4512 GanJam one of most successful of all time
Festival tops 1M in attendanceHigh Bong, Neveras
October 1, 4512ODEN-Kalistan Director Draymond Green takes photos with High Bong Police who served as Security for the 4512 GanJamThe 4512 GanJam, held in at the High Bong Forum, in High Bong Neveras was a record setter. More than 1 million festival goers attended the three night festival. ODEN Kalistan reported that more than 450,000 tickets for the first two nights. The all Hip Hop program of this years jam drew youth from across the Republic, and the show's proximity to Lodamun and Baltusia also drew festival goers from across the borders. All in all, the festival was a fantastic success.
Director Green organized the Festival into three nights. "A Three Night Festival is not unheard of. Historically, the Jam has been either three or four days. The Three day format is tighter, and we can focus on a theme. This year we picked Hip Hop, and man, we smashed records! Metaphorically speaking, I mean. Nobody up there breakin records and sh-t... Scratchin em maybe..."
The all Hip Hop Jam focused primarily on conscience Hip Hop acts, which have more overt political and social messages. "We didn't go in for all that club stuff and we didn't invite any of that D rap nonsense. You can't understand that stuff... They're on the wrong drugs. No we stuck with the stuff that has a more political message. The fans really responded well to it. We had some pro-conservative acts who still rocked Kali pride, but of course, as you can imagine, most of the music came at you from the Left. That's fine. The goal was not to alienate anyone, but to spread the message that power itself is the problem, and it hurts all of us."
Suldanor's Rap Metal Hybrid Bloodbath, closed Night OneThe first night tended to have more hard core hip hop acts featured. The Night was closed by a blistering performance from Suldanor's Hybrid metal/hip hop act called Bloodbath, who garnered some infamy recently for their anti-police punk anthem "Killin the Cops". Bloodbath's bassist, Hermano Diablo described the band's sound as follows: "If we can play faster, we do. If we can make our music sound crunchier, we do. ICE [the band's lead singer] has a hard time keeping up with us sometimes, but you know, his lyrics are the sharp edge to our stilletto musicality. We don't let up, because the fans wouldn't want anything less than us to leave it all out there." When asked about the band's influences, Diablo said "We like that [thrash metal] band Senseless Violence. You know there's a lot of fans of Hip Hop who also like metal... it ain't so weird. And we like the artists that are going to play later in the Jam. The Score: they are the best in the game today."
The Second Day was dominated by anticipation for the Night's closer. Acts like Killa Dave and MC Schlomo P just whet the appetites of the hundreds of thousands of concert goers. Each of the big name acts would have been able to headline their own tour, but putting them one after another on a single stage made for a very exciting day. Odufaray attendee Britta Rodriguez said, "We'll I have all these guys' albums. All on my phone, ha ha. I spent the entire bus ride up here on speed fast forward, listening to as much of this stuff as I can, so I can compare it to the live show. I don't usually go to concerts, so as you can imagine, this one is, well, its maybe even too big..."
Political MC The State, just before finishing up her set at around 11pmThe Second Night was closed by the act Director Green said he wanted for the Show Closer slot. Female hip hop virtuoso The State came on stage at about 8:30 and was on the mic for two and a half hours straight. Most of her intricate rhymes were about revolution and street violence. "Nobody puts it down like the State," said a fellow who claimed his name was Pookie. "I mean. Dope! That's all I gotsta say bout that!"
The State made it a point to include the audience in a number of occasions, demanding that they finish her lyrics. "Oh yeah," said the take-no-prisoners MC after her set. "That's an old stage trick. Man, I've written so many lyrics, I don't even remember them all, so we say nish like 'You Sing.' when we forget one of the lines, and for the life of us can't remember it. I guess I could use a teleprompter, but that's bullsh-t. And the fans love you when you let them sing your songs. For real. Like they each think, 'I know I'm one of like half a million mother fu-kers out here singing this sh-t but like I just heard myself on the speaker!' And I'm like "Oh, Word?!' It's all love." After the show, The State went out into the crowd and took selfies with fans the rest of the evening.
