From Denmark to Norway it took long, but we did not see much
of Sweden when we were crossing it – mainly we were heading the highway on the
West. Not long after leaving Denmark we noticed some problem with the exhaust
pipe, which we managed to fix temporarily using an empty can of Coke :). At
Oslo we had to face a more serious issue with the car – just right after having
parked one street away from Blitz squat we realized the backwheel on the left was
extremely flat. How could we get as far as here with that? There was a small
crack on the rim of the wheel and it was evident we had to repair it somehow.
We found the squat and asked for help there – it was not easy at all. There
were people already and even at the entrance the young guys could not tell us
who the organizer is – they said there is no such a thing as organizer as a
whole collective organizing the fest. Hmmm… In the end we managed to get a
lever to lift the car and change the reserve wheel (getting screw-keys from
some older women from the street, whose car luckily broke down right beside us),
but it seemed rusty and was flat so we did not believe it would function for
long. Later some Polish guy gave us a telephone number saying his friend is a
car mechanix and can check our van tomorrow, so we tried to forget about all
the shits and get involved in enjoying Blitz fest… which, opposite our
expectations, turned out to be the weakest gig on the tour.
The squat itself is superb – it is somewhere near the centre
of Oslo, has maybe 3-4 storeys with two concert rooms, two bars, sleeping
places for bands, backstage rooms etc. It has a history and many well-known and
lesser-known bands have played here. I have heard some Black metalist (maybe
that idiot from Burzum?) already wanted to burn it to ashes many times, but apparently
he did not manage as it seems to be alive and comprises a strong cultural
centre for the youth of Oslo. Speaking about the youth you have to imagine it
like people below 20 years old, because most of the audience and the organizers
were really kids (maybe that’s why there were problems with organizing, they
seemed to lack some experience). Anyway, some of them seemed spoiled having
just got the nice opportunity to have this nice culture centre where they can
get drunk and wasted and can be sure no one will harass them. It was my impression
seeing those young kids and girls being more excited in the party-side of the
things, they were not much interested in the bands as I felt. The starting
local bands were not in a rush at all, after an hour sound-check they felt free
to play one-hour long set, so it was well after midnight when the foreign guest
could come to stage – staring with Led by Fear from Russia. They played some
raw D-beat, but I missed most of their programme as my old Norwegian friend Hans
(Diskord/ No Posers Please!) had just arrived right then and we had a lot to
talk all at once. As expected by the time Bricanyl got to the stage most of the
audience were too tired/ drunk/ stoned or simply uninterested to pay attention
so they had to play just for a handful of people. The same with us, so it was
well after 2am then we finished, of course a bit disappointed because we were really
looking forward to play at Blitz fest. Even the afterparty was a bit weaker than
usual (they sold only beers, which they ran out of by that time), but at least
we were sure to get up as early as possible to get the car fixed… which of
course was not that easy as you will see in the next day’s report… :)
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