Every week I seem to get an email or text from my mother or someone else stateside telling me just how cold it is this winter, and that is just in Texas. Likewise, I have lost count of the number of reports I have seen where another storm hits the Northeast or the upper Midwest.
Meanwhile, here in Germany, it continues to be very mild. OK, you still need a coat most days, and a couple of weeks ago I actually bought woolen socks for the very first time in my life. I didn't buy them on a whim, really. Instead, I happened to be doing some other shopping on a day when my feet were particularly cold, saw the socks, and thought, "why the hell not?"
I felt a bit silly the following day when the temperature got up almost to 11 degrees Celsius, but I have actually worn the socks on cooler days a few times since and been rather pleased (and cozy). I do not consider myself to be a wimp when it comes to tolerating cold weather, but I admit that after several years of living in a colder climate my body has acclimated. No longer do I run off to the grocery store in a sweatshirt and shorts on a chilly Saturday afternoon, frankly because it's, erm, cold.
Similar to the weather in my hometown, here in Frankfurt it can be sunny and pleasant one minute, and suddenly the temperature plummets and you are freezing your tail off. Thus, it makes sense to do the "layered" approach: piling on a a couple of shirts, a sweater, a jacket and a coat when it is cold, and when you are uncomfortable, just take another layer off. It used to really annoy me when going out to restaurants or pubs or shows, etc, because it always takes everyone a few minutes to unwrap after entering an establishment where the heating happens to be on full blast. However, I eventually stopped saying anything once I realized that I was actually doing the same thing.
I do smile from time to time when I see the little lost and found boxes that tend to be in a lot of places for those inevitable moments when someone leaves a scarf, a glove, or even a sweater behind before going out into the cold. This becomes even more comical at the end of a night in a crowded pub, when everyone is trying to find their coat and other articles. The scene is not that far different from the end of a normal school day at kindergarten or first grade, when all the kids troop off to the cloakroom to get ready to go home, scrambling to find their hat and mittens, and always forgetting something.
The other night, I met a few friends for dinner, and upon entering the restaurant, I took off my jacket, feeling comfortable enough in my long sleeve shirt and sweater. After dinner, we had a quick schnapps before I headed off to to a concert at a local venue just a few U-Bahn stops away.
I deliberately skipped the opening act, and as I approached the club entrance and saw the numbers of smokers standing outside, I knew that my timing was good. I grabbed a couple of beers and headed into the concert hall to find a place to stand. Though full, it was not so unbearably packed. I actually found a spot with a good view of the stage, and about 2 minutes later, Front 242 walked on stage a launched right into their set.
More than once on this blog I have acknowledged that my concert going experiences have dramatically reduced over the years, much to my annoyance. So, when I don't have any previous engagements or work travel to get in my way and basically do get my act together to actually get to a show, I tend to enjoy it thoroughly, particularly if it involves a group I have not seen before.
EBM has always had a pretty big influence on me, despite the fact that I never really was a huge fan of clubbing, and furthermore, I can't actually remember all that many electronica concerts. I can remember NOT being allowed to go to Front 242 back in Dallas in 1987, and how many more times they ever played in Texas, or the US, for that matter, i can only guess. Though I have always continued to listen to the heavy industrial stuff, I have not followed the scene all that closely.
But none of that matters when you are actually at the show, enjoying the beat, and just taking it for what it's worth. In this case, everyone at the show seemed to be about my age, and while we all can probably admit that we have aged a wee bit since 242 first came on the scene, things just seemed right. I certainly didn't feel over the hill, not by any stretch.
Before I knew it, they were playing their encore, and then the lights came up, and the crowd exited the hall. I met a few friends at the show, and, as none of us had checked our coats, we were able to just bypass the long line of folks waiting to get their jackets and head right outside and down the street to wait for the next U-Bahn, along with other concert-goers.
As we boarded the train, I heard someone behind me exclaim, "Shit, I left my scarf in the club!"
I zipped up my own jacket and smiled. It never stops.
Stay warm.
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