Humanhostbody Balkan Tour May 2012
Report from HHB & Devastated Balkan Tour in May 2012 by Luka
Day 1: Budapest
This was our second time on the road with our young friends Devastated. The first day was Budapest, and we were pretty screwed because Andrej was working in Koper until 2 p.m., so we were in a hurry from the start. Most of us were already in Ljubljana and ready to go. The trip to Budapest was fine, and we arrived just before everything started. I was really looking forward to playing that night because three other bands were on the bill. Most of all, though, I was excited to see Rivers Run Dry with their new lineup. It turned out that another two bands had jumped onto the show at the last minute. It was a long night, so I’ll sum it up as briefly as I can.
Tyrell’s Owl were the first band to play. It was a kind of neocrust, really similar to Ekkaia, but not as good. Then Devastated played… holy shit! The new songs are outrageous, the kids know how to play, and they are more metal than ever. Then it was time for Icaros, who also played some kind of neocrust. Rivers Run Dry followed, and they were really cool. The new songs have a lot of potential; think Catharsis mixed with some progressive sludge. Then we played, followed by Sick Time from France. They were nice, but I had already overdosed on distortion, so I only watched a few songs. You Suck! played last. They are from Italy and play fast hardcore, but I wasn’t impressed. The show took place in an old factory converted into a huge rehearsal room, and the downside was that the promoter had to pay for every band that played. There was also a vegan buffet with some delicious snacks. When the night was over, we packed everything and took some equipment belonging to the Rivers Run Dry guys. Our van was already packed with our gear, so it was really hard to find space for their stuff. On top of that, we were supposed to take Laci, Elliott, and one of their friends with us. It was a funny ride.
Day 2: Timişoara
The next morning, we chilled for a while and went for a walk. Laci was our tourist guide, hehe. The trip to Timişoara was one of the shortest, so we took it easy and everything went smoothly. We had Ionut’s address, and Jaka and I knew what the neighbourhood looked like because we had slept there with Melete. Ionut and his friend Negru, or something like that—I know his name means “the black one”—served us some food, and then we went to DIY Atelier. DIY Atelier is a rad place where the crew organizes shows. It is a small rehearsal room and infoshop. Once again, I was excited because Livia Sura were playing with us. Be sure to check them out; they are amazing. Think experimental black metal with an anarchist stance. It was Sunday, so there were not that many people, but it was still fun to play, and we had a great time dancing during Devastated’s set.
Day 3: Bucharest
The ride to Bucharest was one of the longest. We spent more than eight hours in the van and got lost a couple of times because the GPS was not working properly. It was hot, and we were exhausted. The show was at Underworld, where we had already played with HHB. Once again, I was excited because this time we were sharing the stage with Void Forger, another promising band from Romania. They played first, and everyone was surprised by how good they were. They were also really nice people. Devastated nailed it again. When we played, the crowd went apeshit. It was the best gig we had played up to that point. After the show, we went to a semi-squat, meaning that some of the buildings were squatted while rent was being paid for others. They had an anarchist library, a small bar, a nice garden, and some workshops. That part of the night was really nice. We sat around the fire in the garden, smoking blunt after blunt after blunt… haha. Seriously, though, it was a great night with lots of rad people, good conversations, and cheap wine.
Day 4: Varna
We were supposed to play in Istanbul, but the show was cancelled, so we decided to go to Bulgaria and swim in the Black Sea. We chose Varna. The GPS was not working again, so we improvised with an old map and our instincts. The road took us to a crazy border crossing. First, we went on a raft… yes, a raft, not a ferry. It looked scary. The trip was long, but it was worth it. It was a nice, sunny day, and the water was cold. We were the only people swimming, and everyone there looked at us as though we were completely nuts. I suppose it is not very common to see nine dudes with long hair and dreads jumping into the water and screaming, haha.
We were having fun on the beach when two dudes came over and started staring at us. We said hello, they said hello, and then asked whether we were a band. We said yes, and they asked whether we wanted to play a show in a rock bar. Honestly, we were pretty sceptical, but they took us to the bar on the beach, and everything there was really professional. You cannot turn down a literally last-minute gig, so we played. It was fun, people showed up, and we even got a few free beers. The whole show was recorded on video and streamed live through the club’s website. The people organizing our Sofia gig the next day watched our entire set from Varna online. After the show, Alen and I went on a mission to find a place on the beach where we could light a fire, cook food, and sleep. That night was really nice: nine crusties around a campfire, making food, drinking warm beer, and listening to the waves crash onto the sandy beach. A true post-apocalyptic scenario. Ha!
