Another year another summer another 'Bardentreffen' in Nuremberg you know the feast for whole 3 days from Friday to Sunday when a lot of internalional bands, song writers etc. play in Nurremberg on a lot of stages spread all over the old historical medieval center of town I saw some splendid groups or musicians, singers & songwriters in the last few years, but this year I just couldn't make my mind up, when I read the program in the internet (see www.bardentreffen.de) to which of the bands I should go nothing seemed to be extra-ordinary enough for me delicated taste it seemed also not so international anymore, because most bands where from Germany only a few from France & one from Ireland, another from Cuba..
by chance an old friend of mine, - living far away from Nuremberg called me 2 days ago he, his girl friend & a friend of them wanted to come to that Bardentreffen too & meet me there ok well I agreed to meet them at 17 o'clock on a central place yes we met they were sitting at the Irish pub down the river Pegnitz I didn't like the idea to sit all evening in an Irish pub, while there was music in the air a lot of maybe interesting bands playing
so I said: come on let's go there's a lot of interesting music around us so we went up to the Katharinen-Kloster, an old church ruin without roof anymore as relict from the last worldwar meanwhile a place for a lot of concerts in the summer time,
There was a French group from the South Alpes singing a capella just about starting
because it had rained short time before it wasn't possible to sit on the stone floor (like people usually do there well some people sat on there bags & I sat on my raincoat I liked the a capella songs, some where even meditative I closed my eyes & the harmony of voices drove my mind away but apparently not to my friends because a noticed them after the 3rd song already getting impatient let's go to another place ok they were standing, while I was sitting on my raincoat maybe they felt a bit uncomfortable or didn't they like that music?
So we went down to Isle 'Schuett - that's where the river Pegnitz crosses where a lot of shacks with food from a lot of countries edged the way to the next concert stage my friends bought some chinese food & we sat on a small wall to consume it some minutes later it started to rain my all-over raincoat (still from Disneyland Paris) totally saved me & my bag, while my friends fled to a big shade, where they stood pressed together like herings in a can for a while
but even as the heavy rain poured I heard that the music from the stage in front of us was real good it was another french band, playing a lot of different styles while enduring the hard rain shower I really enjoyed the music & thought we ought to get closer but then 10 minutes later- while the rain ceased my friends had decided to walk on to the next place- apparently the music hadn't even touched them they had listened to it, just like to any other background music or muzac in a cafι or 'warehouse' (Kaufhaus) the next place where they wanted to go , was the Nurembergian market place. - a much more uncomfortable place to stand & listen & the band that played there was to my information not worth to go there -
but they didn't listen to my advice & because I didn't had met my old friend Roland since I year I decided to give up Bardentreffen concerts & just go with them all they wanted later on was to sit in a small cafι have some drinks together & chat -
Yes I know since long if you want to explore a festival or town etc. better go alone
the bigger a group is, the more indecisive & paralycing they will be to any adventure all they want to do is to find the next coffe-house, restaurant, bar or whatever to sit & drink & eat together. - You have to go alone to find the real interesting things in life..
Everytime I had been to the Bardentreffen alone I could find some really good music & enjoy but every time I was there with a group of people it was deeply dissatisfying to my goal to find some good musicians & enjoy them.
No meetings anymore with friends at Bardentreffen!
