Category: Allgemein

Capital FM’s Summertime Ball returns to Wembley for the 7th time. Roman Kemp announced all 26 artists during his breakfast programme. Unfortunately two days before the concert Maroon 5 cancelled their appearance due to double booking. ( As always! My advice: NEVER book a Maroon 5 concert in advance ) They were replaced by Sigala and Liam Payne.

Before the Ball kicked off a black and white screen appeared and read the following message.

TODAY IS DEDICATED TO MUSIC

TO MANCHESTER
TO LONDON
TO FANS
TO FUN
TO PEACE

It’s a touching tribute to the victims of the two terror attacks. It gave me time to send prayers to the angels in heaven and to hope that everyone will be safe today.
After this moment of silence Bruno Mars kicked it off with style – dancing and singing guaranteed. “24k Magic”, “Treasure”, “That’s what I like”, “Runaway Baby”, “Locked out of Heaven” and finally his “Uptown Funk” got everyone to their feets. It seemed like he didn’t want to leave the stage and I love every minute of his set. When he finally finished I couldn’t believe that we still got 7 hours of this ahead of us. Surely it couldn’t stay this good.

Zara Larsson took the stage and I was really disappointed. The sound was awful and her voice sounded so bad. Stormzy followed and I loved his three song set. If you don’t know him follow this blog for more info to come.
Olly Murs was glorious! He seemed to be in a great mood and you cannot beat his sassiness on stage. “Wrapped up”, “Heart skips a beat” (I forgot how much I love this song!), “Kiss Me”, “Unpredictable” and Louisa Johnsons first apprearance, “Dance with me tonight” and his final song “Troublemaker”. After Olly finished Louisa came back on and also her sound seemed very off.
Clean Bandit claimed the stage and all I could look at was how incredible Grace Chatto looked! Dressed in white with fringy trousers and little mirror pieces in her hair. The current voices of Clean Bandit were amazing and again Louisa Johnson appeared to sing her song with them. The highlight of the set was when Sean Paul and Anne-Marie came on to sing “Rockabye”. Both are scheduled to perform some more songs.

Martin Jensen DJed one song and left. Something to forget. But this girl Dua Lipa she totally surprised me. Her voice was incredible and the only one who had power behind it. Louisa and Zara had nothing on her. Her hits “Hotter than Hell”, “Be the One”, “Scared to be lonely” and finally her new song “Blow your Mind” made you dance and sing! Well done! Her set was followed by just one song by Jax Jones & Raye.
A lot of girls (including me) have been waiting for Shawn Mendes to come on and he started with the same song ” There’s nothing holding me back” like he did his concert in May at Hallenstadion Zurich. For the concert review please go to the concert section of my blog. Of course the set wasn’t complete without “Stitches”, “Ruin”, “Mercy” and the “Castle on the Hill/Treat you better” crossover. Good times!
Sigala a DJ was next – time for a toilet break – thankfully I came back just as Ella Eyre surprised us. She is one of my favourite female voices and I’ve never seen her live so this was my personal highlight of the evening! Sigala’s last song surprised even Capital FM when Craig David appeared. JP Cooper followed Sigala’s DJ set with two feel good songs. If you want to see him live in Zurich he will be here on 14th November 2017 in Papiersaal ( Get tickets via Starticket ).
James Arthur – who I’ve seen live before – sang 4 songs and yes he has a gorgeous voice but he always seems very arrogant and annoyed and he didn’t sing his biggest song which is a mistake. And another – very cute – DJ followed James Arthur. Zedd played his biggest hits including “Break Free” by Ariana Grande. I sent another little prayer up to heaven. During his last song “Starving” Hailee Steinfield came on. After that a band called 5 after Midnight who I haven’t heard of sang and danced. Apparently they came 3rd on X Factor. Time to check Twitter and Instagram…
Charlie Puth was blown away by us – 80’000 people – singing back to him. His reaction was just so adorable and kept going “this is amazing” and shaking his head in disbelief. I would go see him live now after his 4 song set (Marvin Gaye, We don’t talk anymore, See you again – goosebumps guaranteed, and his newest song Attention). Unfortunately he is touring the US at the moment so dates for Switzerland anytime soon.

