Expat In Romania

The lineup looked as familiar as ever, but it was no less than expected when we signed up for tickets to the third edition of Romania's premier summer festival and Cluj-Napoca's major event of the year. I could write about the artists, the massive crowds, surprises at the peripheral stages, Argatu's captivating performance, the unexpectedly heavy security presence, the street food, the #buckets , or the impressive logistics, but instead I'd rather highlight how a single event has become, for Cluj, a sort of beacon of the local culture. It's as though most Clujans -and every corporate entity in Cluj - becomes a part of Untold. On the street, at the mall, at work, Cluj is split between two types of wrists: those adorned with a festival bracelet and the rest. In a sense, even those who escape town for the duration of the festival take part by way of their intentional non-participation. I've written about the typical Romanian apathy when it comes to uniting f...

I took a 9 minute long video of the streetcar party on day two and  thought it was the greatest thing. Then I watched it on the computer the next day. As with every day at Untold it's about 4 or 5 in the afternoon before I'm ready to face the world. Another day of Untold at this point is not only difficult but almost a punishment. Yet we persist. Eat, Sleep, Untold, Repeat. Never have I lived a more accurate t-shirt cliché. Friends come by and we sip some tea . Three shots of it. Start feeling better and call an Uber. Oh yeah, Uber finally made it to Cluj. It's been the same pre-festival ritual four days straight. Eat, Tea, Uber, Untold. A Brazilian marching band welcomes us in past the security gates. Nobody knows how to Samba but the beat is intoxicating (which is fitting isn't it?). The crowd follows the band through the park. To the spectators on the side it must look like Rio's take on the pied piper. We said we'd explore but it's hard to stay a...

I didn't think I'd write about Untold but I was there and started writing about Untold. Here it is, from the trenches. The bass is bumpin'. Tiesto is making us sing along like it's kindergarten for adults. I don't know any of his new songs although he was top dog when I was coming of age in club land. He still is apparently. That was like 15 years ago. He's old. I'm old. Fuck it.  I'm drinking this nasty cocktail called Beton - Concrete. The name does it justice even if it tastes mostly like cinnamon. Should've got the hint when the barkeep told me I'm only the second guy to order it tonight. I can't wait to finish it. The cup is getting soggy.   Thinkin' back to Route 94 who has melodic house tracks with millions of views yet he built up and played the exact same beat for half an hour. Maybe only the headliners are allowed to get the crowd going. Meanwhile the place is twice as crowded as last year. Looks like people...

This time next year - in late July to be precise -  Cluj will be gearing up for the second installment of the mythical festival trilogy started with this year's Untold Festival. The 2016 " Told Festival " will host new names alongside most of this year's headliners. David Guetta, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, and the messiah of trance, Armin Van Buren, will bless Cluj Arena once again with Drop after Drop after Drop . It will be magical! My eardrums are quivering in anticipation, my joints already ache for the four days days of walking, standing, jumping, and hopping. As the modern adage goes: Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat. Repetition is indeed the name of the game here. From loops to samples to drops, it doesn't matter if we hear some songs/loops/samples more than once, because it will fit right in with the theme - an offshoot of this year's mythical fairy tales, we'll be going back in time to revisit the "Memories!" from this year's event...