Posted on August 3, 2009 - by Sara

Mighty Sounds Festival 2009

From 17th-19th July 2009, the meadows around the South Bohemian village of Olší u Opa?an (70 miles south of Prague) played host to the 5th year of the Mighty Sounds Festival; bringing together an eclectic mix of musical genres that are often omitted from mainstream festivals.
This year over 10,000 people were expected to cross the gates and with over 150 bands from 18 countries costing £20 for a three-day ticket plus camping, it’s easy to see the appeal. The organisers threw in a little bit of everything from ska, punk and rock ’n roll to hip hop and D ‘n B. Oh, and just a bit of rain…

Below is a first hand account of the weekend…

Friday
We take the train from Prague and arrive at Mighty Sounds just in time to put up our tents before the festivities begin at 3pm. Kicking it all off on the Joe Strummer stage are the awesome Jaya The Cat (USA/NL). Although not that many people are there to catch the set, their chilled out punky-reggae songs about having a good time, getting high and loving reggae have us skanking away in the sunshine. Without a doubt, reggae and sunshine are the perfect start to a festival. This year’s line-up is much more diverse than previous years, with a lot more punk, rock ’n roll and various ‘billys’ on the bill. I like my ska and there’s a lack of dancehall and dub but with so many good bands playing there’s not much to complain about. As always, Mighty Sounds is introducing bands that people might not have heard before, a chance for the Eastern European music scene to be taken seriously alongside some of the bigger Western names also on the bill.

Walking round the festival site there’s the usual market stalls you’d expect to see, a chill out area with hammocks and bean bags, an inflatable gladiator duelling arena, a climbing wall and a shisha tent. And of course, 4 live stages, 2 DJ stages and a theatre tent. Premium ice cold Czech lager is just £1 a pint as well as cocktails for about £3. There’s not much fast food to be found, and all the food is cooked freshly in front of you, from spit roast grills to vegetarian kebabs and vegan pizza – but after a few drinks, as all the menus are in Czech, you point at what looks good and enjoy what you end up with. Better still, if you wander off site the locals have opened up stalls and BBQs selling cheap booze and tasty food.

On the Johnny Cash stage we catch the last half of Intensified (UK) and I am truly amazed I haven’t heard of them before. A blend of rock-steady and early reggae, with deep soulful vocals and some jazzy horn riffs as well as being plain and hard hitting like the big boss sound of old skool ska- fantastic. From ska to punk, we head over to the Bandzone stage to see Wonk Unit (UK). The sky is looking pretty menacing and as they start to play it pisses it down, which, luckily for them, draws in a huge crowd. Straight up punk, with songs about being fucked up, women, and a bit of poetry in between. They play a great set but the language barrier and poetry doesn’t win the crowd over as easily as it normally does on UK shores. As they finish playing a raging thunder storm breaks loose with a torrential downpour. Now we have something to complain about. The rain is so bad that we miss Polemic (SK) who sound great from inside our tent, and only manage to catch the end of Open Season (CH) who, despite the rain, still manage to draw a huge crowd with some quality ragga, dancehall and deep fat bass. The rain starts up again so we spend the next few hours in the shisha tent which has Persian rugs, brightly coloured cushions and your own table to sit at and enjoy a nice smoky shisha. I’m curious to see what The World/Inferno Friendship Society have to offer, described as a Halloween-tent-revival orchestra with show tunes for the punk rock masses. Maybe it’s because it’s tipping down with rain and I’m soaked from head to toe, but they don’t make me want to dance and I’m not feeling very exhilarated, big wet thumbs down. I’m determined to beat the weather and watch the Koffin Kats (USA), who finally came on late at 2:30am. On a big stage you can really see the KK in full flow with their fast-paced hard-hitting punk-a-billy, guitar swapping antics, and a performance that has the girls screaming and draws in a huge crowd. Alas, no wrecking pit but some on the spot squelching with fists in the air, and a stage invasion from the Gangnails – wow, even if it’s not ska, this will be a hard one to beat this year.