Finally Anne-Marie sang her “Alarm” and “Ciao Adios” hits. Since she supported Bruno Mars in May in Zurich we thought she had to jet off to Lisbon too but apparently not. Bruno was long gone and she was still here and did a brilliant job! Liam Payne – the first 1D boy of the night – performed his only single “Strip that down” – veeery sexy.
The best voice of the evening Rag’N’Bone Man shone bright with “Human” and “Skin”. Wow each time I am so amazed by his voice. It is just incredible. If you haven’t seen him live – GO SEE HIM! He plays a few festivals this summer only one in Switzerland (Gurtenfestival) though. Julia Michaels had no chance after this guy.

For the final hour Capital prepared three highlights! First up was Sean Paul who we have seen a little sneak peak of during Clean Bandits performance. Now we had the full 30mins of Reggae to enjoy and boy we did. He is Mr. summer hit song since 2012 with “Get Busy”. Of course this was the perfect way to kick it off. “Cheap Thrills”, “Baby Boy”, “Breathe”, “Trumpets”, “Gimme the light”, “Like Glue”, Got 2 Luv U”, “No Lie” – Hello Dua Lipa again!, “Body” and “Temperature” followed. Let me tell you my thighs were burning from dancing and it took my last energy. After 6 hours of screaming, singing and dancing I was exhausted but so so happy!

Niall Horan – 2nd 1D boy of the night – took the stage and gave us a perfect rendition of his first solo hit “Slow Hands”. Phone lights came up and this song stuck in my head for days.
Little Mix had the honour to close the show. The biggest girl band at the moment brought the sassiness back on stage. After “Touch”, “No More Sad Songs” and “Wings” Sean Paul was brought back and for the first time ever they performed “Hair” live. They finished with “Black Magic” -one of my favourite songs -, “Power” and “Shout out to my Ex”.

To sum up my favourites were Bruno Mars and Sean Paul because they made us dance and sing and enjoy the moment. Dua Lipa surprised me the most and had the best female voice. After the Ball finished we walked to the tube station but we had to wait since there were too many people at the station already. So someone started “Wonderwall” by Oasis and everyone joined in. Ariana’s “One last time” and Oasis’ “Don’t look back in Anger” was sung too. I had goose-bumps. To lighten it up a boy shouted “Oggy oggy oggy”, the crowd replied “Oi, oi, oi”. The brits are just the masters of concert entertainment! 🙂

 
 
 

Last night the Rock Legends Guns N’ Roses brought their “Not in this lifetime” tour to Zurich. It is the first tour in over 20 years where Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan are reunited after their fall out in the 90’s.
I’m not overly familiar with the songs but they are Legends so I had to see them. Unfortunately the tickets were super expensive and I thought I’d gamble and try to win tickets or go to the stadium and buy them there. Luckily it paid off! I’ve found two tickets for myself and my friend which are way below the official price. I am very grateful to the two men selling them. Rockers have a good genuine heart!
It was announced that the security will be ramped up due to the Manchester attack two weeks ago. Only fanny packs or small A5 bags for women are allowed and basically everything is banned from the stadium. They already apologized for a possible waiting time. When I got there it looked like a lot of people but I was inside the venue within a few minutes. It was organized brilliantly.
First thing I noticed once inside is that every second person was wearing a Guns N’ Roses shirt I’ve never seen so many band shirts at a concert in my life!
On time at 7.45 the gunshots announced that the show is about to start and there they were. Guns N’ Roses put on an amazing show from start to finish. Slash’s guitar skills are just incredible. I am not an expert on guitar solos but even I saw that this is not easy and he must be Guitar God. Axl Roses voice was very high pitched at times and mostly just screaming but surprisingly I liked it. I loved the whole concert even if it isn’t my music I listen to every day. They are Legends and they proved it yesterday.

