We are a small town band. Like, we tend to be better received in small towns as opposed to big cities. And strangely, we tend to play to more people when there are less overall people in the area.
When we told people about playing in Unterlengenhardt, almost nobody had any idea where that was. The nearest town of Bad Liebenzell is about 10km away with a couple thousand people. That’s the nearest “big town,” and it operates relatively independently, separated by long roads through winding hills and tall Black Forest woods. 700 people live in Unterlengenhardt, and about 70 people joined us for a concert in the converted barn that acts as their cultural center. So, we essentially played to 10% of the town.
Inga and Michael acted as wonderful hosts — we stayed in the big farmhouse on the property and had a lovely bolognese and pasta made by the neighbors before the show. We told stories about how this little town felt so close to a barn that I saw a show at in Athens County back home in Ohio. We chatted with Jeff from Tucson and his family — living in Germany where his wife was born since just before the pandemic.
I walked the farm and pet the cows the next morning. I listened to the birds, similar calls with a different accent. Our little pocket of Ohio here in Germany.