Concert review of "die Konferenz" ("The Conference") in Maria's Kino, Bad Endorf, Germany from the "Oberbayerisches Volksblatt" (Rosenheim, Germany newspaper) from 1/29/08
Translated into English by Paul Stowe from the original German by Karin Zehentner.
"Conference of the Crazy" who know exactly what they are doing
A special “Conference” took place at Maria’s Kino
(cinema) in Bad Endorf, Germany. Peter Wiegand and his band presented
an all encompassing show. The consensus: an ingenious assortment of
songs ranging from Indie punk to country, complimented by a selection
of short films from Bill Plympton.
My first impression was that there are a bunch of mad men on stage, but
soon I realized that these crazy guys know exactly what they are doing,
and love the music they are playing. Peter Wiegand and the members of
his band “The Conference”, Tobias Weber on guitar, Wolfgang
Roth on sax, Dim Sclichter on drums, Georg Karger on bass and Leo
Gmelch on the tuba are in fact in real life professional musicians.
Each of them live in symbiosis with their respective instruments
without being egocentric show-offs.
Peter Wiegand looks like a guy who has seen it all. One look at his
life tells you he knows all about fate. He worked as a bus and
ambulance driver, as an archivist, and as tofu salesman, unfortunately
before the organic food craze hit. His life story was documented in the
“Lebenslinien” (Life Lines) series on Bavarian State TV.
Using the sum of his experiences to interpret the songs, which are all
originals by the “Conference”, the songs tell stories of
real life. Wiegand recites the lyrics. The band accompanies him
musically. The musicians take their sound seriously; each of them
reflecting internally before executing their task of making the right
tone at the right time. Put it together with Peter’s deep voice,
it all fits. As a worthy interpreter of Tom Waits, he has a great
variety of tone production. Each song is like opening a present. With
conviction, the bow is untied and the paper taken off. The content
amazes and enchants. Radiantly beaming, the audience smiles from deep
within the soul.
Peter Wiegend and “The Conference” observe an unwritten
law: when one person speaks, the others listen. That is worth doing as
each of them are experts of their own trade, each of them putting their
part across without the arrogance of perfectionism, for the joy of
doing it, motivated by their own enthusiasm.
In the breaks several short films by Bill Plympton were shown, full of
the black humor typical for this genre of comic strips. Funny films
that make you choke on your own laughter as soon as their heavy
thematic messages begin to sink in. The audience, seemingly enjoying
the show, were nestled cosily in Maria’s comfortable seats. It
was a relaxed and pleasurable evening in an almost family oriented
atmosphere, complimented by the best in entertainment. Glad to see that
something like this still exists. Thank you Peter Wiegand. Thank you
Maria's Kino.
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