Welcome to the Asylum

Emilie Autumn

Artist: Emilie Autumn

Venue: Club 202, Fehérvári út 202,  Budapest

Time: March 18, 2012 - 8.00 pm
Entrance fee: 3500 / 4500 HUF

Although the main idea of Folkrockin Budapest is folk rock, with connections to Hungary, this time I decided to go for something completely different. Or at least, weird enough to still serve my aim. Emilie Autumn. She's a unique artist, classically trained in singing and violin, but better known for her bizarre style and extravagant shows. So, why wouldn't her Victorian-cabaret-burlesque-influenced costumes and scene be a nice addition to the blog? I'm absolutely happy with my photos, too, even more so because the club was quite full and I couldn't get closer to the stage than the third row. Nevertheless, I just have to share this spectacle with you.





Since this is the first time I write about Club 202, I have to say a few words regarding the venue. Club 202 is my favourite concert venue in Budapest, possibly ever. Although it is located quite far on the Buda side of the city, I wouldn't mind going there every day. Formerly known as Wigwam, the place is decorated in a style that resembles Native American cultures, with canoes and painted walls; at one point, some time ago, even with cowboy hats.

Emilie with Captain Maggot, The Blessed Contessa, and Veronica Varlow

At 7 pm on Sunday, March 18, Club 202 opened its gates for all the fans of the wicked style of Emilie Autumn's music. The audience mostly consisted of girls, dressed in cabaret styled costumes to honour their goddess, but there was also a fine number of guys there as well, who, surprisingly, knew all the lyrics. After the club filled up, the lights dimmed, and the girls started entering the stage, dramatically. The three seductresses that accompany Emilie, also known as The Bloody Crumpets, jumped behind the big, lighted screen on the stage, building up the tension. Soon, the mistress herself graced the audience with her insane presence, and all hell broke loose.

Captain Maggot

Some of the main characteristics of Emilie's show include the so-called dinner theatre, where the corseted girls bring out a tea table, with tea and snacks, which they then pour and throw into the audience. Apart from satisfying their hunger, the Crumpets, namely Veronica, picked three girls from the audience to kiss them on the stage, which added to the burlesque atmosphere of the night. They call it "The Rat Game".
So, each girl had their own 5 minutes of fame, which gave Emilie time for breaks, and occasional costume change. Captain Maggot put us in awe with her fireworks, while the Contessa did an aerial performance.







Her music has many influences, from classical to cabaret, burlesque, theatrical, and glam rock. Unfortunately, there was not much live music on the stage, but the focus was rather on the acting and drama. Instead, they used pre-recorded tracks as background music. A few songs were played on the piano, though, while Emilie screeched the violin from time to time, or even sang with no background music. She did a quite long setlist, which included some of the new tracks, as well as the breathtaking older numbers such as Liar and Thank God I'm Pretty.

Emilie after changing her costume

Setlist: Best Safety Lies in Fear, 4 O'Clock, Dr. Stockill, Fight Like a Girl, Time for Tea, The Art of Suicide, Take the Pill, How to Break a Heart, Liar, Dominant, Girls! Girls! Girls!, The Rat Game, Gears, We Want Them Young, Gaslight, One Foot in Front of the Other // Mad Girl, Thank God I'm Pretty. Outro: Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.

Check out the concert gallery.


 

The Luck of the Ir... Hungarians!

Event: St Patrick's Day Parade

Place: Szabadság tér - Erzsébet tér, Budapest

Time: March 17, 2012 - 12.00 pm

The start at Szabadság tér

Let me present a taste of St Patrick's Day Parade in Budapest, for those who weren't as lucky to participate in the greenest event of the year. Seriously, even the traffic lights were green half of the time. :)


The celebration dates back to the 5th century, when St Patrick lived, and died on March 17 - hence the date. He is the patron saint of Ireland, so the day used to be a religious holiday. Nowadays, however, March 17 represents the day for praising the Irish culture worldwide, with the usage of traditional symbols such as the shamrock, or basically anything green.

So, the parade itself didn't start until the clock struck 2 pm, but the two hours from noon were spent gathering in the heart of Pest, at the Szabadság tér. It's a beautiful square covered in grass, where the people were just hanging out and chatting about the long weekend they were enjoying.

