Category: Concerts

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!