Planes, Trains and Automobiles
You might have noticed there aren`t any reviews on this page; no mention of Saxon, Motörhead, Anthrax, Styx, Nazareth or any other bands featured on Day 1 of the SRF. [I did manage to catch headliners Accept, but included my review of their set on the Day 2 page] Why, you ask? Well.... Things started out well enough. While in line for the security check, I found myself standing next to Anthrax vocalist and fellow Central New York resident Joey Belladonna. Joey was leaving for Newark, while I was headed for Washington, D.C., but we got to talk for a good 40 minutes about the festival, the bands, etc. Joey comes off in person as a very cool, down-to-earth guy. As he boarded for Newark, we agreed to try and meet up at Sweden Rock, and I settled back and waited for my flight number to be called. It was at that point things went a bit pear shaped..... First, my flight from Syracuse, NY was delayed so we sat on the runway for 90 minutes! [during an oppressive heatwave, `natch!] Then, we took off and arrived in Washington, DC at 5:05; my flight to Copenhagen was at 5:35. So a mad dash through the airport and I only JUST made it. But the combination of heat and stress made me ill for the entire flight and I didn`t eat or sleep. Arrived half dead in Copenhagen at around 7 AM only to find my luggage was still in Washington! It had my tent, sleeping bag [I was staying at the press campsite] and clothes. The airport staff were VERY helpful, and made sure my bags would get there the next day. So I had to book a cheap hotel [$50.00] as I had no place to stay. After spending nearly 3 days in the same clothes, my luggage arrived and I took the train to Kristianstad, where I would then take a bus to Sölvesborg and to the festival. But the first train had a mechanical problem and I had to get another. After an hour, I another train arrived and we were off. But 20 minutes into the trip, some idiot decided to throw himself in front of the train!!! So we sat for over 3 hours; most of the passengers were going to the festival, so as often happens under these circumstances, acquaintances were made. In fact, 3 guys from Scotland [Davie Kirkwood, Tony Gordon and Davie`s son Nate] became my best friends there, for reasons I`ll discuss in a minute. As the minutes ticked by, we began to rattle off the bands we were missing, and the list got depressingly longer. Thank God for the drunk Finnish guy, who kept us in stiches the whole time! Finally, were were herded into ANOTHER train. Soon after, I realized I had left my backpack on the other train!! This had my plane tickets as well as my camera! So, I told the conductor who called to check if they had found the bag on the train, which they did. [I cannot describe the kindness and generosity of the people in Denmark and Sweden; some of the nicest I`ve ever met!] So while everyone else left to catch what was left of Day 1 of the festival [w/ my new Scottish friends even offering me some money to get by; fortunately I had THAT on me, at least], I rode the train BACK to Malmö, picked up my bag, THEN rode back AGAIN. [I spent 9 hours total on trains that day] Made it to the fest, got my press pass , set up my tent w/ help from Stig and Brett of Metal Express [thanks, guys!]. I missed the bands I wanted to see most that day; Styx, Motörhead and Saxon [!!!!!!!!:(:(] but managed to see headliners Accept in their farewell show. A few drinks later, and we made our way back to the dimly lit press camp. Slept in the tent and froze my *** off. [it was the coldest June in Sweden since 1920! Fortunately, the days were warmer..] Woke up a few hours later, and wandered the festival grounds, getting my bearings, buying a few shirts, some food/drink and of course MUSIC! As luck would have it, I ran into Tony at the Hammerfall show, so we all hooked up with Davey and Nate; a VERY fortunate turn of events, as you`ll read in my review of Sammy`s set! After this, my friends saved me from another freezing night by smuggling me into their hotel. Clean sheets, a shower and free breakfast!;) Davie and Nate had to leave for the hotel, and Tony and I both wanted to see different bands that were on at the same time, so we split and agreed to meet over at the Rock Stage to see Dio. But of course we lost track of each other. I looked around for Tony after Dio `til about 12 or so, missing headliners Motley Crue. Then I went back to the press camp and packed up my gear; as I did so, one of my fellow campers was performing a solo acoustic version of Pink Floyd`s "Comfortably Numb", adding to the surrealism of the last few days. I decided to meet the guys at the hotel, only I couldn`t remember the name! So I described it best I could to a cabbie, who naturally took me to the wrong one!:( So I tried to book a room for the night; but of course, no room there! They were nice enough to call around and found one for me in Karlsham, so ANOTHER taxi ride! Checked out at 6:30 AM and waited for the bus to take me to the bus station which in turn would take me to the train station. The trains were full going back to Copenhagen, so I had to wait a while for one and of course I missed my flight. When I got to the airport, I explained what happened but they charged me $200.00 to re-book the flight, THEN told me there were no more flights that night! Sooooo, back to the hotel I stayed in my first night in Copenhagen. Flew out the next day and got back here around 7 PM Monday, a day later than I was supposed to, bone-weary beyond words. Woke up Tuesday morning wondering if the previous week had actually happened. 6 days [or should that be "daze"?] of extreme highs and lows, or as one of my fellow festival goers put it, "F**king Murphy`s Law!" Worth it? Every second! On to Sweden Rock 2006!!
Day 2
Day 2 Pics
Day 3
Day 3 Pics
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