field reports from the czech republic : the yugoslav partisan

the train journey to ostrava found me travelling east as the sun slowly begn to set in the west behind me, my path leading out of praha, out of bohemia and on into moravia, to the third largest city and the industrial steel heart of the republic. gladly, i was met at the train station by the very awesome zuzka, who had arranged the show and was kindly affording me a place to sleep for the night. we rode a bus a few stops through the city til finding ourselves arriving at the plan b hardcore cafe, an L-shaped ground floor bar with a small stage at one end and a few fußball tables at the other. i was quickly introduced to a host of splendid individuals and soon found myself discussing english culture as well as assessing the grammar on a philosophical thesis on post-modern culture presented to me on a netbook screen betwixt beer and ashtray. it felt really good to have arrived at last and how the show would commence forthwith.

a few soundchecks snags gave way to what would be a really great evening of music. first to take to the stage was the very impressive mc boss, who delivered a series of less-than-one-minute songs, replete with matching animation projections and words from a small notebook. sadly my incredible lack of understanding of the czech language prevented me from appreciating quite the extent of his talent, which was surely clear to all and sundry around me. ryba v řesu was up shortly after that, a formidable two-man team replete with one plague doctor mask and one suit from another century. something complex and electronic, reminding me of the mighty alitotetro in some ways. already it was time to take to the stage and how it was such an enjoyable performance indeed. the tuesday night drinking crowd were clearly ready to be a listening bunch too, and even ready to dance a little towards the end of the set. i had brought an hours worth of songs with me, but still had to dig around on the computer to find a beat to freestyle over for the last number, gladly a gem from the mighty edison proved to do the trick just right.

the night wove on amidst more drinks and really fascinating discussions on music, the local history, the local underground music history, as well as the importance of language, of the singularly interesting prospect of the english language and the importance of not dumbing it down, of being aware of its possibilities and that they should be exercised, save for it being reduced to a lowest-common-denominator form of universal communiction... time was already racing by, and so zuzka and i took to the street and made our weary way past the empty tram-stop, down near-deserted streets filled with neon-lit bars and nightclubs, beneath the trainlines in fluorescent-lit underpasses, and finally between soaring towerblocks, between talls trees and across mudded lawns. by the time we reached zuzka's apartment sleep was the only thing we were good for, as we drifted away to the low humming sound of the city and gentle breeze coming in through the open window.

the next morning saw me sleep late, late indeed. mid-day has not-long-since passed before i finally stirred to the sound of zuzka typing away on the other side of the room, the light muted from an overcast day. not longing having sat up and got online to post my thanks for the previous night and the anticipation of the brno show in the evening, had zuzka presented me with a formidable bowl of pasta which was quite the welcome breakfast for sure. i took to the balcony afterwards with a little tea, to take in the days air, to study my surroundings, to reflect on the show of the previous night. sadly time was against us and how zuzka kindly lead me back towards ostrava hlavní nádraží to follow the line to brno. a romanian man outside the station told me that i looked like a yugoslav partisan, thinking that the louder he talked, the more i might understand. zuzka and i bid each other farewell on the platform as i boarded the train to head back west towards brno.

so, might i briefly take the opportunity to thank very muchly the kind folk of ostrava for looking after me, for sharing their tales and thoughts and for such an enjoyable show and indeed evening. thank you so very much to zuzka, indoš, osvald, jirka, petr, jonaš, taňa, brda, krystýna, dalibor and all the folk whose names i did not get to learn... til next time!

next field report : sunken beneath the ancient streets

jamesreindeer