What Can You Do: Feedbacker / Calf 2018 Euro Tour Diary
Six months after their European tour with Calf, Bulgarian noise-rock powerhouse Feedbacker's own Shentov walks us through their personal experiences with DIY touring and stuff.
Sure Thing, Let’s Do This: Planning and Preparations
We started Feedbacker with a completely DIY mindset. Honestly, we did not have much choice. We wanted this band to be different from what we had done before, and better than every band we had previously played in, in every possible way. By now, we are used to handling everything ourselves.
As musicians, we also had to figure out how to build our sound with only two instruments. Plenty of bands work within those limits and still create something fresh and distinct. Desi and I had to find a version that worked specifically for us, something that made us feel good and confident in what we were doing. I think we found it. Maybe it makes other people feel good too. Or miserable. Either way, that is fine.
We come from Bulgaria, a place full of people with a bleak outlook who love to complain but rarely do anything about what they dislike. Unfortunately, this is especially common among bands and musicians. I have watched far too many talented people waste their potential because of the familiar idea that “we’ll never get big.” As for us, fuck getting big. We want to be happy.
At the same time, several local bands had already been touring, and some of them were our friends. We knew it was possible, and that inspired us to try. Since our first show, one thing has constantly led to another: meeting good people who play in bands, organize DIY gigs, and keep their local scenes alive. We had already made strong connections with the Greek scene, so we spoke with our friends in Calf, who were looking to tour again. Christos and I then spent more than three months booking the route, with invaluable help from friends both old and new.
At times, both of us were close to snapping after dealing with endless rejection and people who could not even be bothered to send a simple “fuck off.” You know how it goes. Somehow, though, it came together. And it came together beautifully.
Six months after returning to our daily routines, we were already planning more trouble for 2019. Calf and Feedbacker recorded material for a three-way split during this 2018 tour. On our day off in Italy, we spent the night at the studio of our friends in Demikhov, recording improvised music. The record is out through our respective labels, and all three bands are heading out on another short DIY tour through Bulgaria and Greece.
Here is a “short” 2018 tour diary, filled with memories to keep us warm and give us strength for future adventures.
10 October 2018: Sofia, Bulgaria
The tour began with a hometown show for us, so I felt more like a promoter than anything else. The top blokes in Calf arrived on time, which is kind of rare for a Greek band, haha. When they arrived I noticed the van was already packed to the roof, so we had to leave some stuff behind. Calf had been smart enough to bring backup amps and guitars, but we had to leave them and a huge-ass distro box at the HQ (aka Fabrika Avtonomia) and we were really lucky we didn’t break anything on this tour. Except for a rear-view mirror. Twice.
The gig went great, Fabrika Avtonomia was packed and we managed to sell some tapes and T-shirts, which really helped with the gas for the next day. Thanks to all the people who came to this gig, it was a great start for us! Personally, it was really fulfilling and uplifting to have such great support, It made me feel that the DIY shows I had been organizing for the previous two years were paying off in their own way.
11 October 2018: Zagreb, Croatia
We were supposed to play Belgrade, but things fell apart, so we had to do a last-minute switch to Zagreb, so huge thanks to Nebojša (Mnjenje, Homo Simpson) who hooked us up with the Surogat crew at AKC Medika Squat. We woke up the earliest we could and spent a good hour and a half trying to squeeze all our amps and stuff in a Caddy. Yep, we toured in a Caddy. A great piece of German automobile engineering, I have to say.
I was a nervous wreck that morning, anxiety and all that, but it is not something I want to go into here. A note for next tour, pack your shit in advance. Seriously. Have your fucking stuff fucking ready, period.
Sofia to Zagreb is a long ride and non-EU borders don’t help either. We had to wait for around an hour at the Serbian border, but at least they didn’t make us unload all our gear to check with the ATA Carnet. A note for European bands crossing Serbia, North Macedonia, or other non-EU countries: Do your research and get an ATA Carnet, but also plan at least two hours ahead of schedule. Border cops do not care that you are running late for your gig, punk! Also keep in mind there’s a time difference.
Long story short, it took us eleven hours to get to Medika and we were kind of late, but we managed to do a super fast load-in, set up the gear and even do a line-check. Surogat is a great room in an equally great squat. Our hosts were really kind and we played a tight set to perhaps ten people.
Surprisingly, this did not really bother us and this somehow became the mindset for the whole tour. I felt calm after the show, happy to be in a new city and be able to play a show. Our hosts, Sara, Ivona, and Eva (of the amazing band ŽEN) gave us great vegan food and we slept on nice clean beds in the squat. That night, I slept for 10 hours straight and woke up around 1 p.m., missing the big breakfast, the walk around Zagreb etc.
