Unna 31st Oct. and Baasem 2nd Nov. 2002

Pictures / Pressreviews

2001 marked an excellent start for our festival and 2002 was even better. Both nights were well attended and the audiences liked the bands from the start.

The first night (Oct 31st, Halloween) in Unna (close to Dortmund) at the Lindenbrauerei was as successful as the second night (Nov 2nd) in Baasem, a little town in the Eifel, a hilly region close to the Belgian border 80 km south of Cologne.

Last year’s fans returned and brought a lot of curious Cajun and Zydeco newcomers. None of them left disappointed.

Zydecomotion from England and Des Fais Do-Do from Holland (both for the first time in Germany) as well as the hosts Cajun Pioneers kept the temperature at a high level. Several hundred really enjoyed the music and danced the night away.

Des Fais Do-Do from Holland was the opening act of the 2nd festival. Traditional Cajun music blended with Bluegrasselements. Bert Hek (accordion, mandolin, vocals), Martin van Laar (scrubboard, banjo) and Derk Habers (bass, guitar) opened up their set as a trio with a traditional version of ‘Melville Two-Step’. Cajun music as it used to be played a hundred years ago on many Louisiana porches. After the first song, Henk Leeuwis (guitar, vocals), Bennie Stortelder (fiddle, vocals) and Rinus Wilderink (percussion) joined in. The diversity of instrumentation and songs were helping many from the audience being not so familiar with Cajun to enjoy their first encounter with the music from Southwest Louisiana. With well know songs like ‚Bosco Stomp’, ‚Parlez nous à boire’ and ‚La valse criminelle’ the band from Enschede kept the audience sweating. During their performance Zydecomotion singer Bryn ‘Mad Dog’ Davies was seen dancing with an unknown lady from Ireland. Mandolin and banjo are quite unusual instruments in Cajun music. Some of their songs sound like bluegrass which was the title of their first CD in 1997: Mardi Blue Grass. Most of their current songs are from their second CD ‚Eddie’s Tire Service’. It is homage to Eddie LeJeune who died at the age of 49 in 2001. The band met him in Louisiana and Holland and played a few songs together. Usually the band plays until dawn but ‘J’étais au bal’ had to be their encore, since Zydecomotion was already hot to play. .

During the short break a few Halloween surprise gifts from the sponsors were given to the audience. T-Shirts, baseball caps and sauce from Tabasco and Lonely Planet’s New Orleans Food Guide. In Unna a pumpkin farmer gave us tons of pumpkins to decorate the stage for the event.

Cajun dance teacher Matthias Klinzig visited the festival and showed the audience a few two-steps and waltzes. He will be at the festival in 2003 to do give dancelessons. In Baasem the ‘Eifelslider’ Bernd Vollbach played some Blues to relax during the breaks.

Zydecomotion then revved it up with their version of Zydeco.

Leader and accordion player Chris Hall and vocalist and scrubboardplayer Bryn ‚Mad Dog’ Davies teaming up to play Zydeco at a very high level. Drummer Sam Murray (topless due to high temperatures from the beginning of their set) and French bassplayer Olivier Sarreau (former ‘Trans Bayou Express’) formed a solid backbone for Chris’ Accordion solos and Mitch Proctor’s guitar work. Both seemed to be completely calm while playing but where pumping out solos to make the audience shiver. Bryn ‚Mad Dog’ Davies in his biker outfit screamed and howled like a mad dog showing no mercy with the audience. Songs like ‚Green Grass’ by Keith Frank or classics like ‚Baby please don’t go’ hit the audience right into the heart. Zydecomotion gave ‘Boom, Boom’ by John Lee Hooker a completely new twist. And the audience loved it. But even as a trio the band is convincing. Mitch Proctor switched to the fiddle and with Sam and Chris they performed an electryfing version of ‘Amedee Two step’. Finally Chris Hall left the stage with his instrument to dance and play with an excited lady from the audience, whom he pressed like a sandwich in between him and his instrument. The audience was screaming and the venue’s temperature reached boilingpoint.

After a long encore Zydecomotion were allowed offstage for a cold beer.

But there was more to come. During the break a few Tabasco goodies were given away for people’s private jambalaya and gumbo and the stage was set for the next band.

The Cajun Pioneers then entered the stage. Luitger Fräger at the accordion, Hartmut Hegewald at the fiddles and scrubboard, drummer Olaf Markewitz, bassplayer Michael Bentele and guitarplayer Klaus Warler. Hosts and organizers of the festival the band opened their set with the instrumental ‘Hop, Skip & Jump’ by Marc Savoy to be followed by Cajunclassics like ‚Evangeline Special’, ‚Chere ici, chere la bas’ and ‚J’été-z-au bal’. Zydecotunes by Boozoo Chavis like ‘Tite Fille’ and the everlasting ‘Paper in my shoe’ kept the audience dancing. Luitger showed off on his black Gabbanelli accordion from Italy that even the rhinestones were proud! The second night in Baasem Johannes Epremian from the band ‘Le Clou’ joined in on twin fiddle. He and Hartmut performed excellent twinfiddelduels. Anne Fräger, Luitger’s wife and former Cajun Pioneers’ singer joined in for vocals on ‚Madame Bosso’ and ‚Lafayette Two-step’. The fiddlestick version of ‘J’éte-z-au bal’, inspired by Dewey Balfa and performed by Hartmut on fiddle and drummer Olaf Markewitz on fiddlesticks always is a highlight for the audience. Luitger announced the song as the ‘oldest rock’n roll in the world’, invented in a time where neither drums nor amplification was available and straw was used to beat the fiddle. Therefore the expression strawbeatin’. A new highlight was an acousticguitar version of ‘flammes d’enfer’ by Cajun Pioneers’ guitarist Klaus Warler. Inspired by Richard Thompson from the CD ‘Evangeline Made’ he played the usually fast song as a slow and touching tune. The Mardi Gras classic ‚Iko Iko’ und ‚Josephine par se ma femme’ completed the set with a screaming audience for more music.

A very loud jam session with three acordionplayers from three nations, three fiddlers, three scrubboards, several guitars, ti’fers and vocalists closed the festival. Musicians from four nations united on stage. Audience and performers were happy and exhausted and everybody wants a festival in 2003. No problem ! Get your tickets early !

‚If the toes are tappin’, it’s happenin’ (Basin Brothers)

by Michael Bentele