Amphi Action (long)
Had a pretty wicked time - great bands and great company, although some things didn't exactly go to plan (like the hotel, the flights and the weather!). I also have some reservations about the festival itself and its organisation (or lack of!), but all in all can't grumble too much!
Journey out on Thursday night was pretty boring, mainly because not having flown from Gatwick before I got there *way* too early. Bit of crap flight as it was delayed by 30 mins and was completely packed (only 3 spare seats). Plus I was traveling on my own and didn't really speak to anyone.
However got talking to a couple of baby goths from Romford at the train station who were struggling to buy tickets and got the train into town with them. Had a very wet walk to the hotel (about 2km). I would have got the tube except that I only had 1,40 EUR in change and the journey was 1,50 EUR. Bloody ticket machines wouldn't take notes!
Spent a rather sleepless night in the hotel due to being placed next to the lift, stairs and laundry cupboard. So complained and got moved to stinky smokers room!
Mark and Amber turned up around midday Friday and we decided to walk into Cologne. Bit of a mistake as it took over an hour to get to Alt Stadt where all the bars are, plus it pissed it down with rain. Spent the next few hours sitting outside a brewery quaffing Kolsch, the local brew. Wierd thing about Kolsch is that it is served in tiny thin glasses so the waiter has to constanly go backwards and forwards to tables! This is apparently because it is brewed using an ancient process that means it goes off very quickly on contact with the air. Actually it wasn't particlarly pleasant stuff, I much prefer Dunkel Weissbier...
Cut along story short we were joined by 'two pint' Pete and quaffed more ale. Headed back to the hotel for a couple of hours rest then back out in the evening in search of food and more beers. After several 'racks' of Kolsch the Brighton Massif (Julia, Roy, Liz, Ed, Jen, Lee & Rob) slowly assembled in dribs and drabs and we headed to a club called 'EssigFabrik' which was someway out of town on an industrial estate. The club was a bit confusing as they didn't accept money at the bar! Instead they gave you this printed card and basically wrote on it every time you ordered a beer then you paid on your way out. Interesting idea but couldn't see it working in England! 'Necessary Response', an Austrian synth band I'd seen in Leipzig played a set but were a bit below par, not nearly as good as they were at the MorrisB.
Satday I awoke with a bit of a hangover and we grabbed a taxi down to the festival grounds at Tanzbrunnen Rhine Park. Queues to get in weren't too bad considering the only place you could swap a ticket for a wrist band was at the festival gates (unlike Leipzig with several booths).
Watched Cinderella Effect on the main (outdoor) stage and then wandered inside to catch Grendel and Ashbury Heights on the theatre stage. Quite enjoyed Grendel even though they were aggressive bleep.
Now my main gripe with the festival is the theatre. It just isn't big enough! Plus you aren't allowed to go to the toilet !!!!! If you want to go for a pee you have to leave the building and use the toilets outside and then queue up again to get back in. Now I've been to a lot of festivals before but I've never heard of not being allowed to go to the toilet. Fucking rubbish! and one of the reasons why I probably won't go back. That plus the endless queues - queues to get into the theatre, queues at the bar, queues to get out of the theatre, queues to get your pfand back. Endless bloody queues! Much more so than at Leipzig or Mera Luna and they are bigger festivals.
Back to the bands then - after Ashbury Hights caught some Covenant, then Rotersand and the vastly overrated CombiChrist. Didn't make the aftershow party or the club in Leverkusen as everyone was bushed by that time.
Sunday caught Letzt Instanz, Das Ich, L'ame Immortelle, Suicide Comando, Project Pitchfork, Eisbrecher and Diary of Dreams.
Band of the festival was Eisbrecher by a country mile! They got by far the best response from the crowd and nearly took the roof of the theatre. Infact they really made the festival for me - one of the best gigs I've been to in ages! Other bands that impressed me were Rotersand and Grendel and to a lesser extent Ashbury Heights, L'ame Immortelle, Covenant, Project Pitchfork and Diary of Dreams.
One band that seriously pissed me off was Suicide Commando. What a bunch of fucking tripe!. I have no idea why people like them. I got bored after 3 songs and wandered off to the beach, much to the disgust of my Brighton mates. Atleast with CombiChrist I can see why other people like them, even if I don't much like them myself...
Anyhoo cut a long story short (cos I need to go to bed!) - Monday it pissed it down with rain all day so had a look round Cologne cathedral (biggest gothic building in the world) and then holed up in a restaurant to avoid the weather and ate and drank a lot. Flight back was delayed an hour but was much more interesting as I bumped into my old mate Vlad (that's his real name by the way!) from Aylesbury and got talking to a bunch of other gothlings.
