Brno or Bust: Jazz, Swing and Rock ‘n’ Roll
Written by Craggy
Saturday, 22 June 2013 03:30
It’s been some time since I updated this blog which I have taken around with me to a couple of dots on the European map since my departure from the UK at the end of last year. My moonlit exit from the country was safe and without incident, and now I can start building a new series of temporary lives. I’ve been spending the last few months shacked up in the city of Brno, exploring the beer houses and something of the music and culture in this small, yet lively, second city of the Czech Republic. Here is a little of the musical journey so far, and as I may be here sometime, this will be my last instalment for a while.
Jazz, Swing and Rock ‘n’ Roll
What is almost immediately striking here is the general attraction to jazz music. It’s not a total surprise for me, I know a little of it from my Prague days where the jazz and blues scene is particularly strong. But this is Moravia, which is different, or so the Brno-ites are desperate to express to me. I like some jazz, it’s that trumpet sound of Miles Davis I think, but I like some other styles too like Wes Montgomery and Cannonball Adderley.
With this in mind, I thought that the Brno Jazz Festival, which took place here in April, would offer the perfect introduction to the jazz world. As it turns out it left me bored as hell. I can’t remember any of the acts, but it was mostly self-congratulatory men playing with themselves in front of a load of seated pedestrians. Still, it was interesting taking a look inside the Besední Dům which is rather regal, but I hate anyplace where I can’t take my drink inside, and god knows I needed it. One event took me to Klub Alterna which would probably be a good, lively student bar and maybe worth a visit on a different night.
Away from the festival there are plenty of other groups putting the fun back in to jazz like the gypsy-jazz band, Django Jet, and watching them in the Cuban themed U Fidela, on the outskirts of town, was well worth the tram ride. Upbeat fun can also be found lighting up the city in the form of quality swing and rock ‘n’ roll. Everyone is at it, from the Metro Music Bar to Restaurace Kinokavarna (cinema/cafe), bands like The Big 20 and Big Band Brno support the city’s love for dancing.
Venues
There are many concert venues here. The cellar of Stará Pekárna, offering a somewhat nostalgic vibe of the clubs back in Blighty, houses a host of varying styles. Being jam packed into the crowd, holding satisfyingly heavy Pilsner glasses, while watch the Hoochie Coochie Band spin some blues isn’t a bad way to while away an evening. Venues like this, aside from fuelling Brno’s unhealthy obsession with tribute bands, also give a platform to a small but colourful alternative scene too. Great punk bands such as Bombs from Heaven (a group I could’ve possibly joined, but having no guitar or no command of the Czech language may have counted against me) are popular here and begin their nationwide tours from the base of this city (or the biggest village in the Czech Republic, as Praguers might say). Other bars such as Paterlord deliver the metal, while offering insanely cheap beers, drinks called ‘Orc’s Eye’ and ‘Dragon’s Spit’, and a killer jukebox with all the Motörhead I need – or even Skid Row, with which my girlfriend managed to clear the whole bar.
Rock ‘n’ Radio
We’ve all been lauding the loss of Rock ‘n’ Roll radio in the UK for years, while most of our favourite bands have often produced songs about it. It seems really we’ve just kind of come to accept it, only turning on the radio to listen to the football on BBC 5 live, or to ensure that some self-satisfied rambling prick on BBC London will be the motivation to get you out of bed and to work in the morning. The shenanigans and quality of the Über Röck Radio Show produce a breath of fresh air, but these are just glorious moments bursting through a sea of unimpassioned shit. Here in CZ, where rock isn’t yet such a frightening word, two of the big hitting radio stations are indeed rock stations: Beat Radio and Radio Hey. They aren’t perfect – you will still find yourself snoring through Nickelback or switching off to the sound of Muse from time to time – but at least there is rock music 24/7, and sometimes it is good too. The interesting thing about it for me is that I get to hear some Czech and Slovak bands which I’ve never heard before, such as Wanastowi Vjecy and Horkýže Slíže, the latter of which particularly interested me!
Horkýže Slíže would have just passed through my radio as any other band I couldn’t understand any of the words to, if it wasn’t for the emphatic English chorus of ‘Lesbian and Gay Song’. After a WTF? moment I googled the words, temporarily ignored the inevitable inaccurate results, and found that this comedy band have a host of hilarious videos on YouTube accompanying insanely catchy music. A trip to the sports hall Hala Vodová, although a fucking awful venue, meant I could catch their pratting about in the flesh, which was well worth it. Anyway, you’ll get to read more about that another time.
For now though, I’ll love you and leave you, as I go to get my gladrags on and get out and enjoy some the best beer on the planet. Na zdraví, my Über Röcking friends.