 

There were balloons in green (of course), orange and white, drinks, food, people wearing green T-shirts and facepaint, children dressed in cute little costumes, and so much more. At exactly 2 pm, a group of pipers started the Parade with the breathtaking sound of bagpipes. Yes, I absolutely love them.

This year was the second time the Parade was organised in Budapest, and, apparently, last year there were around 550 people there. I wonder how many joined this year, because it seemed so much more. From what I've experienced, most of them were foreigners, mainly Irish and British, judging by their immaculate accents.

Through the city

The parade went all around the centre of the city, as a giant green worm with the bagpipes in the front. Many people joined us on the streets, including some of the street performers, who made sure each part of the line could enjoy some of the most famous Irish tunes.

Akvárium's meadow

The end of the parade was at Akvárium, which I have already written about before, but not from this perspective. The interesting thing about this place is that it is situated in a hole in the ground, and surrounded by a nice meadow, where people usually sit around, hang out, and enjoy their drinks bought in a nearby shop, because this is the only area in the city where it's allowed to drink on the street.

The last part of the day was reserved for dancing with three performers of Irish music: Erin, Coincidance, and MÉZ együttes.

Irish dance at Akvárium

And here's one of the most famous traditional songs, covered by our very own Firkin:

Check out the gallery.

Hozz Egy Firkin Sört

Pipes & Pints: Syco Mike

 Bands: Pipes & Pints, Firkin

Venue: Barba Negra Music Club, Prielle Kornélia 4, 1117 Budapest

Time: March 9, 2012 - 8.00 pm
Entrance fee: 2400 / 3000 HUF

First of all, I would like to thank my friends for convincing me to go to this concert, since I was a little bit reluctant of going because the tickets weren't as cheap as I had previously expected. Honestly, I didn't think the bands would be worth the money. But, boy, was I wrong. The first surprise for me was the venue itself. Barba Negra is situated on the Buda side of the city, in an actually very accessible part, and a nice neighbourhood. You would never guess that there was an Irish punk evening going on around there. The club is a huge venue, with walls beautifully painted in a pirate style. They even serve different types of rum, such as Captain Morgan. The stage did justice to the bands - I believe it's one of the bigger ones in the city, so it could easily hold a bunch of band members with their instruments, even giving them space to jump around.

Pipes & Pints: Vojta Kalina

There were only two bands on the stage that evening, first of them being a group of American and Czech musicians, Pipes and Pints. Oh, did I mention that the club was quite accessible? Yes, I did. Well, we kind of went into a wrong street, and, unfortunately, ended up missing half of the first band's gig. From what I did manage to see, though, the band ended their performance in such an enthusiastic way. One would believe it was only the beginning of the show. They put a lot of effort into their music, which is a type of folk punk with Celtic influences and highland bagpipes. Unfortunately, I do not have the whole setlist this time, but some of the songs that they played were City by the Sea and Heaven and Hell, which they played as the closing song. There are also some free tracks on their website, where you can check out what they sound like, and perhaps still catch them on their tour.

Firkin is more or less already well-known in Hungary. Their style includes the traditional bagpipe tunes, while they also play some typical pirate and celtic songs such as Drunken Sailor. Their show started with a violin intro, conducted by the amazing Lili. Although she was the only woman on the stage, she charmed most of the audience with both her skills and charismatic performance. Talking about charisma, I have to mention the flute player, PJ, who was absolutely astonishing. His facial expressions were priceless, and I was actually happy that I wasn't standing in front of him because otherwise I'm not sure I would have been able to concentrate on anything else than his performance on the stage.

Firkin: PJ (flute, whistle) and Pali (vocals, ac. guitar, whistle)

To keep the fans staring with their mouths wide open, the band had several guest musicians on the stage. Csongi joined for a few songs with his banjo, Jamie Winchester with an acoustic guitar and his vocals, and there was also an extra violin, played by Pál István. Even the drummer tried singing twice, and quite successfully at that. This is, of course, another example of the versatility of the band. I don't even have to mention the 27-songs long setlist, do I?

