Reports of my first VOLT Festival experience with the 30 Seconds To Mars concert, and of the HIM concert in Budapest Park

Two firsts

My first VOLT Festival experience

03/07/2014

As these little concert/festival reports I’ve been writing for years serve as entries in my non-existing diary, I’ve decided to commemorate in a short summary this event of my life too.

I was quite disappointed last year when I couldn’t go see 30 Seconds To Mars on VOLT Festival because of my graduating ceremony at my university (and for some reason they didn’t live stream it either). So when I heard that the band will be back this year too, I got excited. The only question was with whom I should go? Not many from my Hungarian friends know or love them but luckily a friend, Katuska was up to this adventure.

However, on the day before the show I wasn’t really in the mood to go. Luckily that changed once the 3^rd of July came. Getting ready and going to Budapest by the train we met up and after buying our festival ticket we continued our journey by car. Of course I brought a few CDs for the road so we had some good music playing too (30STM, Depeche Mode and Linkin Park). Our journey was a bit long and hot, but adventurous too as neither of us were at VOLT before. (We might have accidentally visited Austria at some point too, lol.) But finally we managed to park the car and get ready for the long walk to the gates.

Inside we discovered the place and sat down to talk for a while. I always love seeing interesting people at festivals and there’s that unique festival feeling that makes me smile every time I feel it. After a while we started wandering and found ourselves at a Deák Bill Gyula concert (for the foreign readers: he’s an iconic blues and rock legend here in Hungary). I was amazed what a great atmosphere he could create and that from the very young to the older people everyone were singing, dancing, chanting and clapping. It was amazing! Especially when he started “Koppány’s song” from István a Király (Stephen the King rockopera), which every Hungarian knows by heart. I still have goose bumps when I think back.

Not long after this 30 Seconds To Mars started on the huge main stage. I don’t have to say that the crowd was huge too. Sadly we couldn’t see much of the stage because where we were standing the ground wasn’t too even and of course a lot of tall people in front of us – not to mention the girls in their guy’s neck (I hate when they do that – especially in front of me). So we followed the happenings on stage through the screens. But beside this, the concert itself was amazing. Jared and Tomo fired up the crowd very well and it was great to feel being a part of that huge mass of raw energy and love. It blows my mind every time I’m on a concert.

Of course I missed Shannon a lot, it would have been even better with him and I was a bit sad that I couldn’t hear and see him beat the hell out of those drums. During “City of Angels” when Jared sang the “Second sight has paid off well / For a mother, a brother and me” part and pointed towards the place where usually Shannon is, I have to admit that I nearly started crying. Jared’s voice was flawless as usual, just like the sound of the whole concert. A nice little surprise was when after “Hurricane” Steve Aoki came on stage and Jared introduced him. During “End of All Days” I called a friend and let her listen to the concert for a few songs. And lastly, “Up in the Air” live is even more amazing! Probably because they were one man short the concert was shorter than expected, although I would have enjoyed a couple of more songs. But all in all, I was satisfied and it was a great first 30 Seconds To Mars concert experience. I hope they’ll return to Hungary some time soon again and I’ll be able to go see the full band too.

Setlist:

1. Birth

2. Night of the Hunter

3. Search and Destroy 

4. This Is War

5. Conquistador

6. Kings and Queens

7. Do or Die

8. City of Angels

9. End of All Days 

10. Hurricane (Acoustic)

11. The Kill (Bury Me) (Acoustic)

12. Closer to the Edge

Encore:

13. Up in the Air

After Mars we had a restroom break and I went to buy a beer for myself. It was another little surprise that by the stand where I did that one of an old acquaintance from my university served me. We were both surprised and happy to see each other and we exchanged a few words then Kata and I went back to the stage as we knew Steve Aoki was the next up there. We only knew the song, “A Light That Never Comes” he did with Linkin Park, but decided to stay and check him out too.

And what a party he made!! I have to tell that despite the fact that I rarely listen to his kind of music, I was blown away by it. The crowd was crazy and we had a great time with Kata. I don’t know how long his shows usually are, but I was pleasantly surprised that he was on stage for more than two hours or so. (Maybe he tried to compensate for the shorter Mars show, who knows?) As I realized it was a usual thing for him to throw huge round cakes into the crowd during his shows, because there were a lot of signs with “Cake Me!” written on them. I was laughing so hard when the crowd went crazy before each throw – especially when Tomo from Mars came on stage to help him! It was amazing! I remember seeing girls and boys after the show with the remains of the cakes all over them. Of course we partied the hardest when a remix of that Linkin Park song finally came on (yes, we prayed for that song! :P), the only “problem” was that it was a shorter version. To be honest, that show was just as much of a high light of the day for me like the Mars concert.

