1st Seaside Festival 2017 in Spiez – Day 2

At the weekend of 25/26 August 2017 at Spiez bay the 1st Seaside Festival took place. I could take part at both festival days. Read about the festival, its grounds and the concerts of the first festival day here:

1st Seaside Festival 2017 in Spiez – day 1

The second festival day didn’t second to the first one. After the first day thrilled the audience especially with younger bands in the genre pop music, the average age rose quite a lot with the rock programme of the second day. Well, that was expectable.

Legendary rock bands as Span, The Hooters, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Krokus as well as Status Quo were in the programme. Bands that were founded long before my birth 😉 So sorry, if I simply didn’t know many of them 😉 The final did local matador Trauffer. Yes, first I was wondering too how that would turn out. According to the music style I would have put him into the programme of the previous day.

 

To the festival by ship

Have you ever travelled to a festival by ship? On the second festival day I went to Spiez by boat directly from home. Only about 400 meters from my door steps there’s the stop after all. Of course this would work from all around the lake 😉

A voyage is a lot nicer and more interesting than travelling by bus or train, definitively with this beautiful summer weather. Besides there wasn’t a big difference in travelling time. By the way, I’ve also heard that some musician could go on a lake tour with the small festival boat MS Jolimont.

The previous day I arrived like many others by train though. After the concert I went back home by the provided extra train as well as the moonliner bus. The STI driver in Thun seemed surprised, that on “my” route there were suddenly so many passengers using the night bus. “You all want to come along?” – umm, yes?! And the night before he even ran out of ticket printing paper 😉

The concerts

After more strict security controls than the day before (well, better one check to many than too less, I’d say!) and some more exploring on the still not too crowded area, the concerts continued.


Span
With the first show of the day we got reggae instead of rain. Partly anyway. Luckily there was no rain during the whole festival. Differently to a week earlier, the weather held up and Spiez bay didn’t get turned upside down. You got wet at the most by sweating 😉

The dialect rockers of  Span kicked off the first festival day. Like at the previous day a big part of the audience had arrived in this early afternoon for the first concert of the day. It was hot, the atmosphere very great though from the very first tune as well as super relaxed. Like the day before people came and left from concert to concert. Who wanted could easily reach front row for his favourites.

Span sang about “Rosegarte”, “Stägeli ufe, Stägeli abe” and of course “Louenesee” couldn’t be missed. Even with about 30°C you got goosebumps, when the crowd turned into a choir.

Since more than 40 years Span is now touring. So the Polo Hofer cover “Uf däm länge Wäg” (on this very long road) matched well at the end.

The Hooters
After Span The Hooters followed, an US-American rockband from Pennsylvania. Yes, ahead to it I googled the band and continued so with every other one I didn’t know 😉

The band spread good vibes with their folky rock and likable way. They not only thrilled me with mandonline, melodica or recorder. I even immediately recognised the first intro tunes of “Johnny B”. Other songs were “500 Miles”, “25 hours a day” or “And we dance” they swept the audience away with and let them dance. Yes, the one or other couple even was dancing to the latter one. Well, properly dancing not just jump about like the young ones do nowadays (no, I can’t ‘properly’ dance either 😉 ).

The band was good-humoured and up for jokes. Frontman Eric Bazilian even spoke a few words German. The situation, when the encore followed, was so funny then: First there was loads of cheering in the audience, when the first seconds of the 80s hit “Major Tom” (by Peter Schilling) was recognised. Shortly after the concert visitors seemed to realise, that he was really singing in German – when there was more cheering. The crowd was suddenly completely disconnected 😉

Manfred Mann’s Earth Band
The English rockband was founded in the 1960s by South African musician Manfred Mann and formed to Manfred Mann’s Earth Band in 1971. They celebrated they biggest success with their version of the song “Do Wah Diddy Diddy”, which you sure know. The only of their songs I knew this evening was “Mighty Quinn” though. Oh, is it theirs? I knew better soon. Even lead singer Robert Hart was talking to the audience with a few German words. Generally they were the band though, I liked the least on this day.