The sound during the concert was almost immaculate, with only one smaller technical setback during one song, but compared to the rest of the show, it was negligible. I should also comment on the light system 'cause I found it very photography friendly. There were almost no red lights, which are usually the most annoying part of a concert. As I tried the black and white photography this time, too, I decided to upload some of those photos.

Firkin: Barni (lead vocals)

The show also included a prize winning competition. If you registered for the Firkin newsletter before the concert date, you could have received a free CD at the venue, since it was a Firkin CD release show. Amazing, isn't it?

Firkin: PJ (flute, whistle)

Setlist: Intro, Borfohász, Reggel Van!, Seven Deadly Sins, Rocky Road the Dublin, Vezet majd a szél, Galway Races, Rebels of the Sacred Heart, A jó ég magáld, Crazy Man Michael, Rettenthetetlen, The Irish Rover, Whup Jamboree, Kék volt az égbolt, Over Here, Beggarman, Jó, Hetedhét székely, Felföldi Románc, Donnegal Danny, Lord of the Dance, Tobacco Island, Drunken Lullabies, Hozz egy firkin sört // Igyunk Pálinkát, Devils Dance Floor, Búcsúpohár.

I would also like to apologize to the violinist for taking her setlist. It was a spur of the moment kind of situation, when the paper flew into our direction. :)

Firkin: Jamie Winchester (ac. guitar) and Lili (violin)

Check out the concert gallery.

p.s. St. Patrick's Day is getting closer, so search your wardrobes for some green clothes.

International Folk & Metal Night

Bands: Isatha, Interitus Dei, Ka Gaia An, Niburta

Venue: Crazy Mama Music Pub, Gubacsi út 97, 1097 Budapest

Time: March 3, 2012 - 8.30 pm
Entrance fee: 1000 HUF

Isatha: Rajna Péter (vocalist)

So far, I've covered some easier styles of rock and metal music, but now I'm moving onto something heavier. Last night I attended a concert in quite a deserted part of the city, in a club surrounded by abandoned buildings, and what looked like factories. I was a bit anxious about finding it, since the neighbourhood didn't look the friendliest. But once you get to those doors inconspicuously hidden in the middle of a long wall, and you get in, the whole atmosphere changes. The door was opened at 7 pm, but I was quite lucky to get there just in time when the first band started playing, since I was running a bit late, an hour and a half to be exact.

Isatha: Dauda Judit (vocalist)

Back to the music, the first band on stage was Isatha, a young band from Budapest. They play folk metal, and use a variety of instruments, ranging from drums and guitars to flutes and violin. As their influences they name various bands, such as Finntroll, Korpiklaani, Ensiferum, and Eluveitie, whose most famous song Inis Mona occupies a special place in Isatha performances.
Although for many fans the female vocals, done by Dauda Judit, were the highlight of Isatha's performance, it is important to emphasize how good the new violinist was, as well as the amazing talent on flutes that Gerényi Dóra showed last night.

Setlist: Vándor, Suttogó erdő, Pogány átok, Álomösvény, Felkelő nap a harci mezőn, Árnykirályság, Inis Mona (Eluveitie cover), Vérvörös ég alatt, Árulók balladája, Utolsó dal.

Interitus Dei

This folk metal night hosted, as its name suggests, bands from (only) two countries: Hungary and Romania, two bands from each. Since there has been some tension between the two nationalities, some people had concern about the outcome of the event. What I find to be a great thing about metalheads is that they are, mostly, genuinely interested in the music itself, and do not care for such trivialities as nationalism enough to start making problems about it. The same happened yesterday, since some showed up in those famous Greater Hungary T-shirts, which would, at many other events, be found highly provocative or distasteful. But enough of that.

Interitus Dei: featuring
Florin Costachita (vocals)

The two Romanian bands followed, led by Interitus Dei (who should not be confused with the German band of the same name, but different genre). This was the only band not to feature a female musician, and also the band with the least folk elements. The band rather plays gothic doom kind of metal, and incorporate into their style two vocalists, providing both clean vocals and growls. Obviously, all the musicians, both inside the band and with other bands, got along very well, and enjoyed being on the stage. Although the audience was not as big as I had initially expected, I was nicely surprised to see how good the communication between them and the bands was.
The Interitus Dei frontman, Bogdan Boeru, proved to be, apart from being a great musician, a very charismatic person as well. After introducing every song as: "This one is simply called...", he realized his repetitiveness, nonchalantly made a joke about it, and simply continued with the show.

