Volume to the right and glasses raised high: an Ostrava party with Alkehol and Bastard
Friday, April 17, 2026, was a beautiful spring day—perfect for heading out somewhere, ideally for culture. And if you happened to be in Ostrava, just like we were, the best choice was to visit the rock'n'roll club Garage in the Martinov district.
Besides the music club itself, there is also a hotel offering very interesting and thematically designed rooms, as well as a cozy restaurant where early-arriving, hungry, and thirsty fans could refresh themselves with good food and drinks before the hall opened. And when you add a concert by a long-standing pillar of the Czech rock scene, the Prague band Alkehol, supported by Bastard from nearby Havířov, you simply couldn't go wrong. Both bands are currently on a joint spring tour, and its thirteenth stop took place right here in the Silesian metropolis.
After the doors opened, a handful of the most devoted fans immediately took positions in the center of the front row in front of the stage and patiently waited for the arrival of the first band, while others stood further back. At the bar, visitors could refresh themselves with either a local twelve-degree special or the Pilsner classic, and they could also enrich their band merch collections with some valuable souvenirs.
After a short while, Bastard greeted the audience with their opening song Veselý kouř, followed by Rybářská. Then singer and guitarist Marian shared a short anecdote about how he once won a million in the lottery—but it only lasted him half a year, and all he had left from it was a guitar. During the following song Milion, the audience joined in and sang the chorus together with the band: "Milion, milion, …". This was followed by V řetězech, a song for which Bastard released a music video less than a year ago—and if you haven't seen it yet, I recommend checking it out. Then came Noc, Knockout, Hádej, and the set continued smoothly until the final song Chudý a bohatý. Bastard were recently joined by new guitarist Michal Rucký, with whom they quickly found strong chemistry and delivered a very solid performance. During their hour-long set, they played a total of ten songs. Finally, a quick photo with the audience—and then the stage was cleared for the evening's headliner.
That headliner was a band that has been active on the Czech rock scene for nearly 35 years and is known for songs that practically all revolve around the same theme—alcohol. Alkehol undoubtedly belong among the top representatives of Czech drinking songs. As is customary, they opened their set with Hospodo nalejvej, which comes from their very first album Alkehol (1992). Although it was a rather intimate evening in a smaller club, the crowd in front of the stage quickly grew, and from the very first notes fans joined in loudly singing along with the band—something that continued until the very last song. After singer and guitarist Ota Hereš tuned the audience into the spirit of the party we were about to enjoy together, Rockeři followed—a song that in its original version and video features guest appearances by singers Petr Janda and Josef Vojtek. At concerts, however, their parts are traditionally taken over by guitarist Petr "Kuna" Buneš and bassist Jan "Bart" Bartoš, who often tease each other on stage, adding a slightly humorous yet friendly atmosphere.
Singer and guitarist Ota Hereš also invited fans holding drinks in their hands to join in a toast, thus introducing the song Na zdraví. This was followed by Víkend, during which fans traditionally shout "No jistě!". Then came a new track from their latest album Připíjím, released at the end of last year in Prague at Barča—the song Těžce pod parou. Ota Hereš also mentioned that the right date was approaching—the first of May—when it would be time to plant Travičku zelenou. Afterwards, we raised our glasses again with the new song Připíjím.
A little later, Bart moved to the left side of the stage where Kuna was standing and poured a shot of rum straight into his mouth. This was followed by V pátek k večeru, which the audience again sang along with, while Kuna and Bart alternated moving from one side of the stage to the other. After Zase sám, the third and final new song from the latest album followed—Máme dar. Then came classic and very well-known hits Anděl strážnej, Spalovač chlastu, and Pivo dělá hezká těla. During Nechte vlajky vlát, originally by Aleš Brichta, hundreds of hands waved above their heads.
The main set ended with Zmaštěnej, but the audience tirelessly chanted for one more song—and managed to call the band back for two encores: O chlastu and Na Slamníku, both from the band's earliest material and oldest album, including the song about the pub where the very idea to form Alkehol was born. The performance lasted just under two hours and included a total of 24 songs.
If you haven't yet managed to attend any stop of this tour, you still have a chance to fix that—four more stops remain: Teplice, Katovice near Strakonice, Valtice, and Polička. The entire tour will conclude on May 2.
In conclusion, all that remains is to thank not only the bands Bastard and Alkehol and their crews for the great concerts, but also everyone involved in organizing the event—from security staff to cloakroom attendants and bar personnel—for the smooth and trouble-free course of the evening.
Verri