Crew, Merch, Guitars and YOU
Long story, short. We still sit together for a while under the roof of our pavilion but one after the other closes the eyes. The days and nights were demanding and the next morning comes too soon. Goodbye Rockharz, see you next year! Departure is easy for me, exiting through the backdoor with the help of a steward, 15 minutes’ drive until I reached the country road. Others had less luck and spent several hours until they reached the main exit. Nevertheless, here are some more impressions of the changing skies.
Merch, food, and beverages
There was plenty of merch. Rockharz kept the prices on last year’s level. They had three stalls outside the infield, the regular festival merch, the click and collect pick up service which went on fantastic and a special stall for rarities of the past years. Inside was the additional merch stall for the daily bands. And there were plenty of stalls with everything a metal head can think of. The selection of food stalls was perfect for everybody, and the prices were very fair. Beverage stalls hosted Hasseröder Pils, cider and soft drinks for the same prices as last year. Mutantenstadl offered some additional specialities and a cocktail bar. And of course, there were the stalls of several charity associations, most remarkable Germany’s leg of DKMS, stem cell donation. Check out the website. It is a pity, I seem to have lost the pics of these important stalls due to a camera failure.
Guitars
Heavy Metal is mainly based on the sound of electric guitars. I had the pleasure to talk with Andreas Thiemann about his guitars at his stall in the VIP-area. He explained all the details I wanted to know, how he builds his guitars, what his actual favourite is. Andreas has a nice selection of purely handmade gems beside a kind of “standard products”. He builds around a dozen of these gems and 40 of the standards which are kind of replicas of well-known guitars. Take a look at his website, not only if you are a guitar freak!
The Crew
The basis for every successful festival is a functionary team. They did a very good job. There was a large and fully equipped First Aid centre next to the infield. Fire department was present and took care during each show. The stewards at the entrance answered the same old questions again and again with an almost inhuman calmness. No, cans are not allowed and so aren’t mugs with open drinks. The stewards and pivots on the campground helped everybody as good as they could and were allowed to. Keep in mind, a different colour of the vest means a different responsibility and job. The Grabenschlampen were the best crew in the pit as always, and even though they also had a lot of fun, they always had an eye on the audience. Looking out for dangerous situations before they even occur is a major issue. Well done, great job everybody.
And the audience
And of course, there is you, the guests and audience of Rockharz. Thank you for your discipline and understanding during the evacuation. Thank you for every Wall of Death or Love, Circle Pit, Mosh Pit and crowd surfer. The next and closing pics are for you. You will notice, there were plenty of band members in the audience, maybe one of the was your neighbour. And we added some pics of signing sessions. Do you recognize yourself on one of these pics? Let us know. Who of you detects the Easter egg? Falk from Powerwolf heard the confession and granted absolution, do you find the pic?
