aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Sexy Loser
‘GIGS FROM YESTERYEAR, WHEN I WAS YOUNG + PRETTY AS A PICTURE’
# 08 Bizarre Festival, Waldstadion Gießen (June 1991)
Prior to sharing Dirk‘s latest offering (which he sent over early last week before his trip to Scotland), I wanted to thank everyone for their best wishes via the comments section in respect of the post which announced said visit. I won’t go into any detail about what the day we spent together, along with Mrs Loser and two other friends from his home village in Germany, but it did involve twelve hours all told, taking in a number of sites in Edinburgh (23,000 steps!, stopping off in ten pubs along the way, and all the while chatting about life, love, the universe and music. It was wonderful……and here now is the man himself to regale you with a tale of a festival he went to in 1991.
Dear friends,
I won’t brag too much today, promised:
a) you know all the bands anyway, at least you should. So finding some good tunes by them is more worthwhile, I’d reckon.
b) I still got some work to do before I head for Scotland tomorrow morning – the boss called me in, the mighty Vinyl Villain himself, so let’s hope it’s the promotion I’ve been looking for!
So, without further ado, the Bizarre Festival: contrary to ‘Rock am Ring’ and other smaller festivals, the Bizarre Festival has always been Germany’s No. 1 festival when it comes to independent and/or gothic. It started in 1987 and for fours years it was held at a most fantastic venue, an open air amphitheatre at the top of the Loreley, a 130-meter-hill right at the banks of the river Rhine:
But the event got bigger and bigger and in 1991 the organisers had to go elsewhere, and they chose Gießen’s football stadium, the Waldbühne. Obviously the location was not comparable, but on the plus side they added an additional day. I can’t remember which band I was there with, it was either Cassandra Complex or The Dubrovniks, but no matter – fun was had, believe me, as well in the backstage area as with this awesome line up:
Alarm, A Witness, Bad Religion, Cassandra Complex, Danzig, Dubrovniks, Freaky Fukin Weirdos, Goodies, House Of Love, Iggy Pop, Immaculate Fools, Jesus Jones, Lush, New Model Army, 999, Pixies, Plan B, Rausch, Ride, Stereo MC’s, Stiff Little Fingers, Throw That Beat In The Garbagecan!
I wish I could tell you that The Pixies and/or Iggy were the highlight, but to my great dismay: no. It was – and i get goosebumps even some 35 years later by the sheer thought of it – seeing Lush’s Miki Berenyi in all of her stunning beauty:
Ah, well: one of the finer moments in my life, this, to be sure!
But I digress, I tried to find some tunes that you probably don’t hear all that often: I mean, it would not make much sense to provide you with ‘Lust For Life’ or ‘Where Is My Mind’ again, right? Instead:
A Witness – ‘Lucky In London’ (’85)
Bad Religion – ‘Sorrow’ (’01)
House Of Love – ‘Love In A Car’ (’88)
Iggy Pop & Underworld – ‘Bells & Circles’ (’18)
Jesus Jones – ‘International Bright Young Thing’ (’91)
Lush – ‘Outdoor Miner’ (’91)
Pixies – ‘Monkey Gone To Heaven’ (Mark Goodier Session ’90)
Ride – ‘Taste’ (’90)
Stiff Little Fingers – ‘Doesn’t Make It Alright’ (’79)
Enjoy,
Dirk
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 