damerell

ceb and I (and bjh21 WINODW) go every year to the Wave-Gotik-Treffen, a giant goth festival in Leipzig.

There's almost always a mostly-punk night at one of the dozen or so venues, and as long as we've been going, it's been on the final night of the festival. This is convenient because I tend to pick up comedy injuries in pits. [1]

Last time the lineup was Erik Cohen ("straight-up rock"), Banane Metalik (some very peculiar but good French horrorpunk), Fliehende Stürme (a not very good goth band inexplicably shoved into the middle of this lineup, but hence providing an opportunity for a bit of a sitdown and a drink), The Creepshow (a Canadian psychobilly band who are utterly brilliant), and The Adicts.

The Adicts are an ancient British punk band in the Clash mould (ie, actually good, unlike the Sex Pistols), but this kind of thing is a bit of a crapshoot; a lot of the time you get a band who were very good in the 80s, and they've slowed right down and become boring and pedestrian. Occasionally you're pleasantly surprised; Fuzzbox springs to mind, or the sadly brief revival of Die Laughing, a 90s goth outfit.

So, first question, will there be a pit for Banane Metalik? It's early, the place isn't that full, and it is extremely hot... but it turns out there will. Yay, shenanigans.

Somewhere around here C turns up. We're out on the balcony between bands; mysteriously, there is a large container full of inflatable balls - big ones, about the size of yoga balance balls, but of much lighter construction - like a ball pit for elephants.

Sitdown and drink had to Fliehende Stürme. I know there will be extensive shenanigans to the Creepshow, and I'm not disappointed; the vocalist, who is a tiny woman, does her usual stunt where she comes into the pit for a bit and is inexplicably not stomped flat.

I have been joking about the weather, to the effect that ideally there will be a torrential downpour just after the Creepshow's set to make me slightly less entirely covered in a wide assortment of sweat. To my surprise and delight, there was one, and I sat outside in the rain and cooled off.

So, The Adicts. Somehow I have managed to become convinced they _have_ become a bit boring and pedestrian, so I squdge back into the gig room without particularly high expectations. I'm also tired, like someone who's just spent most of 2 hours bouncing about and trying not to get squashed, and bruised, so perhaps I'll just...

... ah, it turns out The Adicts have not even remotely become boring and pedestrian, and the audience are also not inclined to be boring and pedestrian. Off we go again.

It also turns out they're going to play for about 90 minutes.

Finally, it turns out that what the inflatable balls are for is to release them, along with a load of balloons, into the pit with about 10 minutes to go. Hilarity ensues as everyone baps balls up into the air while trying not to get squashed, or grabs them and bashes and charges each other with them.

So, that was fun.

[1] I remember the first time we saw the Koffin Kats C saying to me afterwards "did you see that?" "What?", I said. It turned out the guitarist and double bassist had swapped instruments mid-song without a perceptible interruption; I could hear what was going on but was too busy to see it. (They're also a pyschobilly band, and very good; pyschobilly bands tend to go in for double basses, stunts, and being very good.)