Goodbye and Hello: On the move

I decided to move this thing to another website so if you want to keep track about what I write take a look here: http://janblurr.wordpress.com/.

MLB Allstar Game: Now I know why it's called the "Midsummer Classic"

Well, you have to give credit to the Americans for at least one thing: they know how to put up a great show and celebrate things. Although for European ears the ever present glorification of their home country might sound a little odd, but nonetheless they know how to great an atmosphere where everybody who is watching the event feels at least a little touched.
So I tuned in for the annual MLB Allstar Game last night which was scheduled to start at 2 am MET in the morning. Little did I know they were honouring quite a few people before the first pitch. There is no equivalent in football/soccer to the Hall Of Fame system they have in professional sports over there, so it's hard to describe it to people not familiar with the matter and it's even hard to understand for me who is just learning about baseball and its history. Anyway, there were a lot of people on the field, they were annoucing each starting position seperately and at the position's place on the field quite a few Hall of Famers were greeting the Allstar players.
The biggest fuzz though wasn't about the players, it was about the stadium. Yankee stadium is in its final year and will be torn down after the season. So some of the Yankee greats of former times like Yogi Berra threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Yankee players and managers involved in the Allstar game. Everything accompanied by very dramatic music and a commentary sounding like the spectators were witnessing the coronation of a king or some other event of global importance. That's what I meant with creating atmosphere. Baseball is a sport which might be starting to spread around the world but in the end it's an American thing. Sure, they play ball in other countries as well and it might be big in Asia and the Caribbean, but for the rest of the world it's this strange sport from the States. But when you watched the broadcast it felt like the whole world was watching.
The game itself was very interesting. Scoreless through four the National League struck first with a solo homerun by Colorado Rockies outfielder Matt Holliday off L.A. Angels pitcher Ervin Santana. The first two pitchers for both teams (Cliff Lee/Indians and Roy "Doc" Halladay/Blue Jays for the AL, Ben Sheets/Brewers and Carlos Zambrano/Cubs for the NL) had dominated the first innings. The NL doubled their lead one inning later when Lance Berkam (Astros) scored teammate Miguel Tejada on a sacrifice fly. Still one inning later the game was tied at two. To the delight of every scriptwriter a Red Sox player hit a 2 run homerun in the 7th to tie the game at Yankee stadium. The Red Sox players were booed when they were introduced to the crowd before the game and this shot by outfielder J.D. Drew might have been the only time a Red Sox representative was cheered briefly by a New York audience. Both teams scored in the 8th inning and the game was going to extras. The last innings of the AL team were pitched by both Jonathan Paplebon of the Red Sox (8th) and Mariano Rivera (9th) of the Yankees. The audience let Paplebon know what they thought of him, booing him, chanting Riveras name and "Overrated".
So after the 9th inning I just had to go to bed because I just wasn't able to stay awake. The game itself dragged on into the 15th inning when Justin Morneau (Twins) scored on a sacrifce fly by Michael Young (Rangers).

This was an exciting experience although I didn't manage to stick with it until the end. It's a shame there's nothing like this in European football but then again there is nothing like the Euro championships or the World Cup in baseball, although they are trying to establish something like it with the World Baseball Classics.

