Kontatto, Headsplitters and Languid @XM24, Bologna - report and photos

All about the Bologna Punx night on Friday, June 7^th

The sun is finally here, but, honestly, we did not really miss the heat. So on this damp early June day, at last time we decide to leave for Bologna, direction XM24. The evening is a very interesting concert for d-beat and raw punk lovers, organized the old-fashioned way by the legendary crew called Bologna Punx. Arrived at our destination early as usual – we are the only ones who still believe in the time written in the flyers – we open the first beers and have the first talk with those present. The situation of XM24 is quite precarious, to put it mildly, in fact the place is under eviction and militants, sympathizers and lovers of self-management all find themselves facing this very bad situation. The desire to resist, however, is there and this space is experienced day after day, hour after hour in an incredible way, to reiterate that Bologna and Bolognina need XM24 and that another world is possible. We take this opportunity as Radio Punk to invite you all on June 29th to the event launched by XM24, we must be there and support these experiences. In any case, here you can find more info.

We set the distro and immediately chat with our Florentine friends from Smashsound, Plankton and Balls of Fire. The beers fly and on stage, after a short soundcheck the unstoppable Kontatto start. The d-beat band from Bologna is, as usual, shining. Impeccable, precise, powerful. Always a pleasure to see them, they close the set with masterpieces such as “Fino Alla Fine”, “Picci Picci Non Ne Ho” and the cover of “Disperato Ma Vivo” by Wretched.
Time flies when you’re having fun and so the changeover takes place at the speed of light and Headsplitters from New York start. This trio is shocking, with killer bass lines, simple and effective guitar, hammering drums and a voice sounding a bit like that of Inquisition. Raw, simple but effective punk. We were very enthusiastic both for the excellent presence on stage and for the smashing sound.
In the meantime, the beer ends, panic rages among the punx, but after a while the problem is solved, everything returns to normal and Languid from Edmonton, Canada can start their own set. The band offers a hardcore very influenced by Motorhead/Discharge and raw punk school. The Canadians immediately prove to be dynamic, energetic and able to keep the stage perfectly, being excited and exciting the punx. They too have been a pleasant discovery, on the other hand Bolo Punx never disappoint and curiosity, as we have seen in these years of concerts, (almost) always pays off.
The evening continues with beers and shots and at the end we will be hosted by Martina, Mario, Zilla and other beautiful people from Bolo Punx where we will spend the night with beers, wine and chatter.
The next day we went to Villa Punk near Modena, a farmhouse in the countryside where several workshops for do it yourself lovers have taken over the punx, now reduced to mutants waiting to recover. However, the workshops were followed and attended, congratulations to the collective D.I.Wild that has reached the third edition of this wonderful series of initiatives. Linocut workshops, creative writing, silkscreen printing, paper recycling, the use of herbs and much more cheered up the afternoon, along with beer, wine, club mate, music and lots of conviviality. In the evening then the concerts took place but we were forced to go home, in any case we hope it was ok!
A huge thanks to XM24, Martina, Mario, Zilla, Bologna Punx for their hospitality and friendship, to the tireless brothers Ivan and Paolo from Disasstro, to the Florentines who bought practically all of our pins, to that beautiful person who stopped us while we were leaving to see the vinyls and immediately took three, to the bands, to Villa Punk, to Stella Nera always in our hearts and to all of you who came to visit us! See you next Saturday at Pescara hardcore fest!