It's nice that a new cultural venue is being created here while others have to close, Stefan Stoppok states in his first announcement.

The troubadour's concert in the Alte Seilerei marks the beginning of what will surely be a longer "exile" in Frankfurt-Oberrad for the cultural work "Die Fabrik".

Because the former oil factory in Sachsenhausen, which is otherwise used, is being renovated so that the cultural program there is on hold.

In the smaller of the two halls of the alternative venue on Offenbacher Landstraße with its industrial charm, artists and audience are now spatially very close, also thanks to a low stage.

So you can experience Stoppok more directly than at previous performances in the Batschkapp.

In February 2020 he released his last album "Jubel", and the Hamburg native, born in 1956, opened his solo concert with a song from it.

The partly questioningly formulated environmental and peace utopia "An assumption" is reminiscent of the central topic before Corona, the climate crisis.

Thoughts about respectful coexistence and "crazy people who want to tell us how it's supposed to be" that also appear in the song have meanwhile become dramatically more topical.

Without a raised index finger

One of the great qualities of the song poet is that he addresses serious issues without pointing fingers.

With caricaturing humor and his never sour morals, he gets to the point all the more precisely.

In the sarcastic vision of the end times, Stoppok calls on humanity to destroy itself with its inventions so that the earth can recover afterwards.

"Pack mit an" is a friendly appeal to participate constructively instead of acting out destructive violence alone.

In "Money or Life" Stoppok ponders the possibilities of shaping one's own existence.

When he announces this song, he contrasts the inhuman pride of some people with being German with the insight that it is simply a great stroke of luck to be born here.

The somewhat older “La Compostela” is more superficial and almost suitable for demos, addressing illegal waste disposal, while “How quickly nothing happened” wittily formulates: “Those who think in circles save themselves the perspective.”

In addition to the songs, which intelligently reflect politics and society, there are ironic farewell declarations, mocking accounts with "specialists" and love poetry rich in images.

Pure fun songs like "Ärger" complete the repertoire spanning three decades.

The lyrical and musical details of the pieces show the development Stoppok has made as a songwriter over the course of his career and how his laconic, resistant attitude has intensified at the same time.

Throbbing beats

In solo performances, the bard can shine even more than with his band as an accomplished guitarist and moderator.

Stoppok happily increases some announcements into the silly or absurd, but his musical performance is as detailed as the lyrics.

On various six- and twelve-string acoustic guitars, he confidently moves between blues and boogie, folk and rock motifs, which, thanks to his rhythmic attack, spark a driving groove in both of them even without percussion.

Stoppok joins in, sometimes vehemently, sometimes reluctantly with both feet, dark throbbing and lighter beats.

Special tunings also provide a characteristic sound, as well as selectively used sound effects or glissandi by putting a "bottleneck" over your finger.

im already older

Last but not least, Stoppok's constant alternation between laconic to urgent rap, rough-voiced, brash melodies and some intensively sung passages provide variety that lets the time fly by.

At the end he is celebrated standing up by the enthusiastic audience.

Stoppok can also be experienced solo on November 30th from 8 p.m. in the Darmstadt Centralstation.