Gölä in the Hallenstadion: This is what the anniversary concert was like

Now they’re all here, the “abnormally horny fans,” as their idol calls them. 10,000 Gölä supporters of all ages, including children, but the majority are between forty and sixty years old. Women with henna-red, permed hair, graying men with colored glasses frames. Hardly any leather jackets, hardly any leather leggings. Instead, fleece sweaters and mom jeans. Friendly people, decently dressed. Abnormal? Oh wow. This audience is as spectacular as that of trade exhibitions.

Gölä, 57, the “most successful Swiss rock star” according to the organizers, invited people to Zurich’s Hallenstadion to celebrate a quarter of a century of stage career and his community. The hall is sold out on two evenings, and someone from the local rock industry has to do the same. Two and a half hours of show with the best songs are promised. No experiments! No risk! Only hits!

He once again chose a black, sleeveless T-shirt. Yes, the construction worker biceps are still there. The stomach, however, is noticeably rounder than before. On Gölä’s head, that terrible mohawk crop remains unchanged; He will probably never part with it. There is a kind of request concert this evening: Before the concert, fans were able to vote online which songs they really wanted to hear. The result was predictable – Gölä fans are just as reluctant to experiment as Gölä himself.

“Gib nid uf”, “Keini tear meh”, “Büezer”: The old songs, most of them from the debut album “Uf u dervo” (1998), roll into the hall with the soupiness of 40-ton speakers. The band plays broadly and with a lot of pressure, the audience sings along from the beginning, with a lyrical certainty, as if Gölä’s hits had been part of the curriculum for a long time; At least in the canton of Bern. The man who keeps saying “Geili Sieche!” shouts into the audience, sometimes saying “I love it”, and his real name is Marco Pfeuti, has never had any illusions. “I am not an artist, I am a service provider,” he has said several times. And tonight he delivers.

“Ohni Di”, “Indianer”, “Tu tutsch mehr guet” – whether written at the very beginning of your career or in recent years: in these songs, pathos triumphs over poetry and power over subtlety. And while you’re desperately trying to find some irony where there can be no irony, the Gölä fan is already drinking his third beer in the Hallenstadion.

Moment. Why is it called the 25th anniversary? “Uf u dervo”, the best-selling dialect rock album to date, was 27 years ago? And the first big stage appearances as well. After popes and kings, Gölä is the first Büezer to have his own time calculation.

The old song

Gölä, this bulky and angular hunk, can be quite charming, very so. He compliments the audience, thanks them for their loyalty, and speaks of the “big family”. At the same time, he takes swipes at the “linggi cultural scene” and jokes wearily about the fact that he, the Bernese, is performing here in Zurich.

The old song. Gölä’s phenomenal career was and is apparently still a kind of revenge by the provinces on the supposedly blasé townspeople. In general: good rock music comes from the countryside, people like Gölä think (“In the provinces you’re constantly practicing because there’s nothing else going on”). With the lyrics of his songs he explains to everyone in Bernese and clearly how those who are laughed at and losers triumph in the end (“Schwan”, 1998); who really runs the show in this country (“Büezer”, 1998); and that cities like Zurich are populated by “Penner u Haubschueh” and “fuule ass cheeks” (“I would be hert”, 2016).

But well, it’s the evening of the Gölä community. You have to endure that now.

The band stops every few songs and Gölä talks about his career in short interludes. The screen behind the stage shows photos, some yellowed, others in black and white: Gölä with DJ Bobo, with Polo Hofer, with Peter Maffay. And Gölä with the Bellamy Brothers, the American country duo.

There is no mention of the years in which Gölä was so tired of being Gölä. Fans with a good memory remember: In 2004, Gölä shocked his community by deciding never to sing in dialect again, but only in English from now on. This attempted escape from his role as a Bernese Büezer rocker quickly flopped. Nobody was waiting for Marco Pfeuti to sing in English. And Gölä fans didn’t want to go through that anyway. These people are not only one big family, but also have a very precise idea of ​​what they want to hear from their idol.

We’ll definitely see each other again

In contrast to the foray into foreign languages, the right-wing populist tones to which he repeatedly fell obviously did not harm Gölä. What didn’t the man say: Switzerland is overpopulated. The country needs an immigration stop. Likewise the death penalty. And the right to a weapon must be introduced for everyone.

Does he really believe that? Hard to say. When you talk to Pfeuti or listen to a well-conducted interview with him, you actually get the impression that he is basically far too differentiated and too intelligent for these sayings.

Nobody cares about any of this here. Gölä and the band clap out for the encore, it is clear what has to come next: “Swan”. From the first verse the audience sings along. Gölä himself has confessed several times that he can no longer listen to his biggest hit, let alone sing it. But he’s doing well today, you can’t tell. During the chorus, the choir of ten thousand almost reaches the volume of a gospel troupe, madness: “Ä Swan, as white as snow / Vrgässe, what is happening, jeeh / U d’Flüguu carry them so white / Wius keni borders meh git”. Swiss national treasure.

It’s already late. The service provider wants to close on time. Therefore, “I would have no more stupid ta” – and then it’s over.

Geili Sieche! Tschou zäme! I liäb öich!

We’ll see each other again, guaranteed. At the latest for the 30th stage anniversary. When exactly that will always be.

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