12 October 2018: Postojna, Slovenia
I didn’t know much about the city or venue where we were playing in Slovenia, except that it was a fucking container! Yup, officially the weirdest and coolest place I’ve ever played a gig at! A totally DIY space with a small but lovely crew, the crew had moved this huge-ass metal container (like the ones you see at construction sites) around a couple of times, while managing to set up self-organized shows inside.
A tiny bit smaller than our practice space, Kontejnr still managed to accommodate ten to 15 long-haired punks + some more outside. People went in and out in shifts, with those inside gasping for fresh air and beer, then going back for some more noise. I was lighting a cigarette outside during Calf’s set when some guys grabbed me and lifted me in the air. I found myself carried inside in some kind of improvised crowd-surfing in a tiny container. Probably the most punk shit I’ve ever experienced!
13 October 2018: Vienna, Austria
We struggled to book Vienna until a good friend agreed to help us out and took the risk of booking two guitar-based noise bands on a mostly electronic lineup. We’re forever thankful to Milena (aka Yuzu) who opened her heart and home to a bunch of weirdos and let us play our gig as part of her Sebism event series.
We come from the punk scene, but experimental music is a huge part of our lives now, so we felt good playing within such a diverse lineup, featuring techno DJs, an experimental act with tuba and whatever else. OLOIKIRIKIREI, Polyxene, and Otto Systema provided killer sets and overall it was a radically different gig, definitely a breath of fresh air. AU is an excellent, cosy venue as well, check it out if you have the chance!
In the morning we took a nice walk, grabbed something to eat and had a heartfelt farewell with Milena and, to be honest, I didn’t really want to leave, it was so nice.
14 October 2018: Prague, Czechia
Our next stop was Prague, another city I had never visited. Our only festival spot for the tour, we played on the last day of Pravěkfest VII. We arrived at Underdogs’ at Eternia, a place about which I had heard only good things.
We unloaded pretty fast, set up our amps on stage and did a good soundcheck. The venue was big and roomy and promised a good gig. We spent a long time talking to Wilhelm [Grasslich] who was our promoter and host for the night. He is a fantastic noise musician and our talks eventually led to a Greek-Bulgarian tour for his project Uncle Grasha’s Flying Circus a couple of months later.
Things like this are one of the main reasons I believe so strongly in the friendship and DIY mentality and I feel we gain so much from the personal relationships and interactions while on the road. In every city you visit you meet people just like you, struggling to play in a band, or make noise in their bedroom, struggling with booking shows or releasing a record with their music. People like you and me, who deal with the same bullshit of the state, or some neo-Nazi bullshit in their scene.
We played on a Sunday night, and not many people showed up. Maybe they were tired and hungover from the previous day, when there was a packed room. Well, sometimes you draw the short straw, no stress. Both Calf and Feedbacker played pretty tight sets and we had a good time. We slept in Eternia on a fucking skate ramp! Amazing!
There was a genuinely free market with T-shirts, zines, and records. You could choose what you like and leave your contribution in a box (prices were written on each item). It’s always nice to see such a distro, so I picked a couple of 7-inch records and a Racetraitor t-shirt.
In the morning we found a vegan place nearby, ate some pasta and strangely coloured soups and took a little sightseeing detour. We met the famous Prague tweakers strung out on meth. One guy was trying to chat with us, but he kept switching from English to Czech, so I lost the point… Good times.
15 October 2018: Brno, Czechia
Long drives can be a pain in the ass, but luckily we had a short one ahead of us that day. Our Caddy took us to Brno and Bajkazyl in no time.
The venue looked rad, a bike repair shop with a bar and a live music room, all at once! How cool is that! That night, we played with a harsh noise artist named USNU? which was cool as fuck. We meet Filip who organized the show for us and he was kind enough to have brought some homemade vegan soup that was still hot! I’m really hungry and I enjoy two plates of it. Thank you, Filip!
Then we lugged our shit inside and it was time for a fast and effective soundcheck. The sound guy is cool, so we make everything work in no time. We spend an hour or two chatting with Filip and some other dudes about the situation in Brno and comparing it with the scenes in our respective cities. This is one of the things I love the most about touring and generally going to small gigs in a different place. It’s always enlightening to share experiences about the DIY scene and being in a band. It also makes me appreciate my hometown a tiny bit more.
USNU? opened the show with a wild harsh noise set, which we loved. Both bands played tight sets to a small but enthusiastic crowd that night. Overall a great gig and some time well spent.
Our hosts for the night arrived late and missed the show, but are lovely people. We spent the night in a beautiful and big apartment with Kristina and her flatmates. They were excellent hosts and we have a long chat about activism, local music, and whatever else. We also manage to get a proper shower, which is pure gold in tour currency.
