Pressurefest: The Real Deal.

SOOOO..

As discussed before, Pressurefest 2 is happening.

It is going to be incredible and the line up is sweet as fugg.

SEE.


Pressure Festival The Real Deal: August 8th - August 9th

TURBINENHALLE, OBERHAUSEN, GERMANY


FINAL LINE-UP
Agnostic Front (US)
Ambush (UK)
Casey Jones (US) *NEW*
CDC (US)
Ceremony (US - exclusive Euroshow)
Death before dishonor (US)
Denied (US) *NEW*
DYS (US)
Evergreen Terrace (US) *NEW*
Fatal Recoil (BE) *NEW*
Folsom (US)
Fucked up (US) *NEW*
H2O (US)
Hang The Bastard (UK) *NEW*
In Blood We Trust (DE) *NEW*
xKingdomx (US)
Madball (US)
Onesta (FR) *NEW*
xRepresentx (US) *NEW*
xRhinocerusx (US)
Skare Tactic (US) *NEW*
The Red Chord (US)
Trash Talk (US)
Walls Of Jericho (US)








Anyhow, as with the first pressurefest, I am going to be selling tickets here in the uk.

If you would like to go, please drop me an email to pressurefesttickets@gmail.com. I will be attending a bunch of shows in the next couple of weeks so will be able to bring the tickets out to you and will be able to bring one out to you. I am also excepting Paypal for this so if you dont live in London, i will be able to send you out tickets first class recorded delivery.

Tickets are priced at at £37.50 in person and £43.50 posted (to cover paypal and postage costs).

Hotels: The cheapest option is staying at the Etap Duisburg (http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-2702-etap-hotel-etap-hotel-duisburg-city/index.shtml). These rooms are 40€ a night, and hold up to three people. Duisburg is about 5 mins away from oberhausen by train.

Flights: Cheapest deal is the ryanair stanstead-dusseldorf weeze flights (currently at a tenner!!) but you can also fly into any of the three airports also in the area.. Dusseldorf International, Cologne and Dortmund.

If you would like more information or help, please email me.

Pressurefest tickets.

For more information about the fest, please go to: www.myspace.com/pressurefestival

Because a whole bunch of tickets were lost due to the wonderful Royal Mail last year, I have been enlisted by the guys at Alveran to sell a book of tickets here in the uk for Pressurefest.

I am currently going to be selling weekend tickets for the June edition (limited to 850 tickets in total for the event).

Pricing is as follows:

£33.50 from me in person

£40 to send (includes paypal fees, recorded delivery postage and packaging).

I will be selling tickets at various London hardcore shows in the upcoming months. If you would like to purchase a ticket, PLEASE CONTACT ME FIRST at Pressurefesttickets@gmail.com. You will need to check whether I will be attending partcular shows as I will not be carrying the book of tickets around London with me, so will need to know how many tickets you would like me to bring.

In regards to posting the tickets, all tickets will be sent via first class recorded delivery. I will be making a couple of bulk posts a week, as I have a full time job. Each envelope will have a tracking number, and will also NEED A SIGNATURE.
If you would like your tickets posted, please click on the button below STATING AN ADDRESS WHERE SOMEONE WILL BE THERE TO SIGN FOR THE TICKETS:

If you have any questions, please do not hesistate to contact me at:
pressurefesttickets@gmail.com.

Thank you!

Disclaimer: If tickets are lost in the post, they will have a tracking number, and the dispute is NOT to be taken up with myself, but with the Royal Mail. No extra tickets will be sent out, and you will need to be reimbursed for the tickets by the Royal Mail. Tracking numbers will be provided upon request.
No tickets will be held. FOR ANYONE. Once they are gone, they are gone.




Love May x x x x x

Goodbye Ninjafest, Hello Running Riot fest.

Goodlife Summerfest 2002. Myself and Rach, and a boy called Jamie (aka Kemo) were discussing a festival that the other two were putting on, entitled Ninjafest, in November. I had been doing shows for a 2 years for Jon Vyner at the Underworld, so I offered my services, booked a couple of additional bands, and so it began.

The first Ninjafest was not great. It was masses of fun for everyone that was there, but Kemo had a lot to do with the line up and it wasnt as good as it could have been.

The following year, myself and Rach decided to do it ourselves without Kemo for several reasons. Kemo lived in Hull. We also ended up in masses of arguments with him over the fest the previous year. And as Rach had come up with the tongue in cheek name, we were entitled to keep it.

The next year was a totally different ball game. We took in submissions, and managed to put together an amazing line up.

"Book the bands and they will come".