After the Aoki show – still very much in a party-mood – we entered the first tent from which we heard a familiar song playing (can’t remember which XD) and we stayed there for the rest of the night. Around 5 in the morning we walked back to the car and slept 2,5 hours before heading back home. (God bless sunglasses! :D)

All in all, my first VOLT experience was awesome! I had a very great time there, saw interesting people and amazing shows so all the little annoyances (the heat, the distance etc.) were very much worth it! I think this wasn’t my last time there. Once I got home I was still so living in it that instead of sleeping I watched some shows on live stream that day and the following one too.

HIM concert in the Budapest Park

24/07/2014

Nearly a week ago my elementary school best friend reached out for me through Facebook and asked if I wanted to go to the HIM concert on the 24^th. I knew there’d be a concert, but I wasn’t planning on going but her proposal made me think. First, it’s been around 10 years since we haven’t really talked with Szandra and I knew catching up would be fun. Second, I can thank a lot for HIM. I’ve started listening to rock music with them towards the end of seventh grade and I can clearly remember all the fangirling we did with Szandra back then (for years :D). Soon I’ve decided that it would be fun, even if since then I just rarely listened to HIM and I wasn’t following their work for years (barely know the last 3-4 albums).

On the day of the concert I met up with my friend around 5pm and we had a few drinks while catching up. It felt like we continued our friendship from where we left it when we drifted apart all those years ago, so it was very nice! So nice that we chatted the time away and we had to hurry to get there in time as Budapest Park is quite far from where we were. Have to add that we never planned on getting there to watch their Hungarian warm-up band, Anti Fitness Club, as that music is not really our cup of tea. So we weren’t sad that we didn’t made it in time for them. But I felt a little sorry for missing the first song, “Buried Alive By Love” and the first half of “Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly”. But we were finally there and after buying us drinks we walked into the crowd. First we watched from the back but got closer and closer to the stage as the songs were coming. By the time they began “The Kiss of Dawn”, we found our place on the right side of the stage from where I could have a pretty clear and close look of the guys.

Man, it was good to see them. They seemed to be in a good mood despite of some technical problems (Ville entertained us with commenting on it and murmuring into that lucky mic. By the way, he was chatty throughout the whole concert). Although I didn’t really know a few newer songs, I had a very great time and the crowd got fired up more and more. That showed during the amazing guitar battles and that we got two encore after long minutes of screaming and clapping (I know, I know they probably do two encores elsewhere too, but let me believe for a while that it was because of how awesome we were! :P). My favorites were of course the classic songs I grew up with (e. g. “Right Here in My Arms”, “Join Me”, “Your Sweet Six Six Six”, “Poison Girl”, “For You”), but I thought “Wicked Game” would be the high light of the evening. I was wrong. It came at the end of the first encore when Ville sent the next song for all the ladies.

It was “When Love and Death Embrace”. I can’t even tell how many times that song inspired me while writing, translating or drawing. I guess, I can say that’s just as much my number 1 HIM song as “Pretending” (hearing that live would’ve been awesome too, but we can’t always get what we want, huh? :P). We were screaming and singing extra loud with my friend. It was a very pleasant surprise and the last drop to totally get lost in another dimension. But sadly short after that the show ended, leaving us wanting more.

All in all, I have to say that this concert was much more than I expected. Not just because I had the chance to share it with a childhood friend or that there was that certain nostalgic feel of it, but because it really was an awesome show and a perfect first HIM concert experience. It only reassured me that I’m gonna take the time and effort to go see them again if they return to Hungary. Once again, I can thank another amazing experience to this band that will always have a place in my heart.

Source:Ferenc Mernyó

Setlist:

1. Buried Alive By Love

2. Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly

3. Right Here in My Arms

4. The Kiss of Dawn

5. All Lips Go Blue

6. Join Me in Death

7. Your Sweet Six Six Six

8. Passion's Killing Floor

9. Soul on Fire

10. Wicked Game (Chris Isaak cover)

11. Tears on Tape

12. Poison Girl

13. For You

14. The Funeral of Hearts

Encore:

15. Into the Night

16. It's All Tears (Drown in This Love)

17. When Love and Death Embrace

Encore 2:

18. Sleepwalking Past Hope

Source: official HIM Facebook page

We were a little unsure what to do after the concert, but I suggested to my friend to stay as I was sure the music would be fitting. And I was right, there was a rock disco at Budapest Park once HIM was off the stage. It was surprisingly good and we were glad we didn’t have to go someplace else. It was way into the night when one of my DM fan friends, Judit spotted us and came over to talk a little. At the end we joined her and her friends and were partying together till dawn. Around 5 in the morning we headed back to my friend’s place full of amazing memories. That day was so worth it on many different levels. I hope to repeat it in the future too.

To old friendships, life-long favorites, love and little deaths like that night! Cheers!

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