2 nights, 1 man, 1 voice, 1 guitar and 96’000 backing singers and dancers

In 2011 I got to see a young man without any tattoos playing the Kaufleuten Festsaal for the DRS3 showcase. I knew every song of his newest record “+” and stood in the front row and he won over the whole crowd. Fast forward 7 years that young man is full of tattoos and goes by the name of Ed Sheeran and turned out to be the biggest popstar of our time selling out stadiums around the world just like he had the last two nights in Zurich with the Letzigrund Stadium.

Jamie Lawson was unexpected

Jamie Lawson is signed up to Ed Sheeran’s record label so he got to be the first opening act of the night. Starting out is hard especially in front of people who didn’t come to see you! So I have so much respect for Jamie Lawson. With “Fall Into Me”, “Letter Never Sent”, “The Only Conclusion”, “Can’t See Straight” and “A little Mercy” he started his 30mins set. He’s such a lovely and funny guy and I really love his mellow songs especially “Wasn’t expecting that”. I bet a few people recognized this song when he started playing it. He did a fine job warming up the crowd and during his last song “Ahead of Myself” the crowd helped him out by singing “Badam Badam Badadada”. Love it!

Rocking out to Anne-Marie

Exactly 30mins later Anne-Marie took the stage with “Ciao Adios” and both nights I was ready to dance! 😀 “Do it Right and “Alarm” followed. Her next song is called “Perfect” and she sings about the things that aren’t perfect. So Anne-Marie said if you recognize yourself in those lyrics give a little wooo 😀 Before she got the crowd involved she sang “2002” and for “Trigger” she managed to get everyone lift up their trigger fingers in the air and sing along. Night 1 seemed like she had more fans in the crowd so it was a bit tricky for her on Night 2. In “Bad Girlfriend” she talks about all her bad relationships and who couldn’t relate to that? 😉

You might not know it but I am a huge Rudimental fan so when she said that her next song is a collabo with him AND Major Lazor I was all ears and up on my feet! You can properly hear their influence on “Let Me Live”! Perfect for the summer 🙂 Her biggest hit with Clean Bandit “Rockabye” had to be played and Anne-Marie rocked the stage! The last song of her 45min set was “F R I E N D S” which is currently playing on the radio. Both nights the supporting acts went by so quickly. I guess it’s because I just love both of them and I was just as excited to see them as to see Ed Sheeran.

And finally… Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran must be Swiss. Last year at the Hallenstadion he started early and this year on both nights he was on the earlier side too. So at 8.40 the screens showed Ed walking towards the stage and the roar of the crowd was huge. People were really excited to see him. Mind you this was the start of the show. This one guy walking on stage – just like that – and he starts to build up the rhythm of his first song. No big introduction nothing. It seemed like he was just walking up a little stage of a pub but no it was a huge one in front of 48’000 people on 2 nights!

Normally you gotta wait a few songs to get the first big hit of the artist but what if this artist only has hits to play?! Ed Sheeran started with “Castle on the Hill” and with that he already got the crowd singing and clapping! The first song on his newest record Divide is “Eraser” which came next but before that Ed had to explain that everything we will hear tonight is “completely live” and comes out of this guitar and this loop station. It’s a shame that he has to explain this…

His first ever track “The A-Team” he got to play at Energy Stars for free and it was the first time he played in front of so many people. That’s why he’s so fond of Switzerland… or maybe because James Blunt takes him “skiing” in Verbier 😉 But anyway it’s so cute that he even remembers this gig – apparently he didn’t even have a dressing room because he only played that one song. This just shows again how you got to see a normal guy transform into this superstar in front of your own eyes. He could have changed but to me he hasn’t changed one bit – the crowds just got bigger.

So it was time to set some ground rules. Ed Sheeran has been to gigs and he was always hesitant to sing or dance because he thought people were watching him. He’s got news for us they don’t. They are looking at the stage and he must know 😀 In addition to that he said that there is no “Can’t sing”, everyone can – even if it’s out of tune. It doesn’t matter because it’s his job to sing in tune not ours! So in summary what he needs from us:

Lots of dancing and lots of out of tune singing! Can you manage that?

