Force Attack 29.07. – 31.07.2011
Every time you go to a festival, you feel a slight annoyance during the journey and wonder why you put yourself through these hardships again and again. The heavy luggage, the difficulty in reaching the festival grounds, which are almost always poorly accessible by public transport, and the long distances you have to walk with all your gear, the long lines at the entrance, the annoying checks for firearms and whatever other nonsense. Some might think of even more.
But then, at the end of July/beginning of August each year, 8,000 – 10,000 mostly colorful-looking people land near Rostock, often with their luggage limited to a crate of beer, occasionally a tent, and good vibes, making their way to the festival grounds while enjoying the slurred singing of sometimes unidentifiable punk or Oi songs. Those who have never heard of Force Attack before might think what they want, because the thoughts of other people have been disregarded by the visitors for years. However, anyone who belongs to this crowd will be overwhelmed by excitement on the way to the festival and think: Yep, sex, music & anarchy!
Because for the most part, the behavior of the punks, Ois, and beautiful women seen at the festival each year is indescribable. Anarchy! You rarely see so many body parts proudly and shamelessly displayed by their owners. You can usually walk past stranded, intoxicated people sleeping on the ground without worry. You meet musicians happily chatting with groupies and/or fans at the beer stand. And it's easier to find shelter for the night at this festival than at any other. (The reader may interpret this however they like. Both interpretations would be correct!)
In short, this is what Force Attack can be described as, even if this section only represents a few small moments that belong to the world of this festival.
This year, however, it was supposed to be an even wetter and more joyful celebration than usual. And the emphasis is on wet, if not already soaked or simply disgustingly monsoon-like!
A week prior, the Searock Festival, which was supposed to take place not far from Force Attack, was canceled due to an acute threat to festival-goers from a storm with wind force 10(!!!). Fortunately, decent weather was forecasted for the Force Attack weekend, and the setup could begin.
But already on Thursday afternoon, the cloud cover broke again, and anyone who couldn't quickly find refuge in a car or tent was soaked to their underwear within seconds. But as you can surely imagine from the initial description of the visitors: No problem for seasoned punks. Leaky boots were patched with duct tape, leaky tents were simply abandoned, and pogoing in the mud is just so much cooler, right?!
So the party continues! On Friday morning, as the last ones went to bed and the first ones woke up, the festival and camping area resembled a scene from Men in Black after they had shot the cockroach, or to put it more nicely, a brown snow landscape. Everything was just full of mud and a sight of devastation. The parked cars and erected tents were completely splattered by the cars that had just managed to get through the mud. Some tents couldn't withstand the water masses and collapsed. Many cars were stuck right in the camping area because they had simply gotten stuck, and the occupants had given up after hours of digging and pushing, leaving the cars behind. Most mud puddles reached up to the middle of the lower leg, and every step was a struggle because the mud immediately sucked in every foot.
Some of the visitors had adapted to their environment color through the most creative mud games.
Nevertheless, on Friday at half-past one, the opener Schlepphoden kicked off on the tent stage, which was celebrated greatly. First by the audience and second by the band itself, as they were celebrating their 15th anniversary at this year's festival. For the visitors of Force Attack, there is no hierarchy with the motto "the best comes last," but rather "Let’s go, let’s party, 3 days awake." So the festival grounds were already quite full by half-past one, and Schlepphoden's jubilation infected the audience from the very first minute, getting them to pogo and shout.
Also very prominent in their performance were the previously relatively unknown band, Brixton Cats. It took about 15 minutes to convince oneself that Solen is indeed a female singer and not a male one. Wonderful antifascist and anticapitalist hardcore punk. Highlighted by the tomboyish singing or shouts of the singer and the infectious group shouts of bassist Jeff and guitarist Mathieu, this French band is evolving from a super insider tip to a real hit.
Absolute feel-good highlight was certainly the Berlin band "The Pokes," as a very well-chosen headliner for that evening. With The Pokes, it then shifted from dirty punk to danceable folk sound, which was a vocal invitation to the after-hour in the beer tent, where the barmaids were busy serving drinks until early in the morning just after 9.
The next day, the band "Atemnot" was the first to fight against the hangover. And once again, it was surprisingly full for the first band of the day. As already mentioned, the punk audience does not hold back with enthusiasm, as is unfortunately often observed in other scenes.
It only got really crowded with the Rostock band Feine Sahne Fischfilet. Even during the line check, the names of the musicians were frequently called out, and there was strangely a slight euphoria in the air. And this euphoria was justified. Because Feine Sahne Fischfilet hit like a bomb, and a huge Antifa bomb at that!
Already during the first song, a bengal fire was ignited in the audience, and a strong sense of community quickly developed. This band came together to fight against the very strong right side in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and uses music as a platform for their cause. As a special feature, a banner with the inscription "siempre antifa" was created on stage by several sprayers. After at least every second song, Antifa slogans were shouted first sporadically and then by almost the entire audience, which was also a very nice side effect of this performance.
The singer of the band, "Monchi," is super popular with his fans. He is also famous and notorious for his "stage performance." Stage performance is intentionally put in quotation marks because anyone who knows him personally knows that this is not a performance but simply him being himself.
But even as a foreign fan, it is fun to watch the band and Monchi opening beer cans with his mouth at a second's pace, as he pours about half into his mouth and the rest over his head.
It was a wonderful mix of a super party but also many serious topics that the band addresses through their songs. Feine Sahne Fischfilet should serve as a role model for many bands, as hardly anyone is as committed to a cause as this band and conveys it so well. Moreover, you can clearly feel their genuine intentions and not that this band uses the good cause for self-promotion, as is fortunately not the case here at all.
Musically, with a fine mix of punk and ska, the guys were also at the top of their game!
And this band actually managed to get nearly 50% of the audience to flock to the Feine Sahne Fischfilet merchandise stand, which was also an information stand, to check out the flyers and little booklets. Because to be honest, it is damn hard to get an audience excited about any "thing" or to interest them in it. But Monchi swings such small but fine speeches between the songs so spontaneously that you really can't help it, and this ability to connect good music and speaking is truly remarkable. Additionally, the fans of the band transmit such a dynamic to the visitors who do not yet know the band that you really can't help but get carried away. You rarely or never experience such a dynamic and supportive audience as the one that stands behind Feine Sahne Fischfilet or dances in front of the stage.
In the hope that Feine Sahne Fischfilet will come to Düsseldorf soon, you should start warming up for dancing and informing yourself.
Conclusion: A MUST see and hear! Finest music with a great idea behind it!