The predictions had prophesied rain and thunderstorms. The small art series organized by Wesel Marketing was spared from this, but many interested parties have refrained from visiting. However, one or the other visitor was happy to have set off. So do I. I want to describe my impressions (highly personal, of course, and therefore just as subjective) in the following:
I started too late to watch the children’s program at the music and art school and the city library at the stage house. I also only experienced a hint of the performance of the Scala Jazz Trio in the garden of the water tower. But the last three pieces were great and the conclusion with “Bei Mir Bistu Schejn” left an enthusiastic audience. When I went out, I noticed that some of the visitors would have wanted to be somewhere else a long time ago – you could hardly ask for something more beautiful for those who work in culture. In any case, I was enthusiastic enough to consider visiting the concert of the jazz band (i.e. the large cast) at Scala on September 24th.
It went on to the casino garden. Freshly expanded and redesigned, it is still new in Wesel’s cultural scene but ideally suited for cabaret of all kinds.
Singer / songwriter Joe Bennick was waiting for me on site. His voice and melodies reminded me a little of Chris de Burgh, but he also has something of his own. The event was announced as a reading concert and so I just arrived when Joe Bennick performed an excerpt from his book “Erlensee” and then accompanied it with a suitable song from his large repertoire. He always supplemented his readings with personal comments. So I also found out that he writes his texts as German poems and translates them into English before setting them to music. Incidentally, you can follow this development of his music well if you listen to his albums – they include a booklet with the original text and the translation to music.
The lyrics have nothing to do with the book, but convey moods that fit the plot. The book itself is about Paul’s encounter with his father Albert, who had suddenly left the family 30 years earlier and is now coming back into his life. The path in search of answers leads from a nursing home in Bonn to Erlensee, which is named after it …
Joe Bennick has also dug in the past; he found a volume of poetry that his grandfather published as early as 1920. Setting one of the poems to music brought him closer to the man he never got to know because he was born four years after his death. The song performed at the end of the concert reveals a kinship over generations.
I hope not to reveal too much when I write that, as a result of today’s concert, Joe Bennick may one day play indoors at Scala. I could imagine (you already guessed it) that I would be there then. In any case, I could recommend it to all those who did not want to come today because of the weather in which I am writing these lines.
Just a few hundred meters further, another novelty in the Wesel cultural scene awaited me. Wesel Marketing invited people to a piano picnic in the citadel district. The piano was there, perfectly cast with piano man Christian Spelz. Only from the picnic was not much to be noticed, since only the Schicktanz couple had – following the call – stocked up on goodies. Christian Spelz was not deterred by this program deviation and played some well-known melodies such as from “The wonderful world of Amelie”, but also added his own compositions, which were just as applauded by the audience. Unfortunately, the latter was very restrained in terms of space and mostly preferred to sit in the edge area.
Even the offer to play boules with music was only sparingly taken up. Particularly enthusiastic about this, because three-year-old Piet was able to record the most victories.
The last event of the day was the poetry slam on Hortmannstege. The youngest audience of the day expected four slammers from Düsseldorf, Paderborn and Essen, including Sandra da Vina, NRW champion of the 2014 Poetry Slam Happening – a playground. There, where children dig holes in the sandpit the size of an underground car park, fathers suddenly become children again and mothers get scared when the daughter announces that she wants to swing into space the next day.
With thoughtful self-observations and discussions with the mirror image as well as the results of attentive observation of their fellow human beings, the three other slammers were also able to inspire. In addition to Sandra da Vina, these were Alex Paul, Marius Hanke alias Zwergriese and Max Raths.
By the way, a popular accessory was also the beer culture. At the water tower and the Hortmannstege, the brewing artists from Project 777 had taken over the beverage supply.
My conclusion of the day: All Events would have deserved a better weather forecast in advance and thus significantly more attendance. All Event locations should always be considered as cozy corners of cabaret. and EveryoneThose who did not come today should be given more courage when they follow the weather forecast in the future!
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