They played every hit in their three hour show and made everyone happy. “Welcome to the Jungle”, “Sweet Child o’ Mine” ,”November Rain” and “Paradise City” were all on the setlist. They also performed a few covers such as “Live and let Die”, “Speak Softly Love” (from the Godfather) and “Wish you were here”. A wonderful tribute to the late Chris Cornell with “Black Hole Sun” and “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Doors” got everyone to stand up and sing a long. As the whole stadium was lit and around 50’000 people sang that well-know chorus I had goose-bumps and loved every minute of it.
The 2nd last song “Whole lotta Rosie” was an AC/DC cover which Axl dedicated to his recently passed away dog. Of course this song is not new to Axl Rose since he helped out AC/DC last year when he filled in for Brian Johnson who had to take a break because he suffered from a hearing loss. The concert finished the way it started: WITH A BANG!
Finally I got myself a Guns N’ Roses T-shirt and fitted perfectly into the crowd. An audience who were very laid back and friendly and who just wanted to see their favourite band live again. I love Rockers! 🙂

Last night in Manchester the benefit concert was held for the 22 victims and the 119 injured. Let me be honest I was completely against this concert and that it was held so soon after but I have to admit now that I was wrong. It was a very moving and appropriate night where hearts and souls were healed. Not only of the girls who were at the concert but also of Ariana Grande. The songs were well chosen and fitted the event.
The concert started with a moment of silence and with Marcus Mumford singing a very sad but accurate song. Manchester’s own Take That performed „Shine“, „Giants“ and „Rule the World“ and they introduced their brother Robbie Williams who was very moved already. He came on stage getting the crowd to sing: „ Manchester we’re strong, we’re strong, we’re strong. We’re still singing our songs, our songs, our songs“. After that he sang „Angels“ and Ariana’s fans held up a sign „For Our Angels“. I was moved to tears and very sad.
Pharrell Williams and Miley Cyrus sang happy which to be honest I didn’t like. After Take That and Robbie Williams they seemed less affected and more carefree. The tone got even lighter when Niall Horan former band member of OneDirection performed his two songs.
Little Mix took the stage and they „were happy to be there“. This sentence stuck with me. I don’t think they understood the purpose of this evening. They shouldn’t have been invited.
Scooter Braun, Ariana’s Manager, came on stage and sent a message from an injured boy called Adam „Don’t go forward in anger, love spreads.“

Finally Ariana Grande made her first public appearance after the attack two weeks ago. Like her the audience was close to tears and it was hard for her to perform but she wanted to give her fans strength. Throughout the evening Ariana came on stage and sang her hits. She said that Olivia’s Mum told her to do so because that is what Olivia would have wanted. Olivia Campbell was a fifteen year old girl and is one of the 22 victims. After this announcement it felt like it was OK to enjoy the concert.
“Where is the love?” by the Black Eyed Peas is still – 14 years after its first release – very current. Ariana Grande replaced Fergie and together they sang this song with its powerful message.
The wonderful Katy Perry spoke to Manchester and to us on TV and said what everyone thought. It is hard not to feel anger or fight against terrorism with Love but all we can do is try. She then continued with a heartfelt „Part of Me“ and made the crowd „Roar“!
The surprise of the evening was Justin Bieber. The often-critized singer stood there alone and played the guitar. His sang „Love yourself“ and Cold Water. During his song the TV showed a policeman dancing around in a circle with little kids. Very touching. Justin left the stage almost in tears after a powerful speech.
Coldplay rocked the stage as always and they had their moment with „Fix You“. Since the Gallagher brothers won’t perform with each other anymore Coldplay stepped up and sang together with the Mancunian crowd „Don’t look back in Anger“ to Ariana Grande. If she couldn’t have both Oasis guys at least she got Manchesters son Liam Gallagher who came on with a loud cheer.
Her 2nd last song was „One Last Time“ which was her encore just under two weeks ago after which the attack happened. She hugged all the stars on stage and held onto her boyfriend Mac Miller for support. Ariana finished the concert with „Somewhere over the rainbow“ and again everyone was moved to tears including me watching on TV.
This incredible young girl put on a show within a week which was exactly what everyone needed. At first everyone was sad and during the course of the evening the audience started to break free and enjoy the concert. It was a cure for everyone!
I you want to donate to the victims and to the families affected please visit https://uk.onelovemanchestershop.com
Proceeds of the sale will be donated to the we love manchester emergency fund.
 

