Before going to Exit Festival 2010, someone told me that it is the most beautiful festival on the planet and it is not difficult to see why she thought so. Exit Festival is held each July in the Petrovaradin Fortress which sits on a hill overlooking the river Danube and the historical city of Novi Sad, Serbia’s second largest city.
Thirteen stages plus food and other entertainment arenas are spread
out across the sprawling expanse of the fortress and a great variety of musical tastes are represented including punk, hardcore, dance, reggae, indie and salsa. Exit Festival 2010 took place from July 8 to 11 and close to 100 acts performed each day.
The festival is unusual in that the acts begin after sundown and run right through the night until dawn the following morning so don’t go to the Exit Festival expecting much sleep! I felt sorry for the campers trying to sleep during the day, with day time temperatures hovering in the mid 30°c (86°F) range, and I was truly happy to be staying at a friend’s apartment in the city.
It would take a very long review indeed to mention all of the bands that we saw but these are the highlights and disappointments of the Exit Festival 2010.
Fusion Stage, Friday July 9: Kawasaki 3P
The problem with seeing such a brilliant act so early in a festival is that it is inevitable that you’ll end-up comparing everyone else you see to that act. This is what happened with Kawasaki 3P. We were trying to make our way to the main stage to catch Atari Teenage Riot when we walked past the Fusion Stage and saw the Croatian punk/ska band Kawasaki 3P explode on to the stage.
There was no way we could tear ourselves away as the energy and fever of this band was infectious and we watched the whole show. I had not even heard of them before but their manic trumpets, electric guitars and drums kept us dancing and it was a great performance. The highlights of the show were “Puta Madre” and “Ni Da Ni Ne” and I think I may have developed a lasting crush on vocalist and trumpet player Demirel Pašali. Kawasaki 3P are one of the few bands that have impressed me so much live that I have rushed home and bought their music.
Main Stage, Friday July 9: Placebo
I am a Placebo fan, there is no denying that. I have loved them from the moment I first heard “Pure Morning” back in 1998 and I have since bought all of their albums. I had really highly expectations for this concert and Placebo were one of the main bands that drew me out to Novi Sad in the first place but their gig was disappointing.
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