Saturday
To say it rained overnight is an understatement. Woken early by the downpour, we venture to nearby Tábor to buy wellies, at a sacrifice of missing the early afternoon bands. By the time we get back the whole festival site is a complete wash out. Some cover their shoes in bags, others go barefoot – this makes my wellies priceless, even if they aren’t punk rock. The weather is so bad that a lot of people have gone home and you can’t even get to the stages without wading through sludge. Fuddy as muck, but you can’t predict the weather. A deserted festival site and Mike TV (UK) plays to almost no-one, so I have a dance to ‘Ship Ahoy’ before retreating back to the tent. A few drinks later and we brave the rain to see Mouthguard (AUS) who up until now have survived in their flip-flops and are convinced us pommies have brought the bad weather with us. Their straight up in your face hardcore punk is exactly right for the mood and a crowd packs into the Bandzone tent to get a mud pit going – I’ll definitely be catching these guys again at Rebellion. Finally some back-to-back ska from Prague Ska Conspiracy (CZ) and Fast Food Orchestra (CZ). Both local Czech bands have a huge following and it’s no surprise they are back on the bill again this year. Female fronted Prague Ska Conspiracy certainly know how to get the crowd dancing with some up tempo ska-jazz, and my favourites Fast Food Orchestra continue to get the crowd moving with some highly energetic ragga rhythms and heavy beats – you definitely have to give them a listen. A controversial decision but I miss the Buzzcocks (UK) to go and see The Skints (UK) who attract a good sized crowd. Their mixture of upbeat ska and chilled out dub goes down a treat, with a confident and tight performance to boot. The last sober functioning part of my brain makes it over to see The Peacocks (CH) who are on excellent form with a polished performance and play all the classics, ending on a favourite ‘Don’t Ask The Kids’. It’s game over for sobriety and we party for the rest of the night – inevitably we miss SNFU (CA).

Sunday

Sunday morning hurts and I want a cup of tea. But finally, the sun is shining! We head down to the shisha tent for some chai and enjoy a bit of old skool 50s sounding psychobilly from Carlos and His Howling Coyotes (CZ), recreating the sounds of early era Guana Batz. Straight up next are the ska grooving Smooth Era (BE) who I can’t help but compare to The Pietasters, but play such a dynamic set with the most energetic horn section I’ve seen in a while – definitely my top new find of the festival and a lesson to all brass sections out there. Credit to All Idols Fall (UK) whose relentless flyering pays off to bring in a good crowd, but their post-hardcore punk just isn’t my cup of tea and I leave the other Brit’s to go and see one of Czech’s top ska bands, The Chancers (CZ/UK). Their iconic mockney sounding front-man belts out their own brand of upbeat catchy rudeboy ska and gets everyone skanking up a mudstorm. They are a band that are so fun to listen to and you just have to dance. An afternoon of incredible ska gets even better as the New Town Kings (UK) take to the Johnny Cash stage. It is about time they get a chance to play on a large main stage away from their Essex hometown. Their horn driven grooving ska sounds fantastic and I’m pretty sure they won over a lot of new fans. But as some kind of evil ska overlord decides to put on The Aggrolites (USA) to clash halfway through their set I still don’t think they get the crowd or appreciation they deserve, truly one of the best bands on the UK ska scene right now. And yes, The Aggrolites, they are mind blowing – with the biggest and most diverse crowds of the whole festival. From the moment they start to play the crowd climbs over the barriers with everyone dancing down the front in centre stage. The bouncers step back and let everyone dance and that’s what really sets this festival apart from the rest; it’s not about over indulgence or causing mayhem, it’s about an appreciation for the music and having a good time. Jesse Wagner’s mesmerising vocals have everyone singing along to their funk-punk edged dirty reggae long after they finish playing. I couldn’t have asked for more from them. On a happy reggae high we head over to see Yellow Cap (D) whose ska sound mixed with latino and jazz is almost as bold as their white suits with green flames. Their delectable front-man really makes a connection with the crowd and their set includes a top quality cover of ’54-46 That’s My Number’. We were looking forward to seeing Wickeda (BG), recommended to us by our Bulgarian friends, but their folk music with a ska twist is just a bit too generic and disappointingly samey. Not knowing much about the Backyard Babies (SWE) I had to see what they were all about. Sleazy rock ‘n roll was not what I’d expect from Mighty Sounds, but with an unbelievable set of classic rock played with frantic energy and plenty of charisma, this was a great addition to the line-up. I ran out of booze and my energy levels were starting to dwindle – the catch-22 of wanting to drink more but not wanting to use the 3-day ‘fresh’ portaloos. Liberator (SWE), the 2-tone Swedish ‘legends’ also fail to impress and don’t live up to the hype, but it could possibly be that I’m so wrecked that I’m not sure if I’m awake anymore. I watch them setting up for New York Ska Jazz Ensemble (USA) but the final 15 minutes of waiting at 1:30am in the cold and rain and mud is too much for me and it’s game over. The final day of Mighty Sounds had such a great line-up and, rain aside, I was spoilt for choice with some of the best ska and reggae around.

All in all, the diversity of Mighty Sounds 2009 line-up was a winner and even better than last years. The energy of the punk, rock ‘n roll and all-the-other-billys late in the evening kept everyone awake and moving during the worst possible festival weather. It may have been muddy but I’ll be back next year, hopefully without my wellies.