The three Followill brothers and their cousin are performing at Hallenstadion Zurich as part of their “Walls” tour. This is their 2nd concert in this venue after they first made a halt in 2014.
They started by showing a heart and hearing its beatings at 9.05. They played song after song and the half empty Hallenstadion was quiet because no-one knew the songs. Finally after 20 minutes Caleb Followill graced us with a few word: “Thank you very much. We are Kings of Leon”. I’ve been to so many concerts and this was one of the worst starts ever. Eventually “Sex on fire” came on and the audience loved it. Unfortunately they broke this momentum up by an accoustic set. Make no mistake I really loved the accoustic part it’s where they showed that they are superb musicians but its timing was completely wrong.
After an hour the whole stage was revealed and other musicians joined them to play “Closer”. This was the first of many hits that followed within the last 45 minutes. Pyro, Radioactive – and of course – Use Somebody which they dedicated on Sunday at the Radio1 Big Weekend Festival to Manchester. The gig ended with their newest single “Waste A Moment”.
I was immensely dissappointed not only in the structure of the concert but also in the band itself. I paid a lot of money to see them and they didn’t want to be here at all. Their attitude seemed to be “let’s get this gig over with and enjoy our two days off”. It is their job to do a good show and make us happy and we pay good money for it, so I really don’t understand singers or bands that couldn’t care about their fans. I spoke with a few friends who were there as well and some felt the same but others liked the concert a lot. So please if you were at the Hallenstadion on Tuesday share your thoughts in the comment section below.

The 18 year old Canadian singer brought his Illuminate World tour to Zurich. It was a night every Swiss teenie will dream of for weeks to come.
At 7 his support act James TW took the stage. Apparently to a die hard Shawn Mendes fan he was already well known. Everyone sang along to the songs and lit their phone lights to the slow songs. To me he was new but with his beautiful voice he got me within minutes.
After this brilliant warm up Shawn came on at 8. The girls went crazy! He opened with his newest song “There’s nothing holding me back” and the party started right away. My highlight was his B-stage. I have never seen such a creative and beautiful setting. The 2nd stage was set under a big moon and Shawn Mendes played alone on the piano. The kids can be so inventive. They took their phone light and held it behind a red heart shaped balloon so all around the stadium there were red lights. It looked amazing. At around half time another familiar song Ed Sheeran’s “Castle on the Hill” was performed. I liked it but it didn’t come close to the original. Obviously he sang all his hits after that and finished with “Treat you better”. During that song the fans below the lounges held up balloon lights which formed to a Swiss Flag. A wonderful idea! To sum up it was a show which even as a adult you could enjoy.

Peter Gene Hernandez aka Bruno Mars is only 1.65m tall but let me tell you he was 10 feet tall on Friday, 12th May. He came with his 24K tour to Zurich and made sure that he conquered the Hallenstadion. His ticket system helped a lot. There were expensive fan tickets on the lower ranks available and of course if you pay 300 francs you want to dance to your idols songs. So if the people in front of you are standing up you are too. From the first song almost everyone was standing and dancing. During the 2nd song he brought out the big guns: Loud fireworks! Later in the show there were also fire balls and golden glitter. But honestly his biggest assets are his band mates. They were dancing in sync and it just looked awesome.
Overall I liked the show a lot and the audience was great too. I’d like to criticise one thing: I didn’t agree with his choices for the setlist. I would have liked to hear more of his old songs like the lazy song or lighters. Other than that hats off Mr. Mars and come back for your 4th time in Zurich soon please!