Knockdown Festival's third edition took place at Schwarzwaldhalle, Karlsruhe. After a break in 2017, the date this year landed on December 16th. Just like in 2015/16, they brought some amazing bands on board and I was very exited to have a first-hand experience at the heavy indoor festival
The day started early at 12:30 am with Comrades from Virginia. The american rock band had a beautiful set and to my surprise, only three band members. It looked a bit funny to only see three people standing on that big stage but their singer, Laura McElroy, blew away some early birds from the crowdregardless. Next up were Acres, a post hardcore band from the UK. I’ve never seen them live before but I heard a lot about them from other people. They were really good and I’m exited to see them again next year when they’re gonna go on tour with Casey. The third act was a local German heavy pop-punk band. I’m not a fan of this kind of music at all so I skipped this set. Then a band I was really exited to see came on stage, Silent Planet from California. It was my first time catching them and it was honestly one of the best sets I’ve seen this year. So much energy and even more important so much meaning in their lyrics, you could almost feel the pain. Later on I had a chat with Garrett Russel, their singer (Interview is coming out soon) and he’s truly one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met. Much love to this band. Next on the list were Bad Omens. Seeing them perform live twice in a week was an absolute pleasure and both times they absolutely killed it. Fans seemed to be a fan of the newest songs and you could hear them sing along. Sadly I missed Counterparts because I was doing the interview but I was able to catch the last song and listened from the back. After that, Any Given Day from Germany got the whole building shaking. A lot of their fans showed up and supported them with all they could. I’ve seen them four times now and I think their good but nothing I would listen to on the regular.
Half of the day was over at this point but Lionheart made sure to keep everyone happy and motivated to keep moshing and crowdsurfing. The hardcore band from the west coast just knows how to party and they show it at every show. No one can hype up a crowd like them and the little strip tease show by their bassist Ricky Trigga is something you should not be missing out on. After their set I took a break which meant I missed out on Emil Bulls, a German rock band, and Caliban, who I’d just seen a couple days ago (coverage from the "Elements tour" can be found here). I came back in time to watch the headliner of the night, Stick To Your Guns. I got to see the OC hardcore outfit earlier this year at Vainstream festival and I really liked their set back then, so I was exited to see if they’re as good as I remember them to be. In fact, they were and many many fans seemed to agree. Crowdsurfers everywhere, at any second of the show. Sometimes I felt like I could hear the fans louder than the actual band. Knockdown Festival was a success and a great way to finish of the year 2018.
All pictures courtesy of Michelle Ritzmann photography.
The day started early at 12:30 am with Comrades from Virginia. The american rock band had a beautiful set and to my surprise, only three band members. It looked a bit funny to only see three people standing on that big stage but their singer, Laura McElroy, blew away some early birds from the crowdregardless. Next up were Acres, a post hardcore band from the UK. I’ve never seen them live before but I heard a lot about them from other people. They were really good and I’m exited to see them again next year when they’re gonna go on tour with Casey. The third act was a local German heavy pop-punk band. I’m not a fan of this kind of music at all so I skipped this set. Then a band I was really exited to see came on stage, Silent Planet from California. It was my first time catching them and it was honestly one of the best sets I’ve seen this year. So much energy and even more important so much meaning in their lyrics, you could almost feel the pain. Later on I had a chat with Garrett Russel, their singer (Interview is coming out soon) and he’s truly one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met. Much love to this band. Next on the list were Bad Omens. Seeing them perform live twice in a week was an absolute pleasure and both times they absolutely killed it. Fans seemed to be a fan of the newest songs and you could hear them sing along. Sadly I missed Counterparts because I was doing the interview but I was able to catch the last song and listened from the back. After that, Any Given Day from Germany got the whole building shaking. A lot of their fans showed up and supported them with all they could. I’ve seen them four times now and I think their good but nothing I would listen to on the regular.
Half of the day was over at this point but Lionheart made sure to keep everyone happy and motivated to keep moshing and crowdsurfing. The hardcore band from the west coast just knows how to party and they show it at every show. No one can hype up a crowd like them and the little strip tease show by their bassist Ricky Trigga is something you should not be missing out on. After their set I took a break which meant I missed out on Emil Bulls, a German rock band, and Caliban, who I’d just seen a couple days ago (coverage from the "Elements tour" can be found here). I came back in time to watch the headliner of the night, Stick To Your Guns. I got to see the OC hardcore outfit earlier this year at Vainstream festival and I really liked their set back then, so I was exited to see if they’re as good as I remember them to be. In fact, they were and many many fans seemed to agree. Crowdsurfers everywhere, at any second of the show. Sometimes I felt like I could hear the fans louder than the actual band. Knockdown Festival was a success and a great way to finish of the year 2018.
All pictures courtesy of Michelle Ritzmann photography.
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| Stick To Your Guns |
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| Stick To Your Guns |
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| Stick To Your Guns |
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| Stick To Your Guns |
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| Stick To Your Guns |
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| Stick To Your Guns |
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| Stick To Your Guns |
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| Stick To Your Guns |
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| Stick To Your Guns |
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| Lionheart |
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| Lionheart |
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| Lionheart |
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| Lionheart |
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| Lionheart |
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| Any Given Day |
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| Any Given Day |
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| Any Given Day |
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| Any Given Day |
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| Any Given Day |
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| Any Given Day |
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| Any Given Day |
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| Counterparts |
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| Bad Omens |
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| Bad Omens |
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| Bad Omens |
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| Bad Omens |
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| Bad Omens |
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| Bad Omens |
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| Silent Planet |
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| Silent Planet |
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| Silent Planet |
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| Silent Planet |
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| Silent Planet |
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| Silent Planet |
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| Employed To Serve |
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| Employed To Serve |
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| Employed To Serve |
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| Employed To Serve |
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| Employed To Serve |
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| Employed To Serve |
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| Acres |
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| Acres |
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| Acres |
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| Acres |
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| Acres |
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| Comrades |
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| Comrades |
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| Comrades |
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| Comrades |
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| Comrades |
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