After a second successful year with We’re Loud Festival in 2016, Slovenly Recordings has brought us a 46-minute long documentary – We’re Loud 2016: Ten Slovenly Days in Greece – giving viewers a run-through of not only the party happenings from Thessaloniki, to Lesbos, to Athens, but successfully entwining the political narrative of the region from start to finish.

Originally We’re Loud Fest was supposed to start in Istanbul and move over to Lesbos and then to Athens. Unfortunately, this plan was originally made before the coup in Turkey. The documentary opens with Pete Slovenly discussing the unfortunate events in Turkey that lead up to the decision to move the first portion of the festival to Thessaloniki.

As the documentary moves forward it immediately starts bouncing around between live bands, interviews and politics. At first the narrative seemed a bit jumpy and lacking cohesion. I liked it, but I wasn’t quite sure where it was going at the same time. As I kept watching, I started to like it more and more, and the flow of the ‘story’ fleshed its way out.

The interviews aren’t just about the bands and the festival – they repeatedly go into the refugee crisis and Greece’s sky-high unemployment rates. This movie’s ability to intertwine the narrative of Greece’s struggles directly in with the plotline of the festival is crucial to its success as a film.

Prior to the festival the promoters received some criticism about their decision to hold the event in Greece, particularly on the island of Lesbos, which has been a major entry point for refugees seeking asylum. This documentary will do a great job of quelling such criticism – assuming the criticism was coming from a place of genuine concern.

Throughout the documentary and it’s interviews numerous people express their deep gratitude that this event is taking place – aid workers, Greeks, including natives of the island of Lesbos, as well as foreign travelers, of course.

The events hosted on Lesbos were not only a rarity, and a break from the everyday struggle facing the inhabitants of the island, but something that was altogether needed. The concerts on Lesbos were free and attended by locals and refugees, as well as travelers.

It’s honestly amazing to see the humanity and enjoyment existing in the moment, even though you’re only getting quick glimpses. But I think it’s almost better to show it that way.

If you read Marko’s travel diary from We’re Loud and wanted to know more, saw the festival advertised and didn’t have the money to go or are just reading about this for the first time, trust me, you definitely want to take the time to sit down and watch this. It’s a quick view and it’s definitely worth it for fans of garage, punk and the international underground music scene.

Slovenly Recordings’ We’re Loud Fest 2016 Documentary will be available on Noisey Italia June 9.

We’re Loud Fest 2017 Napoli is the next in line, with already a great line-up and location, you will not want to miss it, for more info please visit the event page.

-Linsey McFadden

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