Justin Sullivan brought us spring (he said we had to thank New Model Army for the full moon as well), and with supporting act Mátyás Attila Band and the massive crowd of fans, they also gave us a Monday night we’d remember for quite a while.
We got to the A38 early enough to see the fans (in their late 30s) gathering in New Model Army T-shirts and black get-ups. The majority of the crowd must have decorated their childhood bedrooms with NMA posters, there were no youngsters to be seen.
By half past eight, we finished the compulsory first beer-round, just in time to see Mátyás Attila Band (MAB) taking to the stage. However, the miracle we all wanted to experience took some time to appear. The first three songs reminded me of a school band, not because of the enthusiasm but the sound. But by the fourth song, I noticed everyone around me jumping around and headbanging to the same rhythm I was. I’d never seen Attila Mátyás perform before, but his charisma, craft and strong presence, with some real rockandrolla posing, made me an instant fan.
After an hour of MAB and F.O. System (one of Mátyás’s old, cult bands) madness, came another half-hour of drinking-smoking-loitering-waiting, then at ten, we finally got what we wanted. Almost.
New Model Army started with States Radio, but only the second song, Get Me Out, got us all, and the ship itself, rocking. We really felt, and thus shouted every word of Today Is a Good Day, but Vagabonds was way too lukewarm and laid-back for me. But the crowd made up for it, as after a 17-year concert-going career, I witnessed some amazing acrobatics for the first time: three-level sitting-on-a-poor-guy’s-shoulders formations, and a not-so-tiny-when-on-the ground man actually standing on his mate’s shoulders. Being a hardcore NMA fan requires some stamina, apparently.
Wonderful Way to Go was followed by the first encore, and the curse of Monday gigs hit me straight in the face: you just can’t sing Green and Grey yawning. Then, as the lights came up, people started to drift towards the cloakroom, only to run back for the second encore of I Love The World and some minimalist pogoing. Then it was really over. As the sleepy but grinning people were leaving the ship, I noticed Attila Mátyás sitting with some fans, flashed him a smile of recognition, and got such a beam back that I’m still blushing. Anyone claiming to have had a better Monday night must be lying.
A38
Petőfi bridge, Buda side
Tel.: +36.1.464.39.40