This weekend at the Glockencafé in downtown Kaiserslautern, the funk/soul band Back Beat Business played two fantastic sets. When they finished, the crowd was hungry for more, but how do you call for more in German? Die Zugabe is a bonus, an additive, a free gift, or something you throw in for good measure. And when the crowd chants, “Zu-ga-be! Zu-ga-be!” as it did four times Friday night for Back Beat Business, die Zugabe is an encore.
Clare B. Dunkle
Dear Mrs Dunkle,
my husband who is the guitarist of Back Beat Business found this funny article by chance on your website. A nice little story about the lack of English words. :-) and the little traps of translation :-) ….imagine people in England or America shouting “add-i-tion” or “to-le-rance” :-) which are two possibilities of translating the word “Zugabe” :-).
Greetings from Mehlingen!
Stephanie and Michael Gillmann ( Back Beat Business)
Stephanie, thanks for your comment! I’m glad your husband knows now how much we enjoyed the band. Back Beat Business is fantastic! And if Zugabe seems like a funny word to yell, we Americans yell, “Encore!” which isn’t even English. Not very many Americans know that “encore” is French for “again.”
Hello Claire!
Good to hear that you enjoyed the music :-). They’ll play again this Friday, in Bärenbrunnerhof, which is about an hour away from KL. And then again in January, I think. If you’re interested, I send you the exact dates. Have a nice week!! S*
Does the band have an online calendar? Why don’t you send me the link, and I’ll post it in a comment–that way people who want to find you (including me!) can always get to the current dates. Thanks!