For our second music festival in two weeks we were off to Melt in Germany. Although the weather wasn’t hot enough to melt anything, the event still lived up to its catchphrase “Melt your heart”. We absolutely loved it and had a brilliant time. The music and the venue made it, but there was generally just such a great vibe that you couldn’t help but have fun. Plus we did have one of our favourite bands on the line up, Bloc Party, so I guess it couldn’t really go wrong.
The festival site as you walk from the camping/parking area
The venue itself was absolutely fantastic. Based at Ferropolis, an old East German mine site about 1 and a half hours out of Berlin, the old machinery that dotted the landscape made for a visual spectacular. Plus the old mine has been filled in to make a large lake, so it was an awesome mix of nature and man-made wonders. One slightly annoying thing was the distance from the camping/parking area to the main site, but once we worked out the shuttle bus set up it wasn’t too bad. We did walk it a couple of times, which was pleasant enough alongside the lake, and it was pretty cool as the big machinery loomed in the distance with the festival marquees in between them. Some of the old mining equipment was set up with huge mirror balls on them and as nightfall came they lit them up in all colours to make it extra special.
Bloc Party absolutely owning the main stage
Music-wise it was the first night we were most excited about as that was when Bloc Party were headlining. And Kele and the boys did not disappoint with a set that included all the classics plus four or five new tracks from their album that is out this month. Although their midnight set was the only time that in rained on the first day (consistently for the entire set), nothing was going to stop us having a good dance. We were up on the seat/steps on the right side of the stage and had plenty of room to jump around to the likes of “This Modern Love”, “The Prayer”, “Hunting for Witches”, “Mercury”, “Flux” and plenty more in the 1.5 hour set.
On that first day there were plenty of other music highlights too with M83, Caribou, The Ravonettes and a few of the DJs on the outer stages all putting in stellar performances to get us primed for the big one, Bloc Party. Nero was on after them and although they played a massive set of all their hits, they did not compare, plus their female MC was even spotted lip-syncing to a couple of their more popular tracks.
View from the beach stage looking back to main festival
After a massive first day we were a bit hazy on the second and spent a bit of time down at the beach stage chilling out. Here we caught a great set from Araab DJ in the late afternoon. It was a real pity that the weather was so cold and wet, as this stage would have been even more spectacular on a hot sunny day with people able to swim or chill on the beach right next to the stage.
Two Door Cinema Club rocking the main stage on Day 2
Musical standouts for us on the second day were Two Door Cinema Club, who was the only band to make it to Melt that we had seen at Rock for People also. This time they had a later set, which they showed they deserved, ripping it up with their poppy rock hits and getting the main stage crowd rocking as much as we saw it for the entire festival. Also of note on day 2 were Chairlift, who played a mellow early evening set with their big hit Amanamanesia finishing it off. And Blood Red Shoes showed that for a band consisting of a drummer and a lead guitarist that they could sure make a big noise and put on a great rock show, as they showed their wares in an early afternoon timeslot on the main stage. The Gossip was the headliner on the main stage of Day 2, but they weren’t really our cup of tea, so we headed back to our car/home for the night.
Our Station Wagon rental – home for 3 days
We didn’t really get a chance to see much of the campsite life as we were staying in the car in the parking lot. We decided that due to the poor weather renting a station wagon was a safe idea. We would have had to buy a tent and organised transport anyway, so this was a similar priced option to ensure we had somewhere dry and safe to stay each night. Apart from being a bit on our own in the carpark, this turned out to be a great option as the 20euro airbed we bought fitted perfectly into the back and provided 3 adequate night’s sleep. We were especially happy on the morning of the second day when it rained for a number of hours and we were able to relax and read our books in the dry of our little station wagon home.
We also stocked up with super market snacks so these were able to keep us going when we were away from the main food area of the festival. But that is not to say we did not try the array of great food that was on offer there. It was all a fair bit more expensive than Rock for People, including the beer, but still not as bad as a festival downunder. Full strength beers were 4euro, while you could get the majority of food options for about 4-6euro. These included some great sticky bbq pork rolls, cheesy filled bread, Indian, Thai plus your standard sausages, burgers and kebabs, all of which was of a very acceptable standard.
Sweet little Lana Del Ray
Although we were planning to get up early the following day to get back to Berlin, we wanted to make the most of our third and final day at Melt, so we tried to get in early afternoon to catch Lana Del Ray. Lots of people had the same idea and there was a huge queue to get into the event, similar to what we experienced on the first day. This was maybe one of our only criticisms with the lines for entry, toilets and food all a bit on the excessive side at times, which, considering it is a regular festival venue, you would think could be managed better.
Whitest Boy Alive finishing the festival for us with a bang
We did manage to catch the last couple of songs of the sultry sensation and she had a crowd whose size showed she is definitely popular the world over. Although the last day did not contain the big headline names of the first two, there were still a couple of great performances. In the late afternoon timeslot on the main stage Australian band The Jezebels put on a great rock show with the little pocket rocket lead singer, Hayley Mary, doing Aussie proud with her great lyrical ability and pure energy. Also our final set of the night was a great way to finish, with Whitest Boy Alive getting the crowd buzzing for one of the last acts to play the main stage, leaving us with a smile from ear to ear as we left the magic venue for the final time. It really was a great festival that left our heart melted and wanting more. Maybe we will get back there one day; we would recommend it for sure.
eastern tracks 