One of the defining moments for Ninjafest for me was during the second fest. Stood on the Underworld "dancefloor", I was surrounded by kids losing their shit to Scandinavian band, "Damage Control". I looked up at Rach, who was stood on the balcony, and mouthed "what the fuck?" and grinned. She had the biggest smile on her face and all the stresses of the fest were forgotten.

We began doing shows DIY with Louise and then she was roped in for Ninjafest 5 (or was it 4? My memory is shot). We had a strong team.. and it worked well.. We all liked different styles of hardcore, we all had roles, and it came together like a dream even if i was running around like a headless chicken all stressed out.

Me and Rach always said that we had built up the name together, that all the work had been dont together and that if one of us were to leave, the name would go with them. During the 2007 meetings, both Rach and Louise decided that this would be their last (explainations will be at the bottom of this column.). We made sure it was the best yet, ending it with two of the best hardcore bands on the planet, Wisdom in Chains and Londons very own Knuckledust.

Ninjafest was the highlight of the year for me.

It meant that I would get to put on bands that I loved and wanted to see and it was awesome that everyone else wanted to see them too.

So i made the decision to continue. I would put on a fest myself, on the same weekend at the same venue with the same concept, just under a different name. Running Riot Fest was born.

"How are you going to do it alone?". I am not. I am dealing with all the booking but I have enough friends that have promised to help me out leading up to it and on the day.

Is it going to be hard, yes. I am honestly hoping that it will just continue from where Ninjafest left off. The same but different. Wish me luck.

Here are the two girls goodbyes:

"It's all over now. The end of an era, so everyone says. A big thanks to everyone who came to Ninjafest and had a ball. All the bands who played, all the people who bought tickets, and all the people who made the weekend so amazing. It was seriously alot of fun, and worth all the planning that comes with it. However all good things must come to and end, and this year was the perfect time to do so.

People have been asking why it was the last one, and why aren't we doing it again next year. Well, if you didn't already now, my heart isn't in it anymore and hasn't been for around a year. Hardcore is not as big a part of my life, and if I continued with it, it wouldn't seem right. That does not mean to say I am leaving it all in the past and turning my back on it, it means that from now on I will be doing what alot of people do in the "scene" and just enjoying it by turning up to shows. Watching or listening to bands like Knuckledust, Ninebar, Down and Outs and so forth will always be a part of my life. They have given me some of the best memories I will ever have.

It is time for other people to get off their arses and build something as good as Ninjafest for the next generation. fuck, if we could do it, anyone can!! See you then, yeh?" - Rach

"If you've read my live review of Gorilla Biscuits (below) you'll find I'm a ball of contradictions. On one hand you'll read about how that infamous NYHC band have reinstated my love for all things hardcore but on the other hand, here I am, lamenting my retirement from being the girl who took the phrase DIY Hardcore to the extreme.

Hardcore, as they say isn't a spectator sport. It's hard work. Whether you're simply paying the door fee, buying a fanzine or writing it and putting the gig on in some way you're contributing to keeping this underground movement alive. Hardcore is also more than the music. Anyone can start a band and ape Youth Of Today, Madball, Integrity but without being involved at a grassroots level it's not hardcore. To actually 'be' hardcore involves time, committment, passion and more often than not money and you love every drop of blood, sweat and tears you've contributed. Well that's my take anyway. Of course the ultimate description of hardcore is what you can only take from it. It means something different to everyone and that is what makes it so damn special and unique as a music-based movement.

And this, dear friends, is what it comes to. An ode to the last ever Ninjafest. An event that had it's trial and tribulations, but never regret.

Most of you have never heard of Ninjafest, an annual meeting of minds for the European hardcore family. It was started six years ago by my friends May and Rach and a few years later I joined the team. Our aim? To put on one hellava party to celebrate the bands and people that made contemporary hardcore so damn exciting. There are moments in it's history that make me shiver with intense nostalgia; Seconds Out opening in 2004 with their version of the Floorpunch intro, No Turning Back doing Alone In A Crowd, Deny Everything's debut, Six Foot Ditch rushing the stage, watching the whole room sing along to 'The Summer Of 69' with Down & Outs, Limp Wrist covers, Purified In Blood's inventive ways of sneaking in without paying, The Seventh Cross kicking ass, need I go on. Every year bought it's own new reasons to love being involved.

