We love folklore

6 March 2020, 16:00
We love folklore

Last year, after several years of stagnation, Brno's folklore enthusiasts woke up again and began organizing gatherings with dulcimer music, folklore parties, etc. at several different venues. This is certainly gratifying. However, motivation, experiences and concepts differ. One of them is We <3 folklore in the Metro music bar.

The day before yesterday Javorníček Dulcimer Band was its next guest, the first of  this year. This band was formed in 2008 at the Primary Music and Art School in Vranovská Street. I dare say that it is still a very young band, yet it is well known in Brno. However, they didn't attract too many guests to the Metro, which was probably not their fault.

The Metro club is best known for its rock concerts and night discos. Due to the strategic location of the club in the city centre, the gigs are largely visited by tourists as well as locals. It is customary here for discotheques to follow all live concerts. I like this model. For dulcimer music sessions, however, it is absolutely inappropriate. It is an unwritten rule that at around eleven at night, when live music production in the Metro ends, most folklore dancers, musicians or even pure folklore enthusiasts are only beginning to have fun. Hence, cutting the dulcimer music at its best does not seem to me to be the ideal solution. If the concept of this event is intended as a dulcimer music session, not many people will pay for it: a rather high entrance fee is topped up by expensive drinks at the bar. As regards the concert, bands that we do not have the chance to hear so often in Brno should be chosen and the subsequent DJ show should be adequate to the previous performance.

This opinion was also confirmed to me by my view of a few heavily drunk guests, who obviously were rather heading to the disco and eventually had to be escorted out by security, which did not add much to a good atmosphere.

We <3 folklore has a very successful graphic design of its posters and invitations, and the sound system in the club is more than high quality. Therefore, it is a pity not to finalise these details. In this form, the whole event gives a slightly commercial and slightly sloppy impression. It cannot be overlooked that the organizers have only noticed the potential of folklore, which is growing steeply in Brno, and simply made use of it. However, I missed emotions, hearts and enthusiasm, which is a very important feature of folklore events, although it may be difficult to measure. However, people who attend such sessions will sense their absence. This feeling was not caused by the performances of the musicians but by the overall atmosphere.

I do not want in any way to discourage organizers from making this event. It could merely be a bad constellation, unfriendly to the Wednesday's event. I will gladly have my subjective opinion refuted next time and I will admit being wrong.

Photo from Czech TV  archive / Javorníček Dulcimer Band

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