* alois nebel *

* Went to see the movie yesterday - very nice! And the Pulnocni / Midnight song by Vaclav Neckar & Umakart just got me..

* pohoda festival sold out! *

* For the first time in the festival history, tickets for 2011 Pohoda Festival have been sold out. If you got the ticket - good for you, if not - start mourning. So what are my 'must see' for this year?

Portishead, Saturday 23:00-24:00 @ Bazant Stage
* Honestly, if this is the only band appearing on the stage this year I would be okay with that. I am not going to argue with anyone that this is an easy music for listening because it is just not. But get a record from 1997 when the band performed with strings by the New York Philharmonic orchestra at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City and you sure will be amazed


Lamb, Friday 01:00-02:00 @ Runway Stage
* Another tidbit, Lou Rhodes will be visiting Pohoda for the third time but will be Andy Barlow's first time. I am pretty sure their joint performance will be a lot different than Lou playing alone


Pulp, Friday 22:00-23:00 @ Bazant Stage
* A reunion of an old britpop band, they have not played together since 2002. Not exactly sure what to expect but this is a music of my youth so another 'must see'


Public Image Ltd, Saturday 19:00-20:00 @ Bazant Stage
* I personally am not a punk freak but cannot miss an opportunity to see grandfather of punk Johnny Rotten live on stage

Komorný orchester mesta Trenčín a Chorus Alea, Saturday 15:00-16:00 @ Bazant Stage
* It is now a tradition to play classical music on main stage on Saturday noon. Other stages are usually quiet for an hour and 30.000 people enjoy themselves in a sunny afternoon, listening to great masterpieces of classics

The Markovič Orkestar vs. Fanfare Ciocarlia, Thursday 22:25 — 23:55 @ O2 Stage
* Balkan brass battle live on stage = great fun, music & energy

Madness, Friday 00:00-01:00 @ Bazant Stage
* A legendary British 2tone/ska band; although I do not know their albums so well, this is simply kind of a music I like

Beirut, Saturday 22:00-23:00 @ Runaway Stage
* A sew music discovery for me, I have been diligently listening to their alums and am very interested how will it be to see them live on a big stage

Dan Bárta and Illustratosphere, Friday 17:00-18:00 @ Runway Stage
* One could say that Dan Bárta is everywhere, you can expect him to jump out a sardine box one day but I cannot help myself, I really enjoy his music. I'm sorry that Dara Rollins will not be joining him at Pohoda, I saw them on stage together couple of months ago and it was just great

Staff Benda Bilili, Friday 21:00-22:00 @ Runway Stage
* A group of disabled street musicians from Congo-Kinshasa, no need more comments

Junip, Friday 22:00-23:00 @ Slovenska Sporitelna Arena
* A project of Jose Gonzales who is known for his solo appearances with a guitar. I was actually quite disappointed of his last year's appearance at Pohoda but let's give him another change. Junip does not seem to be so sad in comparison to Jose's solo work which might help

Other worth to see stuff (in alphabetical order):
* dEUS, Friday 18:00-19:00 @ Bazant Stage
* DJ Krush, Friday 03:00-04:00 @ Nay Tanecny dom
* Dominique Young Unique, Friday 19:00-20:00 @ O2 Stage
* Hex, Saturday 13:00-14:00 @ Bazant Stage
* Hidden Orchestra, Friday 02:00-03:00 @ Europa
* M.I.A., Saturday 21:00-22:00 @ Bazant Stage
* Moby, Thursday 00:00-01:30 @ Bazant Stage
* Nourish My Fame, Saturday 19:00-20:00 @ Europa
* Peter, Björn and John, Saturday 17:00-18:00 @ Bazant Stage
* Prago Union, Saturday 14:00-15:00 @ O2 Stage
* Pulled Apart By Horses, Friday 17:00-18:00 @ O2 Stage
* We Have Band, Saturday 14:00-15:00 @ Runaway Stage

* dara & dan at retro *

* Retro Music Hall hosted special event yesterday - Dara Rolins and Dan Barta appeared together on one stage again. Dan & his band Illustratosphere had invited Dara to join their 2011 tour after their successful appearance at Zebrik festival to reminisce Sexy Dancers project.

* Dara Rolins & Dan Barta at Zebrik festival in Plzen (2009)

* portishead @ pohoda festival *

* Portishead confirmed their appearance at Bažant Pohoda festival 2011! I just realized this after a week off-line so it's like the best X-mas gift ever; no matter a bit late. Folks, I would get the tickets if you don't have them already, it feels like that this event might be sold out.
* What: Bažant Pohoda Festival
* When: July 7 - 9, 2010
* Where: Trenčín, Slovakia
* Web: :: POHODAFESTIVAL.SK ::

* stimul festival *

* We saw WWW ("one of the pioneers of intelligent hip-hop in the Czech Republic") and Anti-Pop Consortium ("the legendary hip hop experimenters") at the opening concert of 2010 edition of :: the Stimul Festival ::.
* "Stimul aims to offer listeners the top performers and latest trends in alternative music" - if today's alternative music is the future mainstream, my survival plan is to keep listening to :: Radio Oldies ::.

