OktoberZest
- Thread starter Zachary
- Start date
I just saw Oktoberzest today and the one thing I came away with was how much potential it has. They just need to trim out a few rough bits and expand on the good bits.
First of all, "All the Folks in Germany" and "Country Roads" should be cut outright. The former is cheesy and almost condescending. Also they already sing "Eins Zwei G'suffa" so we don't need a second song about counting. The latter, while technically appropriate because of its modern use, is just confusing. Unless you know enough about German culture to get the joke or you're a big enough fan of country to appreciate its inclusion, it comes off as jarring. I would rather improve existing songs than replace them but these two are taking up time that could be spent on more traditional music. The next song on the chopping block according to you guys seems to be "Edelweiss". Honestly, I thought the quartet that sang it was beautiful despite the song not being traditionally German. I would be sad to see it go but if they do remove it I hope they keep some kind of choral segment.
The performers, as expected, were awesome. I liked the traditional dancing, particularly the woodcutting segment. However all the dances were super slow. Maybe the performers just need to get more comfortable with the choreography then they can up the tempo.
The violinist was great from how little I saw of her. I don't even remember seeing the accordionist (which is a big problem in a GERMAN show). They both should have a bigger part and they should probably play together so they can support each other and mask little mistakes. I saw them playing together after the show and they sounded good.
The thing that irked me the most was that they taught the audience eins, zwei, g'suffa, ein prosit, and zicke-zacke but never touch them again. What's the point if you don't do one or two of those between each song?
First of all, "All the Folks in Germany" and "Country Roads" should be cut outright. The former is cheesy and almost condescending. Also they already sing "Eins Zwei G'suffa" so we don't need a second song about counting. The latter, while technically appropriate because of its modern use, is just confusing. Unless you know enough about German culture to get the joke or you're a big enough fan of country to appreciate its inclusion, it comes off as jarring. I would rather improve existing songs than replace them but these two are taking up time that could be spent on more traditional music. The next song on the chopping block according to you guys seems to be "Edelweiss". Honestly, I thought the quartet that sang it was beautiful despite the song not being traditionally German. I would be sad to see it go but if they do remove it I hope they keep some kind of choral segment.
The performers, as expected, were awesome. I liked the traditional dancing, particularly the woodcutting segment. However all the dances were super slow. Maybe the performers just need to get more comfortable with the choreography then they can up the tempo.
The violinist was great from how little I saw of her. I don't even remember seeing the accordionist (which is a big problem in a GERMAN show). They both should have a bigger part and they should probably play together so they can support each other and mask little mistakes. I saw them playing together after the show and they sounded good.
The thing that irked me the most was that they taught the audience eins, zwei, g'suffa, ein prosit, and zicke-zacke but never touch them again. What's the point if you don't do one or two of those between each song?
^Seriously! "All the Folks in Germany" sounds like a potty training song.
It's very condescending. They mean to tell me that Germans can count to three?!
It's very condescending. They mean to tell me that Germans can count to three?!
^Maybe, but sadly a lot of Americans are still a bit Germaniphobic. If they hear anything that sounds prideful or somehow sounds like the German national anthem they raise their eyebrows and everyone gets uncomfortable. To give you an idea: much of the music in Oktoberfest is actually Austrian, such as "O Du Mein Österreich" (O My Dear Austria), which is not far removed from the Bavarian-German music that you hear. Remember, they were an empire at that time, which is why most of the music still fits.
What we are left with in terms of German music at Busch Gardens is almost silly stuff that we might equate to Yankee Doodle and such. "Real" German music up until the late '60s would shock most Americans as being too unusual. After that, their music became very British-Americanized, such as the popular rock song "99 Luftballons" (also known as 99 Red Balloons) which was very high on American pop charts. As catchy as it is, even that song is slightly inappropriate for BG because it's about the price of war.
We have very few options left but to play songs of a certain genre and time period. This draws us back to regular old Oktoberfest, but either there is a way to expand, or it's not meant to be more than that at BG or at least not in Das Festhaus.
