Saturday 18 September 2010

Ballad evening in Paris

On the 14th September in Paris was held a small ballad gig featuring the singer of the most famous band from Russia – Kolovrat.

We have been told about the event just a week before it, the gig was not publicly announced due to security reasons. There were rumors circulating during the last year about a possible Kolovrat gig in France, but this concert did not take place until this time.

The day before the gig we got a phone call from D. and he explained to us what technical parts he’ll need for the sound system – like microphone, additional cables, etc. We brought the needed stuff and headed to French capital. I was much exited because Kolovrat is very popular band in my Homeland Bulgaria, and now I had the chance to attend an acoustic gig of their front men. We arrived in the late afternoon and reach the gig venue thru the subway.



There were already few comrades, including D. and the owner of the club. We find out that we still need some additional parts for the sound equipment and after a fast running around the shops finally we managed to get all the necessary parts. The concert had to start at 20.00 h. so I had enough time to go to the flat which had to stay to leave my luggage and get changed. We shared a place with few French skins, with which we drank few beers and had a good laugh. All together we came back to the club, which already had about 50 people, but have in mind that the event was just a “private party” for VIP guests. There were no tickets for the gig, the entrance was free of charge.

Shortly afterwards the ballad performance started. After a brief thanksgiving speech to the organizers and sharing his impressions of Paris (it was his first ever visit in France) D. started his program with the infamous ballad “Kosovo front” – a song dedicated to the Zionist war against Serbia. It was wonderful performed and it really hold my breath. The next one was “Imperial banner”, followed by a song dedicated to Ian Stuart, accompanied by a speech about his lifework. Of course the hymn about the Russians troops who fought against Bolshevism on the Germans side in the II World war (Heroes of ROA) was not missed as well.
The following songs were various covers of Bound from Glory, Landser, Skrewdriver as well as some songs of the split album “Triedinstvo” dedicated to the brotherhood between Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian folks.



Next was my personal favourite song of the Kolovrat’s repertoire “Blood of the patriots” which D. dedicated to Motherland Europe and especially to France. The song was followed by a speech about chauvinism among European comrades. The selftitled “Dmitriy Donskoy” was telling us the story of the brave Russian prince which defeated the Tatar invasion in Russian lands in year of 1380. The night has reached it’s climax when from the stage came the sound of legendary “Honour and Blood” (cover of old Russian band “Sturm”). I was surprised by the fact that even some French skins sang this song. It seems that east European bands are getting more and more famous even in Western part of the continent. D. made the crowd even happier when he shared his plans to record some covers of the infamous French bands Legion 88 and Kontingent. Unfortunately Legion 88 does not exist any more, but Kontingent ( who even played with Skrewdriver in Italy back in 1991) are still playing and I had the chance to hear them live once and I’m telling you it’s a worthy band and their singer is great guy who kept his vibrant and youthful spirit. The last of this amazing acoustic set was everyone’s favourite “Tomorrow belongs to me” by ISD. All the people sang together and it was the perfect way to end the ballad evening.


To sum it up, the whole ballad set included 19 songs, and everyone who was lucky enough to attend an acoustic gig of D. knows quite well the top level of musicianship. After the gig everyone wanted to take a photo with D., to exchange few words and he was able to devote a time to each of us. All we had a great “afterparty” with many beers, funny stories, talks and having fun. D. was impressed by the great hospitality of the local comrades and his visit to France. The party continued until 3.00 at the morning when the club was visited by few policemen, but the owner of the venue send them back on the street with the words “This is a private club, and you are not welcomed here unless you have a legal document for research”!!! It was surprising for me but after these words cops just went away. In many European countries nationalists are under big harassment by the authorities, but it seems that in France the right of private ownership and strict following of the laws are still a fact.

The ballad evening was attend by 50-60 people, comrades from France, Russia, Ukraine, England and Bulgaria. The atmosphere was second to none, I have met some old and new friends and I have fulfilled one of my dreams – see Kolovrat live performance. At last but not the least I want to thank my Parisian comrades for their hospitality and great time we spend together. I’m looking forward to the next gig in France - ISD memorial, organized by B&H Midgard.

Exclusive report for NS Revolt

S.

Wednesday 1 September 2010

Sons of Europe 2010 gig report

True to tradition from the last few years at the end of the summer was time for “Sons of Europe” festival. After the great experience from 2009 I was really looking forward to visit beautiful Budapest and attend the gig again. Long days of waiting were over and on 27th August I took the plane to Hungary’s capital city for another unforgettable NS holiday. The flight from Sofia was very short and after just one hour I landed to Ferihegy airport where a comrade of mine was waiting for me, with pack of ice cold beers for welcome. After a delicious dinner meal we went to meet some comrades from other European countries which were already at Budapest as well. We had a chance to visit a gig of the long running Hungarian band “Titkolt Ellenalas” (Secret Resistance) in a Nationalist rock club at the downtown of the city. The concert was a small party for the local standards, “only” around 200 people attended. There was very nice atmosphere in the venue, I met really friendly people and have some drinks and talks with them on various topics like football and politics. I had the opportunity to taste the local white wine, which I really enjoyed. As you can guess first night of my holiday continued till to the early morning hours, having a lot of fun and laughs with comrades.