Of course we could! 🙂 Because we were his backing singers and dancers! 96’000 people singing and dancing – not bad 😀

An early highlight came when he mixed “Don’t” and “New Man” together. The latter is a treasure on the record and I sing it loudly every time it comes on haha. On Night 2 the crowd already took their phone lights out for “Dive”. It looked incredible to me, imagine now how it must look from Ed’s perspective! So we were now 30 mins into the gig and according to Ed Sheeran 98% of the crowd was enjoying themselves. But he wants to get those 2% involved too. So the first type are the boyfriends who don’t really want to be here and they don’t really like Ed’s music and why was he in Game of Thrones? But they came because they love their girlfriends. And the other type on Friday Night there was one in the 2nd row are the Super Dads. Ed Sheeran recognizes them because his dad took him to gigs too. They take their kids to gigs, traffic is bad, beer is overpriced and of course they can’t beat the traffic because the kids need to listen to the encore. It was a hilarious story and lots of people were laughing so Ed asked now:

I want those 100%. So Super Dads and boyfriends are you with me?

A deep cheer followed and Ed Sheeran got his 100% 😀

Next up was a collabo with Rudimental! “Bloodstream” was another highlight for me and I always go “mental” to this song haha So on Night 1 I just enjoyed it whereas Night 2 I took a few stories which didn’t stop me tho from going crazy! 😀 Time to slow it down with “Happier” and Ed Sheeran told us to get our light phones out again. An incredible sea of lights was swaying from side to side. It looked AMAZING! On Night 1 he said that Germans and Swiss people were good at listening to quiet songs (I wasn’t so sure) so he played a beautiful ballade called “Tenerife Sea” from his 2nd record “x”. He got proven wrong because all I could hear was constant chatting from all over the stadium. I guess he must have heard it too because on Night 2 he didn’t play it anymore.

The stage with a huge LED tree turned green and you know what that means! Time to be IRISH! The first beats of “Galway Girl” resonated through the stadium and on Saturday Night they were greeted with a loud cheer. You guys know I love Irish Music so I was up and jumping and loving every second of the song. Last year “Nancy Mulligan” came right after but this year it didn’t. I was slightly worried that he wouldn’t play it.

Ed Sheeran surprised me when he covered “Feelin’ Good” which will always remind me of Michael Bublé – another great Entertainer. But of course Ed wouldn’t be Ed if he didn’t mix it up with one of his own songs “I See Fire”. I love Ed Sheeran’s song mixer – each time they are a surprise and just so perfect 😀

If you don’t know the lyrics to the next song you are at the wrong concert

That’s how Ed Sheeran introduced “Thinking out loud” 😀 And yes it seemed like everyone knew the lyrics. It gave me goosebumps. The last mixer of the night with “One” and “Photograph”. We were in the middle of the slower part of the set which ended with his love song “Perfect” to his fiancée Cherry. Another sea of lights and a big singalong gave me some more goosebumps. And then Ed Sheeran made me really happy 🙂 The stage turned green again and of course he had to play “Nancy Mulligan”! I was singing as loudly as I can and dancing or jumping and trying to make it look like I was Irish dancing haha Some people in the crowd even locked elbows and were jumping around in circles. Great fun and yes another highlight for me.

With the “Ohhhh Ohhh Ohh’s” of “Sing” Ed Sheeran went off the stage only to come back a few mins later to sing the 2 encore songs. But Ed wouldn’t be Ed if he didn’t have a surprise for us. He wore a Swiss Football Jersey with the No. 3 and Ed Sheeran on the back (Only on Night 1). This was greeted by loud cheer and the first three chords of His Uber Mega Hit “Shape of you” were enough to get the 100% dancing. I love the song and so does everyone else it seemed. He turned the stadium into a club. As always he finished the set with his longest song “You need Me, I don’t need you”. This song is the loudest and most intense song in his set which he always said he was building up to that. The poor guitar got beaten up pretty badly and Ed Sheeran started rapping and at the same time he was waving a Swiss flag. One of the many people I knew who went to the gigs said it was EDmazing and that word stuck with me.