Meneguar, Woods @ Kulturbunker, Cologne

I guess that's what you call "to chill out" at a show. Yesterday saw yet another wonderful BBQ at the Kulturbunker in Cologne-Mülheim. The 50 Food Combo did this before and it's always a very nice and tasty experience. Some people showed up, they had tables and chairs on the rooftop and everybody was in a good mood. The food was great, although I only dug into the grilled veggie stuff. Oh, and there was a show taking place as well.
I can't remember the name of the first band, from what I heard they were German and played what I would consider to be old school screamo. You have to be considerate with how you label musicn nowadays so everybody understands what you are talking about, right? Had I said "screamo" everybody below the age of 25 would have thought this meant those horrible chartbands who play this crappy metal stuff with screaming vocals, hard and loud guitars and face paint all over the place. No, this band tried more to sound like the mid to late 90s version of screamo. Quiet parts which burst out into chaotic riffs with desperate screams (hence "screamo"). Still I didn't really get into it. That kind of music was never really my cup of tea and I am not that knowledgeable when it comes to grading performances like that one yesterday but I somehow felt bored.
That changed with the second band, Woods from NYC. Their setup for the show looked very interesting. Most of the instrumentation was simple: drums, guitar, bass, singers. But there was one guy who stood in front of a table with lots of technical equipment like foot pedals and - and that was what surprised me most because I'd never seen anything like that before - a mixing thing where you had two tapedecks instead of two turntables. Most of the time it was plain and simple yet wonderful and nice popmusic which because of the voice reminded me a little bit of Neil Young. But when they got into those long and epic parts which they streched on and on and on, that's where it got really interesting. The sounds the tapedeck guy created where fascinating. I could have watched this and listened to it for hours, but at some point they had to stop unfortunately. Great band, although I don't think this will work for me on a record.
Meneguar were up next and they blended into the middle of the two previous bands. Slightly chaotic with a hint of nice melodies. This wasn't your average chaoscore, this was a little bit more interesting. This is music I can listen to perfectly while watching the band play, but I don't think I'll ever buy a record. It had the groove and the melodies for a nice concert experience and that was enough for me yesterday. Combine that with the atmosphere for the BBQ outside on the rooftop, the company of nice people and friends and there you have a perfect summer evening in Cologne. What else can you wish for?

Almost forgotten along the way: H2O

I guess everyone experienced something like this at least once. There is this band everybody is talking about and all your friends encourage you to buy the record this band has put out recently. You then go and get it, you like it, but somehow it just doesn't stick with you. You bury it somewhere deep in you collection and after some time you start to forget about it. The band gets bigger, but because of the first impression you had of that band, you don't really bother to even listen in to their new records. The band plays shows every now and then in your hometown, but you don't bother to show up there because of the first impression you had years ago. And thenm, after years of ignorance you finally see the light because you gave their latest record a chance.
See, this is what happened to me and H2O, a band I always filed under the category of a rather boring and average attempt to mix punkrock with the attitude of New York Hardcore. I know that a friend of mine made a tape recording of their first 7" for me and that was some time in the middle of the 1990s. The sound was okay but I didn't really see why the band got so much attention. It was average punkrock and I assumed that people only liked it because the band was from New York and was in some way connected to the big names of the NYHC scene. In addition their band name sounded a little to preachy to me, a guy who was preferring beer to water at that time. It was all too stereotypical and cliché. So I never really bothered to go and see them play live, it was too expensive anyway as that was the time when the bands started to become too big for the small clubs and moved into bigger venues which brought along higher prices for the tickets. To cut it short, I never bought a record and I never went to a show by H2O.
And now after more than 10 years I got my hands on their latest record "Nothing To Prove" and I have to admit that I am impressed. Although I still remember the voice and even though the music sounds familiar this is something I never imagined. This record got me right from the start. Great music, pumping beats, there's atmosphere in every song. Party tunes all the way. And what makes this even more enjoyable is the guests on the recording. Sick Of It All's Lou Koller and Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba are the voices I recognized right away. This record truly proves that this band has nothing to prove. To noone, not even to me. I missed out on something over a long period of time and I happily admit my mistake.

Fortuna Cologne gets the spot in the new NRW-League!

Oh what a day. When I received the news (German) on Thursday I was stunned. The objection of VfL Leverkusen, last season's Verbandsliga Mittelrhein champion who were denied a spot in the newly established NRW-Oberliga because certain requirements haven't been met (stadium too small, financial basis unstable, etc.), was rejected by a court and this means Fortuna Cologne will take the spot reserved for the Verbandsliga Mittelrhein champion as runner up to Leverkusen. Fortuna had only drawn the final game against Leverkusen on the last day of matchplay and ended up in 2nd place.
It has been 35 years since Fortuna earned their last promotion to a higher league. In 1973 they went up to the Bundesliga, the only season they played at the highest level of football in Germany. To this day the club takes pride in the fact that they were the best team to get relegated. They only stayed one year and since 1974 they had played in the newly established 2nd division 2. Bundesliga for more years than any other team. They still lead the all time table of all teams who ever played in the 2nd division. There were chances to once again play 1st class football, but the failed every time they tried. Things came to an end in 2000 when the club was relegated to the 3rd division. From there on things went downwards and it all ended up at 5th level Verbandsliga and even there Fortuna was frequently facing the threat of relegation. So all my football life I have only witnessed my favourite club going down one level after another, so this means a lot to me. This is the first time I can celebrate. Although I (and I believe that is true for all the other guys who come to watch the games) would have liked to settle this on the pitch instead of in front of a court. What a celebration we would have had in June had the club won the match back then.

