Bright evening skies, a hot day and the ‘Bühne am Teich (stage by the pond)’ was literally glowing under the sun. Although autumn was in the air, summer refused to leave. This year’s open-air season ended with the 26th sold-out concert on the ‘Bühne am Teich’ at Mühle Hunziken. The end of the season was celebrated with a good dose of rock’n’roll. Just at the end of the summer, The Baseballs still managed to play in Switzerland this year.
Pretty petticoats and perfect hair quiffs
In front of the stage, the die-hard fans had taken their places in the front row. The sun was still burning relentlessly in the early evening. It definitely made you sweat. Two hours to go until the show started. While the concert visitors slowly arrived, most of them first enjoyed cool drinks at the bar decorated with colourful lanterns, while others sat over in the picturesque Mühli garden.
Complete photo gallery: The Baseballs at Bühne am Teich
Henry on drums, Klaas on double bass and Till on electric guitar – The Baseballs Band opened the evening instrumentally with “Footloose” from the film of the same name and accompanied the vocals of Sam and Basti. Immediately everyone just had to dance along. The atmosphere was great throughout. Some of the women appeared in charming 50s/60s dresses and the typical petticoats, while the men proudly showed off their perfectly styled quiffs. Many visitors wore at least one accessory to show their love for The Baseballs and for rock’n’roll. The parents passed this love on to their offspring. There were concert visitors of all ages in attendance.
The Baseballs delighted with hits and humour
The Baseballs’ rock’n’roll covers are not only cool, but the shows are always funny, entertaining and heartfelt. Basti and Sam have always remained children at heart. They love to flirt and fool arounnd with their audience, swinging their hips Elvis-style. When Basti took off his jacket, it immediately became a strip, even if it was mainly funny and didn’t go beyond the jacket. After all, there were children there, Basti grinned wider than the Cheshire Cat.
Basti and Sam asked the audience to sing along to Robbie William’s “Angels”. Drummer Henry also demonstrated his vocal skills with a rendition of ABBA’s “Super Trouper”. Guitarist Till Kersting let the guitar purr on George Michael’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”, for example. Their version of the film classic “Time of My Life”, which we all know from “Dirty Dancing”, went down really well and everyone had a great time.
The Baseballs are also passionate fans of Elvis Presley and showed their devotion at the concert on the stage by the pond. They played hits by the King of Rock’n’Roll such as “My Happiness”, “Baby Let’s Play House” and “Blue Suede Shoes”. Their performance was a tribute to the legacy of Elvis and brought back the magic of his songs on this unforgettable summer night.
Unforgettable memories: 15 years of The Baseballs
In the meantime, the fans gave them plenty of flowers and cuddly toys. The Baseballs have been on tour for around 15 years. They released their debut album “Strike!” in 2009 and triggered a hype with their rockabilly versions of well-known cover songs. The Baseballs are currently touring with their 7th studio album “Hot Shots”, which was released in 2021. I first saw The Baseballs live at the Summerdays Festival in Arbon in the summer of 2010 and have had the pleasure of experiencing many great concerts and moments since then.
Don’t Worry, Be Happy: The Baseballs in a new formation
But long-time fans already knew before the rock’n’rollers’ Mühli performance that someone was missing. After 14 years, Rüdiger Brans aka Digger announced on 15 July that he was leaving The Baseballs to devote himself to other projects. Although the tour was planned with him, it now took place without him. Sympathetic but heartbroken, the fans accept Digger’s decision.
But the motto remains “Don’t worry, be happy” – because Basti & Sam will continue as a couple in the future. Probably those who didn’t even know The Baseballs hadn’t even realised that someone was missing. Neither musically nor in their entertaining style do The Baseballs lose any of their quality – Sam & Basti provided a great evening with The Baseballs Band. But everyone else will of course miss Digger a lot in the future.
Further information about The Baseballs at: www.thebaseballs.com
Promoter: www.muehlehunziken.ch