16 October 2018: Nürnberg, Germany
We left Czechia for Germany, I can say I’m pretty excited. I’ve never been to Nürnberg, but overall you don’t see much of the cities while on tour.
We arrive at Projekt 31, a place Calf already knew. We are running a bit late, so we do a fast load-in and a line-check. Projekt 31 is a neat punk house/social centre with cool people hanging around.
I might have become a little deaf at this point and I think Calf are secretly plotting to play a louder show every night. We switch spots every night, so one gig they play first and the next day we play first. It was actually a good trick, since it kept things fresh and stopped us from getting tired of the routine. I feel that we had built up some momentum and we just go on and smash it, not spending much time stressing if we have the perfect sound or more vocals in the monitors. Either that, or we don’t care as much as the first few gigs.
After the show, everyone except me was drinking and we were all having fun. I am on a mission to put a Feedbacker sticker in every shitty toilet I visit on this tour. The bar upstairs is great, the music is loud and some punks are playing foosball. We stay at Projekt 31 for the night and I think I got the best sleeping spot, an actual couch! Yay!
17 October 2018: Landau, Germany
I have fond memories of the Landau gig, partially because it was one of the easiest dates to sort out. We wander around a bit trying to find exactly where the venue, FATAL, was what appears to be a University campus. In the end, we bumped into the codeia guys, who took us to the club. A really cozy and small place that has been running for 13 or so years, amazing. We meet Jona, who is our promoter and host, a great bloke, the right kind that makes you feel at home immediately. Thanks from the bottom of my heart, man!
That night was the first day of the new semester, so a lot of young people are around the campus, which looks quite promising. A Karlsruhe band opened the gig, codeia played some kind of post-rock/doom and, god damn, they have more guitar pedals than both our bands combined!
codeia
They played a great set, really polished and technical, and happen to be cool guys as well. We got a good sound that night, so we’re having a lot of fun. A bunch of people show up, but it was only after the gig ended that all hell breaks loose, freshmen with funny costumes fill the venue and it was time for German Disco Party! Wild times!
18 October 2018: Zürich, Switzerland
You know, the cliché about Switzerland is actually true. It is all mountains and cows and picturesque sightseeing. And a lot of winding roads.
I get a bit dizzy on winding roads.
We arrived in Zürich in the Koch Areal squat and, boy,, this is a huge fucking squat. That night, we played with local thrashers All Over the Face, who showed us awesome attitude and help completely unknown bands from the other side of the continent without knowing us personally. Truly awesome, and also the venue is super awesome, and very likely the biggest we playeded on this tour.
We have the best and super spicy vegan Sri Lankan food before the show. It’s hot on the way in, and to be completely honest, it was hot on the way out as well. Best meal on the tour for sure.
All Over the Face
It was showtime and All Over the Face opened with uncompromising fast punk and somehow manage to sound good even without their bass player (who couldn’t make it for the show). I suspect this is partly because of them being really energetic on stage, their guitar player jumping and running around all the time. I can’t imagine doing this kind of cardio on stage, maybe it’s because we’re on the road for 10 days or more, or maybe I’m just lazy…
We had a lot of fun at that show and some folks show up to see our sets. After that, we indulge in a lengthy chat with our new friends and I get a few (totally not awkward) compliments about my beard. Fun times!
19 October 2018: Thun, Switzerland
The next day, we were blessed with another short drive, which is amazing. Thun is a small town that looks very nice. We play a social centre named AKuT, located near the tracks right next to the train station. Amazing small place that looks like our social centre in Sofia, only a bit nicer and way cleaner.
While waiting for the show we get to know the guys and girls in the collective. Everyone is doing something, cleaning, cooking, moving stuff around. I feel like a lazy punk just sitting around, but our hosts are very kind and hooked us up with some Mate drinks in funny bottles.
The Mate thing started in Germany I think, and by this point of touring, I was hooked. I refuse to go play a set without having two of them beforehand.
We set the stage really fast, and this time we have a sound guy, which is great. At this point it was clear that we are getting physically tired, the guys who drink are getting drunk faster, and no one has extra energy for much more.
Still, we still had a pretty jolly time in AKuT and deliver the goods in front of a small but lovely bunch. After the show, we’re hanging around and I notice that everyone is drinking some local beers that have these Grolsch-style red washers that are the ideal DIY punk strap locks. I immediately strip every empty bottle in sight. I think I have enough strap locks until next tour! Thank you, Switzerland!
20 October 2018: Desenzano del Garda, Italy
Switzerland was very kind to us, but we were looking forward to meeting our friends Demikhov in Italy. Crossing EU borders is relatively easy, but the border between Switzerland and Italy was almost invisible. I don’t know, it’s a good feeling.
