And the people. You’ve got to love off because of the people. All kinds of friends from all over Poland (and abroad), some you see every day, some just for a couple days in a month, some you meet once a year… But the music junkies are all there. Metalheads, ambient-lovers, drone troopers, pop fanatics, cold wave surfers, experimental geeks, dance dudes – Off, like any other Polish fest I’ve been to, brings them all together for three days od musical bliss. I don’t know ANYBODY (that’s right!) who didn’t like this year’s edition. Talked with around a 100 (or more…) people and everybody were happy as hell.

The bitter part was that the day before my clients server went down and because of some malfunctions, I had to upload the pics one by one. The biggest drag of all time and before I got to enjoy some free time before the gigs, I found myself uploading the pics one-by-one like crazy. Even worse, days before Off my D300 went crazy. Bogna Kociumbas helped A LOT lending me her D700 with 24-70 2.8 plus 85 1.4. A company of brothers that is hard to forget and for the three next days it was pure bliss to shot with this gear. I think, it was then when I’ve decided to buy the D700 as quickly as I could. And if anybody asks what’s the best festival coverage I’ve done in 2011 – I’m putting all my bets on Off 2011. Really nailed those shots!:)

NOTE: Do NOT use any of those photos. All the coprights belong to me (Joanna ‘frota’ Kurkowska) and some pics belong exclusively to Wp.pl. And I’m good at sending invoices ;)

Gaba was invited by Olo Walicki and Maciek Szupica to participate in the whole thing. The Grand Premiere took place in Gdańsk, and because I was in town, I popped in and shoot some backstage stuff from the rehearsal couple hours before The Big Thing. A bit of experiments, just like in the music… I just hope I was quiet enough ;)

More? Click here.

…or in short: the best things I saw in 2009. Lot’s of text, links to photos so be prepared! However, if you’re looking for reviews filled with professional comments, enlisting the best chords the guitarist played that day, naming all the genres the band has stepped into during the certain gig – don’t waste your time. This list is just about the sole love for live music. And all the photos and feeling that come with it.

- Faith No More during Heineken Open’er – The gig topped many “the-best-of-gigs” list this year. No wonder, because it was as awesome as this guy’s bootlegs.

- SUNN O))) during Unsound Festival – For the whole show I was wondering if the police were going to arrest every listener for participating in a pagan ritual. But apart from that, it was a performance (I still cannot label this event as a typical gig) that has been stuck with me from the moment the drones went quiet. What’s more, I can’t listen to SUNN O))) anymore as the recordings are nothing, compared to what happened in Kraków.

- Gaba Kulka in Ucho – It was the first of the 5 Gaba shows I’ve seen this year. It was the most intimate, with a great setlist. And the bootlegs from Gaba’s gigs became the soundtracks to many of my train voyages.

- The Ocean in Progresja – This was the second time I saw them. This was the second time my jaw dropped instantly. Without seeing them live in 2008, I don’t think I would get into sludge, doom or post-metal stuff at all.

- Chris Cunningham during Sacrum Profanum Festival – More of a performance but with all my love for Cunningham work and all he did in Kraków it could as well be put on the list. And, to my surprise, way better than Aphex Twin a week later.

- Karl Bartos during Free Form Festival – I missed Kraftwerk last year and it is still one of the things I can’t forgive myself. Karl Bartos concert was a little substitute for that, with all the great Kraftwerk songs and his solo stuff.

- Video Games Live in Torwar – Metal Gear Solid was released in 1998. It took me 11 years to finally listen to one of the greatest video game themes of all time live. But what happened in the end totally blew me away. Definitely a memorable event with very few people at the audience. Shame.

- Big Sexy Noise feat. Lydia Lunch during Globaltica Festival – who said you won’t create the atmosphere of a dim and crowded New York club in a beautiful forest clearing? In addition to this you can say “Fuck you” to Lou Reed.

- Mademoiselle Karen in Alchemia – It was a very special concert. It was a very special day. The songs were simple and beautiful. This may sound really cheesy, but it was like this, it was all about beauty and simplicity.

- The Dillinger Escape Plan during Knock Out Festival – Just one sentence – one day I want to shoot a DEP concert the way a DEP concert should be shot. The energy they have could easily be split and given to 20 other bands and still there would be some left!

- HEALTH during Off Festival – Hypnosis, energy, experimental and one of my favourite photos from the year 2009. And their single “Die Slow” is one of my three favourite singles from 2009.

- Leningrad in Stodoła – Rocked totally, just as they did a year before in Gdynia. For starters – it’s more vulgar and straightforward version of Gogol Bordello. More swearing, more sexy women and much more Russian language used on the stage. And less Madonna involved in the promotion of the band;)

- Fucked Up during Off Festival (plus their solo gig in Kraków) – because there is no such things as boundaries in the world of punk and hardcore. Because you can hug a bear-like man, shout to the mic he’s holding and feel like you’re best mates ever.

- Samael in Klub Studio – I’m not a big fan of their studio work, but supporting Paradise Lost, they proved who the real headliner was and how metal should sound.

- Tides From Nebula in Ucho – Post-rock at it’s best.

- Burst in Progresja – yes, you can mix alternative rock, sludge, metal, melodic vocals (minus the annoying part), metalcore, progressive hardcore and all the other weird sub-genes that music journalists think about all day. And you get such a beauty.

- The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble in Rotunda – like watching a movie with a disturbing soundtrack.

