2012-06-29   

At the end of the school year we are drumming out the other bands. Punk, hippies and son of the legendary singer - to our Giant Mountains foothills will arrive Anti-Flag from overseas, psychedelic The Flying Eyes and Leonard Cohen' son Adam

With the first days of the month of storms we are drumming out more bands. Punk, hippies, and a son of a folk legend: our foothill camp will be visited by the overseas Anti-Flag - a band known for its punk-rock energy and unbelievably long and intense tours, psychedelic the Flying Eyes and Leonard Cohen's son, Adam. Open Air Festival Trutnov aka Czech Woodstock takes place from Thursday 16th August to Sunday, the 19th August and is dedicated to Vaclav Havel, Martin and Ivan "Magor" Jirous, In Memoriam.

The band, whose luxury residential bus was burned down by a hotel personnel is coming back

Anti-Flag return to the crime scene. This is how we could called the return of the band whose  luxury residential tour bus was burned down three years ago, thanks to the hotel staff in Trutnov plugging the power cord into the inverted phase. The band left Trutnov with burnt out internal electrical wiring, and the bus had to be replaced on the way. Damage was covered by good insurance and today this event creates smiles and mutual understanding.

Anti-Flag, however, are primarily known for punk-rock vigor of their performances full of neo-punk elements. Their first performance three years ago was so energetic and exciting that we have decided to invite them over and give them more room. It's a small satisfaction with an apology and a pipe of peace.

The Trutnov festival is said that its program, bands and artists who play here, are substantial; what matters is the moment of meeting. Those who are knowledgeable know that the time of each band’s gig will be largely known to the arriving pilgrims on the spot from the festival samizdat. Although the program for each day of the festival is not published, because we honor the element of surprise above all, exceptions prove the rule. Anti-Flag will perform on the first day of the festival on Thursday evening!

Who is ANTI-FLAG

Nowadays a cult band, Anti-Flag was formed in the place of work of a famous Czech hockey player, Pittsburgh, in 1988, but they released their first album after nine years. The title of the band makes it clear that it is not at all apolitical and their lyrics sharply speak out against corruption in politics, racism, and fascism and police brutality. The lyrics of Anti-Flag surpass many thoughtful groupings across genres. We believe that the band would quickly forget their flirting with left-wing ideas if they had spent several years in Eastern Europe before 1989 or even in a communist prison. On the contrary, it would have probably suited them in the barns and at illegal underground concerts. It would be interesting to know what the band would think today if it had been one of the bands of the festival which was reduced by the Communist secret police in 1987... The year now is 2012 and the with Anti-Flag returning to the battlefield we shall also see the return of the popular diving from the stage, which the audience was honored with last year by their inventor and punk icon Iggy Pop. Anti-Flag are no smooth guys either; they are an energetic and jumpy band. Their music, dance and energy will certainly leave no moccasin at rest. The fact that in early 2009 they had to cancel the rest of their European tour because their front man Justin Sane broke his collar bone on stage and shortly before the drummer had broken three ribs, speaks for itself.

Adam Cohen - Holiday icing on the festival cake; not only a reflection of his father

Trutnov Open Air features fresh dramaturgy, interesting history and unique atmosphere, which a frequent visitor and his tribal chief Vaclav Havel called the conspiracy community. It is saturated with musical diversity and extremes. We believe that these legends will be confirmed by the performance of the son of a famous father who is; however, not only his father’s reflection. Adam Cohen, son of the legendary singer and songwriter Leonard Cohen, is coming to Trutnov. “This man with a heart as  romantic as Villon’s poems, and with charm and elegance of his father, whose voice is marked by the paths of truth, love and understanding, will perform on stage of our foothill camp before the punk band Anti-Flag,” drums out the vice-Chief and founder  of the festival Martin Věchet aka Geronimo.

“I remember that many times I saw my father in a T-shirt and underwear at the kitchen table strumming the guitar. Of course it affected me. Even my parents' separation did not have a negative impact on my upbringing, my parents were still great. During the divorce my father camped at the end of our driveway to at least see us since he was not allowed into our house,” Adam Cohen says about his childhood. When he was 17 he almost died in a tragic car accident. He suffered a broken neck and had nine broken ribs, punctured lungs and smashed belly. Injured leg and pelvis forced Adam to lie in hospital for seven months. During three months when Adam was helpless, his father, Leonard visited him daily, sat at his bedside and read to him.

"I spent some time with Jakob Dylan and Sean Lennon. We were close friends with Chris Stills friends and Rufus Wainwright is now part of my family – he is the father of my sister's child. We have created something like a “club of the children” - we all have inherited a good name and perhaps some talent, „Adam Cohen said.

Young chanson singer, who came into closer contact with the folk scene during his stay in New York's Greenwich Village and Los Angeles released his debut album, called simply Adam Cohen, in 1998. The record was well received and was considered a promising start. There was even a radio hit called “Cry Ophelia”.

“When he sings, we hear the sound of the first Leonard Cohen album, recorded before the famous lady-killer had his vocal cords turned into stitched lace by the cigarettes. His current album is called “Like a Man”, a title recommended by the proud father with the words: “You finally sound like a man on this album.” Adam himself seas as the best compliment his father's statement that there are at least two first-class love songs on the album. The truth is - who else you should know .., “a music publicist Michal Bystrov says about Adam Cohen. “Star manners are a far cry from him, even though he is well established on his Canadian music scene. On its third album, Adam Cohen deals with his past relationships by dedicating a song to each of his ex-lovers. Given that the CD has eleven tracks, we canassume that Adam had at least as many relationships,” Michal Bystrov says.

The Flying Eyes, an American band that almost demolished the Underground tent, is coming back, too. For two years we have heard questions where we came across the band and whether they would ever come again. The Flying Eyes rippled the psychedelic water and literally electrified the local alternative-minded audience. Their long concert that lasted till early hours demolished nearly the entire tent. The tones of the music like from the most psychedelic times in the current arrangements drifted from the stage. “We are not classifiable into any mold; we do not offer happy electronic lines. Our music has too many changes of pace and sound variations to simply place it into garage rock. We just love it,” the guys of the band say. The Flying Eyes often play at various festivals and independent meetings on farms along the eastern coast of the United States. This is what we really like. It evokes illegal underground concerts in barns of underground houses during the Communism. We found each other – they found us and we found them.