Krokus
“Throw these stupid orange hats away. They are shit!” Krokus bass player Chris von Rohr demanded of the audience. But they didn’t even think about getting rid of their Migros sponsored hats and only a few were flying away. Frontman Marc Storace though mainly wanted everything to be louder.

Whilst he was rocking the stage with “Rock City”, “Rockin in the free world” or “Bedside Radio”, you could see the little hopping up and down on the shoulders of their parents in rocker posing. With hard guitar riffs and wild drum solos the band was thrilling the crowd.

Only when they announced the Bob Dylan cover “Quinn The Eskimo” and the first part of the song played, I thought not to trust my ears. Wasn’t the song just played? It was exactly the same song as Manfred Mann’s Earth Band had performed.

They most have heard that Manfred Mann’s Earth Band had played it? Did they knowingly keep it on the setlist? They sure could have easily replaced it by another one?

Well, I would have changed it, what about you?

Status Quo
Finally young and old rocked with Status Quo. The band around the super likable frontman Francis Rossi is really a multigenerational. Quo, as they are called as well, are touring since 55 years and still rocking more than many young bands. After over 1 year they are still touring with their “Last Night Of The Electrics”, so last electrical tour. Did I miss my chance to see them at Lakeland Festival in Erlach, I caught up now.

After the first songs and stories, meanwhile 68 years old Rossi asked in his typical British accent, who did understand a little English at all. He realized all surprised, that the least were. But not many words were needed anyway. The interaction between band and audience worked out wordlessly, partly with eye contact and of course through their music.

I had no idea what to expect. Spiez experienced a rousing, lively show with one hit following the next one. I was sure to know the one or other song, but in the end it must have been half of the setlist. “What You’re Proposing”, “Paper plane”, “I like the way you walk” or “In The Army”, of course “Whatever you want” as well were some of these songs.

“My husband doesn’t know what he’s missing!” a woman behind me mentioned to her companion. I completely agree. In the end not only the big Status Quo fans were happy. They had won some new ones.

Trauffer
I don’t know if it was the change in style or that some had to catch the first extra trains. The festival cleared up a little and the crowd became a little smaller. But sure is that there was another party with Trauffer, before the 1st Seaside festival ended. Like Lo & Leduc the previous day, the concert in Spiez also ended Trauffer’s tour.

Shaking the hips with “Zwätschgelisi”, a short sniff with the audience during “Sennesinger” or we even got a yodelling course. Also in Spiez marc found his “Frl. Marty”. The band turned up one last time this summer and knew how to enthuse the audience.

For once not troubled with the cows (“Müeh mit de Chüeh”), the grasshopper on guitarist Frank’s microphone didn’t really want to be rescued. It seemed to like it to be in the middle of it all. Through a lane Trauffer went to the back into the front of the boathouse to the VIPs. Checking whether they were singing along at all. But the choreography of “Dr Gipfu” the most seem to know.

The whole encore process they left out then. It’s when Marc discovered Regina, who had created his tattoo, in the audience. For her and her friends they started a birthday song then, before the concert ended with “zjung für mi”.

The 1st Seaside festival ended this way.

It was a great organised 2 days event. So many fabulous bands performed. Especially the second day totally surprised me. I never thought that I would like some of these rockbands so much. My musical highlights were Rea Garvey for sure on the first day and The Hooters as well as Status Quo on the second one. The first day included quite some technical failures, but the second day seemed to work out well.

However, on both days the atmosphere was great. On the one side with a very calm and relaxed audience, on the other side still good-humoured and in party mood. The festival area is super nice. There was everything needed and the crowd spread well all over even during the sold out Saturday. The festival was just like a festival has to be.

so we can hope and look forward to next year already 🙂

Have you been to the festival too? How did you like it and what was your highlight?

 

 

Info about the festival you can get onwww.seasidefestival.ch

Info about the band is here:

www.spanonline.ch
www.hootersmusic.com
www.manfredmann.co.uk
www.krokusonline.com
www.statusquo.com