This past weekend B and I were in the throes of whatever latest illness is going around, but we succumbed to cabin fever and walked downtown to check out Nuremberg's Bardentreffen outdoor music festival that was taking place all over the Altstadt. While there were 7 main stages and lots of invited musicians, the real fun lies in the street musicians who all come here as well to strut their stuff. While there is a fair share of more-nerve-than-talent snotnoses doing their thing, we were also treated to tuxedoed classical quartets, folk music, singer-songwriters of all stripes, and some pretty undefinable stuff-- like the garage-zydeco-punk band we saw, or last year's Mongolian duo which featured throat singing. This free festival brings about 200,000 spectators downtown for its 3-day run, and it's very good for local business--in fact these guys were so good for business at Nuremberg's cherished Bratwursthäusle (a restaurant whose roots date back to 1313), that the restaurant even prepared an outside table and dinner for them! This is a must-stop on the busker/street musician circuit, and as a former drummer, I was personally blown away by the prevalent use of the cajon "drum," a combination chair and tiny percussion instrument (and a lot more mobile than a full kit). The photo shows the band Billy Bob Buddha-- stripped down swampy blues mixed with some funny bits--going through their paces, and these guys totally killed. A good street band can make several hundred Euros with one set between tips and CD sales.
For more information on this year's Bardentreffen check here and here and here, and here's a roll of brief YouTube videos from this year's event. Well worth checking out!
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