The Lift-Off rock music festival took place in the format of a large concert-slash-competition for ITMO’s student music collectives. The main prize was tickets to the Limp Bizkit concert.
Sitting in the jury were Vasya Vasin, ITMO graduate and lead singer at the Kirpichi band; Damir Telyakov, guitarist at the Nochnye Snaipery band and former sound whizz at Brigadniy Podryad; and Masha Kovshova, presenter at Nashe Radio in St. Petersburg.
The concert began with the performances by invited bands Khozyaistvennoe Mylo (Laundry Soap) and Jeans of Tarkovsky. The guests were just assembling by then, looking out for their friends in the crowd and choosing the best seats so that nothing would distract them from the competition program.
Competing for the main prize were four bands made up of ITMO students and graduates: Kvartirnik v Chetverg, Sasha Writes Songs, Just Look and The Gypsy Temple.
As noted by the jury members, these were four very different bands in terms of their style: authentic and soulful Kvartirnik v Chetverg, lyrical Sasha Writes Songs, daredevil rockers Just Look, and technical rock-’n-roll enthusiasts The Gypsy Temple. But there could only be one winner, and at the end of the groovy musical combat, it was The Gypsy Temple that claimed this title. The members of the ITMO graduates’ ensemble won tickets to a concert of a cult rock band Limp Bizkit.
“This was amazing and fierce! Guys, you’ve all done very well. Keep doing music, improving your technique and writing songs. You are a living proof that rock was, is, and will be alive,” said musician Vasya Vasin when announcing the results of the competition.
Tickets to a Limp Bizkit concert were given out to some of the festival’s guests as well. The audience had their own competition going, and the two winners who took the best photos from the evening are now also going to see the legendary band.
The Lift-Off festival didn’t end at bands’ performances. The organizers held different contests during which several generations of ITMO students could compete in their knowledge of rock music. For example, the Guess the Melody contest was won by an ITMO graduate who guessed the most rock songs.
Looking back at the festival, it could be said that Lift-Off became a platform that united guests of different groups and ages, resulting in an evening of drive, pizzazz and warm memories of the liveliest of times in one’s life: the student years.