Whatever, Fortuna will play in the NRW-Liga and that's all that matters now. I am very, very happy.

In The Backyard Of The Record Collection (10): Black Train Jack - No Reward & You're Not Alone

There are some records that stick with you throughout time and you always like to listen to them every once in a while. Most of the time you recall the memories you made while listening to the music, sometimes you use it as a means to get rid off your frustration or simply for a change of moods. As I am writing this a person who has become a very good friend of mine will return to her homeland in just a few hours and when I get back home from all the farewell ceremonies I think I will once more put up Black Train Jack's records which always put a smile on my face every single time I listened to them.

I first saw the band play at a festival which was part of one of the first PopKomm exhibitions in Cologne in the early ninties. At that time I was hardly aware that there was other music in NYC apart from hardcore. That was everything for me and my friends. Hard, fast, loud, that was all we needed. So by the time we got to the show we had to realize that the first band already started. That was Ryker's who became the coverboys for German hardcore over the next few years. They were impressive, still we were there to see our heroes in Sick Of It All. But it was this happy-go-lucky singalong band with those nice melodies which stuck in my mind after the show. Yes, Black Train Jack managed to converted an audience of angry young men ready to let go of all of their frustrations in a huge moshpit into smiling, laughing kids who celebrated a huge party. I'm not sure if the majority of the people in attendance were familiar with the band - I wasn't - but it was awesome and it felt right. I still treasure the t-shirt I bought at that concert, although it starts falling into pieces.
A friend gave me a copy of their debut "No Reward" (1993) shortly after the show and it instantly became one of my favourite tapes. I have to admit though that it was hard to find my way into the music. But the way they change from rather hard and stomping riffs to wonderful yet simple melodies is brilliant. The intro is classy and I just realized recently with my growing interested that the used Lou Gehrig's famous retirement speech for the intro. What even more refreshing - today as well as it was back then - is that the lyrics are so positive it is very hard not to have a grin on your face. I guess my favourisong on the first record was "Leapfrog", I always liked those catchy guitar leads. Although it took me some time to find out that this song was sung by their guitarist who - something I found out a lot later - was in the great Token Entry before this. That's another thing which really distinguished the band from other groups. They were singing, I mean, their singer was capable of doing things with his voice I never really heard in a punk band. A cover of Bob Marley's "One Love" really completes a nearly perfect album. Be it fast numbers like "Guy Like Me", stompers like "This Is The Way", it all fits and creates a wonderful and positive atmosphere.

A year later they released their follow up "You're Not Alone" (1994) and with this one they reached an even higher level of positiveness (does that word exist?). The title says it all, right? This record will never ever let you down, no matter how hard you try to discard it. The opening track "Handouts" is pure happiness. The guitar lead is so catchy and wonderful. "I've seen you up, I've seen you down, I've seen you half dead on the ground...", I still get goosebumps when I listen to this. So simple, yet so great. Yet another coverversion on this one as well, this time "The Joker" by Steve Miller. Great songs like the fast "Lottery" or the thumping "The Reason" and on and on and on. And then they saved the best for last. "That Reminds Me", sung by guitarist Ernie again, starts off with a rather weird guitar intro which is then joined by an even stranger bass line but when they all join together it makes perfect sense. "I can't stay now, because I'm going home". I have been listening to this song hundreds, maybe even thousands of times and I never grew sick of it. Which is the same with these two records.

