Ex Shanti Future Shanti: On the road pt.2

Španski del turneje!

V Barceloni in Madridu smo združili moči z ameriškimi psych-rock težkokategorniki Bardo Pond, kar je za nas seveda pomenilo več publike in boljše pogoje. Po stilu se vsi bendi močno razlikujemo in pred nastopi me je skrbelo kako bo publika, ki je prišla na doomerski stone rock koncert reagirala na slovenski elektro-hip hop. Na srečo španska publika ni bila niti najmanj žanrsko obremenjena in pravzaprav je nastal zelo pester in zanimiv glasbeni večer. Res je nenavadno, da nekdo hkrati kupi Bardo Pond in N'toko cd, ampak očitno ni nemogoče.

Zanimivo doživetje je bil tudi koncert v malem srednjeveškem mestu Azkoitia, kjer smo igrali v bizarnem artistično urejenem podeželskem skvotu in se počutili kot da smo prišli na konec sveta. Tudi hardcore/punk publika nas je toplo sprejela.

Baskovska prestolnica Vitoria je bila zgodba zase. Klub Iguana se lahko pohvali z eno najlepših lokacij kateregakoli kluba na svetu, tehnično pa se ne more pohvaliti z ničemer. Prišli smo pozno, ugotovili da nam bas ojačevalec ne dela, da ni časa za tonsko, da ni monitorjev in da ni tonskega mojstra, klub pa se je hitro napolnil in publika je čakala na koncert. Ni bilo druge. Praha Depart so se povzpeli na tresajoč se oder in pred razgretim občinstvom odigrali punk koncert svojega življenja, jaz pa sem nadaljeval kar pod odrom, saj se drugače ne bi nič slišal. Mislim da smo iz skoraj nemogoče situacije izvlekli maksimum.

Turneja se zdaj premika naprej proti severu in po krajšem postanku v Francoskem Toursu bomo nadaljevali na Nizozemsko. Ves čas se srečujemo z absurdnimi tehničnimi in logističnimi težavami in počutim se kot da z Alešom vsak dan znova navigirava kombi skozi preozke promenade v centru kakega srednjeveškega mesta in nato brezupno iščeva parkirne hiše, ki so vse prenizke za našega Jumperja, ali pa odpirava in po urah neuspešnega šravfanja ponovno zapirava ojačevalce. Kljub vsemu pa se imamo super, saj se vozimo po najlepših koncih sveta, srečujemo prijazne in nore ljudi, jemo odlično hrano, poslušamo muziko in pokamo neumne fore. Pred nami so še Nijmegen, Aachen, Frankfurt in Berlin!

The Spanish bit of our tour is over now and we spent an amazing week crossing the country. In Barcelona and Madrid we joined forces with American psych-rock giants Bardo Pond, which meant more people and better gigs for us. All 3 bands are musically different, I was worried how an audience who came out to hear psychadelic/stoner/doom rock would react to high tempo slovenian electro hiphop. Fortunately for me, there was nothing to worry about and I got to witness a strange glitch in the time/space continuum where the same people buy Bardo Pond and N'toko cds.

We had a great experience in the small medieval town of Azkoitia where we played in a bizarre countryside squat to a hardcore/punk audience that welcomed us really kindly.

Basque capital Vitoria was as extreme as it gets. Club Iguana has what is possibly the most amazing location of any venue in the world, but technically it's a difficult place to play. We came up the narrow streets two hours late to find that our bass amp isn't working, we have no time to sound check, the venue has no monitors and no technician, and it's already full of people waiting for the gig to start. What can you do? Praha Depart got on stage and played a full on punk gig with the crowd going crazy, and I continued beneath the stage. We definitely squeezed the maximum out of a difficult situation.

The tour is now moving north, we're passing through France and after a brief stay in Tours we'll continue to the Netherlands. We continue having absurd technical and logistical problems and I feel as if me and Aleš are spending our days navigating the van through medieval streets too narrow for the van, hopelessly searching for a parking place in garages which are all too low, opening broken amps and closing them again after hours of unsuccessful research... And then there's the constant search for internet access. But nevertheless, spirits are high and we're having a great time, driving through the most beautiful countryside in the world, meeting wonderful and crazy people, eating delicious food, listening to music and playing stupid word games. Next up are Nijmegen, Aachen, Frankfurt and Berlin!

Thanks to all the organizers and audience for the warm welcome!

Photos by Aleš Rosa: