The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
A beer-and-brat blast
Cleveland Oktoberfest, now a Labor Day weekend staple, looks to pump up the party
Before the sun sets on summer, there’s an annual last gasp of festival fun that has become a Northeast Ohio tradition. That’s the Paulaner Cleveland Oktoberfest, which takes place Aug. 31 through Sept. 3 at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds in Berea.
To its credit, the annual affair is never short on Bavarian authenticity. That continues this year with its live music offerings including The Chardon Polka Band, Fred Ziwich International Sound Machine, The Klaberheads, Deutscher Musik Verein, Schnickelfritz, The Brian Papesh Band, Gottscheer Blaskapelle and Donauschwaben Blaskapelle.
However, the ante has been upped this summer, with organizers bringing in German act Dorfrocker. The six-piece band is a top10 outfit in its homeland with latest album “Heimat. Land. Liebe.”
While over the past decade the group has performed more than 1,000 shows, its Berea appearance will mark its Northeast Ohio debut.
“We’re happy to be coming to Cleveland,” said Dorfrocker guitarist Markus Thomann, calling form Bamberg, Germany. “You have the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. We plan on visiting the museum. We’re looking forward to our visit. According to our experiences in other states, we think we’ll get people in a good mood.”
In terms of its musical style, Dorfrocker combines traditional German music with rock ’n’ roll. Its accordion is balanced out by the electric guitar. For comparison, think about, say, Flogging Molly, which celebrates its Irish heritage through punk songs. It’s the same motif, only Dorfrocker performs before audiences wearing lederhosen.
And there’s this: “We also do a yodeling contest,” Thomann said. “Maybe we’ll try to find the yodel master of Ohio.”
Speaking of German authenticity, returning again to the event is the Oktoberfest Cleveland Glockenspiel. The gigantic twostory working cuckoo clock features dancers from Toledo Holzhacker Buam, who will perform skits on the hour. Also, organizers are bringing in famed Milwaukee Glockenspiel, which is more than 30 years old.
When one thinks of an Oktoberfest, food, beer and polka come to mind. This year’s Restaurant row is described as a “5-Star Sausage Autobahn” featuring official Oktoberfest Chef John Roberto serving up a variety of Bavarian delicacies, as well as vendors Balaton of Shaker Square, Seven Roses, Frank’s Bratwurst, Das Schnitzel Haus of Parma and Schmidt’s Restaurant & Sausage Haus of Columbus.
In addition to Bavarian biers, featured Northeast Ohio brewers include Platform Beer Company, Sibling Revelry Brewing Company, Market Garden Brewery, Great Lakes Brewing Company and Fat Head’s Brewery.
Music-wise, the weekend includes plenty of rock ’n’ roll cover band, such as Journey tribute E5C4P3, Beatles tribute Hard Day’s Night, ’80s tribute The Spazmatics, Eagles tribute Hotel California, Neil Diamond tribute The Diamond Project and Elvis Presley tribute Walt Sanders.
“It’s always something special when we come to the United States,” Thomann said. “We see a lot of people who immigrated to the United States from Germany. We are very proud that people sometimes know our songs and sing along in German. It’s unbelievable.”
Being somewhat of an Oktoberfest aficionado, Thomann said he can’t wait to experience the Paulaner Cleveland Oktoberfest.
“I can’t wait to eat the bratwurst because that’s very popular here in this town we live,” Thomann said.
“Also, we’ll like to taste the beer. Our hometown has the most breweries for a small town in the world. There are 70,000 residents, and we have 11 breweries. So we are brewmasters. We’ll decide if the Cleveland Oktoberfest has good beer or not”
Considering Northeast Ohio has plenty of breweries, as well, Thomann was asked if it’s more likely we’ll find the members of Dorfrocker touring different venues tasting beers or visiting the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?
“We’re there for one week, so I think we can do both,” Thomann laughed.