On Thursday, you performed on the second stage, and the interest of the audience was so great that they almost squeezed under it. Was there an option for you to perform on the main stage, which has more space in front of you?
Cais: That possibility was. There were even more. Colors and I have been preparing this concert for almost two years. First, the organizers offered us to start the festival on Wednesday, so that our concert would be the first on the main stage. For a while, the option of an early evening time on the main stage was also in play, and they also offered us an followingnoon time. However, we didn’t really want it because of the scenography we were preparing and the steaming followingnoon sun. We knew we needed darkness to make it all stand out. We thought it would be better to play doubles in a good evening time.
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Did you prepare the scenography especially for the concert at Colors of Ostrava?
Cais: Yes, from the beginning of the negotiations there was a generous offer from the organizers to come up with something special. But then they gave us the stage plan of the stage, and at that moment it became clear that it would be more like carrying firewood into the forest. The stage itself is equipped above standard, from a huge LED screen to lots of lights.
So Filip Bruthans, our light designer, and I thought regarding how to do it so that there was something extra on stage during our performance. In the end, we came up with four cubes that were mobile, so you might drive them onto the stage directly from the rehearsal room. That was our contribution, which I think made the overall scenography special and moved it a little further.
The response from the audience was huge. Was it your most successful concert from the ones you played at Colors of Ostrava?
Mardoša: That is difficult to assess. We always have exceptional experiences at this festival, and with the passage of time, the memories of them become stronger and stronger. But we definitely rank Thursday’s concert among the very successful ones.
The view of the people from the stage was extraordinary. I took pictures of them, mostly even without flash, because our light was really bright.
Photo: Mardoša
The view that the group Tata Bojs had from the stage at Colors of Ostrava, captured by the camera of bassist Mardoš
Cais: We were also fascinated by the view from the stage of the moon, which we and the crowd had right in front of us. It was huge, almost full moon. In short, it was a wonderful summer evening with everything. Perfect for a concert. I have to admit that at one point a strange feeling ran through my body. In the middle of the song Vesmírná there is a moment when the song stops and then the main riff starts to grow stronger. Our lighting guy turned on the lights on the people, they started clapping, and in that moment I fully realized how connected they are to us. That was beautiful.
It is said that there were up to thirteen thousand of them under the stage. I can’t judge that, but seeing them in that light gave me chills.
Do you carry in your head any strong experiences connected with your concerts at Colors of Ostrava?
Cais: We are one of the Czech bands that have been playing at the festival since the very beginning. We already performed at the first year, which took place in July 2002 in Stodolní Street.
You might say that we grow with it, and we like to return to it regularly. I perceive that the festival organizers and I have mutual respect for each other. In 2019, we played at a similar evening time as this year, also on the second stage. We still remember that evening and our guitarist Vláďa Bár says that he had goosebumps during the entire performance. Every concert is different, we all enjoy it in a different way. But when ten thousand people are singing with us, laughing, dancing, and we feel the energy flowing between us and them, it’s intoxicating.
Photo: Aleš Honus, novinky.cz
Shot from the Ostrava performance of Tata Bojs
Mardoša: About three weeks ago we played in Chotěmice in South Bohemia in the barn of Vašek Koubek. Of course, there were far fewer people, but the experience was also powerful. This is what I enjoy regarding our outdoor play in the summer.
Mardoša: Lenny Kravitz or Sam Smith do not experience these extreme changes. They only have concerts on big stages, they don’t get on small ones. This is where I see the advantage we have once morest them…
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