Oh and did I mention there was a beach with palm trees !?
Journey out on Thursday night was pretty boring, mainly because not having flown from Gatwick before I got there *way* too early. Bit of crap flight as it was delayed by 30 mins and was completely packed (only 3 spare seats). Plus I was traveling on my own and didn't really speak to anyone.
However got talking to a couple of baby goths from Romford at the train station who were struggling to buy tickets and got the train into town with them. Had a very wet walk to the hotel (about 2km). I would have got the tube except that I only had 1,40 EUR in change and the journey was 1,50 EUR. Bloody ticket machines wouldn't take notes!
Spent a rather sleepless night in the hotel due to being placed next to the lift, stairs and laundry cupboard. So complained and got moved to stinky smokers room!
Mark and Amber turned up around midday Friday and we decided to walk into Cologne. Bit of a mistake as it took over an hour to get to Alt Stadt where all the bars are, plus it pissed it down with rain. Spent the next few hours sitting outside a brewery quaffing Kolsch, the local brew. Wierd thing about Kolsch is that it is served in tiny thin glasses so the waiter has to constanly go backwards and forwards to tables! This is apparently because it is brewed using an ancient process that means it goes off very quickly on contact with the air. Actually it wasn't particlarly pleasant stuff, I much prefer Dunkel Weissbier...
Cut along story short we were joined by 'two pint' Pete and quaffed more ale. Headed back to the hotel for a couple of hours rest then back out in the evening in search of food and more beers. After several 'racks' of Kolsch the Brighton Massif (Julia, Roy, Liz, Ed, Jen, Lee & Rob) slowly assembled in dribs and drabs and we headed to a club called 'EssigFabrik' which was someway out of town on an industrial estate. The club was a bit confusing as they didn't accept money at the bar! Instead they gave you this printed card and basically wrote on it every time you ordered a beer then you paid on your way out. Interesting idea but couldn't see it working in England! 'Necessary Response', an Austrian synth band I'd seen in Leipzig played a set but were a bit below par, not nearly as good as they were at the MorrisB.
Satday I awoke with a bit of a hangover and we grabbed a taxi down to the festival grounds at Tanzbrunnen Rhine Park. Queues to get in weren't too bad considering the only place you could swap a ticket for a wrist band was at the festival gates (unlike Leipzig with several booths).
Watched Cinderella Effect on the main (outdoor) stage and then wandered inside to catch Grendel and Ashbury Heights on the theatre stage. Quite enjoyed Grendel even though they were aggressive bleep.
Now my main gripe with the festival is the theatre. It just isn't big enough! Plus you aren't allowed to go to the toilet !!!!! If you want to go for a pee you have to leave the building and use the toilets outside and then queue up again to get back in. Now I've been to a lot of festivals before but I've never heard of not being allowed to go to the toilet. Fucking rubbish! and one of the reasons why I probably won't go back. That plus the endless queues - queues to get into the theatre, queues at the bar, queues to get out of the theatre, queues to get your pfand back. Endless bloody queues! Much more so than at Leipzig or Mera Luna and they are bigger festivals.
Back to the bands then - after Ashbury Hights caught some Covenant, then Rotersand and the vastly overrated CombiChrist. Didn't make the aftershow party or the club in Leverkusen as everyone was bushed by that time.
Sunday caught Letzt Instanz, Das Ich, L'ame Immortelle, Suicide Comando, Project Pitchfork, Eisbrecher and Diary of Dreams.
Band of the festival was Eisbrecher by a country mile! They got by far the best response from the crowd and nearly took the roof of the theatre. Infact they really made the festival for me - one of the best gigs I've been to in ages! Other bands that impressed me were Rotersand and Grendel and to a lesser extent Ashbury Heights, L'ame Immortelle, Covenant, Project Pitchfork and Diary of Dreams.
One band that seriously pissed me off was Suicide Commando. What a bunch of fucking tripe!. I have no idea why people like them. I got bored after 3 songs and wandered off to the beach, much to the disgust of my Brighton mates. Atleast with CombiChrist I can see why other people like them, even if I don't much like them myself...
Anyhoo cut a long story short (cos I need to go to bed!) - Monday it pissed it down with rain all day so had a look round Cologne cathedral (biggest gothic building in the world) and then holed up in a restaurant to avoid the weather and ate and drank a lot. Flight back was delayed an hour but was much more interesting as I bumped into my old mate Vlad (that's his real name by the way!) from Aylesbury and got talking to a bunch of other gothlings.
Oh and did I mention there was a beach with palm trees !?