* henry rollins in prague *

* Henry Rollins, American musician, publisher, raconteur, actor, writer and activist, visited Prague Palac Akropolis with his Frequent Flyer spoken word tour. The show was worth to see, Henry started on time (so I missed the first 10 minutes, sh*t) and talked for over two and a half hours. Frankly, I have not expected to have such a great fun, this guy is not only that angry man as he likes to present himself in the books, he is very funny.


* Henry talking about the speech he gave on students' graduation at Sonoma State University in May of 2009 (clip is from Stockholm show).

* goran bregovic in prague *

* What: Goran Bregovic & Weddings and Funerals Orchestra
* When: September 17
* Where: Old Town Square, Prague
* More info :: here :: (only in Czech)

* hip hop kemp 2009 *

* Last weekend I had a chance to visit the Hip Hop Kemp near Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic - "the most legendary hip hop world meeting" as announced on the official web site :: hiphopkemp.cz :: I was just lucky that I hadn't had to pay 1.200 CZK for the tickets 'cause this event was kind of a nightmare.
* Our delegation (Mirka and I) reached the destination on Friday evening. The first surprise was the parking - a guy in a yellow west told us to "leave it somewhere at the back, there should be some places yet". WTF?! I thought that the guy was there to have an overview how it looks with the parking capacity but obviously not. However, we found a place finally and left our car there, hoping that no one will block it and we still will have a chance to leave later on.
* After we got inside the festival area, we were surprised again with a notice that "the food can be purchased with the 'kemp dollars' only". Nice idea but only for the organizers. The girl who was changing the money had told us that we definitely can change it back later. Well.. not really. Before we decided to leave on the Saturday afternoon, we wanted to change the 'kemp dollars' back and oops! it was not possible. Luckily we met someone who wanted to get some of those so we get rid of all of the 'kemp dollars' at the end. With this being said - if you didn't spend all the 'kemp dollars' you had changed, you just donated the organizers. Congratulations, very clever idea!
* The Friday night was okay, we were enjoying the music on the main stage mostly, having fun till 2am. It was time to go to bed, so we got back to the car and had some sleep.
* We were woken up quite early, folks nearby thought that everyone must have enjoyed a Russian hip hop at 8 am. Not really.. After being woken up such a 'nice' way, we started to look for some place where to satisfy our hygienic needs. No success. Toilets were only inside the festival area (closed till 1 pm) and inside the camping area. To access the camping, you had to pay an entrance fee (100 CZK + 20 CZK for a shower) - no matter that you had slept in your car so you hadn't had a tent there. Fortunately, we met a friend who had told us how to get to the VIP camping area with toilets and showers. Thanks God! I learned from the :: hiphopkemp.cz/tickets :: that if you wanted to have some comfort, you had to pay 1.000 CZK to have an access to VIP camping with showers, toilets and 'pools' (don't call it pools - I've got bigger one my yard). Nice joke, ain't?
* After we had found out that there was nothing to do till the afternoon, we decided to get some solid fool. The festival area with all the bars and takeaways was closed till 1 pm, so we had to walk for about 15 minutes to get a lunch in the local restaurant. The food was quite okay but the lady who had served us was unbelievable rude. No matter, I don't plan to go there again.
* The weather was getting worse so we decided to leave the festival and get over the loss of not seeing the Moja rec, Warszawski dezcz, Killa Kella, PIO Squad and Kontrafakt. The main reason to get out of there was not really the weather but such a horrible organization. If any of you had a change to visit the :: Pohoda festival :: near Trencin, Slovakia, you probably understand what does it mean when someone is thinking about the visitors of the festival. The Hip Hop Kemp is not that kind of a music event.

* upcoming music events in Prague *

* July 21: Bajofondo at Lucerna Music Bar
* July 30: Lamb at Lucerna Music Bar
* .. see ya there

* recommendation for november *

* We have couple of great music events in Prague during november:
02/Nov/07: Paco de Lucía (Conress Center) , Roisín Murpy (Roxy)
13/Nov/07: Bonobo with live band (Roxy)
21/Nov/07: The Skatalites (Palác Akropolis), Gentleman (Lucerna), 50 Cent (T-Mobile Arena)
24/Nov/07: Gogol Bordello (Divadlo Archa)
29/Nov/07: Fun Da Mental (Lucerna Music Bar)
* For further details and more events check my CALENDAR.
* I`m travelling to Amsterdan on 21st, this had solved which event to choose :[ Anyway, let me know if you have been at any of those concerts. And see you at Roxy on 2nd!

