12/01/2013   English German
  Edition # 104  
San Francisco, 12-01-2013

German singer Herbert Grönemeyer in San Francisco
Figure [1]: German singer Herbert Grönemeyer performs in the Bimbo's 365 club in San Francisco.

Michael The German musician Herbert Grönemeyer, so popular in his home country that he's effortlessly filling sport stadiums over there, is completely unknown in the U.S. When I got wind of him touring the U.S. and performing in a small club in San Francisco, I immediately purchased two tickets at $50 a piece. We then took along our German expat friends Conny and Roland and went up to SF's Italian neighborhood "North Beach", to enter a club named "Bimbo's 365". We sat down at a set table (!), just like Humphrey Bogart und Lauren Bacall back in the olden days, and only about 60 feet from the stage, a waiter took our drink orders. We happily complied with the "two drink minimum" as required according to our event ticket.

Figure [2]: Not a bad deal at only 50 Dollars per ticket.

Figure [3]: German expats lounging at a table at "Bimbo's", a small club in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood, while Herbert is performing on stage.

Grönemeyer has been touring several major metropolitan areas in the U.S. recently, performing some of his old and new songs overseas. But he's singing them in English instead of smattering the original German lyrics. Of course, this sounds absurd, since Grönemeyer's meaning-laden, almost pompous lyrics clash somewhat with the unintellectual, down-to-earth American lifestyle. And you can't help but notice a heavy German accent, which completely derails the experience, at least for me. I remember that the German singer Udo Lindenberg once tried singing English translations of his recordings in the 1980ies, and until today, I remember these flesh-crawling moments. Grönemeyer's pronunciation isn't quite as bad, though. Except for the "I Walk" intro which should be scrapped completely from his repertoire, as it is horrible, and involuntarily funny at best. Musically, I really like the "To the Sea" song, but the English lyrics aren't quite on par with the German original ("Zum Meer"). When will German musicians learn that you can't translate lyrics verbatim while switching between different cultural environments? I would suggest that Gröni-Boy gets in touch with a more talented writer. I personally am already booked, so I need to pass, but come on, give some new kid a chance!

Figure [4]: The German San Francisco population is loudly singing along with Grönemeyer.

Figure [5]: The Grönemeyer band is touring many major metropolitan areas in the U.S., and then drives up to Canada.

What's even more distracting is if you've been growing up singing along with the German original lyrics. Some of them are very unique, with a strike of genius, and of course untranslateable, like the smattering "Schatten im Blick", for example. Most of the people in the audience were, unsurprisingly, German expats, who took the opportunity to see Grönemeyer up close and at a discount price. And, hardly surprisingly either, obnoxiously kept heckling him to sing in German! He actually gave in a couple of times, and the crowd in front of the stage went bananas in every single instance. They jumped and danced, and the stage lights pointed at a raging ocean of people waving arms and singing along out loudly and ecstaticly. Grönemeyer was visibly moved by the crowd response and gave at least five encores. Will he make it in the American music scene? I really don't know, but it's worth a try. In any case, the German expats in San Francisco truly enjoyed the experience, and at a price that you just can't beat.

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