We could not arrange a show for that day, so it looked as though we would finally have a day off, but we also had plans for more than the usual hanging around. Getting to Desenzano was not the easiest task, but we finally made it and Demikhov were waiting for us and they had pizza waiting, which is kinda the point when you’re in Italy, isn’t it?
Thodoris (Calf) destroying Demikhov on foosball…
The guys have a fantastic hangout space in a large garage, which also houses their Produzioni Rumorose studio. None of the three bands wasted a minute, and we found ourselves moving gear and setting shit up as if we were having a gig. After talking about the idea for months, we decided to do some recording while we were there and maybe release it at some point. All three bands took their turn and recorded an improvised track.
I was exhausted and not particularly into it, and I could tell Desi was feeling the same as she was kinda nervous about it. It all changed like ten seconds into recording, one take, no bullshit, when we got into the flow and we jammed (boy, I hate this hippie word!) for 20 minutes. Immediately after that, I felt that special rush of inspiration when you nail something good. I knew we didn’t waste this time and enjoyed Calf doing a noise piece as well. For this, Christos built an effects-based setup instead of his usual baritone, and created some sizzling freeform madness!
Fast-forwarding, we’re releasing these recordings in April 2019 and all three bands are touring together in Greece and Bulgaria.
21 October 2018: Verona, Italy
Our only Italian gig was at a relatively new place in Verona called Circolo La Baritona. At this point we were kind of load-in gods and true masters of Tetris, setting up stages in less than 30 minutes, and also, soundcheck was for noobs, let’s go for a smoke…
That night was our last gig together, so it was a special one. I get into one of my special moods and shout my lungs out, sometimes it gets scary even for me… Calf and Demikhov both delivered kick-ass sets, and really loud too.
It’s great to have venues where you can really pump your amp to unsafe levels. Lovely gig, and after that we went back to Desenzano for more late-night frozen pizza and laughs.
The next day, we went for a long walk to see the town and the beautiful lake, and we almost felt like tourists. It was a bright sunny day and we had a really good time with the guys from Demikhov and Matilde.
It’s weird not having to hurry to keep to the schedule for the next show, so we wander around and take it easy. Eventually, we say goodbye to our Italian friends and hit the highway. At this point, we had no real plan where to spend the night, so in the end, I switched places with Thodoris and just drove all night to Sofia. Although that was certainly not the safest thing we’ve done on this tour, it was a great moment of revelation to me. With almost everyone in the van asleep, I had a lot of time to think about all of it.
When you play music and do bands, there are rare moments of enlightenment where you see it all lined up in a perfect pattern, free from all questions and doubts about it. For me, the end of on this tour was a special moment where I happened to understand more about the strange thing we do… not just Feedbacker, but all weirdos in bands like ours. What drives us to take endless hours on the road to play a €20 gig in an awkward basement in front of 17 apathetic strangers? Is it the “passion for music”? To be completely honest, I doubt that. There are plenty of people that fucking love making music but would never go to such lengths, and it’s cool. The funny thing is that I find that satisfying even when it isn’t… that’s hard to explain, but I felt that we were on the right track doing on this tour because in a way it was perfect!
We spent two weeks on the road with good friends, slept on people’s floors (and couches when lucky), showered infrequently, and tried almost almost every possible variation of cold vegan pasta. Meeting like-minded people and getting to play gigs in new countries is amazing. Creating your own network of friends and acquaintances is really the core of all this DIY thing that I often find myself talking about. Being able to choose what matters from this whole experience is very empowering as well. In our case, we chose to enjoy every single minute of this and that left us hungry for more.
Our hometown Sofia offered shelter for our tired bodies and ecstatic minds. On October 22, 2018, we helped Calf pack their stuff and sent them to Greece. The tour was officially over, but we had one more show to close the full circle for us.
26 October 2018: Sofia, Bulgaria
Local punks from the SofiaRebelStation webzine and booking collective strive to add a particular flavour to our scene, namely ’80s UK anarcho-punk bands. They organized this amazing show featuring peace-punk godfathers Omega Tribe and we were flattered to be invited to play. The Underground Gallery is one of the coolest venues in town and we felt at home there. A new band called Lunatic Theatre debuted that night and it was great to see something like this happen right in front of your eyes. Coming back from tour definitely gives you a newfound appreciation for what’s going on in the local scene. What we experienced was a great gig with an enthusiastic audience, something of a rarity in most European cities we played.
Omega Tribe did a great show, the old fellas still had it! A beautiful reminder that punk’s not dead unless you give up. We had a jolly time and it was the perfect closure for on this tour. And a truly beautiful one.
Huge thanks to every single person who came to our shows, talked to us, booked us in their city, gave us food or place to crash, bought a tape or T-shirt. For us, you are the true unbroken spirit of DIY punk and we are forever grateful for that.
💀 Keep the flame! 🔥
