Memories of the summer: What the 3rd Klaffenbach Open-Air was like

THE 3rd KLAFFENBACH OPEN AIR – a castle in concert fever

It’s mid-September and summer is increasingly saying goodbye, but there’s still time for a special kind of open air, the Klaffenbach Open Air. The event, which is now taking place for the third time in the Wasserschloss near Chemnitz, promised visitors a varied concert evening this year. On board were Eisbrecher and Nachtblut. Haggefugg and Corvus Corax provided the right rock and medieval flair. However, the weather gods had to make some changes beforehand, as the concerts had to be moved from the castle meadow to the castle courtyard due to the constant rain. It was therefore with a heavy heart that the wonderful medieval market, which was to take place over two days, had to be canceled. But at least the concerts were able to take place.

So the time had come and the boys from Haggefugg opened the evening. With their mixture of medieval music and rock, the band laid the foundation for a good mood and happy faces in the audience, and you quickly wanted more. The joy and enthusiasm, coupled with a great deal of passion and joie de vivre, made the performance something special. Of course, the audience noticed this too, and at the latest when singer Gregor Krähenkehle presented the audience with a real carrot on stage with the words: “The fast one gets it on top of a purchase at the band merch”, you could see smiling faces everywhere in the castle courtyard. After the concert is before the concert, and so the band took plenty of time to chat and take pictures with their fans afterwards. A wonderful start to the open air.

Corvus Corax now brought the Middle Ages to the castle courtyard. The entire band formation presented a fantastic picture, with bagpipes, drums, medieval garb and the stylishly designed stage being perfectly coordinated, which was also pleasing to the eye. Singer Castus repeatedly used the breaks after the songs to tell a little back story for each new song in fine style. Those familiar with medieval sounds particularly appreciated songs such as “Venus Vina Musica”, “In Taberna” and the sing-along “Havfru”. Corvus Corax mastered their performance in the good old minstrel tradition, so it is always a feast for the ears to experience the band live.

Dark metal took the place of medieval music, because towards the middle of the concert evening it got louder, and from full speakers, because Nachtblut did the honors. Singer Askeroth entered the stage to a brute thunderstorm of drums and began the introduction to the gloomy dark metal show with “Multikulturell”. The more songs were played during the course of the evening, the more the guys from Nachtblut forced the audience into motion with their rousing rhythm. Every corner of the castle courtyard was now singing along, be it to “Lied für die Götter” or “Der Tod ist meine Nutte”. – At the front of the stage, you could see countless heads and hair in motion. Bassist Ablaz animated the crowd again and again and by the time he started his own interpretation of the Prinzen song “Alles nur geklaut”, everyone was fervently singing along to the lyrics. Nachtblut impressed with the finest dark metal at a high level, creating the perfect transition to Eisbrecher. During a short break afterwards, all those present were able to take a deep breath in the castle courtyard and stock up on fresh drinks and culinary delicacies, of which there were plenty to discover in Klaffenbach moated castle.

Now the time had come! Mr. Wesselsky, on stage please! Eisbrecher, the headliner of the open air, now started full speed ahead. Achim Färber started on drums, then Alexander Wesselsky entered the stage and greeted the audience with loud cheers. He got off to a perfect start with “Willkommen im Nichts”, followed by “So der so”, and by the third song “Volle Kraft voraus” at the latest, the ice was broken in the audience! Everyone was moving, singing along or laughing, because anyone who knows Alex knows why: he always likes to make little jokes with the audience between songs. For example, he looked sheepishly into the crowd and said to someone: “Don’t drop your cell phone!” or “Now we’re pointing the finger at someone!” or “Young, you’ll never grow up either, will you?” Hardly any other band knows how to entertain their fans as well as Eisbrecher.

This was also evident on the evening with different outfits worn by Alexander to match the respective song. Sometimes he appeared as a pilot, only to return to the stage as a captain for “Sturmfahrt”. At other times, there were words of wisdom to be heard in traditional Bavarian costume, accompanied by a hunting horn. Afterwards, two bar stools were brought on stage, with Jürgen (guitarist) sitting on one and Alex on the other. An acoustic version of “Schwarze Witwe” was played. It was entertaining that both didn’t take themselves too seriously and laughed a lot about themselves and sang off-key. It was then the turn of the song “Eiszeit”. – A highlight of the evening, as has been done at other concerts, is when it starts to snow from the stage roof. All the band mates stood on stage wearing thick polar jackets and Alexander crossed two ice picks. Anyone who has experienced this once will rave about it and will probably remember the perfect spectacle for the powerful song “Eiszeit” for a long time afterwards. He played several more songs and in the encore, “Miststück” was another highlight that no Eisbrecher concert should be without. – After all, it is always played with the involvement of the audience. The concert came to an end with the Falco song”Out of the Dark” in the encore.

Unfortunately, it is inevitable that a concert comes to an end after the encore, and Eisbrecher thanked the crowd warmly at the end, but not without throwing the odd ice plush bear into the crowd. All the bands took to the stage again at the end and an impressive open air came to an end to loud cheers from the fans. Everyone involved had a great, varied and well-organized Klaffenbach Open-Air, and we will definitely see you again next year.

Text & Photos: Marco Wernicke, BlackS Photography

Setlist Eisbrecher:
– “Willkommen im Nichts” – “So oder so” – “Volle Kraft voraus” – “FAKK” – “Augen unter Null” – “Dagegen” – “Im Guten, im Bösen” – “Sturmfahrt” – “Schwarze Witwe” (Unplugged) – “Eiszeit” – “1000 Narben” – “Himmel, Arsch und Zwirn” – “This Is Deutsch” — “Verrückt” – “Was ist hier los?” – “Miststück” (Megaherz cover) – “Out of the Dark” (Falco cover)