The days are slowly growing longer but the cold is still sitting in our bones just waiting to be taken away by the warmth of a sunny day. Everything is slow and the body aches for comfort. It is time to visit a much simpler kind of gig compared to what I mostly attend. One guy, one guitar and a small cosy venue. A place of comfort on a freezing January night.

It was sheer coincidence or fate or whatever you want to call it that Carnival Kid and I stumbled upon each other, but that’s just how it is sometimes. A lot of good things come unexpectedly.

Anyhow, we “met” on Instagram and something drew me towards him and one day he just messaged me complimenting my work. I simply proposed I’d show up at his next gig and the deal was sealed.

Per usual I was pretty unaware of what I was getting myself into. I listened to half a song or so and then just left it where it was realizing I’d rather just show up at the gig and see where it takes me. So I went to Erfurt after a day at the library and the museum doing some research spending just a very short time in my own four walls eating a little something.

So yeah I’ve never before been at the Café Füchsen in Erfurt so naturally I got pretty lost despite the smart rectangle in my pocket and arrived later than I wanted to. Then unfortunately stress came out of its hiding place and thought it would be a good time to let me know I have to take a break by giving me the worst nosebleed I had in months which led me to miss a good 15 minutes of the concert. After that happened I waddled back inside, took a few deep breaths and got to work.

It sure was a challenge this time around but that just seems to make things more interesting and can show if I am a half-decent photographer or not. I sure hope I am. Enough about me, let’s talk about music.

One thing you will always get at establishments like cafés whose primary function isn’t presenting music is a talkative crowd who oftentimes just somehow stumbled their way into a concert. It wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been but surely not as good as Carnival Kid deserved it to be.

Despite the rough start, I enjoyed myself nevertheless. It was nice to get back to a simpler way and kind of music, a reduced set-up so to say. Just a guy with his guitar and not the usual band I get to see.

It was overall rough in a way but rather the honest heartfelt way of rough. The sort of music that you immediately recognize as something that is highly important to the musician. Something that doesn’t want or need to be perfect but still happens to be perfect in its own way and space. It creates this fascinating sphere around itself that makes time move a little slower than normal, a little less hectic and simply destressing. I am always trying to figure out why something has the effects it has and that is probably my inner art historian speaking. In this case, it seems to be a mixture of a few things.

Firstly you have this humble guy who’s only goal seems to be making music for the sake of music itself. Then the songs and sounds feel like they are coming from a place of vulnerability which I can highly appreciate and if you’ve known me for a while you are aware that I believe that art ( and I count music into that too) are the most effective when both the “creator” and recipient find each other in a place of vulnerability and open space. It doesn’t always have to be over a sad or dramatic context it actually mostly seems to happen during happy and light instances. Anyways you hopefully get the point. All those things blend together with the rather personal chosen topics of the songs to create this unique, honest and comforting atmosphere. The themes dance over and play with this thin line between something being too specific to relate to and it hitting very close to home. Long story short: Carnival Kid somehow manages to hit that perfect balance and a sweet spot that is so hard to find.

It feels like the kind of thing you could find comfort in when the night won’t let you go to rest. Funny enough that I am writing this on a Sunday night when I should rather be sleeping than doing this.