Setlist: Pagan and Proud, When the Metal Meets the Flesh, The Portrait of Pain, Cards, Crowd, The Memories of the Snake, Strained, Heroes, Forbidden Epitaph, Straga, It Begins, Amon Amarth, Hasta Siempre Comandante Che Guevara, Riddles.

Ka Gaia An: Anastasia Dincu (flute)

The bands collaborated between themselves, as well. Florin Costachita, the vocalist for Ka Gaia An, joined Interitus Dei on the stage, giving us a small preview of what was about to come.

Ka Gaia An: Razvan Demetrian (keyboards)

Almost at midnight, the sounds of an intro started filling the venue, and the club welcomed Ka Gaia An with a loud applause. As the band themselves say, "Ka Gaia An is a state of mind, a return to traditions, habits, the emotions, spiritual life, to love the holy land of the ancestors of the Romanian people, the Dacians". Because their music takes us deeper into the Romanian culture and language, we can say that they play a sort of neofolk metal, with great pagan influences.

Setlist: Intro + Tomiris, Noaptea, Dansul La Lumina Lunii, Caluceanu, Doina, Joaca Dacii, Sfanta Cetate, Hangita, Interludium + Neamul, Dacilor / Joaca Dacii, Caluceanu.

Niburta: Hormai Balázs (vocals, mouth harp, drums...)

At a few points during the show, apparently there were some technical problems, and some of the instruments were not audible enough, but just sort of blended together. This happened again later with Niburta, who had so many instruments on the stage that it was almost expected to have something not work properly.

Niburta: Träger Lili (vocals)

Niburta are a relatively new band, formed only in 2009, in Budapest. However, considering what they do with their music, one would think they have existed ages ago. They fuse all kinds of folk elements, greatly influenced by folklore of Hungarian, Moldavian, and Mongolian peoples. The vast number of instruments they use include mouth harp, bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, flute, tilinkó, and so on. I particularly liked the throat singing, which, although quite unusual in metal, provided another one of those special aspects of Niburta's style.

The fans were quite eager to hear some of their most known pieces, such as Awakening, and Forebear's Dance, which sent everyone into frenzy. This continued well through the show into the song Tavaszi Szél, to which the band members of Ka Gaia An joined the band on stage, and helped Hormai Balázs with the vocals.
The real gem was the ending of the concert, when almost all the members of Niburta left their instruments, and stood behind the singer, Lili, while she performed the most beautiful song of that evening, Fúvom az Énekem, with the sounds of flute in the background.

Setlist: Bogorodice (intro), Stho Kaszmete, Nap és Hold, Mashala, Forebear's Dance, Dance of Satyrs (Daemonia Nymphe cover), Lydia, Awakening, Tavaszi Szél (with Ka Gaia An), Ancestry (intro CD), Forgotten path, Keselyű, Rege, Fúvom az Énekem.

Check out the concert gallery.
Here's the interview with Niburta.
The report was also published here in both Hungarian and English. Check it out!

Niburta: Hormai Balázs and Leindler Milán

As I mentioned before, Crazy Mama is kind of out of the way, situated in the far off part of the IX district. However, to get there one can take a number of buses or trams. The easiest way is to get to Boráros tér (which is at the Pest side of the Petőfi híd), and take either buses 54 and 55, or bus 23. They will get you pretty close to the place. There are other options as well, like taking the tram 51 from Mester utca (which is the next stop from Boráros tér).

As for the club itself, it's definitely one of the nicer ones in the city, although quite small. There's also a gallery, perfect for those who prefer to just sit back and enjoy the show. I haven't had a chance to check out the prices, but I know for sure they had draught beer (Soproni, which is the best Hungarian beer, in my opinion) for 400 Ft. Another positive thing was that they serve food as well, if I remember correctly, there were some Hungarian dishes such as Lángos and pies.