When Versengold and Schandmaul were announced for 2024’s medieval Christmas market in Dortmund, I was super excited. Firstly, I had decided to stop seeing Versengold outside of „medieval“ settings at some point, so I was pleased to be offered another chance to see them. And secondly, I could give Schandmaul another chance, whom I had seen several years ago and didn’t enjoy the show very much (poor sound, boring crowd).
There was an unexpected plot twist though when first the location changed from Fredenbaumpark to Revierpark in Dortmund and finally, a few weeks prior to the first concerts, the medieval Christmas market had to be cancelled. Very sad. There’ll be a few more details on that below the cut.
The „venue“: Winterlights at Revierpark Dortmund
Winterlights was supposed to be a follow-up of the „Phantastischer Lichterweihnachtsmarkt“ that took place every year throughout December at Fredenbaumpark in Dortmund, just with new organisers. I don’t want to talk too much about that. I do have an opinion on everything, but unfortunately there’s a lot of toxicity involved in the whole debate. I’ll try to stick to my own observations at the festival myself.
First of all: The Revierpark was by no means any worse of a location for the festival. In fact, when it comes to parking, it was probably better. There’s also public transport available, but I think the stops/stations are a bit further away from the park than in case of Fredenbaum.
The lack of the medieval Christmas market was unfortunate because a) in hindsight, the ticket price seemed a little expensive (on the other hand, a Versengold headline show isn’t much less and we had Schandmaul on top, and public transport was included in the ticket); b) the atmosphere was lacking and c) it reduced the food options significantly, as the medieval market usually had dozens of foodstalls with offers for everyone. The vegetarian or vegan options at Winterlights were unfortunately a little poor, but there were food stalls available and the prices were reasonable.
Food stalls and toilets were accessible already while queueing. The concert itself was, as introduced at PLWM the year before, in a big tent which was warm and protected from the winter weather. Reviews on the internet had said that people had been freezing at shows before, so I dressed up in warm winter clothes and ended up sweating.
The queues at the bars were a little long (just like at any other concert) and the prices were reasonable.
Also the communication was great. I indeed missed an announcement that the market would not be available, I found it rather „by accident“ on their website when I checked for information on parking. But a week before the show I received an email with info on said parking information. The info on the website was helpful and organised. When I requested my photo pass I was actually given an answer (! this happens so rarely that I want to mention it here) that they’d forward my request to the management and let me know shortly before the show, then I got the final confirmation I think one day before the show with more info on where to go. At the ticket desk they could not tell me anything about the rules, but the security was well informed and gave me all the info I needed. (I could make a salty comment here, but I won’t because I don’t need a mob).
So for me personally, the entire event left a very positive impression. I really had a good time and I did not understand all the negative reviews at all. Either Winterlights managed to learn from the received criticism, or some of the criticism was actually made up.
Doppelbock
I’d never heard of Doppelbock before, so I didn’t know what to expect. What I got was first of all a lot of red light, and secondly … a lot of songs about drinking and alcohol. Musically I liked their vibe, it was a nice warm up, you could dance along. Lyrically, as someone who doesn’t drink at all, I got weary of the continuing topic quite quickly (which is kinda fun because Versengold has a lot of drinking / pub culture-related songs as well, but somehow that’s ✨different✨, don’t ask me why).
Doppelbock played for about half an hour. They weren’t bad but they couldn’t quite catch me personally. The energy in the audience wasn’t quite boiling up either. Still a way to go for them, but good for a warm-up I guess.
Schandmaul
Hah, one of the big names in Germany’s medieval / folk music scene. Schandmaul are one of those iconic bands that have always been around. I’ve been listening to them as a teen, then came back several years later and I still enjoy their music. They’re one of the less-metal, less heavy bands I listen to. Just something to enjoy, to have fun, to dance along.
Last year, their singer Thomas was diagnosed with throat cancer and underwent treatment. Up to this day, he can’t sing yet, but at least he finally returned to the stage this year and supports the band on keyboard/piano (?) or guitars. I admit: When I saw him on stage I first didn’t recognize him, but I also almost teared up when I did because it was very touching to know that he’s with the band.
He was replaced by two great singers: Georgij Makazaria, former singer of Russkaja, and Till Herence, a musician from Munich who’s been involved in a lot of different projects and has been working together with Schandmaul in multiple ways for quite a few years. Both together created a very different vibe than Schandmaul with Thomas‘ vocals, which by far does not mean they did a bad job. They were great. It was just different. I’ve read of people struggling with the replacement who wanted to wait until Thomas finally returns to the microphone. For me, it was an interesting experiment and I enjoyed the show to the fullest.
(On a little side note: There was also a fill-in at the violin, as Schandmaul’s actual violinist Saskia Forkert recently became a mom. She was replaced by Shir-Ran Yinon, who also played the Nyckelharpa.)
