Yesterday I went to the Stimmen festival in nearby Lörrach, right across the German border, to see Melissa Etheridge with Sibylle. It was absolutely lovely – the festival is right in the middle of town and had the most wonderfully relaxed summer atmosphere, despite threatening rain clouds.

It definitely was my most laid-back concert experience so far. We sat in a café that was part of the concert area beforehand and then went out when the opening act was playing. There was nothing like a ‘bad seat’ (or better – standing room), and there was no pushing, no pressing, no angry faces. Instead lots of happy people enjoying a kick-ass show. Wow, does that woman have power!

And she seemed to enjoy herself enormously, which affected the whole audience. I was actually a bit surprised at the diversity of people there – a lot of lesbians, of course, but really, people from all walks of life, of all ages and lifestyles. So even when I wasn’t busy watching Melissa rock the stage, I had a lot of fun people-watching. 🙂