After a great (probably) well deserved looong night sleep had the usual daily morning routine - the showers started to be surrounded with mud, which made it harder to access them, furthermore some of the people just sank in the mud after the shower, but still, it was good enough to feel fresh! The weather was perfect - during the whole festival. So I was choosing a jeans short and a fancy top with wings cut out from the material in the back. I actually love that one, anyway I got breakfast and was about to start the day early.
Early enough, because THE Twilight Force show was about to start at a so very not deserved early time, at 12:30. And from the past 2 days' we figured, that they will start in time. So everyone was just as excited as I was, and headed to they concert area. I have no idea where I got lost, but parted from the others, and got my place in somewhere the first rows. Previously I've seen the bands And Then She Came and Dust Bolt. Somehow I cross ways with Dust Bolt a lot, and I still couldn't find the love for their music. Anyway, if you are up for some trash metal - listen to the playlist at the end of the post. The other band was on the same stage as TF, so I could listen to them eating my breakfast and positioning myself closer to the stage.
Before the show I glimpsed a small girl in the front row. Iva came from the Czech Republic as Avantasia was about to play that night. I knew that I know her from somewhere. And I don't need more than that to start talking with someone. Well, it turned out that we met once last year on More//Than//Fest in Slovakia where Edguy was playing. She is a truly enthusiastic fan and a very kind an cheerful girl - as much as I know her already, I can say it is so true. I got the opportunity fast and asked her how they came, and as the answer was - by car, I arranged a meeting with Dave and Ike and her to talk about their way home together! Mission accomplished!
Anyway, Iva was asking if I know the band - TF? I gave my widest smile, and said: OF COURSE. She asked how they are. I compared them (yes, kill me now) to Gloryhammer a bit, because she knew them. BUT. What I said was: "They are almost like Gloryhammer, just better." (I'm sorry guys, you know I love Gloryhammer pretty much - as much as I always wanna set the universe on fire, but Twilight Force is just closer to my heart.) And then the show was about to start and I lost my marbles at that point. After they were done, I asked Iva if she liked them, and the answer couldn't be anything else but YES!
(Not so) surprisingly there were A LOT of people gathering for TF. Not surprising, because they are awesome. The surprising part is that they had to play that early... Doesn't matter, doesn't matter. We were extremely excited to hear some songs first live from the new album. I shouted my lungs out, hopefully I didn't hurt much the people around me with that. They did play songs I love like Forest of Destiny and Enchanted Dragon of Wisdom. (I still need to be good friend with Powerwind - not my fav of the new album). The show was amazing, truly fun but way too short. I had goosebumps all over when the whole crowd was shouting 'Twilight Force' in The Power of the Ancient Force. Gosh I have to repeat - such a great show but sooo short. They also had to cut it a bit because Lynd's guitar thought it does not want to play anymore due to some technical problems. (And I was so sure before I started to write that it was Lynd's guitar, now I'm not so sure, might have been Aerendir's - I was so hovering 10 cm above ground that I couldn't really concentrate much).
After the show we went to the signing tent, as they were about to have the signing session in like half an hour. The whole bunch of awesome people from the fanclub gathered there, and I've seen all of the eyes shining and sparking and still being on the concert in mind and soul! It was a truly fantastic feeling to be surrounded with these guys.
We were waiting and chatting, and then the guys came out, still in stage outfit to greet us and sign anything we put under their hands. Fortunately they did bring signing cards (even tho I'm almost always going only for the hugs), but I like that pic a lot, so why not make them sign? But actually I wanted more :D I wanted them to draw something on it. Here are the results :) (and I can't rotate them, sorrrry)
On the signing session Lea gave the most epic gift to the band I've ever seen. She actually did a cross-stitch picture about the cover of the first album of the band. It is amazing you should've seen it!!! Lea is one of the admins of the fanclub sites, and one of the smartest girls I've met whole summer. It was soooo great to have my tent close to theirs. She was camping with Jane, who is kind of the soul of the fans and the band and everything. Probably the person, who knows almost all the fans who ever turned up on a gig. And for sure her concert-count is still the highest!
