The Knife - In Bremen

As previously mentioned, the ladyfriend and I took a 'road trip' to Bremen to see The Knife.  The boy had seen them the last time they toured, some seven or so years ago, in NYC and had nothing but great things to say about the show.  We knew we had to go, and when every other venue was sold out (Berlin, Hamburg, Hannover, etc. etc.) Bremen was it.

The show was great and pretty much unlike anything either I or the ladyfriend have previously encountered.  Firstly, it started with "Absurdist Aerobics," which pretty much lived up to its name.  I'm not sure Germans are the best crowd for this, though.  But there were definitely many who were following the 'instructor' and getting warmed up for the show - physically and politically.  (The Knife and their politics really work with my recent posts).

Then the show began.  In addition to Karin and Olof, there were five other performers.  Oftentimes they all just danced to the music; other times, there were different performers "singing" the songs.  I'd say that almost all save for two or three songs were from their new album, which we bought in the vinyl (hurrah!) and CD combo pack.

(Note - these little videos are loud, so turn your volume down.  They were shot on an iPod Nano - explains some of the 'quality.'  Also, they're less illustrative and more expressive - you'll get what I mean when you watch them.)

Perhaps the best, and craziest, thing was the fact that the show ended without the audience really knowing it.  During the course of the evening the band had left the stage for five or ten minutes while music played in their absence.  At the end, it took the ladyfriend and I about half an hour, and a beer, to realize that, "Hey, they're breaking down the stage.  The show is over."  But the party continues, and I think that was the whole point.

So Many Thoughts, So Little Time - A Rant

The last week has been rather busy.  We had a guest in town, and then the ladyfriend and I traveled to Bremen to see The Knife (full post on that coming, promise), and all the while I've been battling a sense of disgust at the world.  Oh yeah, full on thinking that there's nothing we can do.   Congress can't pass gun control legislation because so many of our politicians (not just Republicans) have been bought by the gun lobby and their own irrational fears of government control.  Shropshire sheep (a rare heritage breed) are being killed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency just because they might have scrapies (after destroying the pregnant, yes pregnant, ewes, all the tests came back negative).  If I want to get conspiratorial, I'd say it's part of a larger plan to have everything genetically modified (hey thanks, Monsanto!).  And then there's the collapsed garment factory in Bangladesh that's killed 377 and I'm sure most people are blissfully unaware of.   Check your clothes, I'm sure some of them will say "Made in Bangladesh."  It's almost unavoidable - like "Made in China."

Oh sure, there's more, but this is enough to start doubting the system's ability to actually make our lives better, not worse.  But we need to do more than just talk (or mope) about it; it's lit a fire under my ass.  How about yours?