…

[methodman13]

The Essence of Cali Vibes: A Tapestry of Sound and Spirit

The Essence of Cali Vibes: A Tapestry of Sound and Spirit

[poppedmusic]

Festival Review: Camp Bestival Shropshire 2023

Words & Photos: Elena Katrina Camp Bestival – Shropshire – August 2023Instagram//2024 TICKETS This is a whole new direction for us here at Popped Music – this is a fully-fledged family festival review. After our trip to Deer Shed without my little ones, I suddenly felt compelled to take them to their first festival and it needed to be good, it needed to be great. I feel certain we made the…

[benoits-neckerchieves]

Have not read any reviews yet but that’s a hell of a good start lmao

Peter Bradshaw - The Guardian

[sorryasianparents]

#sorryasianparents EP19 - Skyline Festival Los Angeles 2023

#sorryasianparents EP19 - #SkylineFestival Los Angeles 2023 #festivals #house #techno #humor

Talking about Skyline Festival in Los Angeles. Sorry, I had been sitting on this video for a while. Been busy with work and other projects, which I hope to share with y’all as soon as it’s published. Ray and Anthony join me to talk about our Skyline Festival 2023 experience. It was super awesome. Also, the song “Age of Love” (1990) is a self-titled track by Italian-Belgian duo Age of Love. I…

[thephotopitmagazine]

FROM THE PIT TO THE CROWD: HEARTSUPPORT FEST DAY 1 - CENTRAL FLORIA FAIRGROUNDS - ORLANDO FL - FEBRUARY 18, 2023

[semisentientseafood]

(Repost) TEAM PRESENT!! 💜💙

[louisupdates]

On day two, we had our bearings heading in and made it just in time to catch the set of my childhood heartthrob - Louis Tomlinson.

I'm not going to lie, neither of us were familiar with any of Louis's solo stuff - but when I say he was INCREDIBLE.

The man knows how to put on a show and his band were next level.

He performed thriving tunes like Out Of My System and Saturday's [sic].

But my 12-year-old self would have fainted when she heard the start of Where Do Broken Hearts Go? A fan favourite One Direction hit.

TOP FESTIVAL Chart-topping headliners and sizzling heat attract crowds of Irish to Budapest for Sziget Festival

Fontaines D.C, Liam Gallagher and One Direction star light up the stage in Hungary

Kate Stafford, Showbiz Reporter

Published: 12:55, 19 Dec 2024 | Updated: 13:03, 19 Dec 2024

[musicftmisfits]

MFTM X Primavera Sound: Day 3

The last day of Primavera Sound 2024 starts slowly, built upon the calm before the storm, and ends up almost being the best yet with some great yangly pop and a stunning performance by PJ Harvey closing it for me! In a pitch black Auditori the spotlight shines on Nala Sinaphro, an artist I found myeelf at through a recommendation from one of the artists at the stalls on the festival. I was a big…

[gbhbl]

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Slam Dunk 2023 - South

Another year, another Slam Dunk in the bag. We give you the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Slam Dunk 2023 - South.

Another year, another Slam Dunk in the bag. We’re crispy, hung-over (still), and a little bit deaf, but mostly satisfied. Yet, to talk about our personal experience of Slam Dunk 2023 is to ignore the shocking reports we’ve seen and heard from many others. We’ll talk a little bit more about that as we give you the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Slam Dunk 2023 – South. The Good Getting in – we…

[whileiamdying]

‘I’m Still Here’ Review: Walter Salles Returns Home With the Powerful Story of a Broken Family’s Resistance

Premiering at Venice, the film stars Fernanda Torres as a mother of five children who reinvents herself as a lawyer and activist after suffering a devastating loss at the height of Brazil’s military dictatorship.

BY DAVID ROONEY SEPTEMBER 1, 2024 @ 11:48AM

Fernanda Torres in 'I'm Still Here.' COURTESY OF VENICE FILM FESTIVAL

Walter Salles’ 1998 international breakthrough, Central Station, earned an Oscar nomination for the magnificent Fernanda Montenegro. Now in her 90s, the actress turns up toward the end of the director’s first feature in his native Brazil in 16 years, the shattering I’m Still Here(Ainda Estou Aqui), in a role that requires her to speak only through her expressive eyes. What makes the connection even more poignant is that she appears as the elderly, infirm version of the protagonist — a woman of quiet strength and resistance played by Montenegro’s daughter, Fernanda Torres, with extraordinary grace and dignity in the face of emotional suffering.

Many powerful films have been made about the 21 years of military dictatorship in Brazil, from 1964 through 1985, just as they have about similar oppressive regimes in neighboring South American countries like Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. The human rights abuses of systematic torture, murder and forced disappearances represent an open wound on the psyches of those nations, for which cinema has often served as a vessel for collective memory.

It’s not often, however, that the spirit of protest against the horrors of junta rule is viewed through such an intimate lens as I’m Still Here. That aspect is deepened by evidence throughout the film of Salles’ personal investment in the true story of the Paiva family after patriarch Rubens (Selton Mello), a former congressman, was taken from his Rio de Janeiro house in 1971, ostensibly to give a deposition, and never seen or heard from again.