* music harvest in prague*

25/09/07 21:00 Peter Lipa (Lucerna Music Bar)
14/10/07 19:30 Zion Train (Roxy)
20/10/07 20:00 Extasy of Saint Theresa (Palác Akropolis)
02/11/07 20:00 Roisin Murphy (Roxy)
06/11/07 19:30 Kosheen (Roxy)
07/11/07 19:30 Transglobal Underground (Roxy)
13/11/07 19:30 Bonobo Live Band (Roxy)

* pohoda ´07 *

* Line up Friday 20/07/07 (music only)
Bažant Stage: Sunflower Caravan (CZ), Diego (SK), Datarock (NOR), CSS (BRAZ) - cancelled, Wu Tang Clan (USA), The Hives (SWE), Junkie XL (GB), Folklórna skupina Telgárt (SK)
Orange Stage: Hudba z Marsu (SK), Gaia Mesiah (CZ), Sunshine (CZ), David Koller (CZ),
Mari Bone (NOR), Jana Kirschner (SK), Brotherhood of Brass - Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar / Frank London Klezmer All Stars (USA / SMN), Bajofondo Tangoclub (ARG)
Semtex Stage: Magnetik (CZ), Tying Tiffany (ITA), Moimir Papalescu & The Nihilists (CZ), Gong Gong(F), Client (GB), Adam Beyer (SWE), Dave Clarke (GB), Toky + Loktibrada (SK), Radial Live (NL), Ruas + Ika Sali (SK)
Tatra Banka Aréna: J.B. Kladivo (SK), Khoiba (CZ), Dan Bárta & Illustratosphere (CZ), KTU (FIN), Lou Rhodes (GB), Ingrid Eto: Zero 7 Instrumental Project (GB), Barry
Adamson (GB)
Nay Tanečný Dom_FM: Moleque de la Rua (BRAZ), Ľudová hudba Michala Nogu (SK), Gulo Čar (CZ), Tibor Holoda (SK), Junior (SK)

* Line up Saturday 21/07/07 (music only)
Bažant Stage: Opera SND (SK), Tata Bojs (CZ), Para (SK), The Pipettes (GB), Mando Diao (SWE), Basement Jaxx (GB), Air (F) - cancelled, Marián Varga a Moyzesovo kvarteto (SK), Cello Colosseum (SK)
Orange Stage: Hrdza (SK), Ska prašupina (SK), Živé kvety (SK), Jiří Suchý + Zuzana Haasová a Funny Fellows (SK), Ventil RG (SK), Ďuďovci (SK), The Bling Boys of Alabama (USA), Amadou et Mariam (MALI), Konono No. 1 (Kongo), Orange Blossom (F)
Semtex Stage: Moja reč (SK), Peťo Tázok (SK), WWW (CZ), Gipsy.cz (CZ), Ugly Ducling (USA), Plan B (GB), Ed Rush & Optical (GB), DJ Shadow (GB), DJ Marky (BRAZ), Gabanna & Galagha (SK), Lixx (SK)
Tatra Banka Aréna: 4 Walls (NL), Erik Truffaz (F), Puerto Muerto (USA), Erika Stucky & Roots of Communication (CH), Puerto Muetro feat. "Texas Chinasaw Massacre" (USA), Absus (SK)
Nay Tanečný Dom_FM: Roman Malatinec a Temperament Cimbal Orchestra (SK), Romano Drom (H), RnR Band M. Woodmana (CZ), Messer Chups (RUS), Bebe vs Kinet (SK), Rafo(SK), C.O.D.E. vs Andrej Čapek feat MC Artex (SK)

* My first Pohoda.. but not the last one :] I enjoyed all the time and other 30.000 attendantds as well. The wether was ok, maybe too hot - more than 35 degrees, uff..)


* Dan Bárta & Illustratosphere: I`m so sorry I didn`t catch the entire appearance. But what I saw just had confirmed my befief that this is one of the best bands in Czech Republic.


* Wu Tang Clan: good show, but a bit boring. Well, you know, old school hip hop..


* Lou Rhodes: two acoustic guitars and Lou. She was wonderfull, gentle woman with great voice - yes, so strane like on the records.


* Bajofondo Tango Club: I didn`t find any video from Pohoda, this one is from festival Colors of Ostrava in 2007. Anyway, they were amazing. I love what the Gotan Project does, this was quite simillar, even better. For me this was probably the best show at Pohoda. Or one of the best.


