Oktoberfirst

Not gonna lie; when we were about to hit the stage for our very first Oktoberfest in Waukesha, WI, we didn't know if it was going to work.

This was a REAL DEAL Oktoberfest.  Not just hats, suspenders, liters of beer and accordions.  But world-class accordionists, traditional log carving and a "German Mummers" act that performed a 12th century folkloric dance designed to drive the evil spirits away.  This troupe dressed in crazy costumes, as witches, bears and as... some kind of Tree God. We even got a picture with the bears:

The acts that came before us were extremely skilled and interesting, with tubas, button squeezeboxes and a family-friendly approach that had the kids dancing around the floor. 

And we, by contrast, were about to go on stage and start shouting "Cider!  Polka!  Ooh arrrrr!" With a full punk backline.  Um.  

But I knew in my heart of hearts that it was meant to be, that it would be great.  Why?  Because sometimes God sends you a sign. 

My favorite accordionist is called Mike Schneider.  He plays around the Wisconsin area.  Once, when I was supposed to be at an academic conference in Chicago, I skipped out for two days to go and see Schneider at play at Usinger's Sausage factory in Milwaukee. One of the best decisions of my life. The guy is just the personification of sweet, crisp American polka, and I've corresponded with him many times about how to play various polkas and waltzes.  He even made me a personalized video instructing me on Achtung Los, a wicked fast polka I can sorta play. He's just an extremely friendly and inspiring guy. 

Now, we flew into Chicago for this weekend trip, and drove up through the outskirts of Milwaukee to pick up a T-shirt order.  I got out of the van and went to pick the order up, but a sound a block down the street caught my ear.  "Is that.... Polka music?". It was.  So what the hell, I thought, let's head down the street and see what's what.

And then I heard the singing voice over the accordion.  And then I exclaimed to the band: "is that... MIKE SCHNEIDER??   No way.   No WAY."

And, of course, it was.  

So we had a beer, relaxed in the sun and watched one of the greatest polka accordionists in the world knock out a set. We danced the polka train.  We shouted along to the zicka zacka.  We raised our glasses to the air in the warm sunshine.  It was glorious, and in that moment, I knew we were meant to be there, doing this crazy thing.

Fast forward to later on, and a crowd of amazing kids are dancing around on stage to “Sleep is For the Weak”to roars of approval from the adults. One nine year-old girl kept screaming loudly into the mic in time with the beat. (She was oddly good at this).

And three sets of shanties and polkas and drunk happy fans later, we finished our first ever Oktoberfest with a bang, ending on our second Who Stole The Keeshka of the evening, because there is no such thing as playing that song too many times.  

And we could all sense that fall 2025 is going to be pretty amazing.  Shame we have to wait another year to do this all again. And we will have to wait until the NEXT post here to tell you all about the magic that was Duluth, MN.

Finally, paid subscribers, YOU get to see a clip of our performance of “Amiens Polka” in Waukesha. Lucky you!