Fonstock Festival July 8 + 9, 2011 in Nordenham, on the Weser shore
Line Up Friday:
Don’t drop the soap
State of Evidence
Three Minutes Record
Bitume
Radio Havanna
Line Up Saturday:
Mianus
The Clubs
Shanty Choir
Jolly Roger
Coconut But
Skafield
Jamie Clarke’s Perfect
Sondaschule
The Fonstock Festival was founded in 1994 as a birthday celebration for two students from Nordenham, with more birthday celebrations taking place in 1995 and 1996. Starting in 1998, Fonstock became a proper festival, accessible to everyone. The following year, the association was founded that has organized the festival ever since. Today, the Fonstock association has over 50 members, and this year the 17th festival took place. The Fonstock Festival became popular and famous primarily due to its affordable entry and drink prices and the family atmosphere. Additionally, there are now "legendary" performances by the Shanty Choir and the previously held "Fonsparade".
This report will likely be the first and last in which security personnel receive a good review. Normally, one is familiar with those unfriendly faces that remind you of the rules with short sentences. At Fonstock, completely different norms are present. The first and probably most astonishing thing experienced at this festival was that the security offered to help visitors set up their tents. Where has that ever been seen???? Otherwise, there was a very nice atmosphere between visitors and security. If there was a rule violation, it was pointed out very kindly, and there was not a single physical confrontation. The organizers, who were usually found in front of the stage, greeted everyone warmly, were happy to engage in pleasant conversations, or even treated someone to a beer. Mr. Lieberberg would certainly not do that. Even during a small emergency response, triggered by a visitor's acute shortness of breath, one of the organizers was by her side within seconds, taking care of her and providing everything she needed for her recovery. Also a rarely seen sight, isn't it?!
A small drawback that triggered the need for an ambulance was that the paramedics, according to the organizer, did not start their service at the agreed time, necessitating a call for help for the visitor.
As an additional luxury, there was a delicious breakfast available every morning for a really small price, and you could also take a shower for a small fee.
Radio Havanna
Anyone who doesn't know this Berlin band is missing out. A top-notch punk rock blast.
Personally, one could describe the guys as gentleman punks, as their biography shows almost exclusively benefit performances. Outwardly wild and loud, inwardly thoughtful and sensible. A perfect mix to end the first day of the Fonstock Festival. Even before the gig started, Radio Havanna was loudly demanded by the audience. With a slight delay of about 10 minutes, the four took the stage and almost exceeded their time by half an hour, although neither of these things was particularly noticeable. At such a charged performance, no one has time to check the clock. It was a mix of punk and animation. The guys celebrated the audience and their music so brilliantly that even a hip-hop doll would have danced along.
The band pushed the last inch of space and extracted the last drop of sweat from the audience.
One has rarely seen such a large and wild stage presence from just four musicians as on that evening. Why bother with 3D when you can watch Radio Havanna?! A truly grand spectacle.
And many, many smiling faces.
Jolly Roger
What started with four friendly fans and about 10 drunken punks ended in great applause from several hundred pairs of hands and an almost empty merchandise stand. This is roughly the summary of the challenging task of a young band that has to perform as the third act in a completely foreign city at 5 PM on a festival.
Jolly Roger is certainly known to all readers of Rockzentrale; if not, just check out the CD review or the bands of the month to find everything about the pirates!
After an attention-grabbing start, the still relatively empty rows of spectators quickly filled up, despite recurring short rain showers. The setlist was a mix between the now somewhat older album "Wohin es uns führt" and the songs that are expected to be on the new album, for which the Düsseldorf band is currently in the studio. Due to several technical difficulties with his guitar and tuner, singer and guitarist Christian "Chri" Hoffmeier had to put all his charm on stage: "Sorry folks, my guitar and I, we won't be friends today." However, this was well received by the audience, which is why, despite the out-of-tune guitar, there was dancing, celebrating, and laughter.
After the concert, the merchandise stand was raided, subtly pointed out by a friendly greeting from the stage to merchandiser Max Becker.
Conclusion: Good vibes are contagious, and the Düsseldorf band will surely be invited back to Fonstock next year. The four musicians aged 20 to 28 effortlessly wrapped the fans around their fingers with a lot of charm and achieved a steadily growing enthusiasm from the audience that did not want to fade away in the end.
More, please!
Jamie Clarke’s Perfect
Is there a possibility of objectivity when one knows that the singer and guitarist of this band comes from the Pogues and the guitarist from the Frantic Flintstones?! No! This means you stand in the audience humming "Dirty Old Town" or "Irish Rover" in joyful anticipation and wait for these men, who have probably been in the scene the longest of all the musicians at Fonstock and have certainly experienced the most, to finally start. Many wonder why Perfect is not playing as the headliner. Because one really cannot claim that a comparison can be drawn between Sondaschule, a naturally great band that is also fun, and Perfect, from whom two men have actually made music history.
Well then. The men start with the soundcheck and begin tuning their banjos and guitars. But even when stepping onto the stage for the soundcheck, one immediately feels such a presence from these men that a huge tension fills the air, unlike anything else this weekend. It is already dark, and Perfect, who, just by stepping onto the stage without saying anything, unintentionally convey the impression for the first time that the stage is definitely higher than the audience area, start cracking one joke after another and spread such fun as soon as they begin to talk to each other, the audience, or the technicians, that the awe before these historians diminishes a bit and gives way to an almost unbearable anticipation.
If one can then tear their gaze away from the stage, one easily gets the impression that most spectators have no idea who they are dealing with. But that doesn't disturb one, as since the soundcheck, more and more people have been streaming towards the stage. There is certainly a lot of curiosity involved, as most were already excited at the sight of the instruments. Banjos, guitars, mandolins, and folk guitars. Jamie Clarke alone had to play three instruments during the line check.
So curiosity piqued, and off we go.
The music style of this band should actually be called "danceable." There are so many different influences in it, including rockabilly, Irish folk, and punk, all of which are so wonderfully fluidly combined that a new music genre should be created from it. Most of the musicians who have played there in the past days and are still around are now drawn to the stage and are completely thrilled. Because this band clearly raises the average age, and the younger musicians admire what is happening right in front of them on stage. One rarely sees people on stage with such self-evidence. After many years of music and performances, these men can certainly speak of a homely feeling on stage. For an hour, there was dancing and laughter, and the band had to return to the stage three times for encores, as the cheers showed no signs of stopping.