Carson Coma gave its fifth birthday concert at the MVM Dome, which is a big word in the sea of arena hip-hop performers as an alternative rock band. Although the popularity of guitar music is not at its peak these days, Carson Coma managed to twist the genre in such a way that we don’t hear the mixing or copying of the usual holy trinity of Kispál and Borz, 30Y and Hiperkarma. In their own way, they updated the Hungarian alternative traditions by describing the well-being of their generation in terms of the textual world without any forced gimmicks or unnecessary hunting for effects.
Those who are in the band from his first album (Corduroy Club) listen to them, you can feel the stages of growing up in the lyrics, so for many fans an emotionally overheated event is a milestone like the arena concert in the case of Carson Coma. In the beginning, they sang about teenage fads, worn-out love affairs, where there is only one happy Birthday to You for a message, we yearn for our chosen one, but they also included the wayfinding in a song (Truman Show), and the most poignant love song of our generation was also written I don’t care with title. These songs were easy for a certain age group to relate to because of what they had to say, so Carson Coma’s songs about social responsibility will resonate even more with fans caught in this stage of life.
Photo: Lujza Hevesi-Szabó / Telex
One of the most important texts of the past year was written, the I throw the stone in their song entitled, which clearly shows that Carson Coma is not only a band fancied by teenage girls, but that reflecting on public issues is also important to them. The song was inspired by the case of Beton.Hofi, whose They have was censored by the public media when the rapper’s concert on the A38 ship was broadcast. Carson Coma wrote a pulsating song for this, which sings of his generation’s anger and disillusionment with the stock photos on posters and the musty backwardness of Eastern Europe. It is no coincidence that the song became an important addition to the demonstrations, and even at Péter Magyar’s demonstration on Saturday, you could see quite a few people carrying canvas bags with the inscription Carson Coma.
The band also booked the MVM Dome concert as a curiosity, they awaited the audience with a two-hour show and special stage elements. About 10,000 to 12,000 people gathered to celebrate the band’s fifth birthday. In the hour before the start of the concert, you could already catch teenagers listening to Carson Coma on the triple subway, humming the band’s lyrics in berets and suit pants. The audience was full of teenage girls wrapped in leopard prints and band T-shirts, but there were plenty of mothers and fathers who came with their five-year-old children, and
macho looking guys who sang the songs at the top of their lungs.
Photo: Lujza Hevesi-Szabó / Telex
As an introduction to the concert, the spectators were entertained with security camera footage on the screens, on which a hussar marched, a charming red-haired girl danced, a buso appeared, a mechanic was electrocuted, and then suddenly the six-member band appeared in the sea of female screams. The band chose a 360-degree stage view, so they performed in the middle of the arena surrounded by the crowd.
The concept of the stage image is due to the direction of Bálint Szimler, who dreamed up a minimal vision without kitsch, with colorful giant balls and lavish lighting. This surround perfectly matched the concert experience, with the band’s dynamics, there would have been no need for forced show elements. By the way, the stage picture reminded me a bit of Tame Impala’s 2022 Sziget performance. It was good for the show that there were several drummers on stage, and with the 360-degree design, the concert did not offer an impersonal experience interspersed with projectors.
The band took the stage with great enthusiasm, they played well-known hits in the first half hour, the veiled sound of frontman Giorgio Fekete’s voice sufficiently filled the space. Their communication with the audience was just a thank you, the night was really about playing as many Carson Coma songs as possible.
The band performed their songs with the strongest chorus while keeping the audience’s attention (Wrecked hobby boat, I have never Ready Set Go), and the first half of the concert is Polaroid culminated in the song titled, during which the catharsis of the audience could be sensed. Melancholy disguised as a song is characteristic of the band, so in the case of slower songs such as Roundabouta A speck of dust or the best version the mood settled down and I noticed that more and more people were chatting in the auditorium.
Photo: Lujza Hevesi-Szabó / Telex
In their contributions, Carson Coma also makes sure that they are not boxed into the framework of a genre, their song “Question Marks and Answers” Ivan and The Parazollal and Beton.Hofi also raps a line in the Frida Kahlo song on their upcoming album. Both contributors performed on stage with Carson Coma, the aforementioned song brought the energy required by the chorus, but with Frida Kahlo, Beton.Hofi slipped at the entrance. The highlight of the evening, however, was when drummer-singer Héra Barni sang and dominated the stage with her rough, distinctive voice even when the singer None of your business performed, and even when the system critic is crushing Big coat he roused her.
Although the band considers social involvement to be important, these are expressed implicitly or in some cases very concretely in their songs, but there was no introduction on the spot that would have reflected on the happenings of public life. It was a reference to the event in Brussels, which was canceled a week before the concert, which happened after the band stood up for the teachers and their song “Feldobom a kött” was released. This was hinted at by the voice of actor Szabolcs Thuróczy, who said on the darkened stage that
what’s up guys, didn’t you get on the plane to brussels?
The handball hall was originally built for sports purposes, which is probably why I caught sentences from the audience that they didn’t find the sound system suitable. For me, this stood out the most during the performance of the new songs, the lyrics of the new songs had to be paid even more attention to hear everything.
Photo: Lujza Hevesi-Szabó / Telex
Carson Coma achieved such success that is unique for bands in this country. With their concert at the MVM Dome, they proved that there is life even after the songs that record the bohemian teenage years, and they were able to celebrate their fifth birthday as a very mature band. The concert interspersed with saxophone solos and choir enhanced the sound of the songs, but the new songs were lost in the band’s repertoire at first hearing due to the frequently included lyrical motifs (finding a way, burnout, crises of adulthood).
The mood was sometimes dull due to the slowness of certain songs, the band basically performed their hits in a row with sparkling dynamics, and although the fatigue of the musicians was noticeable by the end of the second hour, it gave the concert a charm that the vibe of the audience carried the mood. It was uplifting to see the kissing teenagers that they are finally not partying to mid-range pop music that objectifies women, but that Carson Coma, who sings about life’s vicissitudes and issues affecting society, means Hungarian music to them.
