If one thinks about the Bavarian ‘Hinterland’ – roughly translated outback – stereotypic pictures arise: Lederhosen and Dirndl. Beer and Cows. Mustaches. Farmers. Dialect. Sadly also – racism and scepsis towards everything that is diverse from the patriarchial-determined normality. If one takes a closer look though one can find little bastions of resistance to this normality.In what way people step up to this situation really differs – possible it is a pediatrician that organizes people against deportations or an autonomous organized youth center that brings subculture to the middle of nowhere – where there is only ‚Edge’ cellphone connection and the next gas-station a fifteenminute car ride away.
On a early summer weekend in June buddy Max Marquadt and me travelled to the Hinterland and had a blast at Jugge Open Air.
Parking our two mini Coopers – yep we are that stereotypic journalists – we set up our basecamp and watched the setting sun. About three-hundred were camping on the grounds prepared by the organizers. Got to know our neighbors – very cool people – guys and girls from villages around Dorfen. Made friends with them pretty fast. As the light was getting better we got to work.
Summed up the broad variety of music played was just vast. Reaching from singer-songwriter type music to electro-punk in carton suits every taste was met. We enjoyed some great HipHop by e.g. Johnny Rakete and Illflow. Jumped into pogo – yes with our cameras – enjoying loud angry Ska-punk sounds by e.g. Undenkbar. Or just enjoyed the sun in the afternoon listening to blues performed by the Noksyur Soksow Ensemble. The final act – Sputnik Booster – made it rumble with electro-punk and nintendo sounds. What a blast. Concerts ended every night at approximately 2 AM – but the party then continued.
Sourrounding the Center Stage organizers set up small tents for different activities- colleague Max took part in a motivation course – utterly necessary when working at a news desk. Max also retrieved the foosball table he learned playing on when he was a little youngster-metal-head underdog. To explain Max grew up close to the youth center that organizes the event. In the past years the foosball table has been very well taken care off. You all cannot imagine that happiness.
To really sum it up: These two days of camping and just enjoying sub-culture in a comfortable environment felt like a week of vacation. Yes this might have to do with the absence of an Internet connection and the always rushing world out there. I really recommend you to take your gang next year and join the Jugge Open Air – if there will be another one. Support those guys rocking the Hinterland with subculture.