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So here I am – blogging live from Santana concert! Those that follow me on twitter @andreinicoara probably know what’s happening right from Bestfest.
It’s a great festival, at least compared to our small selection, and tonight a lot of nice bands played. And the best news? No rain since 7pm.
People waited a lot for Santana, or even came specially to see his concert. The earlier bands could not gather the same level of interest. Even Moby had a smaller crowd here. And it’s a shame. I mean, what is the purpose of a festival if you come only for one band? A little openness to new bands would be welcome!

Having said that – I am really enjoying the concert. Maybe not as much as Moby or Motorhead, but this does not mean I am not very happy ! And yes Santana does an amazing performance.

And now – back to singing along. Badly.

Yesterday was a great day at B’estfest. The first 2 big names at the festival – Motorhead and Moby – and the first day of the festival proper (the day before it was day 0. If you are confused by the festival days numbering, so am I).

The line-up was Les Elephants Bizarres, Grimus, Ayo, Polarkreis 18, Motorhead and Moby. The Silent Disco is not really a concert, although it is a good idea and a nice place to relax a bit after the last concert.

I arrived in time to catch the last part of Ayo. I am not a huge fan, but her voice was pretty nice. First minutes at the festival were as usual spent on searching for some friends, waiting for others and trying to coordinate between 3 or 4 groups. Of course I failed, and some of them I only saw at the beginning and then lost track of. I imagine the nice part for a concert were you stay the whole week is that you can socialize in the day (or in the pubs at night) and as for concerts…every fan for himself.

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One word describes the first day at B’estfest: rain. Lots of it. Expanding a bit – rain, storm, thunderbolts and lightning, very very frightening…oh that’s from something else. The pouring rain was real though.

Having said that, the concerts were very nice, and I really enjoyed being there. The fact that I stayed after The Killers left the scene says it all. I missed The Snails – a RO band that has some nice songs, however I couldn’t leave office earlier. And the traffic was a nightmare. I arrived just in time for the Patrice concert. Last time when he was in Romania I could not attend it, but I knew he sounded good. And the show – somewhat short – was enjoyable. He also did an improvised (soon to be summer hit) “it’s rainin’ in Bucharest”. In the end the rain was too hard and he left the scene.

Before the next concert (White Lies), Catalina (thank God for that!) spotted some of the last rain ponchos given by the Romtelecom promoters. This lucky thing proved invaluable, as the rain continued all through the night. We met some friends – mostly colleagues from Orange – and I dutifully consumed a few beers (as I normally do at a concert). Keeping the rain outside my beer glass proved tricky though.

White Lies concert was good, not overwhelming though, but I will not hold that against them. I am no big fan. However The Killers really stole the show. They started in full force with “Human” and continued with all their hits. Some also from the new album, which sounded pretty fine. Oh when I said in full force – I meant it. The force of the bass was so great that my ears actually hurt. The fact that we stayed right in front of the scene, near the fence, made the thumping bass very close and personal. I had the impression that my hair was trying to jump from my head. Interesting sensations.

The concert ran it’s full length, and the crowd was extremely pleased with the performance. Not all the bands can pull a show with so much force and enthusiasm, especially when the fans are soggy and the rain is steadily pouring.

What I think so far about the festival?

• I liked the fact the for once the promoters offered useful stuff
• disliked even more the serving skills, or lack of, from the people serving drinks (maybe only personal experience?)
• the sound was a bit too heavy on the bass so the concerts sounded a bit too rock-like
• not much really changed from last year festival (it’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it tends to get old)

The conclusion? Can’t wait to go to tonight’s concerts. Ayo, Motorhead, Moby…It’s going to be an amazing evening. Especially as it is raining now, so hopefully the clouds will finish their job before the start of the show.

And as a preview for tonights – a linky I received from Mihnea – Motorhead: Ace of Spades.