Folk Club No. 147 in June - Starting All Over Again?
"Starting All Over Again" was the motto of the Folk Club in June. This was the motto of our featured artist David Blair, who had travelled from Berlin, especially for his performance. Well, not quite exclusively, because the evening before the Folk Club he had already warmed up in the pub "Kater 26" on Römerstraße in the north of Bonn. We can be grateful that professional musicians also perform at the Folk Club. Apparently, the Folk Club's "completely unamplified" concept has a special appeal for the musicians.
Fortunately, we don't have to start all over again. That wasn't the case even after the coronavirus lockdown. But David Blair felt that the motto applied to him, incorporated it into his songs and gave his latest album the same title.
As always, the featured artists have to give way to other artists first. John Harrison opened the evening together with Christoph Thiebes on harmonica with "Mr Solitaire", his own song about a singer who doesn't know exactly who he is. Well, who knows exactly who they are? "There are 10,000 dreams lying scattered across my floor, and a hundred people dancing who I have never seen before!!!" is one line of the song. The blues "St James Infirmary" is about lost love, death and the pain of being betrayed, as is usually the case with the blues. This time John played the accompaniment on the piano, supported by Christoph. Michael Pfeil joined them for "A Hunting Song" by the English poet John Clare from 1820 and provided rhythmic support on the cajon for the rather martial song about fox hunting. "To-day the fox must die" is the gruesome quintessence of the song, which describes the wild hunt for the poor creature.
"Schon viel Schönes", the standard phrase used by choirmasters who want to gently tell their choir members that there is still plenty of room for improvement in what they have just heard (my tip: the choirmaster in question should immediately put a euro in the phrase bank), was chosen by the trio consisting of Wolfgang Koch, Wolfgang Schmeil (both guitar and vocals) and Lisa Ose (vocals) as the name for their group. That's something original. But Lisa's voice had much more to it than "already a lot of beautiful things". With "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac, she was able to warm herself up wonderfully. Fleetwood singer Christine McVie, who passed away a good year and a half ago, certainly enjoyed herself at the Himmelspöötzje and applauded enthusiastically. The song that Wolfgang Schmeil wrote himself, which describes a man's new start after the death of his wife, fits in well with the theme of the evening. "Flowers In The Dirt" is encouraging, melodious and also sung really professionally. Lisa penned the haunting song "Lena's Song", which is dedicated to a woman she met during a project stay in Russia and who had not lost the courage to face life despite her throat cancer. Big applause for the three for their performance. We will certainly be hearing more from the group.
Wolfgang Schriefer from Cologne is a faithful companion of the Folk Club and always brings little surprises with him. This time he had come up with a potpourri of lyrics describing the course of a love affair (it always starts all over again). He started with "Yes, I Will" by the Hollies - there are butterflies in the stomach and total infatuation. The song "Evil Hearted You" by the Yardbirds describes minor irritations. Then the longing grows again with "I Can't Sleep Without You" by Golden Earring. The longing intensifies with Michel Polnareff's "Love Me". But then there is the crash, and Adele sings: "Never Mind I'll Find Someone Like You": yes, you are replaceable. And then old age or illness approaches and you need help. Udo Lindenberg describes this wonderfully in his song "Ich trag' dich durch die schweren Zeiten". It's also about a new beginning, which brings us to the topic of the evening. Robbie Williams also describes the theme "What do we do when we're old and grey" in his song "Angel". And then comes - perhaps - as the Rhinelander says "de zweite Plück", and there is another hot love. "Hot Love" is the contribution from T. Rex. Bravo, Wolfgang for the witty story and the skilful musical realisation.
Next came four gentlemen, each with a song. John Hay had musically processed an observation in his home environment. "Brunnenband" is the name of the song, which describes the events at the fountain outside the window of his flat in Dottendorf. Such a fountain is a focus for smaller and larger gatherings of larger and smaller people and contributes to socialising in the neighbourhood. A fountain like this is a focus for smaller and larger gatherings of larger and smaller people and helps to maintain contacts in the neighbourhood. John, that's a wonderful song!
Nick Nuttall, a former employee of the UN Climate Change Secretariat and now a "freelance artist", was a guest at the Folk Club years ago with the "Passionate Penguins". This time, he sings his own song "Just Because The Bad Wind Blows" to encourage people about the development of climate change and its effects.
As a walk-in, Jacob aka Van Demian performs the self-penned song "If You Would", which reflects his feelings about a break-up.It was Jacob's first time performing at FCB and we look forward to welcoming him back.
John Hurd, our loyal follower, whose professional music website 3SongsBonn also regularly reports on Folk Club events, jumped into the bandstand with the song "Ready For The Times To Get Better" by Doc Watson. All-purpose weapon Christoph Thiebes supported him on the harmonica. Yes, we can always do with better times, but how good should they get?
