First Spoleto Experience

So I've lived in Charleston since the end of 2006, but I've never made it to a Spoleto Festival event. I thought why the hell not do it now, before I get out of this place. So I pulled a few strings and got tickets to the two shows I wanted to see, the first of which was last night.

I saw on the calendar, "Die Roten Punkte". I'm a German major (i.e., nerd) so I was kind of curious. The description given on the Spoleto website is as follows:

Die Roten Punkte (the utterly dysfunctional pairing of German siblings Otto and Astrid Rot) became an instant household name in Europe after topping the charts in Germany and Poland with their 2005 hits “I’m in a Band” and “Best Band in the World.” Described as "inspired, brilliantly executed lunacy…a lipstick-smeared, tantrum-loving, sonic collision between Plastic Bertrand, Kraftwerk and early Ramones,” Die Roten Punkte are unforgettably unique. Their songs are ridiculously infectious and their live show is one of the most irreverent and hilarious gigs you are ever likely to see.

Okay, so it sort of insinuated that there would be a comical aspect to the show, but otherwise it describe it as a normal concert. And that's kind of what I was expecting. In great luck I was though, because the folks at City Paper pretty much spoiled the surprise with their review. Thanks, guys. To be fair, I still wasn't entirely sure what to expect.

The show was really great - loved every minute of it (okay, maybe there were 5 or so questionable minutes, but still). Read the City Paper review, because I really can't give a more accurate description than they did. I think it's important that they noted that the two may not actually be German, even though they subtley tiptoed around it. There were a few accent slips that I noticed in the show, and of course some very overdone pronunciation. But if the two aren't German, they at least do a very good job of pretending to be.

Here's a little video interview with them. Gives you a little idea of the kind of humor in the show.

It was one of those things that you could only enjoy if you didn't take yourself too seriously. The show kind of poked fun at all the little weird cultural subsets, and if you're not a person who can laugh at yourself a little, then it's really not for you. But I still recommend it...highly.