It was with a measure of apprehension that OFF was approached this year.
Last year’s edition, the first post-Covid, was solid but far from a classic, perhaps hampered by no money coming in for three years. This years line-up looked, on first glance, to be interesting rather than wet-your-pants exciting, and the forecast for the weekend promised something yet to be seen at any of this humble festers times in Katowice; prolonged rain. And so, wet weather gear was dutifully packed next to booze-smuggling apparatus, but the question remained: could OFF recapture the magic of the pre-Covid years? (Spoiler: yes.)
The heavy clouds rained themselves out by midday on Friday, leaving the rest of the day looking fresh and clear (good start). However, on arrival another genuine OFF first presented itself; massive bar queues. This appeared to be the result of the main bar in the central village being drastically reduced in size, for some insane reason, along with only half the taps being manned (not so good).
But we are nothing if not optimistic, so the benefit of the doubt was given, and once beer was eventually in hand, we got stuck into the line-up like the seasoned festers we are.
What better way to dispel early fest jitters and get into the OFF spirit than by finding the strangest thing available? Enter Kón (Horse in English), a Polish instrumental quartet comprising of synths, drums, a rarely-seen resonator guitar and a bass saxophone as big as a medium-sized ape, the front three instruments duking it out to create an exhilarating folk-tinged jazz/rock hybrid. Kón’s jazz pianist Jakub Królikowski’s neon shirt and lively stage presence along with song titles such as ‘My outward appearance does not reflect reality’ (rough translation) hint at a subtle darkness underpinning many of the songs, and the overall energetic show proves to be a surprisingly strong start the to the festival.
One of the main attractions this year were the aptly named OFF!, a hard-core supergroup made up of members of Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Burning Brides and …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. The band waste no time and take no prisoners, tearing through the entirety of their new album Free LSD at a ferocious pace. The crowd responds as any good hard-core crowd should, devolving into a massive circle pit as soon as ex-Circle Jerks/Black Flag frontman Keith Morris starts to stalk around the stage, flanked by Dimitri Coats (Burning Brides) on guitar and Autry Fulbright III (AYWKUBTTOD) on bass giving their best power stances. By the time their set is over, they have blasted through 29 songs in under an hour, leaving more than a few bruised ribs and perforated eardrums in their wake.
After quite a guitar-packed day it was time for something different, and that came in the form of Friday Main Stage headliner Pusha T. His confidence is evident from the outset, from the swaggering southern beats to the stage set-up devoid of anything but him and his flow. Proper flow at that, lyrically and rhythmically dexterous, not the mumbling, stuttering start/stop guff found elsewhere on the bill (coughHomixideGangcough). While Pusha is hardly the biggest name in hip-hop in the UK you’d be forgiven for thinking the opposite is true in Poland, judging by the ecstatic reaction of the crowd at OFF. Girls jostle for position at the barrier, rapping along to every line while chants of ‘PU-SHA! PU-SHA! PU-SHA!’ erupt crowd-wide between almost every song. The man himself laps it up, working the crowd and patrolling the stage as if it is his own territory. For a good, solid hour, it is.
Following hot on the heels of Pusha T on the main stage, eager to keep the good vibes flowing, are London’s Kokoroko. The octet’s blending of jazz and afrobeat feels at once classic and bang up to date, exemplified by their new album ‘Could We Be More’, which makes up the majority of the setlist. The guitar virtuosity of Tobi Adenaike-Johnson plays off the powerful vocals and vibrant trumpet of frontwoman Sheila Maurice-Grey and the trombone of Glasgow’s own Anoushka ‘Noushy’ Nanguy (herself at the vanguard of Scotland’s jazz renaissance with her friends in corto.alto and their club night Glitch 41, aka the best night in Glasgow). Their mission is to keep the crowd dancing for the entirety of their set, and by the time they deploy the classic ‘get the crowd to crouch down then jump up at the drop’ move, it’s mission accomplished.
When approaching the small hours of (as it turned out, an all-time great) opening day at OFF, the last thing you might be into is some intense industrial post-punk (if so, well, you’re a bit of a wimp).
Certainly, 1.15am is a tough slot for any band, but Ireland’s Gilla Band weren’t paying that any mind, and neither were the crowd. With shades of Nine Inch Nails and Daughters (who played a similarly charged show here in 2019), Gilla band power through a febrile and at times techno-tinged set, the relentless noise as layered as frontman Dara Kiely’s superb locks. Lyrics about hating Ryanair, buying shit clothes and watching Big Brother combine with the dank and dangerous riffs to create an atmosphere conducive to what we all know; that everything is a bit shit these days. The only proper response? Scream your lungs out and, as one fan gamely demonstrated, crowd-surf as much as you can, no matter how many times security chuck you out. There’s a lesson there I think.
The rain once again burnt itself out by Saturday lunchtime so spirits were high after the all-timer of a Friday. Special mention must go to the first act of the day, Sad Smiles. Opening the main stage of a festival when you are 16 years of age is no small feat, and these scrappy young punks clearly relished the opportunity.