David Blair had waited patiently for his performance and was now able to present the new songs from his current tour "Starting All Over Again". It starts with "What Else Is There?". And he immediately writes his confession into our family book: Is there actually anything other than music? I don't need to say much about David's voice. It's simply phenomenal: huge volume, a blatant range and beautiful variability captivate the audience from the very first note. Added to this is a masterful command of his guitar. No wonder he was able to take part in the "Voice of Germany" competition years ago. "Summer Nights" is about the experience. "Alone Together" is a wonderfully modified version of an older song. Bobby Darin would certainly have been delighted with the way David adapted his song "More" and sang it with his marvellous voice. "Stronger, Higher Faster" is the title of a song that David, a sports enthusiast, wrote for the 2010 Winter Olympics in his Canadian hometown of Vancouver. He was also allowed to perform the song there. In a slightly modified version, it is intended to inspire the Canadian Olympic team, which will soon be competing at the Summer Games in Paris.
After the break, there was a little instrumental music to be heard. Antje ten Hoevel and Uwe Jendricke, who perform as the duo "Harfenlicht", gave the stage an exotic look with their harps and a special treat for the audience's ears. "Le canal en octobre" is a so-called Scottish dance and was actually written for accordion, but sounds very distinctive and lucid with two harps. Your chronicler didn't realise that "On a tree a cuckoo" is a song with a hidden political message. Some things you just don't think about. But here I have learnt that the authors of the 19th century wanted to say with the lyrics: "You can chase us away or put us in prison. We'll be back at the next opportunity". Unfortunately, this applies to everyone, including the villains. Nevertheless, the melody played by two harps sounds wonderful - with or without a message. A classic of harp literature is Christoph Pampuch's composition "Roter Himmel, blaue Wolken", which is actually an etude, but is also beautiful to listen to. The last piece by the two is also a classic: "Stone Of Brodgar" by the Hamburg folk band "The Roving Bottles". The band, which disbanded in 1998, created a musical monument to the Neolithic stone circle "Ring of Brodgar" on the Orkney Islands with this melody, masterfully played here by Antje and Uwe.
Yes, dear readers, the musical fireworks continued with the performance of the Fliegenden Füße, no, the name must be in English, i.e. "Flying Feet". By their own admission, the group only came together this year and thus fulfils the motto of the evening. The musicians are Uli Schünke (mandolin), Sabine Schwabe (violin), Klaus Pate (bass) and Nico Pethes (vocals and guitar). "Flying Feet" is also the name of the group's first piece, which is inspired by the story of a tap dancer. "Jesus etc." is a quirky song by the American band "Wilco". The all-knowing internet tells us that the core idea behind the song is the universal struggle to find meaning and purpose in an often confusing world. The quoted post goes on to say, "The song title refers to the search for something greater, as the reference to Jesus implies a desire for spiritual guidance." All clear? Never mind, the main thing is that the music is good, and it is. We finished with "California Blues", which is actually more of a lively country song. Dear Fliegende Füße, that was a wonderful performance, come back soon.
Hofjebräu, alias Axel Meyer and Michael Pfeil, the explosive mixture from the Rhineland and the Ruhr area, are no longer strangers to the Folk Club. When they perform, the atmosphere is guaranteed to be lively, and this was also the case at the Folk Club in June. They were supported by the harmonicas of John Harrison and Christoph Thiebes. This time, they had wonderful songs by German bards in their luggage: "Ärger" by Stoppok ironically pokes fun at the disappointment of unexpected failures. "Nobbi Braun" by Köster/Hocker is a marvellous translation into Rhenish of the tragicomic Zappa classic "Bobby Brown" about a man who moves in the queer milieu. The song from 1979 was at the top of the charts in several European countries at the time, including Germany, but was boycotted by radio stations in the USA because of its content. Köster commented ironically during a performance that this only happened in the USA because the lyrics were understood there. Also rather ironic is the song "Oh Margarethe (gib mir die Knete)" by Marius Müller-Westernhagen, which is beautifully dirty and sexist, is also rather ironic - lots of applause for both of them!
David Blair started his second set with the song "This Is The Soundtrack" about an encounter that felt like a stolen song that he stumbled across and that made a deep impression on him. "Starting All Over Again", the theme song for the evening's motto, dates back to 2014 and David has polished it up for his new album. David borrowed a little from other artists with a skilful medley consisting of the following songs: "You Don't Have To Be Rich" by Prince, "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen, "Ground Control To Major Tom" by David Bowie and "Faith" by George Michael. He concluded the set with his own songs: "So Hard To Control", "What Am I Worried About" (in German: "So mach dir bloß keine Sorgen"). As a kind of bouncer, he delighted the audience with the immortal "What A Wonderful World" by George David Weiss and Bob Thiele, which was given its "face" by Louis Armstrong's inimitable interpretation. A wonderful end to a marvellous evening, also thanks to David Blair's varied contribution.
But the real bouncer naturally followed with the anthem to our patron saint Jock Stewart, which was sung by everyone.
See you at the Folk Club on 5 July 2024 with the motto "A Capella".
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