One of the most intriguing aspects of Berlin life is the music. Music is a constant here. Any day of the week, if you walk long enough, you will begin to hear live music. It could be a full band playing at a local venue or a singer/songwriter busking in the subway.
Early on in my time here, I met a really nice, gracious musician in a park. I was walking with two friends and after a short time I began to hear a beautiful voice singing “Hallelujah” (originally written by Leonard Cohen) not to far away. We followed the sound until we came across a group of three men sitting in a circle, drinking Berliner Pilsner while one of them played his guitar and sang.
His voice was beautiful, falling somewhere in the upper tenor range, his sense of time was quite good, and his arrangement for “Hallelujah” was really nice in my opinion.
After a moment or two of standing there watching him play, I began to join in. The group welcomed us with open arms and beer. A song or two later, the musician, who goes by “Wiesel”, and I struck up a conversation. His english was quite good and he is very kind. He explained that he is looking for a bass player. Funny thing is–I play the bass. We exchanged numbers and continued to sing the night away.
We have since been contacting each other and occasionally meeting up to play. It is so gratifying to play with someone so kind, talented, and open minded. We play a mix of his originals and classic songs such as, his favorite, “Hallelujah”.
I don’t know where this Wiesel comes from, and I don’t know where he is going, but a Wiesel like that is always cool in my eyes.