* The Pipettes: I saw one or two songs. Funny band, three girls dressed like baby dolls singing easy music; can be. You can get their concert from Pohoda :: HERE ::


* Ugly Duckling: WOW!!! All the hip hop at Pohoda was boring, or kind of. This guys camewith great show, like people from the crowd on stage and so on. This video is not from Pohoda, I couldn`t found any. Official website :: HERE::


* Basement Jaxx: not my cup of tea that much, but I was enjoying myself. Good for party, but not to listen to it at home.


* DJ Shadow: perfect set, show - everything; shivering performance.


* DJ Marky: I saw him almost seven years ago at one party. Was nice to hear him again, altough I was so tired when he came.

* I look forward to next year. Thanx Mišo, you and your team did GREAT job.
:: pohodafestival.sk ::

* nowa muzyka *

* Polski Cieszyn, 7th and 8th of July 2007
* Lineup Saturday: Coffie, Nemezis (Requiem Records), C.H. District (m-tronic / elektroklub), The Complainer and The Complainers (Mik Musik!), Michael Fakesh Live Band (K7 Records), Bonobo Live Band (Ninja Tune Records), Cuefx (SBU / Hipnoza), K.Mill (Fantomas Crew), Lucas Hulan (Roxy Prague)
* Lineup Sunday: Kicó (MDFK cru / Hipnoza), I:GOR (Pandemonium, Deathchant, M-Tronic), Fisz / Emade / Envee (asfalt records), Vex`d Live (Planet Mu), Otto Von Schirach (Ipecac Records), Amon Tobin Surround Sound (Ninja Tune Records), Dj Diome (Vivacity CZ), K.Mill & Coffie
* It was my first festival this summer and I can`t regret being there. True is we came only because of Bonobo and Amon Tobin, it`s not that usual to see them appearing in this corners of the world. Both of them at one festival.
Satrurday evening I can`t retrace clearly that much. We had some polish neighbours in the camping and they invited us to drink with them, so.. I suppose I saw some more artists, but the only one I DO remember is Bonobo. To hear the albums and to see him playing with live band is completely different. They were amazing, I was nicely surprised by the vocalist, thanks to her the show was full of energy. This is the last song performed.

The next day I had really bad hangover, I was thinking about to go home and try to survive in my bed :] I became better in the afternoon, so we went to see Fisz. I knew his music a bit before, it`s polish rapper, not bad. At Nowa Muyzka he was playing with Emade and Envee.

I don`t know how to decsribe Otto vo Schirach; he was performiong before Amon Tobin`s show. It was quite .. strange. Not only the music he played; himself as well, especially his outfit. I called him bat.

Climax of the evening was senhor Amon Tobin, without any doubts. His show was perfect, the sound as well. Only bad thing was the projection behind his back. Kill the VJ!
I won`t analyze his set, I`m not such a big fan of him. There was one part I really didn`t like, too hard and too dark for me. But the rest was ok, I think everybody was enjoying.

* Official site of Nowa Muzyka

* portishead : sour times *

* If I can ask somebody above there in the sky, just manage a concert of them in Middle Europe.
Thanx in advance.

* portishead : rare tracks *

* As a big fan of this group I was really happy to find album I didn`t have yet. Tracks I have known for years are presented in a bit different way; "Sour Times" (here "Airbus Reconstruction") surprised me a lot.
* You can get it :: HERE ::

* music summer *

* This summer offers us many many interesting music events. Only few of them here:

28/06/07 Midnight Summer (Císařská louka, Praha, CR)
29/06-01/07/07 ReggaeSkaEthnicSession (Žízníkov, Česká Lípa, CR)
04-05/07/07 Hodokvas (letisko Piešťany, SR)
04-06/07/07 Rock for People (Český Brod, CR)
07-08/07/07 Nowa Muzyka (Polski Cieszyn, PL)
12-15/07/07 Colors of Ostrava (Ostrava, CR)
17/07/07 Wu Tang Clan (T-Mobile Arena, Praha, CR)
20-22/07/07 Pohoda festival (letisko Trenčín, SR)
27-28/07/07 Music in the Park (Stromovka, Praha, CR)
09/08/07 Bratři Orfové (OpenAirCinema Střelecký ostrov, Praha, CR)
10/08/07 Chemical Brothers (Malá sportovní hala, Praha, CR)
18/08/07 Summer of Love (Dostihové závodiště Pardubice, CR)
24-26/08/07 Hip Hop Kemp (Festival Park, Hradec Králové, CR)
25/08/07 Sonic Youth (Divadlo Archa, Praha, CR)

* u2 : one *

* When having a bad day I always listen to this song. Don`t now why, but makes me better, even if it`s so sad.

* gotan project : santa maria del buen ayre *

* To know tango is one of my dreams. Argentina, see you soon...
* Vedieť tango je jedným z mojich snov. Argentína, do skorého videnia...
* Gotan Project official site

* sad kermit : hurt *

* How can frog's heart bleed.
* Ako vie krvácať žabie srdce.