For a long time you never noticed in Speyer that the carnival season has started. Since a few years the local clubs are trying to push Fastnacht, as it is called here. For a while you could watch the official opening of the carnival season on (or around) the 11th of the 11th at 11:11 h on the "Geschirrplätzel". The picture shows the Guggemusik from Imsbach in 2012.
Guggemusik is a typical carnival music, as it is loud and a bit disharmonic. As long as it is loud, the rythm is kept and the song is vaguely recognisable, everything is allright. The word Gugge means bag, and refers to paper bags in which you hum, or hit to make noise. This does not necessarily mean that this type of music origins from this "instrument", but refers more to the quality of the performance.
With the end of the Speyer Brezelkracher (see Night Parade ) there will probably be no more Carnival opening events like this any time soon. But now the town of Speyer holds a reception on November 11th.