Ringsgwandl at the Posthof

When revolutionaries grow old, they become romantic

There used to be more glitter. Ringsgwandl on his zither.

(Bild: Christoph Gantner)

He used to rage across the stage with thick lipstick and a super flashy outfit, at his performance on Friday evening at the Posthof in Linz, Georg Ringsgwandl (75) made fun of diversity and transgender people. Is reactionary the new progressive? In the end, he sang romantic songs about himself and his wife; a revolutionary in retirement.

Ringsgwandl has retained his stage presence and his bilious, slightly mad humor. And his fans have also remained loyal to him, as the large hall in the Posthof in Linz was pretty well filled. Neither the presentations nor the songs were particularly new, but that was fine. Some people giggled with (pre-)joy when he even started talking. That's the nice thing about repetitions, you already know when the best parts are coming.

The band was really great, consisting of Daniel Stelter (guitar), Christian Diener (bass) and Tommy Baldu (percussion). During the almost three-hour evening, they really rocked out, not even the grumpy Ringsgwandl had anything to complain about. What was played? Mainly classics such as "Gartennazi", "Nix mitnehma" and "Cést la vie". 

There was a lot of clapping at the end and the loyal audience went home grateful.