The way it should be
Poland is celebrating a big anniversary this year: the first semi-democratic elections on June 4, 1989. The elections were a result of the “round table” talks between representatives of General Jaruzelski’s communist government and the opposition, such as the trade union Solidarnosc. The elections brought a landslide victory to Solidarnosc. The winds of change had been blowing from Poland throughout the Eighties, and it had an effect on the whole of Europe. On June 27, 1989, Austria and Hungary cut a hole into the Iron Curtain, by the end of 1989 the Berlin Wall had fallen.
So “20 LAT POLSKIEJ DEMOKRACJI”, 20 years of democracy in Poland, is reason enough to celebrate. It’s the motto and occasion of the festival in Katowice in Silesia in the south-east of Poland. From Berlin, we get there conveniently by train. Also on the bill are five Polish artists, with Bob z zespołem – Bob and band – to headline the festival.
The stage is set up on the corner of a small park. The venue stretches out onto a big crossroad. Between the seating area and the street, there’s a massive piece of presumably communist art, a huge sculpture made of black stone or metal. The place is surrounded by high tower blocks, hotels and office buildings.
After spending the day in friendly Katowice, we get ready for the gig. It starts late and unlike usual, they don’t start with The great Song of Indifference. Instead, accordion wizard and piano and keyboard player Alan comes to the front of the stage and opens the concert with “Sto lat”, a Polish birthday song. The audience loves it and Alan is accompanied by a choir of thousands from the very first word! The perfect opener and it wins the crowd over immediately.
Sto lat
Great song of indifference
A sex thing
When the night comes
Walking back to happiness
Harvest Moon
Scream in vain
One for me
Mudslide
Mondays
Joey
Mary of the 4th form
Rat Trap (with Sgt. Peppers middle piece – “It was 20 years ago today…”)
Diamond Smiles
Indifference Reprise
In the first interval, Bob says: “Playing here is like playing in Ireland. There are so many Irish here, just like there are so many Poles in Ireland - and that’s the way it should be!” This statement also somehow sums up what our trip is about (besides hearing good music): We have the freedom to come here, and just like in Norway last December the gig brings together people from all corners of Europe, West and East. With censorship and travel restrictions of merely 20 years ago this would have been impossible.
Bob remembers one concert in the parliament in Warsaw: “We played here one week after you got rid of communism. I feel privileged to come back to play at Poland’s 20 birthday!”
He also says “I hope the older of you remember the events 20 years ago and I hope you’ll always remember 20 years ago”.
The show is immediately followed by Orffs “Carmina Burana” from the loud speakers and fireworks somewhere close to the festival site. After Carmina Burana, we get to hear the “Ode to Freedom” (Beethoven’s 9th symphony), which puts everything into a European context again. Anyway it’s the weekend of the European elections. The guy in front of us, who’d danced wildly to “Indifference” with his friends, does a sort of expression dance to Orff and Beethoven, leading us to believe that the anniversary and Europe must mean something to him…
All photos taken by Corinna