'Less Is More Or Is More Even More?' by Adéle Eisenstein

As for the big statistics, 385,000 visitors attended the Sziget over the last week – and that should translate into a profit of Ft100m ($618,000) for the organizers.So what did the visitors get in exchange? 

The professionalism and infrastructure have reached a global standard, in terms of hygienic facilities, selective garbage bins, an ever wider range of services for all kinds of visitors, health and medical services, transportation – in some ways, truly, things seem a lot more civilized and democratic on the island than on the Hungarian mainland. 

It is also worth mentioning that Sziget, for the first time, became wheelchair-friendly, allowing disabled people to enjoy the festival as fully-fledged Sziget citizens.But aside from facilities that provided a range of necessities and comfort, the programming is the point, after all.

This 16th version was a bit more compact than its predecessor, which spanned over 7 days + a “0” day. This time it was just 5 days – with a “0” day showcasing Iron Maiden – preceded by a “-1” day, the Day of the Hungarian Song. Although this may seem like a Hungarian-style workaround to make a seven-day long festival fit into five days (because, for example the municipalities allowed Sziget to last for only five days), but the event, indeed, offered fewer programs and concerts this year.

Finest selection

In accordance with the slightly reduced program, I also was much more selective this time than I was last year – of course, it didn’t help that several of the concerts I would have liked to see were taking place at the same time on different stages – but when you have 13 main stages, accompanied by smaller stages and tents, and many other types of venues and events, naturally no one will be able to see everything he or she would like.

I would have liked to visit the KlubRádió Jazz Stage, which offered one of the finest selections – this year’s legendary musts were certainly singer/organist Rhoda Scott and Maceo Parker, of James Brown’s and Prince’s bands.

I cannot begin to go into all the programs covering the arts other than music: fine and applied arts, literature, not to mention all the events at the Island of Civil organizations – including even government organizations, strangely enough, like the various ministries, and even the tax authority. 

I would most have also liked to see some of the programs in the PORT Theater and Dance Tent, which are always of a high standard, but again, the timing was generally not right for me. The only thing I managed to see there was very rewarding, though, and I was very happy to end my Day 2 with the violin duo of Félix Lajkó and Antal Brasnyó, together with a mellow crowd stretched out on the grassy hillside under the stars. This time, I got away from my usual hangout of the World Music Stage, and spent most of my time at the Main Stage – there were enough good reasons to make it worthwhile, even if I don’t generally like big crowds and stadium concerts. 

But Alanis Morissette and Jamiroquai put on a good show, and no one was going to keep me away from the resurrection of the Antichrist: the Sex Pistols! But there is no doubt that Day 4 provided one of the best concerts I’ve been to in the past decade, at least: R.E.M. (Watch for the interview in the next edition of Style Extra.) If the Sziget Festival were a competition, they would have won, hands down.

Nevertheless, there were a couple of must-sees/hears in World Music: certainly the winner of that category was Rokia Traoré (see Style cover), topping even her previous performance on the same stage, but mostly I was sorry not to be able to see Mory Kanté again.

The highlight of it all, and the conclusion for me, was listening to R.E.M.’s final encore of Man on the Moon – and then watching the rest of the lunar eclipse homeward on the boat to Vigadó Square."

Source: Budapest Sun