Nova Rock 2022 – Review of Day 1 – 9 June
Written by Mariam on June 27, 2022
From June 9 to June 12, music fans were celebrating the return of Nova Rock 2022 – Austria’s biggest rock festival – with 225,000 visitors flocking to the Pannonia Fields in Nickelsdorf near the Austro-Hungarian border. After a two-year break, the festival broke its previous attendance record. It also seemed to try to break the record of most rain ever at a Nova Rock.
Mud, rain and chaos on arrival – fans wanting to arrive a day early were advised to delay their travel as the festival grounds were turning into a mud field. When fans finally arrived on Thursday, the first day of the four-day festival – they were met with hour long traffic jams and sodden ground, caused by what festival organiser Ewald Tatar called the “rains of the century.” According to the festival veteran, it rained more in the days leading up to the festival than during the period between November 2021 and June 2022. Casualties of the rain were the multiple bands like Blues Pills and Cemetery Sun who were unable to perform.
Finding appropriate festival attire was another issue. Anyone still trying to get their hands on a pair of rain boots before the festival was out of luck as the coveted items were sold out everywhere and some people resorted to walking barefoot in the mud. Regardless, the excitement of fans finally able to return to a festival was palpable and the hassle of long hours in traffic soon forgotten once camp was set up and the first cool beers hit thirsty throats.
From there, it was finally time to go see the acts. Austrian punk band Turbobier drew a strong crowd and entertained German speakers with familiar songs the audience could sing along to, a fire show on stage and a lot of posing. In the past few years, this band had achieved huge success and recognition with sold out shows around Austria and Germany. In addition to being the band’s lead singer, Marco Pogo is also a real medical doctor, has his own branded beer named after the band, wrote a book, started a comedy show, formed a political party called Bierpartei (engl. beer party) and is running for president in the next election.
For fans of punk rock, Rise Against was another must-see stop. The band released its new album “Nowhere Generation” in 2021 and singer Tim McIlrath told the audience how happy he was to be able to share the band’s newest work live on stage. Many lyrics in Rise Against’s songs touch on war, women’s rights and the pandemic and given the last few years, there was no shortage of issues to cover. But it was not all dark and gloomy and the band tried to instil hope into their fans and emphasised that there was a light at the end of the tunnel.Rise Against started off with “Prayer of the Refuge” followed by “The Violence” and other well-known songs like “Ready to Fall” and “Savior”. The song “Nowhere Generation” was also in the mix, named after the new album.
As Rise Against was playing, fans of Glam Metal could enjoy Californian band Steel Panthers on the Red Stage. Famed for their profane and humorous lyrics, the band also delighted fans with lots of choreographed posing and fake insults amongst band members between songs. Female fans lined up to lift their shirts and during the song ’17 Girls in a Row’, the band invited twice as many on stage to dance, flirt with band members and take off their tops. Lead singer Michael Starr paid special attention to one particular girl – also a crowd favourite – and didn’t want her to leave the stage until stage management intervened. All in all, a fun show to watch as long as the lyrics are not taken too seriously.
The headliners for this evening were Muse on the Blue Stage and Bullet for my Valentine on the Red Stage. Fans of heavier music flocked to the Red Stage where BFMV delivered a solid performance that started off with two songs from their new album named after the band. “Parasite” was their live debut, followed by “Knives”. Some older songs like “Your Betrayal” and “Tears Don’t Fall” were also part of the setlist.
Rounding out the night, was the 90s one hit wonder Haddaway. Together with Dr. Alban he went on stage as this year’s late-night act and despite the advanced hour, the stage area was decently filled as the audience listened to “What is love” as it was played again and again in different variations. Everyone sang along – at least for the first 4 to 5 times – finishing off the night with 90s nostalgia.
See reviews of the other Nova Rock festival days:
Written & photographed by: Mariam Osman
Editor: Christina Stadler
