The event took place in the opera hall, which had a nice and romantic atmosphere. While entering, everybody was given one of those little white keyholder-flashlights with "Onochord Passau y.o. 2005" written on it, along with a postcard with the "Onochord message". There was a big screen on the stage, which at first showed a picture from the Japanese Family Album, with Yoko, John and Sean spending their summer vacation in Karuizawa, Japan. Birdsong sounded from a tape, then we heard Yoko's voice from behind the stage: "Wo bist du?" ("Where are you?" in German), several times, and finally: "Ich bin allein." ("I'm alone.") Yoko shone through the screen with a flashlight, then came on the stage by cutting a hole into the screen and walking through it. Hooded by a black scarf which hid her face, she stretched out her arms, searching her way. Since her clothes were black too, at that moment she reminded me a bit of a Ninja. :-)

Next, the "Walking On Thin Ice" video was shown on the screen. Yoko gave some vocal support and danced to the song, which looked fantastic. I have heard her perform the song live during her Starpeace Tour almost 20 years ago - this was different, but awesome! After that, Hans-Peter Wipplinger, a guy from the art museum in Passau where Yoko's exhibition was shown did an interview with her, asking her questions about the meaning of her name, about art etc, but as usual, Yoko had her own special way of dealing with such questions. Her answers were brief, simple and refreshing, but sometimes she did things like getting up from her chair, walking a few steps, returning to her chair and saying, "I don't know." (I think the question was what kind of characteristics she liked about a person.) Or in the middle of one question, she took out a tape measure and started measuring the length of Hans-Peter's arms. Then, instead of answering the question, she stated concernedly, "I noticed your right arm is a bit longer than your left arm. Are you all right?" He took it with humor and replied something like, he never measured so he was OK with it. Once, she lay down on the stage and bent her legs over her head, almost performing a roll backwards.

My favourite question was this one: "Yoko, you have been traveling a lot this month. You've been to Tokyo, London, Paris - and now Passau! Which place did you like best?" And her reply was, "Of course, Passau!" She said she already had been to Tokyo, London and Paris, but Passau was a new experience for her, and she liked new experiences. She said something like: If you don't like new experiences, you have to spend all your life in fear, because after all, every day is a new experience.

After the interview, Yoko invited Hans-Peter to join her in a big black bag that was lying on the stage. He obediently followed her, while telling the audience with a slightly embarrassed grin that they hadn't rehearsed anything, LOL, I'm sure he was a little nervous, but I thought he was nice to go along with anything Yoko did. The two of them disappeared inside the black bag - and we saw nothing but the bag bulging in all directions for a while. Then suddenly Yoko's hat and jacket, along with Hans-Peter's necktie were thrown out of the bag. Finally they re-emerged, a bit dishevelled but smiling.

After that, microphones were handed to people in the audience so they could ask questions. (No, I didn't ask Yoko anything. I couldn't think of one question I really wanted to ask, and I felt it would have been too personal anyway, so I decided to just listen.) I remember one woman asked what Yoko's favourite word was, and the reply was "yes". The woman then asked Yoko if she hated the word "no", but Yoko replied that "hate" was a feeling that she didn't allow herself to feel because "it creates a bad juice inside your body", it's a very unhealthy feeling. One person asked what Yoko and Hans-Peter had been doing inside the bag, but they both said it was a secret and they wouldn't tell us, which I thought was kind of sweet.

Then, there was Yoko's Onochord video on the screen, showing Yoko flashing i ii iii while saying the words I love you. We all flashed our little lights, and even though we weren't synchronous, it still looked beautiful in the darkened hall.

Finally, two assistants carried a big clay vase onto the stage, along with a heap of shattered pieces of clay. Yoko told us that those pieces once had been a vase just like the other one. She suggested that when we leave, we all take a piece of clay with us, and in ten years, we would meet again and fit the pieces together. Yoko said goodbye to us by saying, "See you in ten years!"

(Needless to say, I took a piece from the heap which was presented at the exit.)

It is always a wonderful experience to see Yoko perform, and to me, this was the first time to see her doing something different from a concert. I am very grateful for this chance. Yoko was fun, witty and very kind, and I truly hope for another chance to see her.