I managed to see Black Train Jack once more play live at Cologne, this time a headlining show at the "BüZe" in Ehrenfeld. I had to choose between them and a young and upcoming from the Stated called Green Day who played at another club in town. Still I went to see Black Train Jack once more and I think that was one of the best decisions I ever made. The place wasn#t sold out, maybe 150 or 200 people. But when the band entered the stage everybody was happy. I have never seen so many people smile during a show. Everybody was singing along, the whole room was moving and by the end of the night you could see satisfied and happy people leave the place with a smile on their faces. This is a picture I will always associate with this band and I am thankful I was able to experience this.
Unfortunetaly they never returned to Europe and I never heard of them again for quite some time. They played one of those farewell shows for CBGB's and I think The Gaslight Anthem drummer Benny told me that they still play shows in the New York area.

It seems I am not the only one who thinks highly of this band...

Euro 2008 Day 19 (Final): A win well deserved

The days leading up to the final kick off of this Euro were obviously dominated by news surrounding the German team and the big shock came on yesterday afternoon. German captain Michael Ballack seems to have injured his calf muscle (strained or something like that) and now the whole country seems to wait for news on if he will be able to participate in the final tonight. This somehow feels like when everybody was waiting for some word out of Vatican city when John Paul II. was acing death.
Ballack had injured his calf before the 2006 World Cup which caused him to miss the opening match against Costa Rica, leading to headlines about "the calf of the nation" in the tabloids. The tragic lies in the fact that Ballack never won a big final throughout his career. In 2002 he was taking a shot at three titles with his club Bayer Leverkusen, blowing all three chances by losing the national championship on the last matchday (a 2-2 draw at Unterhaching with an own goal by Ballack), losing the national cup final in Berlin against Schalke 04 and losing the Uefa Champions League final in Glasgow against Real Madrid. He has won some titles during his stint with Bayern Munich, but the big European/International title is still missing in his collection.
Another traumatic memory might be missing the World Cup final in 2002 after recieving a yellow card in the semifinal clash with South Korea (Germany would eventually lose the final 0-2 against Brazil after a horrendous error by goalkeeper Oliver Kahn).
So with Ballack being in the prime of his career right now he desperately seeks this one title which will define whether he was a good or a great player.
If he really has to pull out there's numerous options and those are all discussed by the 82 mio coaches around the country. How about substituting him with Tim Borowski, who has always been labelled a "Mini-Ballack". Or what about changing the system back to a 4-4-2 with Bastian Schweinsteiger as the setup man for the strikers in centre.
What most people seem to forget is that Germany are facing the most complete team of the whole tournament. I haven't seen a match by Spain so far in which they didn't
look like they were in complete control. In Germany everyone seems to think that because Spain are favourites Germany will be able to upgrade their game considerably easy, just as they did against Portugal. And because they are missing David Villa up front the German defense won't be dealing with a huge threat. This completely disregards the fact that Spain played most of their games before the tournament with a 4-1-4-1 system, the same one they played in their awesome second half against Russia.
Well, we just have to wait and see, don't we?

Germany vs Spain 0-1 (Final)
There we have it, Spain - after 44 years without a title - won the final of this year's Euro championship and they well deserved it. Germany only had 10 to 15 minutes in which they were able to compete at the same level and then Spain took them apart completely. Even if I was rooting for Germany I still like to watch the Spanish game with balls reaching their destination at pinpoint accuracy. Does this team have any flaws at all? The goalkeeper is extraorinary, the defense is solid, the midfield is just pure magic and the striker is brilliant. And the best thing is, they are all still very very very young. This team could win it all over the next few years. Their only problem ist they have to do it without their coach and "grandfather" Luis Aragones. he will resign and head for Turkey to coach a club in Istanbul (which one of the three big names simply escapes me at the moment. It could be Galatasaray).
As I said, Germany never stood a chance. People will now question the decision to let Ballack play, they will debate if it was okay to start the match with only one striker instead of two, but in the end I don't think it would have made any difference.
After the game me and a friend took a walk towards the inner city of Cologne and while we were on our way we were passed by lots of cars with German flags. It seemed that because the Spanish victory was so clear everybody thought they might as well just celebrate the 2nd place for the German team. It was nice to see German and Spanish fans dance through the night.

All in all this was a whole new level from what we had seen two years ago at the World Cup. While defense was the main concept back then this year it was all about attack. Teams like The Netherlands or Russia were wonderful to watch and the best team of all - Spain - took the cup home. This will be a memorable experience!