No Laid Back Time at the Tankstelle in Cologne – a Crazy Mad Jam

tankstelle open mic sessions

COLOGNE, Germany – I discovered the Tankstelle bar’s open mic near the Barberossaplatz in Cologne’s student area in 2009, and I have attended each year that I have come to Cologne since then. That is, every second year. When I originally found the place, and the last time I attended as well, it was run by its founder, Daniel Klaus, who was a wonderful open mic MC, and he always managed to make a fun and successful night out of it. Last night, the first thing I discovered when I arrived around 9:00 PM was that Daniel is no longer there, and it is now run by Micha.

The year I discovered it, it had only been running for three months. Now it has been more than four years, and it is going strong. When I arrived last night, it seemed totally dead, with perhaps only one or two other musicians present in addition to Micha. I asked him until what time it ran, and he said until around 3:30 AM. So I said, “Fine, I’m going to eat dinner.”

I went to a nearby bar restaurant where I ate a pig schnitzel big enough for five people – although I only ate enough for three people – and then I returned to the open mic to find it much livelier. It would eventually become massively lively, amazingly lively, and turn from a classic open mic into a full-fledged jam of a kind I have not attended since the great Szimpla Kert jam in Budapest a couple of years ago.

There were flutes, a sax, congas, bongos, singers, guitars, bass, just everything! And I managed to play on two occasions – once for a set of four songs, then for a one song thing where I was joined by the sax player and some percussionists.

Cologne is a beautiful city, but there is not much music, or not much in the way of open mics and jams – although there is classic stuff and a few karaokes – so that may well turn out to be my last open mic this weekend. But it was well worth it, and Micha has clearly taken on the work of Daniel in more than honorable manner.

In fact, the Tankstelle bar is a very genial location with cool drawings, murals and artifacts on the walls, ceiling and with sofas, easy chairs, tables, a horseshoe bar and a very cool youth population of clients and musicians. Really a happening spot in the desert of this otherwise not so pop-culturally inclined region of Germany.