For all those who wanted to come but couldn’t, for the friends and relatives of those who came and need to know, for all our faithful readers, we have made a collage of all the different facets, impressions and adventures of the Emergenza International Final 2003. Happy reading! 1. THE PEOPLE OF THE TAUBERTAL OPEN AIR FESTIVAL By Laetitia Zito – French Special Event Coordinator 2. EMERGENZA – BACKSTAGE SECRETS By Roberto Palladino – Emergenza Staff Member 3. EMERGENZA’S HOSTEL By Scalorbi Luca – Event Staff Member 4. (EXTRA)ORDINARY TALES AT EMERGENZA By Andrea Petricca – Gemany General Manager Emergenza - BRIBE - STRIPTEASE - CRYING.... - STAGEDIVING.... 5. COVER STORY By Pixie – Emergenza Staff Member Swiss 1. THE PEOPLE OF THE TAUBERTAL OPEN AIR FESTIVAL We already told you lots about the Taubertal Open Air Festival : the music, the bands that follow one another non-stop all day long, the heat, the beer (hey, this IS Germany!). But we haven’t told you yet about the audience. The audience is pretty impressive: just imagine, up to 18,000 Germans each day, drunk on music and all sharing what comes to a very friendly atmosphere, amongst all kinds of styles of music. The Taubertal brings together a widely interesting crowd, from the Rastafarian to the frizzy-haired metal guy, not forgetting the punk boys and the lightly-dressed chicks. All these lovely people are united for 3 days, making for a time where anything can happen. For example, people set up the picnic tables right in the middle of the Tauber river, 10 metres away from the main stage to sip their beer, two feet in the cool water. Often enough, we find them sleeping in the same spot, early the next morning! But, do not be mistaken: the Germans might enjoy their beer, but they are here for one important reason: the music. Thousands sit all day on the little hill looking both stages, watching the others float from one stage to another and not missing a minute of the action. In short, for those of you who could not make it to the Taubertal this time around, one thing is for sure: you’ve got to be there next year! Laetitia Zito – French Special Event Coordinator 2. EMERGENZA – BACKSTAGE SECRETS It is a magical place backstage, a well of desires holding the ideas that go on to mutate the molecular structure on the other side. This is where the ideas merge with the adrenaline and create that state of ecstasy that makes the wait all that much more exciting, more worthwhile. Before going onstage, there is a certain fire dancing in musicians’ eyes, the desire to crank up the amps and let it all out, to express yourself through your own music. There is a dynamic, magical energy, and a real drive to externalise it all – onstage. And it is really something amazing to see the faces light up, to feel your heartbeat racing in that strange concoction - the exact ingredients I will never be able to make out. Fear and joy, incredible will and determination, all looking for their own light, for their own way through, and marked by a myriad of other paths. Paths like thoughts, dreams, and desires, all passing through at the rate of millions of pixels multiplied in an exponential way. In the B zone, in the well of desires, you hope that all goes well, and hey why not, you hope to even win, to set yourself apart from the competition. And this is my favourite spot because it is right here that goals are created, and here that you mature and take advantage of the wait to learn something about yourself and what you are doing - and living. And this is why going onstage is like unleashing a dam of emotions. Roberto Palladino – Emergenza Staff Member 3. EMERGENZA’S HOSTEL Warm, friendly, and professional – these are the characteristics that define the staff at the Rothenburg Youth Hostel, all skilfully coordinated by the tireless manager, Mr. Schmitz. What was once the antique town mill, now converted into a refuge for trav