distruggi la bassa 2019 report radio punk

Distruggi La Bassa 2019: that’s legendary!

 Let’s bring back to life the first two days of the distruggi la bassa

The festival we were all waiting for has finally come! Distruggi la Bassa has become a real institution for Italian punks’ summer and this year the crew gave us a real masterpiece!
Could we ever miss this event? Obviously no, so this year, with all of our stuff (tent, gazebo, table and distro), we returned to Ferrara’s lowlands!

Just a note before starting: this report was written with the contribution of many people, so, in order to respect the individual experience, we decided to avoid, when possible, the conversion from the singular narrative form to the plural one, it seemed to be more appropriate.

As soon as we arrived we were welcomed by our brothers of ‘Distruggi la Bassa’ collective (Destroy the lowland), in these days they have been busy avoiding the pigs (those who where there know who we are referring to), even flying pigs with helicopters… all things that come with festivals like this!
We went immediately to say hi to Christian from Anfibio Records, Ivan and Paolo from Disasstro, Mongy Grug Zanna Dende and Bolo Punx, Benny from Punkadeka, Andrea from Istinto, on that day in live serigraphy mode for the event’s t-shirts, and Robertò from Hellnation.
Finally we set at our enormous gazebo and, while drinking a beer all together, the concerts started!

The kickstart is given by The Gore, a band from the surroundings, they play a kind of sludge/stoner/doom, indeed a very particular groove. Load of energy with the right dose of roughness. Olè!

Time to run to the other stage (yep! the DLB crew thought about setting two stages!), Riot Squad are starting, they play Bad Brains covers at full speed, but as Janz (the bass player, ex Impact) says: they are not a tribute band, but just a group of people that goes on a stage to have fun! Go on!

Next are Mucopus, a punk band from Torino active since 1995. They definitely deserve a place in the foreground of Italian punk scene.

Tadà! Here for you Crisis Benoit. Brilliant, they are just brilliant. Hardcore attitude, they sing about wrestling and they feed themselves with wrestling. An unforgettable musical punch with they ECW branded grindcore. Duo + 1 (on stage, with them, there is the Undertaker action figure), guitar and drum/singer player super effective. Just love.

With a lot of pleasure we discover that the next group is “ Confine”, a band that we saw on the second stage two years ago. They have grown a lot! Amazing tracks, well written lyrics and a lot of verve. Good and fine hardcore, clear sounds. A real blast.

From Pescara then comes a new revelation for all of us, 217, East-coast hardcore with a smell of Slapshot, a hard to forget punch in the face. We hope to see them again and for a longer set.

LeTormenta. Our gazebo’s neighbors. Great people, superlative musicians and poetry that becomes action. As always the show is guaranteed, true passion, fire and flames. One of those bands that you could see for hours without getting bored, thanks to their particular style. Chapeau!

Then comes the final triplet: EU’s Arse, Nabat and Total Chaos. A piece of history, all of them holding high the flag of punk for 30 years and counting.

Eu’s Arse, from Udine, keep pushing their anti war anarchist hc punk that has conquered the hearts of punks all over Europe. Once again they remind us that if the state needs us, well, we have to fuck it.

Then come Nabat, great, heart-warming and outright as always. Their songs are by now part of us, from Asociale Oi! To Laida Bologna, everybody sings to their hymns and supports them.
One of the purest and truest bands on the scene, the warmth of their audience confirms it at every show.

The end of the festival’s first day is brought to us by Total Chaos, an American band very well known all over the globe for their own kind of street punk.
Always vigorously reminding you of society’s problems, the top moment for me was “Police Rat”. We’ll see them again soon in Italy to sing along all together.

But with their last song the party doesn’t die out, thanks to the awesome DJ with a couple of borghettis and sguazzoni we keep on dancing all night. Thanks to everyone for the unforgettable night…

Unbelievably still awake we prepare ourselves for the festival’s second day! After a fresh swim in the lake the presentation of Kina’s documentary starts, the headliner band of the second evening.
Kina, the hardcore band from Valle d’ Aosta, is the protagonist of this film, “Se ho vinto, se ho perso”, in which they tell us about their history, their difficulties and their European tours. Nice and moving, I recommend the book as well, “Come macchine impazzite”, just to enjoy those legendary years again.

Then it’s the turn of Bislers, a new band from Ferrara, that with its simple but compact hardcore warms up the audience that already from the first hours does not seem to be shy. Very good, we liked them!

Right after that, Intothebaobab start playing, a band I’ve been following for years but had never had the opportunity to see live. Finally I can enjoy them from start to finish. Simply great! Tight songs, melodic parts and very embroiling, what more could you ask for?

While everyone’s in search of Jubby, we’re ready to get a good spoonful of Vivere Merda, a north-eastern hardcore punk band that has evolved and bettered very much in the last couple of years, yet bringing their evergreen classics like “A tutti i Punx birra e vino gratis”! Cheers to you guys!

