A38

I have heard about this ship so many times before. When it comes to rock music and concerts, the ship is the place huge bands prefer. As I Lay Dying, In Flames, Darkest Hour; all of these bands have played here before. This isn’t even a mere ship. This is the cradle of rockers. A38.

So far, almost all of my blog entries said that the place I was visiting was easy to approach, the situation is the same with the ship as well. By now I have learned that rock clubs and taverns are all situated so that it would be easy to get there and back home. A38 can be found by Petőfi Bridge. Tram 4-6 seems to be the obvious choice to go by, and Petőfi híd Budai hídfő is the station you have to alight at. After five minutes of walk leading down to the bank of Danube, you can already see the spot the ship with the huge A38 written on its side.

As far as I know, the ship is a pontoon; it always docks by Petőfi Bridge. When I walked on the plank over to the ship, I thought that it would wobble at least a little, considering that it is a ship on water, but it was totally steady. After purchasing my ticket, which was 1 000 HUF, I took a look around the ship. It has 3 levels: an interior concert hall, a restaurant above it, and that has a terrace section on top.

Obviously, my way lead down to the concert hall, which was huge; able to house 400 people easily. There is a slop-room that can be used for 100 HUF; I gave my bag with my insulin inside it to the lady and told her I’m gonna need that bag for a moment around 10 pm. and she told me not to worry about it. With that taken care of I proceeded towards the bar where I asked for a light coke. 2dl cost 250 HUF; the place is a little bit more expensive than the previously visited Rocktogon. Now I just had to wait for the concert to start.

This night was dedicated to metal bands. The main event was Watch My Dying, but before their concert 3 guest bands appeared on stage. Conan’s First Date, a Hungarian underground metal band was the first to go on stage. They played songs from their recently released EP, Jailbreak. They were followed by Sunday Fury, another Hungarian band, whose exact style could be hard to define as all 4 of the guys were influenced by different genres and they don’t try to force their music into one category. They were followed by an even more diverse band, Pedigree. This band from the Baltic States play in all sorts of genres: industrial, metal, electronic, post-rock; their power lies in effectively combining all these genres. Last but not least came Watch My Dying, a Hungarian death/trash metal band. Their performance was beyond reproach; while playing some of their new songs, they also entertained us by playing such great songs from their past albums as Fényérzékeny or Hattyúdal. The concert lasted until 1 a.m., but it was definitely worth waiting until the end.

The ship A38 is the place for metalheads like me. It can be easily found at the bank of Danube, there is no way someone can miss it. World famous hardcore and metal bands are frequently giving concert there, so chances for seeing great stars there are high. Prices are a bit higher than in Rocktogon for example, but still between the reasonable boundaries. Anyone interested in P.O.D. in June?