But it also bought it's stresses and trials, don't even talk to me about work permits, spiralling gueslists, tickets selling out and having to tell even my closest friends I couldn't sneak them in... Bands cancelling when I personally paid for their flights (ha ha, there's a problem I never want to relive). So it's right that we hand to baton onto the next generation. So a door might close foe Ninjafest but I'm pretty certain that somewhere, somehow a new group of people, as passionate about hardcore as we were, no still are, will keep the fire alive. So I just want to thank everyone for being involved from providing equipment, letting bands trash their front rooms, cooking mountains of pasta for ravenous musicians, printing out flyers in their offices when their bosses aren't looking. These are the things I'll miss. The outrageous ammounts of generosity given by the people within this little community we call DIY HC.

For those that have got a ticket for this weekend's end of an era please make it a good one. We dispensed with our strict three-year rule (no band can play more than 3 years in a row) to get back all the bands that gave us our golden moments; The Down & Outs, Knuckledust, Strength For A Reason, No Turning Back plus new bands we just think kickass and deserve to prove it such as True Colours, Rythmn To The Madness, Cold World, Colin Of Arabia, Risky Business. It's going to be a killer weekend but one, I'm sure that will see more its fair share of tears." - Louise

Ending Starts

Sweet baby Jesus! Praise The Lord! It's Christmas-time!

This time of year actually has no religious connotations for me in the slightest. However, I am keen on the presents bit (giving & receiving of course!) and the eating bit.

It is also a time to reflect on the year gone by, well it is for me anyway. I tend to reflect solo. If you start discussing these things with other people, you invariably get helpful comments such as "Gosh! Hasn't this year gone quickly?" in tones of genuine disbelief. Middle aged, female office workers are particularly fond of that one. Last time I checked, the year lasted approximately 365 days and that is exactly what you've been given, hag!

This year has been one of the best for me, in recent memory in terms of gigs. Forgive me, whilst I do a run down of some of the top gigs of 2007, as far as I am concerned. And forgive me for the distinct lack of hardcore content. You'll just have to make do.

-Genesis- Without a doubt... an expensive gig, but totally brilliant nonetheless. I have no time for these negative types who say they are nothing without Gabriel. YOU'RE nothing without Gabriel you idiots!! Turn It On Again, Land of Confusion, Invisible Touch- full on classic pop right there.

-Prince- Speaking of pop....this was my first trip to the O2 in London, and despite feeling a little brainwashed by the looping adverts for Prince merchandise (he clearly does have magic powers, to make a grown up even consider buying Prince perfume "just for a laugh".. I ask you..), and despite an evil bout of tonsilitus attempting to sabotage my night, I wouldnt have missed this for the world.

-Municipal Waste- I personally think this goes without saying. To be blunt, if you don't crack a smile at a Waste show, you're an idiot.

-High On Fire- I had the pleasure of seeing this band twice this year. They were ace the first time round, but the second time they were astounding. Sometimes I struggle to describe bands, find reference points etc. But High On Fire, to me don't require decribing, I honestly just think they are straight up, good time, rock and roll/metal. On a side note, I get the feeling I would lose to Matt Pike in a drinking contest...

-Jesus & Mary Chain- They were so good, they bought a tear to my eye and softened my brutal, brittle heart a little when they played Just Like Honey. They were so good, I have already got my tickets to see them next year.

Special mentions should also go to the reformed Cynic, who I caught live in June, The Police, who despite being made up of 90% ego and 10% music, still put on a top show, and Boredoms, who made my mind bend.

Next year is already shaping up to be a good un; I already have tickets for My Bloody Valentine and Bruce Springsteen. I also have a secret yearning to see Avenged Sevenfold, but if you could keep that to yourself, I would be eternally grateful....


Roll on 2008...

WHY DO WE GO TO SHOWS?

As we are all aware, when we go to our smaller hardcore shows in London, we tend to see the same people all the time, making it a type of community. Has coming to these things over the years for some people become less of a chance to see new bands and enjoy old ones or has gig going become more like just going to a club, bar or pub and hanging with mates?

Unlike big concerts, including non-hardcore ones, where there are so many people that there are just loads of little groups of people who stick together for the duration of the gig, people can be seen mingling more at small shows. This is probably due to having got to know a whole load more people via being introduced to them through people you already get on with or just starting a conversation with someone because you’ve seen them many times before. I have spoken to some people who say that they tend to come to gigs purely for the social aspects of it…yet really only if at least one band they like or that their mates are in, which does not always mean the same thing, are on the bill. As I’m sure is the case for many of us when we started going to shows, I personally used to go to any hardcore show that was promoted on forums and messageboards purely to check out bands I’d never heard of before. I still do this to some degree, but over the years I seem to have automatically seen going to shows very similar to popping down the local. It’s become comforting and almost routine. Although I still tend to be a bit of a shy soul, having been coming to shows for pretty much 6 years now, being round people I recognise and know and, in some cases, get on really well with gives this particular ‘scene’ a somewhat social club-like quality.

