Rock Monsters Romania

In a world where algorithms push commercial and AI music, it is refreshing to see that DIY festivals are still existing and drawing people from all over the country, especially in the summer.

Between July 31 and August 2, I went to the center of Bucharest, to Control, for a special festival, Stray Lights Festival.

As the organizers said, Stray Lights Festival was born from the belief that some of the most important musical experiences happen outside the dominant circuits. It is a festival built for music that is noisy, fragile, abrasive, hypnotic, dissonant, or devastating. For artists who build worlds from tension, atmosphere, and emotional intensity. For people who still go to concerts to feel something real.

So, it’s time to talk about the performances…

DAY 1

The first day started with Black Water, and the first thought that went through my head was that nearly all the metalheads and rockers from Brasov were at Rockstadt Extreme Fest that night, but one of the biggest and best bands from the city was instead in Bucharest opening this festival. Their set started with a few people in the crowd, which was expected for an early Friday evening. It felt more like an intimate concert, like “StrayLights & Friends,” but even in these conditions, they performed. With a nice vibeish and dreamy start with “In Another Life,” it felt like their set was the best transition from a work day to a chill evening in Control, which feels like home for them, as the vocalist said, but also to some other people who are looking for good concerts. They sang some of their most popular songs like “Lullaby,” but also more niche songs like “The Wheel,” which is only on YouTube, and it was born due to the fact that the vocalist could not sleep at night. Who knew insomnia could create such masterpieces? Their whole performance was clean and immaculate, and the time drifted away immediately. Their last song, “Geiko,” felt like a transition to the second band of the night, Orkid, but also a small raise in energy…

In contrast to the band before them, Orkid had a lot more energy and had a lot to talk about regarding the state of the world, life, and politics, exactly how we know Vlad. Immediately after I entered the Berlin Room, I heard him swearing about Putin, Trump, Netanyahu, Grindeanu, and Ciolacu and condemning all the ongoing wars, which I definitely approve of, and most probably the whole room did the same. Vlad also declared that “If it wasn’t you, then I would be at home with my 1 year old child,” which made us feel special and more attached to the people who were on stage for us. He also added that we need to stay more with the people who love and respect us, because that is all that matters in life. Back to the songs, every Orkid song awakens something in you that can’t be described with words, but only if you hear their songs. The screams of Vlad on the songs were special, while the drums for the last song sounded like the start of the Norwegian row song from the World Cup, but there was no World Cup anymore, just pure deep music, great guitar, and fast shredding to look ahead to an amazing Orkid set.

The night was ended by The Murder Capital, who had already captured the whole crowd’s attention with a Palestine flag on one of the amplifiers. To be honest, I did not expect this band to be so good live from listening to them on Spotify, and it was pure CHAOS. It felt like a Depeche Mode x Prodigy concert, but in the underground. Control never felt that small for a band. They combined chill moments alongside their tambourine with pure energy, in addition to a loooooot of “many and great” moshpits. What will I keep in mind after this concert? How everyone joined the moshpits and shouted “Free, Free, Palestine.” They left the stage as cult heroes, with everyone chanting their name. The perfect end to the first day.

DAY 2

The second day started with another underground Romanian band, brainwasher. This time, it wasn’t the first time I’ve seen them, and to be honest, I can’t really count how many times I’ve seen them live. And it wasn’t their best performance either, as I believe their set from Punk Apocalypse 2027 was miles better. They brought the same energy, the same screams, the same jumps, and, to be honest, good music as always, but this time it wasn’t their fault. The room was nearly empty. I loved the people who shook their hands and ran in circles, and the usual moshpits, but it was not my cup of tea this time, and I left the show before it ended.