On the stage in the garden, Tempest,, from now on they will be called Galeforce. Take note of this name, they propose a powerful melodic hardcore that sometimes reminds of Comeback Kid, but with a unique style. The singer’s speeches from the stage were amazing and touching. A big applause.

The loved Drunkards , after a quick check, are ready to shoot their crust/d-beat/thrash metal. The band has been around for a long time and you can definitely see it! Powerful live with a huge impact, a lot of response from the punx under the stage!

Just a few minutes and the sound changes from Drunkard’s rotten and violent punk/metal to the old school hardcore played by the straight edge band Chains. I saw them some years ago, these guys are still in a perfect shape and they energy is contagious for literally everyone!

After a couple of chats and a walk through the diy stands, the time finally comes for my favourite romantic punk band to play: Kalashnikov collective, from Milan and surroundings.
I’ve been following them and loving their mix of anarchopunk, electronic music and poetry for years. An explosive cocktail that drives me absolutely mad! It’s the first time I see them without Valeria, but with no doubt their energy is always the same. 30 minutes are not enough, I want more, I’d like to hear more chain-breaking music!

Methedrine have the hard job to play after the incredible set of Kalashnikov. Could they manage it? Absolutely! The band has Lou from Upset Noise on vocals, and they show immediately what they are made of. They play a d-beat with massive doses of metal and a perfect technique. When technique combines with power… Great!

Show must go on so for the first time I get to see Razzapparte play, Oi! From Viterbo. A great live performance, they got me moving and singing with my fist in the air. Just awesome!

No time to lose, NoWhiteRag jump on stage! They’re that kind of band that gets right through your heart mixing ideas, sound and people.
After their latest album, I started to love them even more, if possible. Zanna is a real beast on stage, and the other members hit on their instruments like not many do.
Every time it’s a good music lesson and a great feeling, good job guys!

Face Your Enemy. We were waiting for them. We saw them just once, in a little village fest where they animated a night where the average age was 85. What did they do here in the lowlands? A total mess. Guarantee of a good show, a lot of emotive charge and enjoyment. Terrific!

Alcohol starts to flow in our veins, our distro is under siege and now it’s time for Vitamin X. It seems to be back in the 80’s, in the USA, in the old hardcore gigs. Furious moshing, they are running and jumping everywhere, fast songs, one after the other, with a lot of energy. A perfect band. It was a pleasure to talk a bit with Marc after the show. Amazing!

Before Kina it’s time for Plakkaggio, a though trio from Colleferro that presents a genre with such a long name that if written entirely you would end reading this report next week. Oi/Hardcore/Punk/Metal/a bit of everything in this musical pot. A moment of true passion and enjoyment for all the punks. We just want to tell you that in the last songs there were at least 50 punks on the stage, never seen before. Madness. Plakkaggio we love you a looooot, you are a legend.

Kina, a piece of Italian hc punk history, close the the Saturday night gig.
Personally I’ve always thought of them as different, not as for their sound, but mainly for their lyrics, for that kind of poetry that flows with the notes, for their will of survival in the tight region of Valle d’Aosta. I don’t know how long they played, how many songs went through our ears and hearts. What I know is that it was a unique experience, listening to their music live, with all of us in front, huge as always.

After the concert, many intense and great moments, we go back to drinking, talking about the night, exchanging a lot of hugs, laughs, knowing that it was a wonderful night. After the last diy borghetti we go back to the tents, half drunk… or better totally drunk.

We are really sorry, and we want to apologize again, but the last day we had to go away. We had a lot of issues and in the end we had to run, we hope it was another amazing day full of gigs.

Something big had to happen, and it did. Chapeau to everybody and thanks to Distruggi La Bassa. It was born like a d.i.y. festival and it still is an amazing d.i.y. festival, it survives in a dead and hostile territory, enriching it with counter culture, demonstrating that there is still a lot of energy around, it is necessary to fight and create self-organization and aggregation.
Again, sincerely, we want to thank you all, the bands, the distros, everybody who joined this DLB edition. Especially thanks again to the staff. You are extraordinary.
PS. We will miss a lot seeing Monta, Ciro and all the others riding their bikes around like crazy, this image will never be forgotten.

We close the report with some words about what happened in the morning of the third day, when the tragedy that we all know about took place. We seriously have no words. Everybody was broken. We want to dedicate this report, with a really big hug and a kiss to the sky, to Ibrahim. We gather around his family and friends. Bye little boy.

Live report by Stefania and Tom
Photo-gallery by Francesco Dose and Zoe – Radio Punk

You’re allowed to repost the photos but we kindly ask you to give credit to photographers and Radio Punk. As usual, for high definition photos contact us at info@radiopunk.it or facebook or  instagram.
Full photogallery coming soon, stay tuned!