Rocktoberfest 2015, Stockholm, Sweden: Santa Cruz, Hardcore Superstar, Mustasch

Rocktoberfest took place in Stockholm and particularly at the concert venue Annexnet which is beside the famous Globe arena that Metallica, Madonna and other acts have played. The area is a bit outside of the city centre; however it is very easy to get here by using the subway. When I entered the gate, I realized that this was more than a concert, it was a beer festival. Half of the venue’s space was covered in tables and several chefs were preparing a dinner with beer for those that were about to attend the concert. There were many people dressed in official clothing that were sitting on the tables and eating while waiting for the bands.

Around 19:30, the first band, Santa Cruz, appeared on stage. Santa Cruz is a band from Finland that has previously toured with Hardcore Superstar and also has played in local US TV shows. The band looks quite young and on stage they are quite energetic and gain the trust of the audience even being a support band. Their music style is 1980s hard rock but with a lot of modern influences, so they do not sound out of fashion like other hair bands. The band remarked that they played in much more audience than the previous time that they were in Stockholm.

The next band, Hardcore Superstar, was the reason that I came to the concert. Most of the people recognize them as a great band, however nowadays they just maintain their fame without losing or gaining new fans. The introduction of their show brought more people on the front and the Swedish fans were really excited about the show. The performance of Hardcore Superstar satisfied even the most demanding people at the venue. The venue had everything, from heavy energy to acoustic ballads and Glam attitude. All these in the price of one, what more can you expect from this band? The highlight of the show was an inside joke between a roadie and the band. The band threw the guy in the audience and he came back with a vengeance. He started removing one by one the items of the drum set, until the drummer had no drums at all and he was doing air drumming…lol

Mustasch was the next band of the bill and of course they were the headliners. Mustasch is a band that is famous in Stockholm and they have influences from stoner rock and the modern American hard rock. The venue was not so full anymore bur there were many fans dressed in Mustasch T-Shirts. The band prepared a professional stage show with dry ice, video screens and extra light show. The heavy rock sound of Mustash impressed most of the Swedish fans that kept drinking beer and dancing, something that made the security guys more active… The band seemed to enjoy the show as much as the fans and the interaction between them was an obvious thing.

The night ended with the fans leaving the venue while enjoying a last bottle of beer. I am sure that the track of Hardcore Superstar «Last Call For Alcohol» was the soundtrack of the night for most of the people.