The Midnight Ghost Train
Freak Valley Festival 2014
AWO Gelaende, Netphen-Deuz, Germany
May - 30 - 2014
Day # 2/ Act # 3
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A SPACEBANDIT/MIRO/BLUESHACKS/LORD DIE taping cooperation
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Freak Valley Notes... by Spacebandit
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Once again the opening of the outdoor festival madness here in Germany started in an industrial area of tiny Netphen near Siegen. As in the two years before, the ROCKFREAKS put on a
fantastic lineup of stoner/doom/heavy 70's/bluesrock/spacerock, whatever your heart fills with joy. Some bands there did exclusive shows, with no further touring in Germany or even in
Europe, so the crowd gathering at Freak Valley consited of music lovers from all over the continent, sometimes even more far away. The sound was very good, and the lawn in front of the
stage as well (more later on that!). But somehow I feel that the spirit of Freak Valley has changed since last year. To be honest: To a more commercial festival. Though it might be good
for the event itself, there's a whole lotta more to make better next year. As me and my friends arrived in pouring rain on thursday noon, we could not get the usual parking lot in front
of the venue, but were forced to park our five station wagons (for comfortable old men's sleep) about a kilometer away. Well, that was nothing troubling, but the walk along a crowded
highspeed road on 50 centimeters (with cars almost NOT speeding down) was really life-risking. OH MY GOD! Even as they put out signs of 30 KM/H, some idiots cruised along me with 100+!
You wanna get killed by the roadside by an asshole who refuses to put the speed down on his car (only for about 500 meters)? I can think of a better way to die...Guess the drivers in that
Siegerland are all crazy. And the police had a chance to collect hundrets of licences...but where did I see our beloved HELPERS...? N.o.w.h.e.r.e !
Oh, hell yeah, that was the thing that I'm seriously PISSED. All other minor annoying things, like the rude kicking crowd during some shows are just "kindergarden"...Just KICK back...
All thanks to my "Psychedelik Stammtisch" crew of Michael, Wolli, Joerg and my dear brother Martin, and of course, to our good friend LORD DIE, who managed to get a secure parking lot
about 150 meters from stage, but for the price of a hip-surgery and a walking stick before...He deserved to get that!
A BIG BUNCH of THANKS to the whole Freak Valley workers for making this festival A REAL GOOD TIME. Thanks also for the well-behaved SECURITY boys and girls (but only from Friday on, where
were you on thursday? Day off?). Last not least, all thanks to the great ANNOUNCER Volker. Great to hear almost the same introduction to all bands!
So...well I need to write this...WEATHER REPORT...
May 29th - heavy rain on the drive/light rain all through the evening. night temperatures about 8+ C.
May 30th - no rain, clouded sky, broke up to the clear moonlight. night temperatures about 3/4+ C. Brrrr...
May 31st - fantastic sunshine all day long! night temperatures about 8/9+ C.
Admission fee: In advance, EARLY BIRD TICKETS, bought last November, 45 Euros.Support the band, go to their shows, buy all the merch your spaceship can carry!
Do not convert to lossy files, unless for personal use. No lossy net use. Flac rules!
If you spread, keep lineage/taper info intact. It's us tapers who give you this recording.
If you sell...you can make the KING's company!
Catering on Festival ground: Pizzabude (n�h!), a Veggiefood booth (naja...) and a Fritten/Currywurstbude (auch nicht �berragend!).
Two big sized Veltins Bier Booths, and a very crowded Cocktail-Bar...Oh, and of course, a much crowded Coffee-Bar.
Drain: Well, only four wagons to leave off your bladder and bowel remains. Sometimes an EMERGENCY, lifesaving procedere...2 more next year would be fine!
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Ok, Ladies and gentlemen...here's a bit of FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL 2014...
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Rec Info:
Zoom H2 with internal mics (at WAV 16/44) -> SD card -> HD -> USB stick -> my HD -> Audacity (edit/remaster) -> WAV 16/44 -> TLH8 -> FLAC -> DIME -> YOUR EARS AND MIND...
Recorded by dear LORD DIE front row almost dead center. Very nice recording for internal mics, picking up the sheer power attack of this performance. A few yells and hollers
here and there, but nothing too disturbing. Unfortunately (as written before) my recording with external OKM2R is not available due to cable break issue. Damn. A few nice pics
taken by the LORD himself are included as well...
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Well...as we approach the final to all those great recordings from FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL done by MIRO, BLUESHACKS, LORD DIE and a few by yours truly (and of course, at least two great
by the greener), I've spared a personal favourite for the last meters... I've experienced the NIGHT TRAIN first about almost 4 years ago when they appeared as a surprise opener for
FARFLUNG at lovely rotten AJZ in Bielefeld. It was love at first sight, I guess, cause they were simply the best band on that eve, melted my mind with their "simple" attempt of combining
swamp blues/gospel with phatt heavy stoner rock. Unheard to my ears and mind those daze. I had a real nice chat with the mastermind Steve after the show, and promised to meet again.
Sigh, due to other taping dates, somehow that did not work until the FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL 2014.
And...alrighty, seems that nothing has changed, besides more skillful songwriting, a few more albums, travelled a few more milion miles on the road, but somehow it's all the same.
And unique...As I really loved their performance at Freak Valley (one of my Top 5 there), you might taste a bit of them now? SB.
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taped and uploaded with permission by the band!
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SWAMP MUSIC AT FREAK VALLEY
FULL SHOW (42:08 min.)
01. Foxhole -> (6:30)
02. ... -> (3:54)
03. ... -> (8:17)
04. ... -> (3:39)
05. Southern belle -> (3:41)
06. ... -> (4:05)
07. A pagan momennt of madness -> (5:28)
08. Woman of hate -> (4:21)
09. Ain't it a shame (2:10)
many tunes from their upcoming new album were played. Sorry, no track titles...
http://www.themidnightghosttrain.com
On tour in the US of A in September. Check out!
Support the band, go to their shows, buy all the merch your spaceship can carry!
Do not convert to lossy files, unless for personal use. No lossy net use. Flac rules!
If you spread, keep lineage/taper info intact. It's us tapers who give you this recording.
If you sell...you can go to hell!
THE MIDNIGHT GHOST TRAIN this time...
STEVE MOSS - Gibson guitar, vocals
MIKE BOYNE - Rickenbaker bass
BRANDON BURGHARD - drums
Uploaded to DIME by Spacebandit 2014/08/10