At 10th of july a festival happened in Bugojno called Ex -Yu Rocks. The festival was partly organised by the Dutch organisation C.R.AS.H., stated in Bugojno, an organisation who is still trying to afirmate culture in a city under a rule of a mini dictator called Dzevad Mlaco. And they are trying to present more unpopular or more noncomercial artists.
So, few weeks ago, under a carefull eye of Mlaco, Sretna Mladina (Slovenia), The Spoons (Croatia), Granf + Korbac (Bosnia), Six Pack + Gospoda Glembajevi (YU), Uberzeitung (Macedonia), Cooler Than Jesus + Misejlik (NL) + some more groups played. And, yap, it was nice. People had nice fun, some of them got drunk, some of them fall in love… so what more you need?
And as C.R.A.S.H. people are saying, their intention is to make a festival traditional, as what they are trying to gather together people who were "brothers" before and now are divided by a big, big walls.
After the Bugojno party, Holland bands Cooler Than Jesus and Misselijk , decided to play in Sarajevo. And, they have played, in front of maybe 20 people. First words of Misselijk singer were: "Oh, they`d told us that Sarajevo is a big city". And the party continues. Other things are not so much important.
But, we are all mad about something - while some of the pepole are more trying to afirmate culture/art/music, Sarajevo`s snobs are more and more trying not to visit that happenings. Probably the concert of a local trash pop folk star Dino Merlin will be more interesting to them.
A few days later the editor of this magazine can confirm this. Living 50 meters behind the main street in Sarajevo where Dino Merlin performed, he was completely aware of the mass that came to this concert. Two days before the stage was build partly on the street, blocking Ferhadija (the shopping street) as well. Many kilo watts made it an unforgettable happening for accoording 20.000 people. Until the next morning workers had to clean up the mess that was left by the crowd. And why people come massively to a concert like this? It could be the lack of guts which drives people to groups they already know. It could be the commen feeling: you only go somewhere were you are proud to be and can tell your friends you have been there. It could be that Dino Merlin attract more people because the people who work with him have their special ways of making things possibe. How otherwise to play on the main street, how otherwise to spread 20.000 posters, how otherwise have free entrence in a city everything have to cost something? We will not know the answers and we do not want to know also.
Personally I hope more innovating groups will get an opportunity to be seen in Sarajevo. I mean, this was the first time I heard Dino Merlin and no song sounded new to me.