The first  Exit 007 festival day is already a fact. Huge crowds of people, including  groups from Bulgaria arrived on 12. 07 in Novi Sad for the start of the event. According to the overall impressions this is one of the most attended issues of the big Serbian festival.  The tickets, with camping included, were sold out a few days before the beginning of the festival and the people organizing the event had to build another camping facility to accommodate the other part of the visitors.

  The first day there were impressive successive performances by Tanya Stephens, Robert Plant & Strange Sensations, The Prodigy, Groove Armada, Stanton Warriors on the main stage. Logically, what was happening on the stage gathered maximum audience. 

  The Jamaican performer Tanya Stephens was the first in line. Her show started a little bit after 7 p.m. and went on for about an hour, including the encores. The pleasant female vocals and the rege/fumk rhytms mixture created good mood and dance atmosphere under the sill hot sun.

  The classic performance by Robert Plant with the band Strange Sensations he formed in 2002, attracted even more audience which literally filled every single space on the large area in front of the stage. Apart from the Strange Sensations songs, some of which were from their lat album "Mighty Rearranger", the frontman also brought up memories of his ex-superband Led Zeppelin. The fans had the pleasure to hear "Black Dog", "Going To Califonia", "Baby I'm Gonna Leave You", and "Gallow's Pole" and "Whole Watta Love" during the encore. The mixed-generation audience was absolutely bustling with excitement., which once again proved the timelessness of  Robert Plant’s music.  

  Stage arrangement for the bands’ change took about half an hour for the teams to complete. The Prodigy added another 20 minutes themselves, which made the thousands waiting a bit nervous, but the show that followed undoubtedly was worth it.  Liam, Maxim and Flint came onstage at 11:30 p.m. accompanied by a guitarist and a drummer. The performance began with a part of No Good, as introduction, and  subsequently mixed with Breathe and the hard performance of Their Law. The audience guessed about what hard-to-define, in terms-of style, headbang is going to follow, from the heavy soundcheck riffs. The lightning was unique and dynamic and completely fit the show. The band was attractive and even much more swifter and moving. Liam stood on a platform in the middle of the stage, behind Flint and Maxim, and the “brain of the band” was all surrounded by synthesizers and computers. Prodigy’s show went on for about an hour and ten minutes. The set was uninterrupted and with a lot of mixes between the songs. They performed also  "Firestarter", "Nariyah", "Voodoo People", "Poison" and "Diesel Power", "Smack My Bitch Up" and "Out Of Space" for encore.

  After The Prodigy performance madness, it was time for the well-composed "Groove Armada" set. The band which released their new album this year, also came onstage with live musicians. They performed many of the new songs, together with the hits "I See You Baby", "Purpel Haze", "Love...". The presence of live instruments even reinforced the predominantly electronic compositions of the band and excited the audience. The electronic trend on the Main Stage continued till the early morning hours with Stanton Warriors.

  Traditionally, a little bit after that hour, all visitors head off to Dance Arena, regardless of their preliminary schedule. As you know, Exit consists of nearly 30 stages which span a large spectrum of styles – rock, hip-hop, reggae, drum and bass, pop, latin, ethno etc. 

  Visit  the photo gallery of what happened on the first day of Exit 007! Expect more news from the next three days when bands and performers like Lauryn Hill, Basement Jaxx, Snoop Dog, Wu Tang Clan, LTJ Bukem, Dynamite MC, Pendulum will face the audience. And of course, Beastie Boys,tonight – in 13.07!                                                                                                      BG