Saturday was the band concert in Schliengen. I’m borrowing a bassoon that belongs to the Schliengen band, so in addition to playing for Kandern, I decided to play at Schliengen’s concert.
The stage is set
Band concerts in Germany have a different atmosphere than American band concerts. Band is more than just a musical group; it is a “Verein,” or club. There were members of the Schliengen band that had been members for 30 or 40 years! During the concert, they took 2 “Pausen” (intermissions) to chat, drink, and enjoy each other’s company. There was a party afterward for all the band members, too. Suzanne, Isaac and I left around 11:45pm, and we were some of the first band members to leave!
Getränke während der Pause
Suzanne played piano in the final piece, “Godzilla Eats Las Vegas” by Eric Whitacre.
Suzanne holding the program
The program notes started with a warning to audience members: “Everything that happens in the next 15 minutes is part of the music. If you get the urge to run away, please remain seated. Know that all of the crazy sounds are actually part of the music” (that’s my rough translation of the German).
The piece required performers to sing, march, scream, imitate lion roars, play garbage cans, play a ratchet, and perform mambo, tango rumba, and cheesy lounge music. When Godzilla was defeated, we had a party on stage; we cheered, clinked wine glasses in faux Las Vegas toast, blew party favor noisemakers, and threw confetti. It was a very disjointed, odd piece, but lots of fun.
