The adventures on the Island of Freedom are nearing their final hours but there is no need to be sad! Because it is quite not over yet. The sixth day of Sziget Festival 2016 brought over UK bands to the Dan Panaitescu Main Stage and the night program was closed by Sia from Australia.
Do you know this feeling when you cannot walk anymore but there is some secret power inside of you that keeps you going? This is how I feel after six days of Sziget Festival 2016. So far, I made amazing 142,000 steps and walked 99 km on the Island of Freedom. That is more than running two marathons!
The best way to start a day at Sziget has been so far going over to the Sziget Beach, and grabbing a coffee there. It is a bit overrated to call it beach because it is not allowed to enter the Danube (safety, safety, safety) but it is a great place to chill and relax after the night and hot wake up in the tent. Besides, you can get an idea how it feels to be behind a wall. If you have not been to the Sziget beach, go! Unlike for Luminarium, you do not have to queue. And it is a Sziget Festival essential to spend some time at the Beach.
I got a chance to question Kaiser Chiefs in the afternoon, and would bring you the full interview in a separate post as I am not able to hear the record now, Sziget is just too loud. But a little sneak peek, they have a ritual to dance 30 minutes before their gig to a disco ball altogether as a band. They also plan a new record, coming out in October, and if you want them to play at your hen party, it is not impossible. Just prepare that it would cost you.
Of course that when I interviewed them, I had to also check their concert. It came as a big surprise to see them being a bit worn out although during the interview, they were much calmer. I guess, it is the effect of the band ritual dance. They played three new songs, which sounded a bit more poppy than their previous production. And the band leaked to me that they are not the biggest fans of Noel Gallagher although they had Oasis poster above their beds when they were teenagers. I did not really like that the band was making the audience repeat “No Gallagher”, and I left soon after this.
The Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds was taking over the stage after Kaiser Chiefs, and I would be very curious what was happening backstage when the bands met. Noel Gallagher showed that he is still a good singer. Sadly, many people were waiting just for the Oasis songs that they knew. Luckily they came, and the entire Sziget Festival could chant Wonderwall and Don’t look back in anger, and for a moment, it felt like Oasis were there.
There is a huge hype around Sia, for me she is in the artist category that I know one song from. After my third Sziget, I already have a strategy for these – I just come for the last 30 minutes of the concert to hear that one song. There is so much going on at the Sziget Festival at 21:30 that spending 90 minutes is just a luxury you cannot afford. The last song of the concert was Chandelier, which is the song that everybody knows. Szitizens enjoyed singing it loud and you could still hear the girls sing it long after the concert ended. I also liked the visuals accompanying the songs.
Sziget is however not just the Main Stage, so what did I do besides that? I went to check the Gorki Theatre / Talking Straight (What a) Wonderful Void performance, and I must say, I left it with quite some questions in my head. The performers invented a new language that nobody understood (but me, polyglots have a certain advantage). It was quite funny to see how people react when they do not understand anything. The whole show was very interactive, and it’s core idea was to draw attention to the current fortress Europe. Is the united and peaceful European community an utopia? I really enjoyed it! Great performance!
One more theatre performance that I planned for myself was the Giant Street Theatre of Transe Express (F): MÙ. It started with a half hour delay but it was totally worth the wait! I just love the visuals, the omnipresent movement, and the use of technology to perform art. This aerial show took the audience from the Earth to the Moon. Such shows shift Sziget closer towards being the European Burning man rather than Glasto.
Sadly, I had to leave the theatre to arrive on time to the next Czech gig – the beatbox performer En.Dru. I had no big expectations because I have not really ever participated in a beatbox concert. I was quite surprised to see so many compatriots! Did not even know there are so many Czechs among the Szitizens, and the music was quite enjoyable for the time of the day and the mood the people were in. En.Dru uses a loop station but all the sounds he makes come from his mouth. Impressive!
And then I was wondering around the island, saying goodbyes to places where I wrote my articles, and planning what I have to do on the last day because you can never see everything at the Sziget Festival!
Ricky didn’t make the audience chant “No Gallagher”. it was “Noel Gallagher”, just like he made them chant “Sia”, so basically everyone who came after them.