I spent the afternoon with some three hundred grannies & granddaddies in a marquee. Last year, my elderly neighbour aroused my curiosity when he told me about this convivial little folklore festival at a retirement home in my hometown. A couple of weeks ago, I checked the line-up and decided to give it a try. Well, I had a great time at what the organisers announced as 'a grandiose garden party'. Not only were the entrance free and the Trappist beers dirt cheap, the bands were great fun too!
The first band, KHUKH MONGOL from Mongolia, treated us to some great throat singing and exciting sounds that came out of traditional Mongolian instruments like the yoochin, a dulcimer with 13 double-wire strings. One piece was played on a string instrument by a young woman who sang like a 90-years old boozer. Cool!
The second band was SPANDAN SANSKRUTIK TRUST from Northern-India and began their set with a chant dedicated to the victims of a very recent bomb attack in their hometown somewhere near the Pakistan border. Besides the 4 musicians (a real Qawwali line-up with a great harmonium), there were some 20 young dancers and some beautiful Indian girls. They had a lot of fun while doing their folkloric dances and the audience loved them too!
The greatest fun was when RAIZES from the Brazilian northeast took the stage. Three young musicians played some wild roots music that reminded me a lot of the music on the Globestyle album 'Brazil: Forro - Music for Maids and Taxi Drivers'. Again, a bunch of young dancers took the stage and showed us some real hot dancing.
The golden-agers loved it and so did I. I left the place during the last band, LOUS TCHANCAYRES (men and women on stilts from the Landes region near Bordeaux, France). The band members looked rather boring and the folkloric element was overemphasized.
It was kinda weird to see all these young people from different parts of the world amusing themselves together with some three hundred Belgian old-timers. I hope this garden party will still exist when I'm an oldie myself!
LINK TO THE RETIREMENT CENTRE
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