Date: 22th July

Time: 11.50

The story:

Yeah, we know that it's been 2,5 days since our last update but it was impossible to share everything with you via this blog because of lack of internet connection since we left Praha.

So, in brief... The rest of Pre-Fluff was great with Anchor tearing the place apart.

We headed to some girls' house after the show along with 2 of The Hunger / As We Were members in order to shower / get some sleep. We woke up around 8 and drove straight to Praha downtown, left Anna in the hotel and tried once more to fix our GPS. No results again, so we used an old school map and some useful advice from random Czechs. 

Arrived in the wonderland of hardcore, simply called Fluff Fest, 1 hour after noon, checked in, got our passes and hanged around, diving into tons of distro boxes, while trying to take photos of everything.

We unloaded our back line in the tent stage, set up everything and started the show at 15.20 sharp. No exaggeration, it was fucking AWESOME. Stage divings, moshing, sing-alongs; everything we expect of a hardcore show was here in front of our eyes. We felt terribly great and finished our set with a cover of Project X's Straight Edge Revenge, bringing chaos to the 400-500 people that were watching our show.

We spent the rest of the day either behind our merch / distro table or watching some great bands with Reign Supreme, Nine Eleven, Graf Orlock, Coke Bust, Code Orange Kids, End Of A Year and Loma Prieta being among them. We even watched a great set by Defeater; a set that wasn't too well-accepted by many scenesters carrying banners stating Defeater, nationalism, militarism, or nation against freedom, and showing their middle fingers to the band. Defeater openly supported the American troopers lately and a lot of punks will never accept this...

Fast food / ice creams / juices were also a part of the game.

So, around midnight almost all of us headed to the camping area to manage to get some sleep.

We didn't succeed it that much, though due to the never-ending party that was going on around us. 

So, we woke up around 8 and got ready to hit the road.

Fast - forward...

24 hours later we are in a cafeteria in Katerini, exhausted as hell.

Drove through Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Serbia and Macedonia... 

In 5 hours we'll be in Athens, since we have a show tonight along with our buddies Wish Upon A Star and Against All Odds. Hope to see you there!

Date: 19th July

Time: 19.30

The story:

Just finished playing in the Pre-Fluff matinee.

But let's rewind a bit, because due to lack of internet access we shared no news the last 24 hours...

So, we arrived in Graz after a short trip (let's say 2 hours), and a police check, around 17.00. Lost a bit in the city (btw how beautiful are all the european cities we visit?!), searched for a shop to fix our GPS (no results, though), and got some alcohol-free drinks while Lepas was shopping at H&M.

We entered Sub at around 18.30 and had an awesome vegan dinner along with the French (Aussitot Mort, Nine Eleven) and the Swedes (No Omega, Grieved).

The show started around 21.30, we played first, a tight set of 9 songs that we definitely enjoyed.

No Omega and Grieved were next, playing much better than the show in Sofia. We liked them a lot!

Nine Eleven proved once again why they are considered to be one of the best modern hardcore bands nowadays, delivering an insane show with their vocalist trashing the place up. 

Aussitôt Mort hit the stage around 1 hour after midnight but their heavy set of post-hardcore / doom kept everyone awake and absorbed by their music.

We then loaded the van and followed the path that Flo paved with his fixed bike to his house. 

Less than 4hrs of sleep and on the road again, since the trip to Praha is about 6-7hrs.

Lepas did all the drive and we arrive in Praha around 3 for the Pre-Fluff Matinee.

It was good to meet great friends from all over Europe, incl. a bunch of Greek ones.

We played second, around 17.00, after As We Were.

Our show was sick, fueled by stage dives and sing-alongs. 

Even though we had some technical difficulties, The Hunger guys helped us out by lending us their guitar so we managed to play all the songs out of our 9-song track list.

The Hunger were next; probably one of the most dedicated and outspoken bands of today's hardcore scene. Their speeches against homophobia and pro-sexual education were amazing. So was their hardcore.

Graf Orlock played next; nice show but not our cup of tea, and just now Unveil finished our set.

The bill includes Run With The Hunted, Coke Bust, Anchor and xTrue Nature x, so we have tons of moments to spend here at Cafe Na Pul Cesty, located in Pankrac district of Praha.

Stay gold.

-MT-

Date: 18th July

Time: 12.50

The story:

So, we arrived in Stefi's house (a.k.a. Chilla Villa) around 3 in the afternoon yesterday.

Played some soccer in the backyard and had some rest in the sofas for a couple of hours.

We headed to the venue around 7 and had dinner there.

And when I write dinner, I mean DINNER; probably the most delicious vegan food I've ever had in my whole life. And we ate so much that we could't even move for the next moments!

Well, the venue was inside a block of flats that is called The Bandhouse and it consists of several rehearsal rooms that bands like Astpai, Soey and Dimitrij own, among others.

The show was held in Astpai's rehearsal room. Reizend played first, an all female band into riot grrrl, while BHF were next, a hardcore influenced new style punk rock band (in Markos' words).  

We delivered a nice show inside a hot room, filled with 30 punk rockers.

The weather outside was almost cold, so we wore our hoodies, packed the van and headed to Stefi's house to shower & sleep.

Tofu (Stefi's new little dog) woke us up nicely a couple of times, but we managed to totally leave our beds an hour or so ago.

Stefi is preparing breakfast for us (I bet that it'd be orgasmic...), while we are checking the internet.

We will leave for Graz anytime soon. No hurries; it's just 2 hrs away. On the other hand, Lepas has destroyed the GPS and I hope we won't have a problem...

Tonight we are playing with Aussitot Mort, Nine Eleven, No Omega and Grieved, in a line up feat. the creme de la creme of today's modern hardcore scene. 

