GanJam Is Back
20 year hiatus ends as Festival returns with new ODEN inputDahreil Ananto
April 12, 4466This years GanJam was held at Dah Stadium in Dahreil, AnantoThis year's GanJam returned from a two decades long hiatus with a low key, but still exciting festival. Sponsored once more by ODEN, the focus this year was on "good music, good art and good drugs."
New ODEN-Kalistan Director and GanJam promoter Johnny "Blaze" Edwards said, "The national mood over the past few decades has been pretty somber. In ODEN, we tracked the ups and downs of consumption and discovered that since the fall of One Party rule, Kalistanis have mostly focused on drinking and taking opioids. Its like Kalistanis are in a pain-killing mood. We see that reflected in their voting habits. Ahem. Anyway, only within the last couple years have their preferences for consumption changed back to Cannabis, and so we see that as our signal to go ahead and resume the GanJam."
Overall, the Jam was a financial success, but just barely. ODEN-K Director Edwards said "Well, we made a little money. Since we didn't get a cut of the concessions, and took a bath on the sale of ODEN products, ticket sales slightly outpaced our costs. We also only had two nights of ticket sales this year, compared to three nights in the past. But its no worry. The value of a Restored Jam to Kalistan is not measured in balances and bottom lines. We have needed an outlet for a LONG time in this country. Hopefully, this Jam energizes a new Generation, and maybe next year, the Jam will be bigger than ever!" The 4466 GanJam sold 78,345 tickets for the first two days, and the final day, as is traditional, was free. Attendance ranged between 76,300 for the first night to 92,400 for Night 3. The Jam was held at Dah Stadium in Dahriel Ananto.
This year's jam, the first of this generation featured mainly rock and reggae acts over the three night concert. "Many of the bands were political, no doubt," said Edwards. "There is always a close link between the cultural establishment in Kalistan and the SP. So many of our acts sang songs with overtly political themes in them. And we ended up booking the most political band in the Country, 'Fight the Establishment', as Show Closers. They aren't the biggest band in Kalistan right now, but they pretty much sum up the mood of the kids who were at the show."
Carl Santa Ana, leader of the eponymous Santa Ana from Baltusia, opens GanJam to great delight of the FansThe first night, Edwards combined the International Showcase with the Legends showcase. Featured on Day One were Baltusian rockers Santa Ana, who blasted the crowd with a shredding 20-minute medley of their hits "Dark Mystic Woman" and instrumental epic "Spirit Crusher". The music featured a great degree of technical expertise and an Egelion flavor which is so rarely heard in rock music. The band was such a hit with the crowd, that it was called back out for an encore, and in a master stroke of professional skill, picked up the riff where they had left off and played an additional 10 minutes of the "Spirit Crusher." Representatives of KMI records were on-hand to sign the band to a three record deal in Eshar, Odufaray based on the performance. Other featured acts during Day 1 were Kalistani stoner comedy duo Frank Marin and Theodore Chang, who entertained the crowd during set changes.
Veteran Kalistani Comedians Marin and Chang are the first comic act to play the JamNight Two was designated L Night, as Dub reggae artists took the stage. The day was filled with heavy bass riffs, sonic tracers and sparse lyrics from bands like International Irie Squad, King Fatty and Dubsound, and Terry and James. The Headliners for L Night, Ras Kino and the Dubrock 5, took the stage at 8:30, as the sun was setting. Free tabs provided by ODEN were passed out among the crowd and people were free to take as many as they liked. Ras Kino played Reggae for about an hour, and then the band slipped into a dub session which lasted well into the early hours of the morning. The Dubrockers were joined by the reggae-rock band Four Nineteen, who were named after the famous Bicycle Day, when Dr. Alberto Hoffmeister famously invented LSD in the year 1947. Ras Kino, the Dubrock 5 and Four Nineteen kept the fryers entertained, playing each others' songs and jamming throughout the night.
Ras Kino and the Dubrock 5 are joined onstage by Four Nineteen to Headline L NightThe final Day of the GanJam was all about hard rock. Four Nineteen returned to the stage this afternoon, where they played their entire album, the cult classic "Resistor" from cover to cover. The album was originally panned by critics, but later attracted an intense cult following before being favorably re-reviewed by the same critics who had panned it earlier. Fans of Four Nineteen were thrilled to hear the live rendition of the album, and one fan summed up the experience: "This is the best album ever produced, the most interesting, it was just fantastic to hear it live. These dudes are all about the fans anyway." Four Nineteen was not originally scheduled to play the Third Day of the Jam, but because the Suldanor rockers "Stuntman and the Dummies" were unable to make it to the show due to an aircraft malfunction at the last moment, the slot opened up, and Four Nineteen volunteered to play a second set.
Four Eleven treats fans to a live Version of "Resistor" from cover to cover on Day 3The Show Closers, Fight the Establishment, brought the political tint of the rest of this year's GanJam into sharp focus. Their unapologeticly Leftist lyrics called into question policies of the right-wing Government, as well as an explicit exhortation to fight to defend civil liberties and political freedoms from encroachment by Government officials who do so under the guise of protection of this or that group.
"Yo-Kalistan is not for sale!" said Lead Singer Zachary de la Mancha as the group launched into a powerful rendition of "Market Injustice". The mood was decidedly more militant during the Fight the Establishment set than it was during the previous two nights. The charismatic de la Mancha used breaks in the songs to rail against everything from empowerment of the police to the Right Wing anti-immigrant mentality of the current majority in the Government. "Kalistan is a country of immigrants. If these people had been in charge when my mother and father arrived from Egelion, they wouldn't have been let in- More like thrown in jail for wanting to be free and live a better life than the one they left behind. We're a better country because we welcome Immigrants. Its time to take a stand against this xenophobic bullsh-t!"
Fight the Establishment, long called the Voice of Odufaray's Left, closed the show with their unequivocal support for Socialism Most people in the crowd agreed that the juxtaposition between the cool chill reggae Rock sound of Four Nineteen in the afternoon and the Leftist Militant screed of Fight the Establishment in the evening was jarring. "But, you know, I mean... I get it," said concert goer Poppy Sandimas, who echoed the sentiment of most of the concertgoers. "This is my first GanJam. It was kind of weird, but then Kalistan is in a weird mood right now too. The Right wants us depoliticized. They want to keep us out of the street, and want to give the cops power to arrest us when we do march and beat us and search us and take away our freedom. And yet, we are a Leftist country. Like, I don't understand how these Rightists keep getting into power. Everyone knows that Kalistan is about freedom and being welcoming to all. But these politicians want the cops to beat us and they want to jail innocent people. We gotta do something, man. FTE taught us that. Its time for a new way of doing things."
All major Parties were invited this year to set up booths along Art Row to inform voters about their Party's policies, and to register new voters. SP sources said they made more than 35,000 new contacts at this year's Jam.