Salles met the family in the late 1960s and spent a significant part of his youth in their home, which he credits as foundational to his cultural and political development. That accounts for the coursing vitality of the early scenes, as the five Paiva siblings dash back and forth between the house and the beach, and an extended family of friends of all ages seems to be constantly dropping by for drinks and meals and music and lively conversation.

There are sweet throwaway moments like two of the sisters dancing and singing along to the Serge Gainsbourg-Jane Birkin wispy make-out classic “Je t’aime … moi non plus,” without understanding the words. Just watching how one of the youngest kids, Marcelo (Guilherme Silveira), sweet-talks his way into keeping a stray dog they found on the beach conveys the warmth, spontaneity and affectionate scrappiness of the Paiva household dynamic. The young actors playing the kids are all disarmingly natural and appealing.

The first blunt intrusion into the family’s bubble of closeness and comfort comes when eldest daughter Vera (Valentina Herszage) is out with a group of friends and their car is pulled over at a tunnel roadblock. It’s a disturbing scene in which we see teenagers — just minutes earlier cruising along, sharing a joint and laughing — ordered at gunpoint to stand against a wall while military officers question them, searching their faces for any resemblance to the “terrorist killers” they’re looking to apprehend.

An occasional hushed phone conversation or private exchange with a friend suggests Rubens’ involvement in something that needs to be kept quiet. But the script by Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega, based on the book by Marcelo Rubens Paiva, saves those details until long after Rubens is taken into custody. That puts us in the same position as his wife and children, wondering what their father could possibly have done to place him in the regime’s crosshairs.

The chill of uncertainty is hardest on Rubens’ wife Eunice (Torres), who does what she can to hide what’s going on from the youngest kids. But having armed strangers in their house and a car parked across the street to keep a constant eye on them is tough to explain, and the older siblings are aware something is very wrong.

The situation escalates when Eunice is hauled off for interrogation. With Vera away in London with family friends, the next oldest, 15-year-old Eliana (Luiza Kozovski), is forced to accompany her mother, with bags put over their heads to keep them from knowing where they are being taken.

The interrogation scenes, set in a grim building with confinement cells, are harrowing. Eunice is sequestered for 12 days. Denied contact with the family lawyer, she’s kept completely in the dark about what’s happening to her daughter and is unable to learn where her husband is being held. She’s coerced over and over to identify people in photo files as possible insurgents, but aside from her husband, she recognizes only one woman who teaches at her daughter’s school. Her isolation and fear are made worse by the constant screams of people being tortured coming through the walls.

There are many moments of raw tenderness after Eunice is released — notably when one of her daughters watches from the bathroom doorway, her face a mix of sorrow and terror, as her mother showers away 12 days of grime.

With the government refusing to acknowledge even that her husband was arrested, Eunice continues fishing for information, talking to Rubens’ friends who tell her the military is “shooting blind,” going after random people based on almost nothing concrete. Unable to make bank withdrawals without her husband’s signature, she struggles to keep up with expenses. At the same time, she begins studying the family lawyer’s case file, foreshadowing her eventual decision to relocate with the five children to São Paulo and return to college.

The chief focus of Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s book is essentially his mother’s quiet heroism — first as she single-handedly shoulders the responsibility of keeping the family together and protected, concealing her grief when the inevitable is confirmed, and subsequently when she earns a law degree at 48 and becomes active in a number of causes. That includes pushing for full acknowledgment from authorities of disappeared people like Rubens after democracy is returned to the country.

Salles’ heartfelt film jumps forward 25 years and then by almost 20 more, allowing us to absorb Eunice’s self-reinvention not in big crusading speeches but simply in her dedication to the work of keeping memories alive and not letting the abuses of the past be swept away.

Perhaps the most beautifully observed arc of the film is the gradual rebuilding of the family. As the children grow up and marry and grandchildren come along, they transition back into a noisy, joyful clan much like the one depicted in carefree scenes at the start. Even the simple process of sorting through boxes of family photos is viewed as a loving act of reclamation in a final stretch that will have many audiences in tears.

Torres (one of the stars of Salles’ terrific early film, Foreign Land, co-directed with Daniela Thomas) is a model of eloquent restraint, showing Eunice’s private pain and her necessary fortitude by the subtlest of means. Only once during the film does she raise her voice in anger after a sad occurrence, beating on the windows of the parked car watching the house in Rio and screaming at the two stone-faced men inside.

The final scenes in which Montenegro steps into the role are bittersweet, as Eunice has become nonverbal and uses a wheelchair, in steep decline with Alzheimer’s. The poignancy is almost overwhelming as we watch her gently lean in, her eyes lighting up and a hint of a smile forming, when Rubens’ photograph appears in a television program on the heroes of the resistance.

The movie looks gorgeous. Adrian Teijido’s agile cinematography uses 35mm to great grainy effect to evoke the ‘70s and Super 8mm home movies shot during that decade provide lovely punctuation. The other key asset to the film is Warren Ellis’ score, which starts out pensive and quietly troubling before shifting almost imperceptibly into a much more emotional vein with the surge of feeling that accompanies the forward time jumps.

While it could use a less generic international title that’s not also a well-known Stephen Sondheim song, I’m Still Here is a gripping, profoundly touching film with a deep well of pathos. It’s one of Salles’ best.