The music:

Madball, Cock Sparrer, Business, Bootstroke, Agnostic Front, Witch Hunt, NOFX.

 

Date: 17th July

Time: 10.30

The story:

So, last night's show was definitely cool.

Black Hourglass from Hungary played first, delivering a nice blend of post hardcore with some screamo influences.

We were next, spitting 9 songs both old and new.

Nine Eleven proved why they are considered as one of the best European modern hardcore band of 2012. Half an hour of tight and passionate hardcore was enough to draw a huge smile in our faces.

Aussitôt Mort 'headlined' the show, playing a decent set of post - hardcore / sludge / doom / screamo, a style they pioneer. 

The show ended around midnight and then we headed to Tomas' house in order to have some rest. First we had some dinner at a 24hr supermarket and then we literally crashed on a room's floor for a bunch of hours.

We woke up around 7.30 because Tomas had to go to work and we roamed around the city for a while.

Budapest is one of the most beautiful cities of East Europe, by the way.

We'll start the trip for Wiener Neustadt in an hour or so.

Can't wait to meet Stefi and the rest of the crew.

Tonight we are playing in the local Bandhaus along with Reizend and BFH.

Peace.

Date: 16th July.

Time: 18.40

The story:

We arrived in Budapest after a 4hr drive.

The trip was smooth and we enjoyed a lot the countryside.

First thing we did in Budapest was to fix Nick's bass. It took us less than 5min to do it.

We are now hanging out at Szabad Aza, a place where the venue is located.

There's a youth hostel in the ground floor, decorated with trees and fueled with nice atmosphere.
Τhe club is downstairs, in the basement. We love basements!

The show will start around 20.00-20.30.

An update will follow later on.

Cheers.

The music:

Rancid, Tommy Guerrero, Senses Fail, H2O, random compilations.

Date: 16th July
Time: 03.30

The story:

The show started around 21.30.

Outcry played first, a kind of generic metal core, not our cup of tea at all, but since they are youngsters and are passionate about what they do, so props on them. What Matters Most played next, delivering modern hardcore plus a couple of Have Heart & Defeater covers.

We hit the stage around 23.30 and even though we had to cope with some technical problems, we gave our 100% playing a 10-song set consisting of new & old songs. 

The usual procedure followed the end of the show; packing everything, loading the van and heading to Jere's place to sleep. 

Btw, AKC Medika is a great place for hardcore / punk shows. You should visit it whenever you are in Zagreb.

Tomorrow we are playing in Budapest along w/ Aussitot Mort & Nine Eleven from France, plus the local band Black Hourglass. It's a 4hr drive, so we have a bunch of hours to sleep. 

Goodnight,

MT

Date: 15th July

Time: 18.30

The story:

Sick As We Are was a blast, even though D.R.I. cancelled due to some problems they faced in the borders. Nevertheless, Vitamin X ripped everything apart in front of more than 800 punks, hardcore kids and lots of drunk metalheads. Final Approach and Left In Ruins delivered decent shows, as well.

We played a definitely cool show and had a great feedback. The sound was one of the tightest we've ever experienced. 

Sick As We Are is a great DIY fest with free entry; located in the countryside, next to a big river, with a lot of trees to camp under. It's a pity that there are no fests like this in Greece. But, you never know...

All in all, it was totally worth the 9 hour driving through the entire Serbia. 

Right now, we are in Zagreb having some pizza & coffee, while checking the internet.

The weather is chilling, around 20 degrees, and this is definitely cool!

The drive from Zupanja to Zagreb was only 3hrs (258 km), so we are fresh and ready to hit the stage.

Tonight we are playing in AKC Medika, Zagreb's best squat, along with 2 local bands, What Matters Most and Outcry. Our friend Jere (of Dispro band fame) is taking care of the show.

By the way, we want to congratulate our roadie Lepas for his graduation.

We welcome him in the world of unemployment!

Moreover, tomorrow is the official opening day of Fotis' new shop, Bamboo Vegan.

Located in Zoodoxou Pigis 10, Exarheia / Athens, is the best place for you to buy vegetarian and vegan products. www.bamboovegan.com 

Soundcheck time. See you later.

The music:

Bad Movies, Touche Amore, Social Distortion, Marvin Gaye, Pennywise, No Turning Back.

Date: 14th July

Time: 01.30

The story:

We started the trip from Thessaloniki to Sofia around noon, battling with the hotness and tiresome.

We had a cool drive and we passed the borders with no problems at all.

Arrived in Sofia around 17.00 we found the venue inside a huge park.

Grindhouse Skatehouse is one of the greatest places we have ever played. 

It's a bar with a skate mini ramp inside and a great atmosphere outside.

It was fucking hot, though. And when I write hot, I mean HOT.

So, after unloading the van and setting up our merch / distro table, we ate some awesome vegan food that Nick's mother was so kind to cook. 

The show started around 20.30. Around 100 people gathered.

1st in the bill were Frenchbulldog, a new band from Sofia featuring members from Expectations, Melekh. They played just 3 songs of cool modern yet filthy hardcore. Cool!

We were next, playing a setlist of 10 songs incl. the Negative Approach cover.

Even though our sound was the best we can get, we did a decent, well-accepted, show.

No Omega and Grieved played after us. They had a lot of technical difficulties and to be honest their style was definitely not our cup of tea. But we definitely enjoyed their show.

The show ended around 23.30 and then we loaded the van, had some falafels and arrived at Niki's house, where we are jerking around right now.

Tomorrow we are playing Sick As We Are Fest in Zupanja, Croatia.

We can't wait to share the stage with bands like D.R.I., Vitamin X and Final Approach!

Till then, da da!

The music:

NOFX, greek punk / oi!, Rancid, Floorpunch.