Also can't just forget Vincent's 32-teeth smile after the show / during the signing session. It was the first time I met him in Rockharz, but I'm not really sure how that happened that we haven't met before. He is also a huge Freedom Call and Sonata Arctica fan, just like me. Still we didn't attend on the same show so far. But that is changing!! :)
I have only sweet words for the US guys Dave and Ike. I know that during the whole festival they did look after me in a way, which I'm very grateful for. Like smuggling in some beers or eating that freaking good chicken together!
All these people and Astrid and Thomas (they will pop up later also, I promise) and Mike and Tristan, and obviously Sue and Sam (closest neighbors they were). So we all ended up in the Twilight Force Camp, and talked and drank some beers together. Then Tristan appeared with a guitar, and then the craziness started. We were singing a lot of songs there at the tents' area. But after that we have decided to climb the very small hill nearby. Gosh that was a trip :D Not that it was long or difficult. It was eventful, let's just say. Guys were climbing trees and making photos from the branches, we were singing through the way to the top. On the top of this bump there was a small viewpoint. There we just continued singing and laughing and drinking and talking about all the things on the world.
I guess we must have spent like an hour or two up there, it was truly fantastic time! I believe one of the best moments of the festival. I even have a video up there, which I actually watched several times since then (unlike the usual videos of gigs people are making and letting them being forgotten, and never watch). Then we went down:
I have no idea when we got back, but I just found myself offering Pálinka to everyone around the campsite. And nobody really wanted to drink. Then we visited Tristan and Mike's camp also, was drinking a few beers there too with Michael and Mike and Henrik. And you know what? I met a polish girl there, Marta. Was weird enough that a Hungarian girl living in Poland visiting a german festival meeting a polish girl living in Germany. Add that together, and you have fun. She also made me some drink I have no idea from what - some milk and vodka maybe. We went back to the venue area, I have proof:
But don't ask me which show this was, because I have no freaking clue. Must have been Knorkator, guessing from the darkness of the sky and the position of the stage, They played on the same stage as Avantasia, so the right one, and yeah, started to be dark. But that's all I can tell about this show. It happened.
I remember going off with Tristan later visiting his friends (maybe, maybe just some stangers), and here things starts to get blurry. We were drinking some green alcohol in some tent somewhere, that is for sure. And then I stopped drinking just not to repeat the amnesia from the day before. I can't say I was completely sober, but I was allright. (Just don't ask my friends about it, Jane and Lea would probably say the opposite :D ) Anyway we were running around a bit, then decided to go back to Avantasia. C'mon, it is Avantasia, I had to see them again. The show was fantastic, I am quite sure I was singing some songs like Dying for an Angel.
In the middle of the show we bumped into Lea and Vincent in the midst of the crowd. Also made some terrible pics, here are the presentable ones you can try to figure out who are on the pics, but I tell you it's Lea, Vincent, Tristan and me on the first hahaahhahha:
And if you think that the night just ended there, I can tell you it did not! Our quest just started. Met 2 friends of Tristan's, and decided to climb the hill again at night. Crazy idea, right? I was like - why the hell not? So we took the quest to lead our hobbits to Isengard. Unfortunately we have lost them quite fast. So we were running up and down in the aisles of the campsite, and I was stopping people - the conversation nr.1 looked like this:
Sz: Halt STOP, jetzt rede ich!!
People: ???
Sz: Do you know that the night is dark and full of terror?
People: ???
Tristan and me looking to each other, then to the people: You know nothing, Jon Snow.
Then we ran.
Conversation nr.2 was the same except I asked: Was ist das für ein Life? - people still looked at me weird. Later I got to know that it is some net-trend amongst germans. Oh well.
Conversation nr.3 was a the most fun - started the same, but the question was: "Do you know what I want?" Not much proper answer received, so we started singing "I wanna set the universe on fire". There were few people who actually were singing with us.
Oh well, that was extreme fun. And after we noticed that we have lost our hobbits, we went to Isengard alone hoping we might find them there. It was pitch black, and also cold. But it was also very calm and beautiful up there. We were about to go back and turn in, but then we met Marta and Michael climbing the hill, so we stayed. We actually stayed that long to watch the sunrise. Was truly beautiful ending of a funny day.
Here you go the playlist (of course powered by Spotify and setlist.fm): Rockharz 2016 - Day 3
xoxo \m/
Szi