I also had the impression that the audience was fully caught by the performance. The people were dancing and singing along to songs like Krieger, Hexeneinmaleins or Walpurgisnacht. After Traumtänzer, the audience started shouting Thomas‘ name, which was answered by him with a little wave and an honest smile – definitely a touching moment. For Bunt und nicht Braun, Till and Georgij waved the familiar Schandmaul-flags with a jester’s head in rainbow colours. They were met with a loud round of applause. The song was followed by a very cool medieval cover version of Avicii’s Wake Me Up. For Der Teufel hat den Schnaps gemacht, Georgij, whose band Russkaja was part of the song, performed the Russian version of the chorus, whereas Till sang the English version (which, in the recording, was done by Fiddler’s Green if I remember correctly).
Krieger
Hexeneinmaleins
Irgendwann
Traumtänzer
Froschkönig
An der Tafelrunde
Königsgarde
Bunt und nicht braun
Wake Me Up (Avicii Cover)
Der Teufel hat den Schnaps gemacht
Knüppel aus dem Sack
Walpurgisnacht
Dein Anblick (Encore)
For Knüppel aus dem Sack, they tried to initiate a so-called Wall Of Love, a very loving version of a Wall of Death with the purpose to hug those you meet in the pit. Since I couldn’t really see what was happening from my position, I can’t judge how well it went, but I certainly loved the idea.
The set was rounded up with Dein Anblick as an encore, which found its end in Thomas stepping forth and singing the very last lines of the song. Not gonna lie, my eyes teared up a little when the audience replied with a seemingly neverending repetition of the chorus. The atmosphere in the tent was very touching and I’ll keep this memory in my heart forever. It was certainly one of the most emotional moments I’ve witnessed in my concert year 2024.
I was left behind with the feeling that it was a good choice to give Schandmaul another chance. It was a different kind of a Schandmaul-set, but it was emotional and also very entertaining.
Versengold
The final act of the day were Versengold, who I was looking forward to quite a lot. I was allowed to photograph throughout their entire set, which was super cool, but also made me super nervous because it was the first show I was allowed to photograph that had pyros. Super cool.
They opened their set with a bang and the song Glimmer und Gloria, which equals party right from the start. The atmosphere in the audience was amazing from the start. People were dancing and singing along and having a good time. Fitting the season, some people in the front rows wore Christmas decoration (like antlers with lights and bells) and everyone was having a good time. The good mood continued with their banger Niemals sang- und klanglos, which to this day is one of my personal favourite Versengold songs.
Schandmaul was not the only band with a replacement that night: since Versengold’s violinist Florian Janoske was at home waiting for his baby to be born, they were joined by Maline Zickow of Eklipse (who have performed with Versengold before), who did an amazing job, matched the energy of the band and set up the „female artists on stage“ counter that night by one (yay!).
The entire Versengold-set was basically one big party with almost no break. Looking at the setlist, I gotta admit that my judgement about Doppelbock was indeed very unfair, as the majority of Versengold’s songs that night were about drinking (Der Tag, an dem die Götter sich betranken; Im Bier sind Dinge drin, Die letzte Runde) or pub culture (Sally O Brien; The Devil Is A Barmaid, Thekenmädchen). Also, Versengold-sets are always full of a little irony, for example when the audience is taught a tiny, very simple choreography to mock the fact that singer Malte Hoyer doesn’t know how to dance, which is celebrated in their song Hey Hanna. It was followed by Sally O Brien, which brought a little Christmas spirit to the show.
The only tiny break in the set which gave the people a moment to breathe was the once again very touching performance of Haut mir kein Stein, a very calm and beautiful song
A true highlight was their performance of The Devil is a Barmaid, which is actually a folk-ish cover of Kissin‘ Dynamite’s The Devil is a Woman and the result of a little bet between both bands. It’s the only Versengold song with English lyrics, it matches their vibe and it is a great live song. Another song born out of a challenge with another band is Rudelstrudel, which was accompanied by an attempt to initiate a circle pit (a „Rudelstrudel“). The song was written in a band battle with the German band Haematom and it’s great to activate the crowd again.
After one of their most likely most popular songs, Kobold im Kopp, singer Malte and bassist Eike left the stage and made their way into the crowd, where they climbed on a box and performed the song Die letzte Runde surrounded by their fans. For the big final, Malte returned to the stage while Eike initiated yet another circle pit around himself during their final song Butter bei die Fische.
Glimmer und Gloria
Niemals sang- und klanglos
Verliebt in eine Insel
Der Tag an dem die Götter sich betranken
Hey Hanna
Sally O’Brien
The Devil is a Barmaid
Haut mir kein Stein
Thekenmädchen
Im Bier sind Dinge drin
Rudelstrudel
Kobold im Kopp
Die letzte Runde
Butter bei die Fische
(Abgesang/Happy Birthday)
Normally, a Versengold show ends with a so called Abgesang, where all members of the band get together at the front of the stage and perform a little a capella song that invites the people to buy their CDs. However, this was spontaneously replaced by a loud and joyful Happy Birthday for nyckelharpist Alexander Willms, who had celebrated his birthday just a day (or two?) before that concert.
All in all, the show was hot. The show was wild. The atmosphere was great. Versengold know how to party and they know how to make a slightly cold tent in late December turn into a giant sauna.
*Photos will be added later*