Full Force Festival , July 5 , 2003 , by Bastian Nachtigall

From MemoryArchive

Who: Bastian Nachtigall
What: Getting arrested at a Festival "The pathetic version"
When: July, 05, 2003
Where: Full Force Festival Leipzig, Germany

Every one of you hears about venutours stories that lead people to get arrested, maybe by telling of a friend, movies or at least action news. Well mine is not, it takes place at the Full Force Festival which has about 30,000 visitors every year. It is located near Leipzig in eastern Germany. Neither is it a historical event, nor have I met a famous persons but still the one and only time I got busted stays memorable in (my more or less)decent suburbian mind.

Me and a bunch of friends were at this very favorable festival, among those my best friend Marte. Most of us had as much money with us needed to get through these three days buying expensive festival beers or merchandise if possible. As in those days Marte was skint again and all he brought with him was the ticket, worth 60 Euros, and another ten. Now during the mere first day Marte developed a very cunning way to earn a few bucks during his stopover at the festival. His secret was to pinch the refund cups from all the boozers who where not aware of the events around them anymore. Or he even went to sneak behind the employees fence where a whole shitload of these cups kept resting. By the way they went for a refund of 1 Euro.

By the next day Marte told about his sedulous ado and the intoxicated souls who woke from their delirium, not accepting the injustice that had befallen them. As well as he said someting about the dutiful security personel.

Despite all this I became pretty envious of these supposingly easy bucks. "Man, if he can do this why can't I, it can't be too hard" I thought. For the record, my friend is a bit more ballsy and unabashed than I am.

So this eveing we both went on the hunt. After I made about ten bucks with the boozer-technique, we wanted to go to the next level. Sneak behind the fence, open the box, grab as much as you can and run. Of course were caught red-handed. Marte managed to run and hide in a crowd. I for myself ran and gullible as I am gave up all too soon as if nothing happened, I was drunk too I might add. But wishful thinking, because soon I got knocked down by some festival salesman. The little authority he had and lack of precious memories in his life made him holding me down with his knee in my neck till security personnel arrived. Must have been a blast at the next "Stammtisch". So far the whole scene seemed quite amusing to me although my face was held down in the piss-drained ground beneath the fence. Little did I know what was expecting me. Anways I was given to the custody of the local police and can you believe it, hancuffed and driven to the next station with three officers for some stupid cups. Like there isn't anything worse happening at a festival. "What a waste of personnel" I thought ("Or was I about to eat a child without even realizing it"). No I wasn't, I was brought to the police station and movie-like handcuffed to a radiator. For those of you who wonder this is still about some lousy 1 Euro-cups and I had held about three of them in my hand when I was caught. So I sat there for two or three hours on the cold ground with the uncomfortable radiator ribs in my back, hearing the crew laughing and joking. Also about me. This place can't be too different from where I live, if the police hasn't got anything better to do than hazing crooks of opportunity, like me. Even the salesman who stroke me down came by to make his heroic testmony and suprisingly my mere middlefinger was able to freeze his stupid grin. So sat there waiting and waiting half asleep until my saviour arrived in person officer Heinartd. He must have been trained on socially difficult youths, as far as I could tell by his low, soothing voice and the water he finally gave to my dryed out hangover-throat. To hin i had to give my confession for the big-time felony I commited (Again at a another station). "I repent, I regret, just a boyish prank..." and so on. Later on I came to know they wanted to accuse me of aggravated theft for going behind that fence.

But actually I was lucky to get busted, because that nice officer made the effort to bring me back onto the festival area. Fortunatly he went up to the security guys controlling the fence gates and and showed his ID saying that I would be offically allowed to enter the area again. With hindsight I would have been off far worse with the the vigilante jugdement of the security personel: Beat up and my festival ribbon cut, for sure, just like a friend of mine on that same festival but thats a another story.

In the end Marte came back with about 100 Euros plus, I learned to pack in a few bucks more if you are not cunning enough and the state attorney revoked thee charge. As well as I learned that the police might waste too much of their forces to keep harmless citizen like me in check.

Thank you for reading this very expanded and yet so unimprotant memory and don't be enticed by by some easy refund bucks if you are a decent member of the community.