Modern architectural exhibits dominated at the 4512 GanJam Art Exposition"Friezes of the Old Republic" displays art from prewar KaliburgThe Final day was full of live music and activities around the festival. Several performance art exhibitions which were running concurrent to the music festival had their culmination on the Final Day. Most pieces dealt with traditional subjects like architecture (Best in Show award went to the exhibit by Kaliburg artist Darcy Howard, whose installation "Friezes of the Old Republic" displayed remnants of various friezes from the front of Government buildings destroyed when Indrala demolished Kaliburg during the Ananto War. Some of the more strange pieces were in the performance art salons, including one exhibit which featured 20 year old artist Loretta Wallace-Castro sitting nude in a vat of purple Koolaid that was laced with a high, but still medically safe dosage of LSD. Attendees were invited to "drink the Koolaid," and men who attempted to were yelled at by the artist, while women who did so were greeted with soft words. "It is symbolic of our struggle against oppression," said Wallace-Castro following the exhibition.
Hard Rock act Monterey kicks off the Final Morning of the JamThe final day of the Concert kicked off with the rare rock act, chart toppers Monterey. "We had some space in the pre-dawn lineup," said Director Green, "And Monterey were in town for a stop over before heading out for a tour of Northern Seleya. They asked, and the producers were like 'Sure, why not?'" Monterey set a pre-dawn attendance record during their 67 minute set which finished up just as the sun was rising over the mountains. "Wakey, wakey, Eggs and Bakey. Thank you and Good Night," said Monterey Lead singer Josh Hamilton as the band left the stage to thunderous applause and a thick fog of marijuana smoke which had settled in half way through the set.
Hip Hop Legends The Score closes the Jam with their Swan Song as a BandThe Show was closed by Hip Hop legends The Score, who performed their eponymous Second Album in its entirety at the Jam. Lady Boogie, widely considered one of the greatest of all female Kalistani MCs announced the set list this way: "This is the first time we've ever done this. But here's The Score. Its also gonna be our last show as a band. So spark em up and keep em lit. It don't get no better than this." The trio, backed up by the legendary hip-hop jazz band soKali, were on the top of their game. Score member Fredo said after the show: "Man, what a way to go out. Yeah, we're going on permanent hiatus. We may get together to do stuff here and there, but you know, music has changed in our 15 years of doing this, and we figured we'd go out sounding good than to have people come to pity concerts. We've got more money that the SP right now, each, so one last show and we can say good bye with our heads held high." According to Lady Boogie, the Score was allowed to close the show because The State, who was originally slotted to do so found out that the Score was calling it Quits and gave up her closing spot to honor the great group.
"That's class," said Director Green of The State's action.
Financially, the Jam finished deep in the black: after all concert expenses were covered and bands paid, Director Green noted that ODEN netted more than 12.5 million Rubles. "We tried to keep ticket prices down, but we sold the show out in like 20 minutes, and this year, all concessions were handed by ODEN licensed vendors, which is different than in years past when all the vendors were independent. Plus, we sold a virtual mountain of weed. I think the latest estimate was that ODEN went through more than a ton of the National Product." Ganja sales eclipsed sales of all other intoxicants at this GanJam. "Its this strain, I think," said Green. "Dah Delta continues to kick out the jams. Their Gold bud this year is smoother than silk, and the high is so mellow that you can smoke yourself onto a different planet and not pass out." Green said concession and marijuana sales went hand in hand. "I think we have enough money now to seed three GanJams without making another cent. But it might be a better idea to think about capital investment. The board is talking about a permanent home for the Jam in Odufaray. We'll have to see. As for now, I can just say: this Jam was the best ever!"
Score yet another hit for Kalistani Music and Art, as another epic GanJam goes into the books.