The unfavorable weather forecast, which came true just during the performances of the main stars, did not negatively affect the second day of the festival. When fans were already looking forward to The Killers’ concert postponed by covid for two years, mere rain couldn’t spoil their mood. The venue with a capacity of 40,000 was as full as it was on a sunny Wednesday.
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On the topic of the pandemic-enforced hiatus, singer Brandon Flowers joked that he and The Killers will now infect the audience with “peace, love and rock’n’roll”. With the ability to create the right pressure, the band confirmed the reputation of masters of big stages. It follows the path of an extended concert line-up with singing choirs and the use of elements of funk and dance music, which work well especially on festival stages. Without denying the indie rock roots.
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The Scottish Franz Ferdinand was even more convincing. And, moreover, just as energetically as they did at the Love Planet 2006 festival. They probably have the gift of not aging. Their singer and guitarist Alex Kapranos was moved to thank the audience for “enjoying the band’s music regardless of the cloudburst, as if it were here in Glasgow”. And the band honestly returned all the energy they got from the audience.
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American singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers, who brings a girlish sensibility to indie rock, also received well-deserved attention.
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Thursday’s musical highlight was the performance of the Japanese pianist Hiromi. Moving Colors by two years was actually a plus in her case. During her isolation, she composed the extremely powerful The Silver Lining Suite. A suite about uncertainty and hope, which she played together with a string quartet. In Ostrava, she included an imaginatively jazzed, euphoric quote from Smetana’s Vltava. With a captivating performance, in which she typically combined her spontaneity and playfulness with virtuosity, she earned repeated standing ovations in the packed inner stage of the Gong Theater.
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Of course, home performers are not overlooked at Colors either. Even Captain Demo did a great job with the crowd in front of the main stage. With the usual exaggeration, he asked: “Does anyone here think that they are completely normal?” After a stormy answer of “no”, he then convinced the audience to face backwards or take off their shoes between the hits ADHD or Zlatíček. Both parties had a good time.
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