Flash April '72

Rock groups rarely organise their own concerts. They also don't often have the power to decide for themselves where they play and what else is going on around them. In this regard, the Cologne Can tried out a new type of event with a daring free concert. The five Cologne musicians not just were the only pop group of the evening, they were also their own organisers and chose the supporting programme for their performances themselves. Place of action: Cologne's enormous sports hall. An enormous 8000 seater, in which normally only the greatest among the show people venture. The Can were more than confirmed in their self-confidence on the evening of February 4th: 10,000 young people came from near and far. The hall could just about hold them. Last autumn the Can had already hatched the idea for this concert and convinced the city of Cologne to grant them access to the cultural budget. The city bore the entire costs of the hall of 7500 DM. The advertising was done by the musicians themselves. They not only established contacts with the press and radio, but also glued countless posters in Cologne and its neighbouring cities, right into the Ruhr area.

A loose supporting programme should make clear that for Can music is anything but a deadly serious matter. Between two of their performances, a retired musician fiddled on the "singing saw" and a few circus artists climbed around each other. Another time, a rock guitarist from Cologne was playing the guitar with his heart's content. And during the third and last act of the Can, a grey-mottled juggler let colourful umbrellas whirl across the stage. (Unfortunately, the apparatus for the laser light show got broken during rehearsals!)

To entertain such a large audience for a whole evening alone under their own direction was no small burden for the musicians. In addition, tapes and film camera were running, though at the will of the Can themselves. So it was no wonder that the group did not have their strongest evening. During the first one and a half hours they held back a little bit, in order to fully swing out in the second part. But in their place the solo guitarist lay down in the made-up bed and heated up the crowd as much as he could. Some small technical mishaps additionally dampened the group's impartiality. Nevertheless, their very own music fully satisfied the majority of the audience. At 11 pm the youngest members of the audience were forced to leave, but the hall remained almost full until the end (shortly before midnight). As always, the Can embarked on a musical adventure. Condensed tension changed with a relaxed resolution. In between, the basic elements of well known pieces ("Halleluwah", "Mushroom Head" and others) appeared, but no title was played according to a schedule. The heavy and deliberately monotonous foundation of bass and drums

provides stability. Mayor and hall leaseholder Hans Grün was also quite satisfied. He was impressed by the absolute peacefulness of the evening. The police played cards in an adjacent room the whole time. And the Can themselves are well aware that they have never learned so much at any of their other concerts. They still discuss among themselves and with others the actual procedure and critically listen to the tapes. Bassist Holger Czukai assured in the meantime: "We're going to get the hang out of this kind of event!"