First impressions of FCB # 152 on 06.12.24

 What a wonderful musical illumination the December Folk Club always is, as the dark winter nights begin to set in with a vengeance and the mercury drops in the old thermometer but then Simon Kempston comes to visit us and it is the same joyous procedure as last year, and indeed every year! 

The group named "Georgia" were first up after the Bluesy intro to the evening and Gerald Matuschek,        Thomas Meier and Mathies Braun treated us to their fine rendering of  Katie Melua's Plane Song.

The surprise of the evening was dear Antje Jendricke who normally sits or stands behind one of the largest instruments in the room, on this evening revealing one of the smallest possible instruments, the music box or "Spieldose" in German. Those of you who were engaged in international commodity trading in the last century will spot the resemblance to telex machines which were also powered by a punched tape in order to type letters faster than one could do by hand thus keeping the expensive online transmission time to a minimum. In this case, the holes in the tape magically convert into musical notes instead of mere letters, and Antje had diligently transposed half a dozen tunes in this fashion. The Folk          Club audience was characteristically in "hear a pin drop" mode for this one!  A wonderfully quiet                                                melodious idea Antje!                                                            

Lothar Prünte a well-known Folk Club performer was with us once more and "rocked us" in his own     inimitable style. He treated us to a musical BAP sandwich with Toten Hosen  as filling in the middle"

                            Thank you Lothar and looking forward to seeing you again in January!

What would a good Folk Club be without a Walk-in?

This time Cecilia treated us to an a cappella version of "Holy Night"!

Time for Simon Kempston and he certainly got us all up and running with his "Run With You Darling"!

                                            Simon even showed us his talents on the piano:

                                                          After the break,         

                        Fomiander Light took to the stage with a trio of Mario|s self/penned tunes:    

Hans Ihnen tickling the ivories: from John Lennon's "Imagine" through to Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean A Thing" (If It Ain't Got Swing)

Simon expressing the visible facial pain of a tenacious boxer who fought 84 fights, 

but only won 4 of them, such dedication indeed, in his song "Broken Before"

In his youth Simon trained, at his mother's behest as a classical guitarist. 

Thank you for being so obedient Simon and now regaling us with 

"Moonrise Over Mostar"  from the instrumental album of the same name:

Simon returned to the piano for "Don't Let Her Hear You Say That"

    

                                    Before sending us off with an old favourite, "The Bus To Nairn"

        

                                                Before giving us another encore with "Derry Walls"

It was now time for all to join in with Jock Stewart, but not before Antje van Hoevel 

surprised us with a very special gift indeed, a wee music box with punched tape which she had produced herself with the melody of "Jock Stewart". 

   A wonderful gift Antje, may your camels always have water!