EXIT Festival at Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad, happened and our recovery spanned a week. I wholly agree with George Bernard Shaw when he wrote “Youth is the most precious thing in life; it is too bad it has to be wasted on young folks.” Over 150,000 people attended representing 70+ countries, and it was glorious. So much pumping music and dazzling light shows over four days, performing on 16 stages. The energy, happiness and sheer delight were amazing. No police, no one scolding people for drinking or even freaking out when a trio of young ladies were falling down drunk. Instead of recriminations and judgement, strangers came to their aid, offered them water and sat with them until they were better. We saw no pushing, shoving, aggression or any bad behavior, at all. People just embracing the experience.
Day 1: Prodigy
Day 1 was a Rock / Punk theme with the Prodigy headlining. For those of you who don’t know the Prodigy, probably everyone younger then 30, I will point you to “The Matrix” as the best example of where the “The Prodigy” music was used. Such a great throwback!
I have no idea how these guys smuggled in a flaming torch into the concert. If this happened in the US, SWAT would have been called and the concert stopped. At EXIT it was all part of the spectacle. The video also captures the crowd’s energy and was one of the better Prodigy sets.
Rakija is Bulgarian?
We had the pleasure or possibly the misfortune to meet a Bulgarian couple who adopted us during the show. Now in deference to our Serbian readers, I won’t say our Bulgarian friend’s claims are true, but he was definitely enthusiastic; just watch the video.
Day 2: Death Metal and Opera
Day 2 was Death Heavy Metal. For those of you who have attended SolidCore classes with my Playlist, imagine Rage Against the Machine meets its angrier, pissed off brother with a smattering of Kate Bush. I will say that Epica was the highlight of the night and was quite theatrical. The mosh pit at the end of their set was very kinetic. I must be growing old because I realized that being in the Mosh Pit banging around with the kids is way too dangerous now.
Day 3: EDM & House
Day 3 and no sleep. This night was dedicated to EDM and House, and the headliners were Claptone and Alesso. We arrived around 22:00 and the warm-up bands were just starting. Claptone took the stage at midnight and really rocked the place. It is hard to imagine 80K people just enjoying the music with such uplifting energy. When Alesso finally took the stage at 2:30 AM we were ready! He played all his hits and blended in new tracks as well. We left around 4:00 AM and there were still 2 more bands coming. A fantastic show to be sure and well worth the insomina.
Day 4: Hip Hop and Rap
We didn’t attend Day 4 that featured Hip Hop and Rap. Wu-Tang Clan was the headliners, but to be honest, they did nothing for me in their prime and watching the “one foot in the grave tour” was not enticing enough, especially with our sleep deficiency. Additionally, the line-up featured hardcore Balkan rappers and the music and imagery were disturbing and overly misogynistic.
Final Thoughts
EXIT Festival provided a lot of pleasure and sleepless nights. We would go again but only for two nights. Great event and really nice people and look forward to next year’s line-up