Day 5: Sofia
We woke up early and left for Sofia, with another long drive ahead of us. I was pretty psyched to visit Sofia for the first time, and we were also sharing the stage with UHL, a French anarchist black metal band. The venue was really professional. Mitko and Angel organized the show for us and brought lots of delicious food, but the best part was the raw vegan sweet balls. Insanely good!
We went for a walk around the city centre. It was a long night, with six bands playing. We were last, which is usually a bummer because everyone leaves, but this time the kids stayed and went nuts during our set. There were circle pits. After the show, we went to Mitko’s place with all the French dudes. Some of us went to sleep, while the others took a nighttime walk around Sofia.
Day 6: Skopje
The ride to Skopje was not very long, so we spent some more time in the city centre. Mitko and his girlfriend took us to the Asian part of town. We had Turkish coffee, and some of us went shopping. Our van even got clamped, but it was no big deal because it cost only €5 to have it released. After that little accident, we drove to Skopje. This was our first border crossing outside the EU. We had an ATA carnet, so there was nothing to worry about, although I was stressed out as usual. The crossing went fine, with no major problems. Skopje is one of my favourite cities in the Balkans, so I was excited to be back and hang out with the guys from FxPxOx. Vasko took us to a supermarket because Jaka and I wanted to buy vegan cheese. Each of us bought 7.5 kg of it. Vegan pizza taken to the next level for the next few months. FTW!
The gig started early and took place at La Kaňa, in the Asian part of town. It was fine. Afterwards, we went for a walk and saw the huge statue of Alexander the Great. The city government is spending shitloads of money on state buildings while people live in poverty. Seeing so much money wasted on enormous, pointless buildings had a real impact on us.
Day 7: Zrenjanin
Another long trip and another border crossing, but everything went smoothly. Zrenjanin has a rad crew of people. I had been there with Gods and Queens, and everyone was excited to see me again. It felt a little strange, but I was happy to spend time with people who give everything to the scene even when they do not have much themselves. After two years, I met Luka from Kikinda again. He runs a distro and supplies punk records to the scene. He also works at Cimos on a CNC machine, doing the work of two people for around €200 a month. In Koper, you would probably earn more than twice that amount. His stories made me feel terrible and reminded me that my own life is not that shitty after all. We shared the stage with Spark from Hungary. They are super nice dudes. I met them two years earlier when they played in Pivka and Ljubljana. They play fast hardcore and somehow remind me of Comadre. Devastated killed it again. We were in Serbia, so we got drunk on rakia. Dujc, Dado, Fofo, and Marko stayed out all night and went to sleep at around 8 a.m.
Day 8: Sarajevo
What a fucking hell of a ride: seven hours on crazy roads. I lost my patience at the border because the customs officers on both sides did not know how to deal with the ATA carnet. Eventually, we reached Sarajevo. The full moon was rising above the mountains, and the minarets on the horizon looked epic. Sarajevo is my favourite city in the Balkans, so I was excited again… as you can see, I get excited easily. Tarik organized the show for us. He is one of my dearest friends, so I was happy to see him again. He also runs a noise label called Mrtvaja. We arrived late, and there had been a misunderstanding. The show was supposed to start at 9 p.m., but we had been told that starting at 10 p.m. would be fine, so some of us went to get food. The owner was pretty pissed off because everything started so late. Tarik was organizing the show with another friend, and because they were both busy with other things, I helped at the door. There were lots of young kids when Devastated played, but by the time we went on, everyone had gone home because the trams stop running at 11 p.m. We were already exhausted, so we sucked anyway. After the show, we went to party at a pub where the hipsters hang out. I got completely drunk and danced all night, haha. Everyone was fucked except Jaka, because he is straight edge, so he drove the van to Visoko, where Tarik lives and where we were sleeping.
Day 9: The Way Home
Visoko is the place in Bosnia where you can see the Bosnian pyramids. We went back to Sarajevo and did some tourist stuff, buying gifts and eating burek and ćevapi. The journey home was a huge pain in the ass because the police were on strike and there was a never-ending line of cars waiting to cross the border. It took us four hours to enter Croatia. After that, everything went smoothly, and soon we were back home and back to our boring lives.
Luka // HHB