The 2 Ed Sheeran gigs, with him and his guitar were just EDmazing!
Were you at the gigs? Share your experience in the comments below 🙂

Check out my latest gigs: Bryan Adams, Saint City Orchestra, Tyler Hilton & Kate Voegele

 

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A walk down memory lane with Kate Voegele and Tyler Hilton

In April this year I spent 6 days in Wilmington aka Tree Hill – a dream came true. While I was traveling back I heard the news about Tyler Hilton’s & Kate Voegele’s summer tour abroad. I couldn’t have been any happier! 🙂 So on Friday the 13th I got to see Chris Keller and Mia Catalano again thanks to Good News who brought them back to Dynamo.
I bought a Meet and Greet ticket so at 6 o’clock I was waiting in the summer heat to see the two amazing musicians again. I brought very special pieces of paper with me – a so called day-to-days – which I got from a tour in Wilmington. When Kate spotted it she said “Oh my God I haven’t seen one of those in ages”. For all of you who don’t know the series One Tree Hill you should deffo check it out. It’s a series where music plays a big role and it is one of the reasons why I follow my dream and started this blog. Those meet n greets are always too short… but luckily we got to hear an acoustic song from the upcoming album of Tyler Hilton.

Just a little while later Jablonsky took the stage and sang a few slow songs on the key board. Unfortunately she couldn’t bring her band but she did well on her own. She also revealed that she’ll be supporting Kate and Tyler later on.

Brian Mackey was the second support and let me tell you guys he is super funny! Even his songs are hilarious so if you see he’s got a gig near you – check him out!! So the first song was about how much he hates Florida 😀 It went on with a song about an ex-girlfriend who’s just white trash and a state that he really likes called Tennessee 🙂 It was just a super funny set especially when I was called the cup lady because I offered him my empty cup to put his chewing gum in. As a thank you he threw me a pick and I caught it one handedly. So he said:

Good catch! Well you’re a good catch!

Haha thank you! But if you belong to the Script Family you gotta be good at catching picks. So Mark thank you for making me a good catch 😀
Just a little while later Kate Voegele and Tyler Hilton took the stage with “Overtime”. The harmonies were amazing and I seriously thought I was back in Wilmington at Tric. Tric has the same brick walls as Dynamo and I just felt I was in an episode of One Tree Hill just with a little less drama involved LOL

It was time for Kate to leave us with Tyler alone on stage. They were joking that this must be the smallest door they’ve ever seen going backstage. Did it lead them to Narnia? Well Kate was about to find out as she was going through the magic door. Who doesn’t know the next song it has Chris Keller aka Tyler Hilton written all over it. “Loaded Gun” has to be one of my favs! Tyler Hilton is such an amazing and talented guitar player and singer. His voice is just the right kind of raspy and in addition to this he is funny and charming.

With “Jenny” he fulfilled an audience request. We then got to hear another song called “City on fire” from his upcoming record. I was like hold on… Gavin DeGraw – another member of the OTH family – has a similar song called “She sets the city on fire”. I had to smile but the two songs have nothing in common but both are great! 🙂 His last solo song “Don’t forget all your clothes” went by way too quickly since I was still fascinated by him and his voice.

But Kate came back from Narnia and her ride on a unicorn. Together they dedicated the next song “This is where my heart breaks” to their tour manager Oliver who’s had his heart broken on Wednesday like me when England were thrown out of the World Cup. Now it was time for Tyler to have his ride to Narnia.
So Kate said you might have heard of a show called One Tree Hill and the noise level went through the roof. The next song “No Good” was big in the show and I bet it gave everyone a throwback. I just loved hearing her sing it live and literally in front of me. The guitars were put aside and a club beat came on. Her newest single “Shoot this arrow” is super modern and quite different to what she was doing before. Very refreshing! The set went on with “Free and Wild”, “Sweet silver lining” and “Sandcastles”.