At Saturday, after just a few hours of sleep and almost no hangover :) it was time to go to the place of the gig. The venue was same like last year, but thankfully the weather was not that hot so hall wasn’t like an oven even as it was previous time. The schedule with the order of appearance of the bands was put on the wall, so everyone can see it.

Around 5 o’clock after some preparations the gig went ahead with a little bit delay. First artist for the day was the ballad player Sadko from Russia….and what e performance he made!!! He started with some songs in his native language like “Dmitrii Donskoi”, „Скажи России” (Tell me, Russia) and the hymn of the Russian/Ukrainian movement „Честь и Кровь” (Honour and Blood). Then it was time for song in Polish “Cena idei” (Price of ideas) and some other covers of well known “evergreens” like “Road to Valhalla”, “Tomorrow belongs to me” and “Ode to dying people”. The singer gave all his passion on the stage and made an electric atmosphere towards the audience. Together with professional skills on the guitar and vocals, I can say that this was the best ballad performance I’ve ever witnessed.


The second band of the program was locals from Jogos Önvédelem (Rightful self-defence). This band started as a one man project a while ago, but afterwards they got a full line up, so it was just their third live performances. Before the begging of their set the singer warned all the people in the hall NOT to make any photos or videos shootings, because of security reasons, so that’s why I’ll post here a video clip of a song from their first album. I really enjoyed their heavy RAC sound and the throaty voice of the singer. The subjects of their lyrics are 100 % anti Zionistic, very direct message to the listeners.


They played for about 50 minutes followed on the stage by the surprise band of the evening. For all those who expected the serial RAC band from Germany may be it was a disappointment, when on stage appeared Conflict 88 from Czech Republic. They are long time playing band which become better and better through the years. The music was quite melodic and energetic and this made around 250 (!!!) followers of the band from Czech and Slovakia dance all around the place. After ah hour of rocking they finished their part with “ Krásné časy ” (Wonderful hours), a “party song” who was so catchy, that even now few days after, it still can’t gone from my mind. Cheers to Conflict for keeping the good traditions of the Eastern European RAC still alive!


The break after was used by the organizers to make a speech hailing the memory of Rudolf Hess and heroic deed and martyrdom in the name of peace between White European nations. The speeches were held both in Hungarian and English and deserved a big applause from the crowd.

Next on stage were ‘the usual suspects” from Feher Torveny. This band played in all previous editions of Sons of Europe, so some part of the audience was not that interested on listening their music, but I was there to support them and of course to enjoy my favorite tracks such as “BHS Crew”. Maci and lads showed the usual top form of the band and presented some new songs which hope soon will be released on some album or compilation.

So the event came to the moment on climax…on the stage were the living legends of the R.A.C. – famous Brutal Attack from England. They got a special introduction from the organizers, cheering them for the 30th years anniversary rocking for race nation. Ken and the boys started with their ballad anthem “Ocean of warriors” which made hundreds of pairs hands clap in the air.


During the whole set the atmosphere in the hall was incredible and as you guess the main reason for this was the great stage performance from Ken Mc’Lellan. He sang so passionately and “from the heart” like this was this was last of his days. Almost all the 800-900 people in the hall sang like one on “Rock against Communism”, “Free my land” and “Always near”. The band showed that they have no intentions to call it a day and have energy for at least another 30 years on stage.



Ater the end of their set so many fans of the band wanted to take a pic with Ken or just shake his hand so it took him around half an hour to walk the 50 meters to the hall gate. He didn’t refuse a photo to any follower, unlike many of the mainstream “rock superstars”, he was really kind to everyone, which deserved my respects!!!

Next on the schedule were Germans from Blitzkrieg. They played their usual set of own songs of rock heavily influenced by metal. I think the crowd was a lit bit tired from the enthusiastic attitude from the previous band and they didn’t show so much energy during the time comrades from Deutschland played.


After a short break they were followed by Italians from Stato Asociale. This band was born in 2003, but it took several years until they set a regular line up. Their first recording was in april 2008, a demo entitled „Proud Nationalist Oi! Music”, containing five tracks self-produced CD, limited to 300 copies. In 2009 their full length album Grezzo, stupido & cattivo"("Raw, stupid & bad") was released by local label Barracuda Records. As many Italian bands they played typical RAC/Oi from the 80’s and most of their songs were covers of bands like “The 4 skins”, Combat 84, English rose and Plastic Surgery. I can say this is a promising new band, but they still have a lot to learn.



Around two o’clock at the night the last band of the program forced the stage. It was the youngsters from Utolsó Védvonal (Last Defending Line). I saw them once on live performance last year and their sound is quite good for so young band. They already have a demo cd and they also took part in the compilation “100 & Magyar” vol. 2. What I can suggest to them (and all other Hungarian bands) is to sing also in English…don’t force the sweet little girl to sing on stage with you :).

So finally after more then 10 hours of excellent music the gig ended. To summarize in few words my feelings on this event I can say just: BEST GIG IN YEARS!!! There were no troubles at all, even not one policemen showed on the place, and the atmosphere of comradeship thru different nationalities of White Europe was felt by everyone. In additions of the representatives of most of the European Folks, there were even comrades from Australia and Chile attended the event. Hail to Norbert for (once again) perfectly organized festival, thanks to Dani for the warm hospitality and cheers to Zozo, Mitja, Enrique and Petja for the great time we had together. Hope next year I’ll have the chance to participate to this event again, until then best wishes to all the comrades I’ve met, the fight for Europe goes on!!!