The first of the main morsels on Saturday’s menu come with a helluva backstory, one which we are treated to in full by an enthusiastic record company chump before the band take to the stage. Cutting their teeth on the 1960s Mississippi gospel circuit (straight out of Aberdeen, no less), the Staples Jr. Singers recorded one album, 1973’s ‘When Do We Get Paid. There they would have stayed, languishing in obscurity if not for rediscovery fifty years later by none other than David Byrne.
Seizing this belated second chance by the haunches, the crowd at the Experimental Stage are treated to a pleasingly old school gospel and R’n’B set, with songs about praising Jesus tempered with long musical tales of not being allowed to eat in the clubs they were performing in. The band is a proper family affair, with sons and nephews playing rhythm to the four original members. The pipes on brother and sister front-people Edward Brown and Annie Caldwell show no signs of rust after five decades, while other brother Cleveland sits to the side, throwing out bluesy guitar licks in a none-more-delta fashion.
We are given tantalising glimpses into the sort of entertainers they must have been before they had to sit down for most of the show. Edward in particular is adept at working the crowd, and there is a fantastic extended section during ‘You’ve Been Good To Me’ when the mic is given to the crowd, one after the other, each having a go (with varying degrees of success) at the songs refrain.
There are certain shows that stay with you long after the ringing in your ears has stopped. Gigs that show you something you’ve never seen before or, by the sheer fucking brilliance of the performance, grab you by the throat and remind you why you fell in love with the life-affirming power of live music in the first place. Charles Bradley 2012. Hailu Mergia 2015. Jambinai 2016. Shows that felt like a privilege to witness.
A new star was added to the OFF firmament on Saturday night, in the form of a bunch of Mexican mad-dogs named Son Rompe Pera. With a massive two-man marimba taking centre stage and a bongos/percussion set-up stage right in front of guitar, bass and drums, Son Rompe Pera are essentially a wild punk band filtered through the focussing lens of South American cumbia music (neatly encapsulated in their song ‘Cumbia is the New Punk’).
The on-stage energy is sky-high from the get go and doesn’t relent for their full hour-long set, with various members of the band jumping between each others instruments seamlessly. The influence of Manu Chao is unsurprisingly very evident, but there are rockier, Doors-esque motifs as well, in the fine Tropicália tradition.
They even go a bit thrash metal towards the end. Covered in tattoos, chains dangling from low-sling jeans, they look every bit the rock stars they deserve to be. And after one of the most thrilling hours of live music this humble fester has ever experienced they have firmly cemented their place in OFF’s hall of fame. Or at the very least, my top five.
On Sunday the weather intensified and delivered another OFF first; a rain-soaked mud bath. But we are nothing if not intrepid, and so promotional Jaegermeister rain ponchos were donned and off into the mire we strode.
First up was Polish chanteuse Hania Rani, who’s brooding, atmospheric music felt rather apt for the rainy afternoon. Having previously played OFF in 2019, Hania returns having levelled-up her songcraft considerably, commanding four different keyboards/pianos and a drum machine, accumulating multiple different musical and vocal lines over each other to create a haunting, layered and complex whole.
From here on things switched into party mode, beginning with Confidence Man on the Main Stage. Taking to the stage in Talking Heads-esque oversized jackets with animatronic shoulder pads, the vibes are pleasingly tongue-in-cheek 90s Europop, right down to the ripped Aryan ubermensch in a mesh tank-top. The dance moves are choreographed to such a degree as to be ever so slightly rubbish, leg kicks only going waist high and moves delivered half a beat out of sync. At least we think that’s what they were going for. Seemingly threatening to break into ‘Come on Barbie let’s go party’ at any point, they sum up the entire weekend with their closer ‘Holiday’, bringing the curtain down on an hour of fun personified.
How many hero poses will it take to conquer the world? Glasgow’s very own Vlure are on a musical mission to find out, and took to the Mbank Stage at damn-near midnight with a diabolical purpose and enough bravado to make Andrew Tate flinch. Clearly seeing themselves as spiritual successors to Faithless (not least with their cover of ‘God Is A DJ’ and dedication to the late, great Maxi Jazz), Vlure leave the boisterous crowd in no doubt as to their ambitions, and their grandiose electro/post-rock hybrid definitely fits the bill. Come the finale my lonesome cries of “One more tune!”, while going unheeded by the Polish crowd, were apparently sensed by the band on a deep Jedi-like, Scottish level, and they return to the stage for one final victory lap. Well earned, I say.
At the end of all things, all you want are some party tunes to make your forget your every screaming muscle and fast-approaching hangover for one last dance. Traditionally at OFF, this takes place at the Forest Stage (OFF’s best stage), and Italy’s Mind Enterprises were not about to buck this trend, adding their superlative set to the list of closing-show luminaries such as Daniel Avery in 2016 and Jacques Greene in 2018. Despite looking like the two guys who got Maradona hooked on coke in the 80s, their sweet-natured Italo-disco wrings every last drop of excitement out of everyone’s well-worn dancing shoes and provides a perfect closer to an all-time classic OFF festival.
Special mention goes to Polish indie group Udary who covered ‘Is This It’ by The Strokes in its entirety, adding absolutely nothing with their interpretation. Because if an album is perfect, why would you?