“I came for Green Day! The best band in the world playing right next to my house, I had to.” Jürg was stamping his feet before the concert of the old glories of Californian punk on Saturday. A lucky man, because to hear furious guitars this year, rock fans often have to travel miles. The fault lies with rap and electro-oriented prog in open airs for all audiences.
The advantage is that when you’re there, you give it your all. Everyone took out their best “Anarchy” sweater – black, of course – and went pogo! Sorry for Jürg, but the slap of the evening goes to the Germans from Kraftklub. Unknown to French-speaking people, the group blew up the crowd in just two songs, carried by the charisma and incredible generosity of singer Felix Brummer. His rap-rock with indie accents, enhanced by an almost perfect sound (where was the bass?!), hit the mark. On the show side, we were treated to everything: stage diving, burning of torches on stage, a very successful intimate break. A demonstration of what rock should be like live.
Before them, the ska-punk of the Interrupters and the infectious joy of their singer achieved the feat of making metalheads shake their heads to a reggae track. Respect. “Rock’n’roll will never die,” recalled the frail guitarist in a suit, immediately acclaimed by the audience. The failure of the evening goes to the Californians of Crosses and their slightly elevated electronic post-punk, which aims to be dark and introspective. People weren’t ready, and the big stage was deserted. No problem, you always need a kebab break at a festival. Even the best!