Second Wave were next, a band who just came back from a hiatus at the beginning of the year after a few years. My first thought was that if you closed your eyes in the middle of the concert, you would say there were more people on stage than just Radu and Daniel, while they sounded like a combination of Black Water and Orkid. Maybe here I was a bit biased, as the first day was still really fresh in my mind. Even if they seemed a bit rusty, and the hiatus was still haunting them, their appetite for concerts was clear, and they made the most out of it, as they sounded better live than any recorded song I listened to. “Absolutely nothing is ever enough” was one of the phrases they said that made it clear to me that, for them, the show does not matter as much as their music, their passion for it, the people around them, and the public. It is something that we should promote more in an era where the concert aesthetic is aggressively pushed on social media. Music wise, they had combined more heavy parts with chilling parts that made you contemplate everything you knew about life. All in all, these guys are so good, and I am so glad they are back.

The 113 were the last band to hop on the stage on Saturday, and they felt like an authentic English band, excluding their bassist, who was extremely tall and looked like a viking. They felt like The Murder Capital on the first day, but their style was more… British. And they even had that Leeds accent more audible. Their energy wasn’t as high as I expected, and I felt that their performance was not as good as people anticipated. Although, I still believe that the band is good and has great potential, and I would love to see them performing at an open air festival like Summer Well or Electric Castle in the upcoming years, as I feel like it will be more suitable for them.

DAY 3

The last day came too fast, but I was so excited to see Asincron, so I did not mind it that much at that time. It was the first time I’ve seen them live, and the only live performances I’ve seen before were from videos from Filaret16, but I will definitely be waiting for their next concerts after this performance. The crowd support was insane from the moment I entered the Berlin Room, as the crowd was the biggest for the opening band out of all three days. Back to the set, I loved Sara’s voice. It’s perfect for the music they’re singing, and the only thing that I can say was bad about their performance was that the drums were a bit too loud, so it made me think, what if they also had some acoustic sets sometimes? But besides that, they are so good. The chemistry between them is so high that it is scary to think how much room for improvement and potential they have, and Sara just threw her shyness away on the stage and put on a show. “Gradina Cismigiu” was the most appreciated song of their set, and I would say it was the best performed one from their whole set. The band is definitely one to keep an eye on, as you will hear about them more and more in the future years.

Baby Elvis were next, and I expected a huge performance from them, one that could also be recorded with a Nintendo DS, as I’ve seen from the crowd. You know the UK bands we all love from the Summer Well line up? They had the same vibe, with a better performance than most of them, and my first thought was, “Why aren’t these guys in the main stage line up?” The sound was perfect, the performance was perfect, Alex’s solos were perfect, everything was so fucking perfect. They were one of those bands which just blows you away, where I don’t want to miss a moment to note something about a show, or to film more than two or three short videos for the Instagram story. Just listen to them, enjoy them, and disconnect from everything. And what’s better than a band with an amazing set? A band that supports other bands, as Alex talked about how important it is to support the local community, talked about the bands that performed at the festival, and thanked the organizers and people who made this happen, while the whole crowd was cheering for him. Did he talk “less than Vlad Ilicevici” as he said? Maybe, but it’s a close one, to be fair. Their show ended with a bang, just like their whole performance, on their knees like the rock stars they are, giving their last drop of energy to an epic end. I would have stayed all night to see them live for a few more hours, even though I was going to work early in the morning. Can’t wait for their next performance in Bucharest, maybe without a Manchester United shirt in sight this time. You’ll Never Walk Alone, guys!

DITZ closed the night and the festival with a LOUD performance, which made me think they were more a match for a big hall or outdoors, not Control. It was their second time performing in Control, and they were already fan favorites with an eccentric performance. I loved the punk and the attitude, but I loved the movement more, from the vocalist, who I felt like could climb on the ceiling if he could, but also from the public, who were in an intermittent moshpit, crowdsurfing and doing a wall of death, which made me stay in the back of the hall just to write some notes in a place where I would be safe. They also dedicated a song to Vlad and reminded us that “you should cherish the people who make things happen”.

And this is what stayed with me. Go to see your local bands, tell them if they played well (or badly, you’ll see that they will appreciate constructive feedback), buy merch, go in the moshpit, and have fun. About the StrayLights Festival… you rocked, see you next year!

Review by Radu Mihai