Rock In in Plzeň: Traktor celebrated 5x5, Trautenberk received gold from an outhouse, and Cocotte Minute unsheathed a katana
The last Friday of May in Plzeň was marked by scorching temperatures. And rock music, of course. The travelling Rock In festival arrived at the Plaza Amphitheatre for its second stop of the season, having kicked things off a week earlier in České Budějovice.
From the early afternoon hours, Rock In attracted fans with a strong line-up, prompting many people to leave work early and gather in the sun-baked amphitheatre. It was simple: grab a beer, apply some sunscreen, and enjoy a fantastic afternoon and evening of music hosted by Kamil Dráb, presenter of Rock Radio.
The entire festival stop was opened by crossover veterans Cocotte Minute. Despite the blazing sun beating down on them, they created the usual chaos they are known for. Songs such as Tanči, Kopem! and Králům koruny had all the overheated visitors singing along. Their trademark flags were present, as was the famous guitar-playing-with-a-katana stunt. They closed their set with the encore 1-2-3 vpřed!
While the audience reapplied sunscreen (or cooled themselves internally with beer or something stronger) and explored the festival grounds, the stage transformed into a pub and Alkehol, followers of the so-called Czech beer metal movement, took over. As their name suggests, everything revolved around alcohol. They introduced several songs from their new album Připíjim – including the title track Připíjim, Máme dar and Těžce pod parou. Naturally, classics such as Hospodo nalejvej, Travičko zelená and Nechte vlajky vlát were not missing either. They said goodbye with Na Slamníku and O chlastu.
During the stage changeover, host Kamil appeared in front of the curtain to hand out small gifts with the radio station's logo (stickers and condoms) and invited fans to the Rock Radio booth, where brand-new T-shirts were on sale. Shortly afterwards, our Slovak brothers (and sister) from distant Nitra, Horkýže Slíže, took the stage. They made a grand entrance to the theme from The Addams Family. They immediately grabbed their instruments and rolled forward like an unstoppable Vlak, which they also performed. From Štidirí we learned what it feels like when "your butt touches toilet seats," while Logická hádanka showed what can happen when you draw the shortest matchstick. Of course, crowd favourites such as Mám v p… na lehátku, L&G Song, Motorkárska, Silný refrén and Maštal were all included. To close their set, the band and fans joined together for Malá Žužu.
After a short break for more refreshments and rehydration, the stage transformed into Krakonoš's forest. The backdrop featured the typical "Trautenberkovo" signposts pointing towards places like Šumava and Vysočina. On both sides of the stage stood the band's trademark outhouses. As the scenery suggested, the Tanzmetal outfit Trautenberk from Klatovy had arrived. Alongside them came characters from their songs, including Buržoust, Vzpoura kanců, Pan Pilous and Pyroman Roman.
During the performance, they invited Michal, a representative of their record label Supraphon, onto the stage. He had a surprise for them – their album Sojčí terror had officially gone Gold. And where did he pull the award from? An outhouse, of course. A second award followed, as Vzpoura kanců had reached double platinum status. The band then performed Hory volají, during which the backdrop unexpectedly fell, revealing another one hidden behind it. The audience also heard Potužník senior, during which Miroslav Císler, the character's "representative," was locked inside an outhouse. Naturally, the traditional crowd competition between the left and right sides of the audience also took place. The set ended with Himlhergotdonrvetr and Netáhlo.
After Trautenberk left the stage, it was covered by a special Traktor curtain bearing the inscription 5x5. This year the band is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and besides the song of the same name, they incorporated this simple mathematics into their stage design. As part of the celebrations, Traktor are performing exclusively with the Rock In festival throughout 2026 and are not playing any other events. During the setup, Kamil Dráb and a Rock Radio hostess once again appeared in front of the curtain and handed out additional T-shirts to fans.
The curtain finally dropped. Instead of a traditional backdrop, a large LED screen hung behind the band, displaying visual projections throughout the concert. There was no shortage of pyrotechnics either, with flames frequently shooting up not only from beneath the stage but also from its sides. It was truly a birthday celebration on a grand scale.
The set opened with Sybil, followed by Jungle XXI, Defenestrace and Láskožrouti. The celebratory 5x5, Amygdala and Bludičky were also included, during which the entire venue lit up with mobile phone lights. Fans of the band's older material enjoyed a medley connecting several classic hits, allowing them to sing along to choruses from songs such as Když dojdou náboje a vzduch, Neber si rockera and Transfuze. The main set concluded with Letokruhy, while the encore featured Horizont, Vivat festival and Vstaňte, pane Lincolne!
Although not only the people of Plzeň enjoyed a fantastic afternoon full of sunshine and rock music, all good things eventually come to an end. On behalf of the editorial team, we would like to thank the organisers from ZL Production and Rock In Town for allowing us to attend this excellent event, as well as all the bands who came to Plzeň in the heat to entertain their fans. Hopefully we'll meet again at one of the festival's future stops.
Šári