Without touching upon this too much as I know a lot of people like separating the 2 things, but over the years I have begun to see my religion in very much the same way. Religion became more of a routine than a real ‘faith’ and having the tag of a Jew makes one prone to ‘Jew Dos’. It is pretty much safe to say that just about every Jew in London knows one another or knows someone who knows someone. This is how the hardcore scene in London feels like to me.

What I’m hoping to gain out of this column are any views concerning your own thoughts about what I’ve said. Are you someone who tends to come to shows because you want to see your mates? Are you maybe someone who actually does not really know anyone in the scene but purely comes for the music? Do you not like hardcore at all but come to shows for pressing matters? Are you someone who doesn’t come to shows because you’re not in a band anymore? Are you Ali? I want to hear from all of you.

Summerfests 2007!

Summer means a couple of things to me.. The sun, not having to wear layers upon layers of clothes, everyone seems happier, smelly tubes, and most importantly, fests.

We are extremely lucky living in London. With budget airlines like Ryanair, we can fly to pretty much anywhere in europe for no more than £40 return. Which means that most people have no excuse to be staying in the country for summer.

So I thought I would give you all a rundown of the biggest and best fests happening around the mainland this year.

The first fest of the season is Pressurefest. Pressurefest is the brainchild of Sascha and the guys at Alveran records and this years line up, by far, is the best line up in its 5 years existance. Held over three days (22-24th June) in an ice hockey rink in Herne in Germany, the fest attracts kids from all over Europe. This year, whilst having amazing bands that are doing the festival circuit, the guys have managed to get a number of exclusive sets including a Sick of it all "fan set" that will be voted for by the fest goers, as well as sets from Shattered Realm, Casey Jones, Have Heart and The Warriors first ever european show. Adding to this, they have put on the cream of the crop in european hardcore, with bands such as Black Friday 29, recently reformed Length Of Time and the UKs very own Knuckledust, Bun Dem Out and Six Ft Ditch.

The fest serves vegan food, there is a swimming pool and a couple of bars 2 mins from the venue and there is also a huge "other" festival happening in Bochum which means that once the day is done, there will be many places for people to spend their nights. Hotels are recommended but there are camping facilities behind the venue.

For more information on this fest and the line up, click on the pressurefest link.
For a video of the last time SOIA played pressurefest, Click Here.

Next up is Ieperfest (24th-26th Aug)

Once a year, the quite belgian town of Ieper gets taken over by over a 1000 hardcore kids.
Organised by Bruno at Genet records, the fest has been going on for well over a decade and has built up a name for itself as one of the best in europe. While the majority of bands that play ieper are hardcore bands, ieper has always prided itself on being a fest that wont shy away from putting on a few emo/punk/metal bands.
Held at a campsite, the fest is the best open air hardcore fest in europe.. every year the line up never fails to disappoint and this year is no exception, with bands such as Madball, Cold As Life, Set Your Goals, Bane and Blacklisted on the bill, as well as Nothing done, Born From Pain, and losing streak repping the euros.
Vegan food is served onsite, there is a huge merch/distro tent to blow all your money on, and as you know, belgian beer is the best in the world.
The organisers hold a pre show the night before at the vort n vis club in ieper which usually showcases the best up and coming bands, and every night there is a club held for all the festival goers. You havent lived till you see around 400 hardcore boys dancing to "its raining men".

My advice to travel to this would be via eurostar, as its the fastest and possibly the cheapest way to get there (a eurostar ticket to belgium is valid to all belgian stations so it will be valid all the way up to ieper). Camping is available on the campsite although there are hotels in ieper town centre which is 2 mins away from the festival site.


For an ieper video, click here.

The final fest of the season is Deadfest (14th- 15th Sept) in sweden. Now, any reason to go to sweden is always good, and its become tradition to end the summer at this fest. This year, it will return to its original home, at the Skylten in Linkoping, the venue is one of best. Deadfest has always been good for not only putting on amazing touring bands, but also showcasing scandinavian bands that generally dont make it as far down as the UK. This years awesome line up includes Die Young, Have Heart, Ceremony, The Boss and a range of awesome bands.
The venue is 5 mins walk from Linkoping town centre where they serve some of the best fallafel on the planet.

Take your sleeping bag, as you can sleep in the venue, but be warned that you will be woken up the crazy frog at 10am by organiser, Chris dead. haha
Also, Gorilla Biscuits are playing the night before the fest in Stolkholm so my advice is fly out to Stolkholm NYO and go to that show first.

(i couldnt find a good video of deadfest.. so here you go.)