Prachatice

During the week Jana informed me that the Czech band Charlie Straight has decided to break up. This was one of the first Czech bands I heard here, during the beer festival in Pisek in September. After seeing them perform only once, I genuinely liked their sound and became a fan, plus they sing in English. Fortunately, they had about three concerts left that they already had planned, so last night we went to see them perform live for one of the last times in Prachatice, a town about twenty five minutes from Strakonice.

The venue, Prachatice National House, was newly renovated (or so it smelled) and had two floors. At first we stood on the second floor because it was less crowded, but we soon realized the sound from the bands would be better from the first floor.

Jana and Me

This is a picture of the crowd (more like teenage girls) during the opening band's performance. 

Four of us went to the concert. Thanks Rudolf for being the night's official photographer!

Jana, Martina, Me

Here are two videos from the opening band, No Distance Paradise. We thought the instruments overpowered the singer, but the second video was my favorite song from this band.

Of course, everyone was really there to see Charlie Straight. The band formed in 2006 and released two albums, She's a Good Swimmer (2009) and Someone With a Slow Heartbeat (2012), over the last seven years. They became an international sensation while attending University at the same time. One of their biggest achievements was performing at the 2012 Olympics in London. Their most famous song is Upside Down. My favorite is Someone With a Slow Heartbeat. In addition, I found out that their music video, School Beauty Queen, was shot in New York! They have decided to break up to go in different directions, but they all plan on continuing with musical careers. Here's some of their songs from last night.

At the end of the concert, we stuck around to meet the lead singer, Albert Cerny. 

Me, Jana, Martina

No doubt my American accent asking him to take a picture with us sealed the deal! He was genuinely interested in me and where I came from. This is how I found about about the video shoot in New York!

Jana, Me, Albert, Martina

I'd like to point out some of the main differences about going to concerts in the Czech Republic versus the United States. First, concerts in the Czech Republic are super low key and laid back. Often, the bands complete sound check right there in front of the fans before they perform. Albert Cerny, the singer from Charlie Straight, was even listening to the opening band right with the rest of the crowd. 

We bought tickets in advance so they were only 150Kc ($7.50) each, otherwise they were 190Kc ($9.40) at the door. This is insanely cheap for a popular international band. In the States, it would be anywhere from $50-$150 per ticket. 

Let's discuss the fact that we decided to use the bathroom between the acts, and Jana and Martina were just going to leave their drinks on a table while they went to the bathroom. I freaked out! "You're just going to leave your drinks there? Alone?" They told me it's perfectly safe and that nothing would happen. Perhaps if they were in a bigger city, like Prague, they wouldn't, but in the outside villages it's totally okay. Since I freaked out, they got Rudolf to watch our drinks, and then returned mocking if he put any drugs in them. It was unfathomably to me. In the States, I would never leave my drink alone, ever. This situation made me feel paranoid as well as lose respect for the United States. My everyday antics, precautions, and worries seem nonexistent in this country.

Lastly, Charlie Straight is super down to earth and friendly. All four members of the band came out after about twenty minutes (so only die-hard fans remained) and went to talk to fans, sign autographs, and take pictures. It was so nonchalant and none of the fans were fighting or pushing for their turn either. Everyone was patient, but mainly because they knew their turn would come. The band didn't just cater to a few fans and then stop, everyone was acknowledged. It seems like fame never went to this band's head, which is fabulous.