The Sziget Preview You Won't Find Anywhere Else

The Sziget, an event that grew out of its own mud and dust in the mid 90s, is increasingly all about big name bands, festival tourists from all over Europe and corporate sponsorship. Not that that should put anyone off, of course, it just means you have to dig a bit deeper to find the true heart of the thing, and the types of artists that made it all happen in the first place - way back in 1993.

The first challenge, as with most mass participation events, is finding a way of beating the crowds to actually get there. After standing in line (if you could call it a line) for an hour-and-a-half outside the main gate last year, I would strongly advise either getting in early (and savoring the atmosphere rather than rushing around from gig to gig) or, better still, taking the boat from Jászai Mari tér - the square on the Pest side of Margit híd - or Batthányi tér. The major advantage, apart from allowing you to enjoy a warm-up beer on the Danube is that the Ft 400 boat sets you down at the back entrance on the Pest side (where red meets yellow on the map above), far away from the hoards arriving on the HÉV suburban railway. It also allows me to kick off the festival in the best way possible, by checking out Marlboro Man on the nearby Pesti Est Stage (Wednesday 6 pm), a little-known Hungarian superband comprising members of Quimby, and offering crowd favorites such as Én vagyok a büdös ember, én vagyok a koszos ember (I am the smelly man, I am the dirty man). But that's just me, and the tip of the iceberg...

There are many more important bands on show at this year's festival, and I'm not talking about the big international names who invariably drown in their own hype and the acoustic problems associated with outdoor speaker systems. Although judging from the truly awesome clip above, this is highly unlikely to apply to Gogol Bordello (above), despite their promotion to the main stage this year.

Another foreign act unlikely to disappoint is DJ Hell, a German turntablist specialising in murky industrial trance that is sure to trip out many a Szigeteer. If he can work a crowd in Vienna like that, imagine what he will do on Sziget.

In the same vein as both of the foreign acts above, Másfél are an experiment in music with mass appeal. And they are Hungarian. Just check out what they were up to on the Sziget main stage way back in 1998. Korai Öröm, a spacerock band who usually turn up with two sets of drums and all manner of strange instruments, are also worth checking out live. And for spacy pop, drop in on Hiperkarma in the early hours of Tuesday morning at the Arany Ászok Tent.

I once lost a wristwatch in the thrashing about at a Kispál és a Borz concert at Sziget, but maybe their singalong rock has lost its favor with the new generation. Not so Tankcsapda, who create quite an impressive noise for a three man band, and are one of the tightest live acts I have seen. And watch the crowd when their karaoke hit Mennyország tourist (Heaven Tourist), above, comes on.

After seeing Beatrice at the Volt festival in Sopron this year (at the same time that The Prodigy were on on the main stage), I reckon they are a good tip if you want to really tap into the Hungarian vein. For a crazy hour and a half, let veteeran rocker Feró Nagy take you under his wing and rail against all the injustices of the 20th century. He's a dirty old man, too, and his "pussy" symbol, sly winks and inappropriate comments to young girls are always popular with the crowd.

Of course, Sziget is not just about the music, there's plenty of other stuff going on at all hours of the day and night. And if you're running short of funds come 8 am, there's always the poker tent.