Festival Review: Creepy Teepee 2017

I decided to go to Creepy Teepee not specifically because of the artists who were going to play there but rather to enjoy the process of discovering. And discovering it was. From walking down the narrow and angled alleys through finding gluten-free meals in Czech restaurants to searching for a controversy surrounding Yves Tumor's gig.

The location of the festival - Kutna Hora

A few words are needed to be said about this place; both wonderful and dull at the same time. First of all, you can barely spot any people in the streets regardless of the day. The presence of trees which cover the hills in the nearby merges with narrow alleys and beautiful baroque buildings. It all creates a world in which you want to let yourself slow down and appreciate the atmosphere. And where in the hell you can find such a huge museum of contemporary art in a town with around 21 000 people. Spending the time on walking around Kutna Hora certainly prepared me for the things I was going to experience during the festival.

Cathedral of St. Barbara and GASK (fot. click)

Jakub Hošek - one of organizers of the festival - in a recent interview perfectly described one great feeling which I had while being in the festival area:

Artists mix with the audience, and there is no real place to hide for anyone, no real backstage. It’s very easy to feel like a family during this short time.

I mean, you can feel it even at Unsound Festival but here it is on a whole different level and it really makes a difference.

Unexpectedly Fascinating Performances

1. Priests

In general I'm not much into music which is heavily influenced by the sound of guitars. I have only a few bands and artists which I enjoy and follow. Priests' performance made a huge impression on me mostly because of the leading singer who was totally dedicated to show the emotions about which she sang. She was so much into it that it was impossible to discourage her however the crowd provided her with rather mixed reactions; certainly not adequate to the energy which was brought by the band. While listening to their gig, I spotted some follow ups to The XX and Tame Impala but the composition of the songs was much more complex. Summing up, a great show for eyes and ears and you cannot dislike the leading singer with her friendly and optimistic approach. 

2. DJ Katapila

You can't resist smiling when you hear the biggest hits from last 40 years played by a positive and full of energy guy whose the only goal is to make you move and happy. And neither could I. If you ever have a chance to catch this man playing you should definitely go for it. Even some lame moments and not actually mixing tracks can be forgiven when one does it with such a joy.  

Highlight Performances

1. Yves Tumor

I had a chance to see Yves at Unsound Festival last year but I chose Raime instead and now I know that I made a mistake back then. His set at Creepy Teepee was disrupted by technical problems; several times the music was almost silenced because Yves communicated with the sound technician (he begged to make it louder). Later he ran through the crowd - which was not easy at all - to talk with him face to face. Despite those problems which certainly had an impact on my reception of the show I was deeply touched by what I experienced.
   Yves' set was filled with anger and doom, it was disturbing, it was terrifying and I didn't even know I could feel like that. Kudos to him for proving me wrong. His agonistic voice loops permeated instrumentals with heavy drums and sounds of alarm siren. His movement on the stage perfectly matched the music and the atmosphere, I wouldn't even say he acted or stayed in a certain role during his performance, it looked like he has it in him and he just sets it free.

That's a clip from a previous edition of Creepy Teepee but it was quite similar this year.

Side note: at the end of the set, Yves played the last track, the lights went down and he literally dashed out of the building. I was sure he decided to finish his set earlier because he was upset with sound system and the sound technician. My conspiracy theory died when I asked him directly if he in fact had finished due to his disappointment and he replied: "It was just not loud enough but I had to finish anyway my time was up."  Not loud enough. I spent the majority of the gig in earplugs, okay then :)

2. The Empire Line

My the most anticipated set at Creepy Teepee and in fact the only one for which I had expectations. I left the airless and sweatful building in which the performance took place apparently pleased. A well balanced set with a great sound design and convincing atmosphere. The artists were confident about what they were trying to achieve and in no rush to provide the crowd with climax points. It turned out well because the selection of the sounds was intriguing enough to make you curious about the next choices. Also, the distorted vocal complemented the instrumentals pretty well. The whole performance offered a stirring look at the dark and heavy version of techno with some noise elements. Exactly what I needed :)

3. DJ Earl

I had missed the whole TEKLIFE movement when it was in its prime so I was eager to finally experience it live. Usually while listening to a set you wait for a transition from a track to track but in the DJ Earl's set you actually wait for a track as most of the the time he plays two tracks mixed together usually without high and mid frequencies. Earl's mixing skills really impressed me, it's interesting how he uses low frequencies to mix records, it allows him to match beats on the fly. He succeeded in maintaining energy throughout the set, reacted well to the crowd needs and kept his selection of tracks compelling. It was a great cardio, I was dancing all the time not paying attention to my backache - it unfortunately doesn't happen often anymore so it speaks for itself.

Disappointments

1. Amnesia Scanner

You play only(?) your tracks and you have 3-4 seconds long breaks of silence between songs? Amnesia's performance at Unsound was one of the best I attended. The biggest difference was the lack of visualizations(by Bill Kouligas) which were top notch and made the set at Unsound intriguing for the whole time. At Creepy Teepee never ending build ups led to nowhere and even if you consider it as a certain concept it failed because of breaks. It was certainly the biggest disappointment during the festival. What is also surprising for me is the fact that in a recent poll on facebook - created by the official fanpage of the festival - Amnesia Scanner's performance was considered as the best one by the number of 83 users. Maybe I missed something...

The verdict

Creepy Teepee is without a doubt worth visiting. It's a great relief for me that such an event and community connected with it may exist. A mind-opening experience which everyone should have. You may notice some problems with the sound system, you may have a difficulty breathing in the indoor venue or stay for 20 minutes in a long queue to the toilets but always smiling and friendly festival attenders who are comfortable in expressing themselves in numerous ways and cheap alcohol recompense everything. What is more, I've never seen so many parents with toddlers at a festival - everything is possible as you see. Also, the slogans which are spread at Creepy Teepee by festival organizers are not only slogans there but a way to approach life and you can feel it all the time from the moment you enter the festival area till the moment you leave it. I am truly satisfied that I had a chance to attend Creepy Teepee. Keep it up guys and thank you !