What we are left with in terms of German music at Busch Gardens is almost silly stuff that we might equate to Yankee Doodle and such. "Real" German music up until the late '60s would shock most Americans as being too unusual. After that, their music became very British-Americanized, such as the popular rock song "99 Luftballons" (also known as 99 Red Balloons) which was very high on American pop charts. As catchy as it is, even that song is slightly inappropriate for BG because it's about the price of war.
We have very few options left but to play songs of a certain genre and time period. This draws us back to regular old Oktoberfest, but either there is a way to expand, or it's not meant to be more than that at BG or at least not in Das Festhaus.
Two thoughts.
1. I think 99 Luftballons is a completely valid snapshot of where Germany was in the 80s. It encapsulates the strong anti-nuke sentiment, which was an obvious outgrowth of being the tripwire/sacrificial lamb for WWIII. It is also representative of the dance club sub-culture that was a real part of the music scene then. The fact that it was transformed (NOT translated) into English, much as Falco's Der Kommissar was, is a testament to influence that German-speaking musicians actually had on European pop. All that said, I'm not sure why it would be found on an Oktoberfest soundtrack.
2. I'm not advocating any position, but I believe that many Americans think that Germany abdicated its claim to a moral high ground vis a vis anti-German stereotypes. I do not believe that culturally, we have forgotten the choices made in 1938.
1. I think 99 Luftballons is a completely valid snapshot of where Germany was in the 80s. It encapsulates the strong anti-nuke sentiment, which was an obvious outgrowth of being the tripwire/sacrificial lamb for WWIII. It is also representative of the dance club sub-culture that was a real part of the music scene then. The fact that it was transformed (NOT translated) into English, much as Falco's Der Kommissar was, is a testament to influence that German-speaking musicians actually had on European pop. All that said, I'm not sure why it would be found on an Oktoberfest soundtrack.
2. I'm not advocating any position, but I believe that many Americans think that Germany abdicated its claim to a moral high ground vis a vis anti-German stereotypes. I do not believe that culturally, we have forgotten the choices made in 1938.
Nicole said:
This is where my mind goes when I think of German music... If it were in OktoberZest I would actually suffer that terrible place to watch.
Saw the new show this weekend while there on short vacation. I enjoyed the fact it focused more on the dancing and singing than the theatrics and stunts of the last show. There is one thing that is confusing me. There was a performer (who coincidentally is pictured above) that was in the show we watched Saturday but teched the shows we saw on Sunday and yesterday. He is the one with the long hair in the bun. Is he a swing or a tech who filled in? My daughter, who is going to college for musical theatre first noticed it on Sunday and then we noticed it again on yesterday. Nothing wrong, it just makes it even more special in our minds if he is a tech who also performs in the show. Not sure how their arrangement works with shifts and swings and such. He was the only one we saw that was in the tech uniform who was also in the show. Any input on this would certainly be appreciated and help us put our curiosity to rest.
After seeing the show recently, I did notice that the chicken dance has been thankfully performed to the aisles only and not getting kids to go on stage. The show is still quite the entertaining hot mess that I somehow have hopes for it getting better next year; I hope the changes are going to be as good as the Mix It Up/Gloria/All For One changes.
I took a few friends to see this over food and wine and they determined the whole underlying theme is what the characters of a cuckoo clock do when they're not cuckooing. I kinda see it lol.
The costumes are better, but they still really need to get rid of those SS Trooper boots. I don't see why anyone would wear them with Lederhosen unless they want to start a riot. Also, I'm not naming anybody, but if a performer fails at something each time, they shouldn't continue to be asked to perform the same task the same way. Example: If an ice skater does a backflip and falls each time, they shouldn't still be expected to do that the same way if at all. Find something else for them to do and move on.
Saw this show for the first time on Tuesday and man was it packed! Every table was filled and the show which I thought was just decent entertained the young kids getting them dancing and I thought it was quiet funny when the actors came around picking women to dance(one of the funniest parts was watching them try to get people up).