The Busters

After what felt like a long week of being at home working, J suggested that we go out for drinks last Friday. A reason to celebrate that my ovaries are still intact despite that damn cyst, perhaps? Or maybe just a reason to tear me away my computer since i don't go out that often.

So anyway, there was a free outdoor event at the 3ecksplatz, called "Woche der kleinen Künste", which directly translates into Week of the small Arts. According to their website, it's an annual 4-day event [30 Aug - 3 Sept], one that we obviously hadn't heard about until the last night.

We arrived just after 8:30 PM and the place was already full. We had no idea what to expect or who was playing but that didn't matter.

The beer was served in glasses, which i thought was a bit daring. I would have assumed outdoor concerts would serve beer in plastic cups - ya know, for safety reasons but the crowd wasn't the rowdy kind. Everyone looked well-behaved. The average age, i would say were in their late 30s, if not older and with the occasional teenager/child plotted here and there.

And with a 1 Euro deposit for each glass returned, i'm sure that gave patrons more of a reason to come back and get their refund.

J and i didn't eat anything before we went out so our next mission after getting a beer of course was to find food. They had the usual grilled sausages that Germans love oh so much and they also had a stall that sold fancy thin pizzas on wooden boards.


The Germans call it "Flammkuchen". We got a mozzarella and tomato with Ruccola for 5 Euros - a bit pricey but hey, most things are at an event.


We eventually switched to wine for the sake that the line to get beer took a ridiculously long time. We spent more time waiting than actually drinking.

And for 2.50 Euros/beer, it didn't seem worth it. The glass seemed so small!

Weißwein + Rotling

The wine was only 2 Euros and after drinking two glasses of Rosé, my head felt a lot less lighter. But that didn't stop me from drinking another two glasses and smiling uncontrollably each time one of the trumpet players threw me a smile or winked.

I swear, it was the wine!

*hic*

We found a great spot beside the stage and sipped away at our wines. I felt so posh drinking wine... out of glasses... at a concert.

The Busters did the closing.

I've never heard of them since i had never really listened to Ska. Well except for those times my sister would have that genre playing in the background on her iTunes but that doesn't really count. And to attend a Ska concert was something i never thought i'd do.

But i quite liked it. Although i don't think i'll go out of my way, specifically, to go to a Ska concert.

Ska is said to have originated in Jamaica. It combines elements of Caribbean mento, calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues [source].

When i got home i googled The Busters and found out they're one of Germany's best-known German Ska bands. They started off as a small project in 1987 and escalated to them signing with Sony Music in 1996 and releasing a few albums. [source]

Which now probably explains why there were the handful of groupies.

Or so i think.

Those girls sang along to every song and bopped their heads in sync to the music. For all i know they were one of the band members' girlfriend/wife.

*shrugs*


They even managed to get a "sit-down".

It reminded me of when J and i were in Amsterdam and were at In Qontrol and MC DV8 managed to get most of the crowd to sit down by the end of it. It was the biggest sit-down recorded in Q-Dance history. And although The Buster's crowd on Friday was no where near as many as In Qontrol, it was fun nonetheless to watch them do as they were told and jump as the music continued.

But when it comes to taking videos on my camera, i always seem to forget. And this is all i managed to capture.

03.08.2010

But i did find a YouTube video of them at a concert in Berlin in January this year. Fast forward to 44 seconds and you'll get a better picture of what it was like.