- Orbital during Selector Festival – sometimes you wait for years to hear this one particular song. Finally you have the chance, and realise that the rest of the set is also brilliant.

- Monotinx during Off Festival – I don’t think I have to add something else

- Daniel Lanois during rehearsal on Soundedit Festival – Liked the concert, loved the rehearsal. Both were really similar but the concert just lacked the magic the small rehearsal studio had.

- Gogol Bordello in Rotunda – Energy, energy, energy, gypsy punk, energy, energy and even more gypsy punk.

Other notable mentions include: Skinny Patrini in Hydrozagadka (I was finally convinced that that made a long way from “a-funny-thing-to-see” to a demonic and sexy electro duo), Orange Goblin during Globaltica Festival (stoner rock vs “the-people-who-came-here-to-listen-to-calm-sounds“), Maciej Maleńczuk in Stodoła, James during Coke Live Festival (“Sometimes, when I look deep in your eyes, I swear I can see your soul”), Pustki during Fryderyki (played a brilliant set to one of the most boring audiences I’ve ever seen), Fever Ray during Nowa Muzyka (I really don’t the like album but cannot resist the magic of “When I Grow Up” – hearing it live was just one of the most spiritual things in the 2009), Blindead in Ucho, Jason Webley during Globaltica Festival, Franz Ferdinand during Selector Festival, Birdy Nam Nam during Free Form Festival, The National during Off Festival (“You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends, when you pass them at night under the silvery, silvery citibank lights”), Wire during Off Festival, Pivot in Alchemia, Behemoth in Stodoła (if Satan was on Earth he’d buy a ticket for that gig!), Vive La Fete during Free Form Festival, Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby in Jazz Club Hipnoza.

And last, but not least – M83 during Heineken Open’er 2009 in Gdynia. The gig of the year. I wrote about it here but have to say it again: it may be the naive, youthful and pop tender beats that were born in Anthony Gonzalez‘s head, but at the same time all these elements are very frank. Since the 4th of July, “Sitting” and “Couleurs” have never sounded the same. And I just love the title of their 2008 album – “Saturdays = Youth”. It’s just so much more than meets the eye…

How could something like this top Faith No More or SUNN O))) you ask? I still don’t know…

New year will bring many, many changes and there are more and more plans being made. The only thing I can say right now is a quote from Current 93‘s album: “I Have a Special Plan For This World“.

I’m also happy that wherever I go I meet so many wonderful people who just love music. Hope 2010 will be a special year for you all.

Cheers from the M83‘s pit!

photo by Ania Margoszczyn

I saw Dick4Dick years ago, when they were some sort of a local attraction and gained quite a big number of fans. The shows were different there, much more energy and crazyness, however they are still great to listen to. As for Czesław, I didn’t stay untill the end of the show but he and his band were charming as usuall – it’s really hard to belive thet their music, best sung and listened to in a small club, still has the charm and moves tens of people, in a big club such as Studio. And Gaba? It was the 5th time seeing her this year, and 8th in total. It’s nice to see a singer-songwriter that you met a couple years ago, going from playing shows for 15-20 people now entering almost all the biggest polish festivals and clubs and instantly winning the crowd. However, nothing can compare to her intimate gigs at Ucho club (she played one this year, and for me, it was one of the best concerts of the 09). It’s not worst, it’s just different for me.

Funny thing, the managment phoned me to inform me that we were denied all the passes because of the DVD/program recording, but in the end I managed to enter the pit. There were 7 or 8 cameras on the whole location, so it was just like shooting Behemoth in Stodoła – looking out for the camera, not stepping on the cables and so on. Also the lights differed from song to song, the background was a red curtain (reminded me of the Red Room from Twin Peaks!). Also, it was a one-time event (on the next shows they will have only 2 or 3 cameras) so maybe I’ll end up in a DVD? Who knows;)

Big thanks goes to Piotr Miecznikowski and Damian Moskalski.

I just had a blast with M83 – the best gig of the fest (along with Faith No More) and the best gig of the year. Really:

After three songs I was hooked and the pictures from it have stuck into my brain and don’t want to come out. I was so dead-tired but still managed to jump through the whole concert. One of my friends took a photo of me shooting the band so I’ve got a nice souvenir (thanks Ania!). Worth every second of it. Will the next year bring a performance such as this one for me? Pearl Jam are on their way so it will probably beat all!

All the pics here were made for Wp.pl.

More to come!

(more photos can be found on Wirtualna Polska )

And I love shooting in this club. I mean, all the challenge and fun…And all the imperfections are the reasons I love the place. Sadly, I visit it once or twice every two or three months. And to think that I used to come there and shoot bands two or three times a week…

One of the best gigs I’ve seen this year (with a great performance of “Niejasności” and Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach“) and I’m looking forward to see how Gaba will tame Open’er’s Tent Stage on Friday. But knowing her, she and her band will come of as winners. They always do.

A big change from Viewbook(which I wouldn’t recommend) to WordPress, a more powerful, but harder to deal with, platform. Also more stuff was added to the portfolio, with six categories to choose from and two more to be published. But the blog will be the most updated part of all: on Monday we’ll be publishing photos from Gaba Kulka’s gig in Ucho club and from Thursday you can expect daily updates from Poland’s biggest and baddest music festival: Heineken Open’er ’09!

Hope you like it, and write down if anything crashes/stops/goes 404 ‘couse it’s the first day so anything can happen;)

Big thanks goes to Cloudi, Utek and Yuras for helping us with all the technical stuff we couldn’t figure out for ourselves. We owe you guys!