Das Fest or what Belarusian pop musicians can't do

19/11/2012 - 14:38

“I expected to hear rock or ethno on my way to the concert. The performance was a surprise. I like it - it was cool! It was very lively and dynamic! I think that our musicians lack this naturalness and vivid energy," - said Alaksandr, visitor of "Das Fest" in Minsk last weekend.

Cris Cosmo

Interestingly, the majority of those who came to listen to popular German music that evening agreed with it.

“They are very relaxed, they jump into the crowd and are not afraid of it, there are no security guards near them. They do everything for the people," Anya's friends kept interrupting one another".

Tobias Schwarz-Gewallig

Martin Kilger

Cris Cosmo entered the stage with his guitar at first. Then he was replaced by Tobias Schwarz-Gewallig who played the piano. The same was done by Martin Kilger later. The audience was bored at first - would the whole concert be like that? But the whole band appeared on the stage after 5 songs and it started! The musicians performed their songs together and one by one, accompanied and improvised for three hours. They mixed styles playing popular music. There were Bavarian tunes, jazz, rock, reggae and R’n’B. And we started to understand that the pop music we had seen on TV had nothing to do with popular music. The German musicians on the stage resembled "Krambambula". Or "Bez Bileta"...

Оstap came to the German musicians' concert from Ukraine

“I am very happy that I have heard them performing live,– Оstap, amateur of German music who had come to "Das Fest" from Ukraine, shared his impressions. – I have understood that they do not simply record music - they perform it and create a special atmosphere. I am very glad that there are Belarusians interested in expanding the musical culture. It is worth it."

We began comparing the Germans with our popular musicians involuntary. It was impossible to imagine a situation when Alaksej Hlastou would accompany Herman on the piano, or Herman playing reggae in the middle of the performance or Slava Nahorny joining them to turn everything into a jam session. Could Herman jump into the crowd afterwards? The German musicians looked very natural and it was their first performance together.

“All of us are focused on their own career, - said Cris Cosmo after the concert. – I give 150-200 concerts a year. I write songs and I am a manager. That is why it is rather difficult to make a joint project. But who knows, maybe we will meet someday and do something together. We have a video of the today's performance and it can be used for it."

The German musicians will be glad to come to the next "Das Fest" and organize a joint show with Belarusians. They would love to walk in Minsk again and enjoy its wonderful architecture and meet people. They will never forget this day, they said.

Cris Cosmo: “Everything was excellent! It was like an explosion! I am sure that I will never forget this trip and this day. We will recall this day and these wonderful moments a lot!