For the last two songs Tyler Hilton joined Kate Voegele again. One of my favourite songs from the show was performed next and I could have listened to it again and again and again. “When the Stars go Blue” – what a tune! The whole dynamo sang along and it was a great atmosphere! But it got even better for the Encore song. Literally everyone sang “Hallelujah” with Kate which made Tyler smile. It gave me goosebumps – our little fan choir and their harmonies on stage were on point and brilliant finish to a lovely evening with a lot of memories and new found friends.
Have you been to the summer tour abroad? Share your experience in the comments below:

Check out my latest gigs: Saint City Orchestra, Bryan Adams, Foo Fighters

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Behind the scenes of Saint City Orchestra

You probably already read about Saint City Orchestra in Caribana Festival review. But now I can properly introduce you to them! They were nice enough to invite me to their gig at the Rock the Ring and let me tell you it was an amazing experience and I am so grateful!
At 12 o’clock I met the 5 lads of Saint City Orchestra: Sandro, Gabriel, Jerome, Marcel and Till. They’ve already done an interview with Radio Zürisee and were now waiting to set up their equipment for their 3.30 gig. One thing was already clear. Rockstars cannot sleep in! After a quick introduction I was quickly emerged into the group which made it easy to get to know them. They are all working day-to-day jobs while playing gigs at the weekend. I wonder how they get all that energy. Going to gigs, working and writing my blog already takes a toll on me but I can only imagine how playing a gig must be.
But thanks to all those gigs Saint City Orchestra are now able to record their first album which will be released at the end of the year. Their music is influenced by Irish folk rock music since this is how it all started. Sandro – the lead singer – got asked to play the Irish Rock Night but didn’t have a band. However this wasn’t a problem as well as finding their musical style. Some would describe it as Irish punk rock but I’d say it’s amazing feel good rock music that you can sing a long to at festivals or in pubs.
What do you do before a gig? I found out that it is mostly waiting until it’s your turn to set up. After a bit of lunch, a quick nap or just a bit of relaxing it suddenly was time to unload the bus. It was my first time on such a huge stage and I was very impressed. While Saint City Orchestra had their tiny spot the roadies of The Darkness and Santana were setting up their thing. The crew of Santana were also sound checking and luckily they finished early and cleared the stage for us!

Around an hour before their set started Saint City Orchestra were able to get the stage ready and to do a quick sound check. The doors opened at 3 and all you could hope was that people would come in early and quickly to see the lads. Slowly people started walking in.

K: Are you getting nervous before a concert?
S&G: Depends on the gig!

The time was running now! After a quick heads together the lads were announced and the gig started! I was soaking everything in and I loved watching them by the side of the stage. I think this is my favourite spot ever – I could get used to this! I was super busy taking pics and doing stories for my Instagram account because this is such a different perspective than my usual one 🙂 Backstage during a show it is almost as busy as on stage. Making sure that the musicians are able to play their best show is a huge task and I admire every roadie! They need to react as quickly as possible on just a hint of a musician and they need to be on top of everything. So well done to you guys! 🙂

The crowd were curious I could tell and Saint City Orchestra started with “Drunken Lullaby” and “Jailhouse Jig”. At first the people were looking and listening and slowly slowly they started clapping and whipping along. However I do think that at the Caribana Festival people were quicker to respond and dance. I admire the lads. They go out on stage and don’t know what to expect. They pour their hearts and souls into this gig and music but people might not be interested. This is what I call courageous!

During “What’s left of the flag” 5 people from the crowd were allowed on stage to party with the lads and to wave their huge Saint City Orchestra Flag. They were able to stay on stage for the rest of the set which made for a lively performance. But also Gabriel – on accordion – and Till – on violin – were jumping around and trying to get the crowd going. Mäsi – on what he calls cajon and what I call box 😀 – did a brilliant job. It is one of my fav instruments! But obviously it’s all about that bass 😉 played by Jerome. “Hairy Grizzly”, “Ballad of a haunted soul” and “A Toast” were next. I was completely focused on getting great pics and watching them to write a great review that the time flew by.

“Rebels” of the Sacred Heart”, “Firkin-Jumping Lovers” and “Knights & Thieves” rounded off the set and their 45min slot. Everyone was happy but the stage manager was quick to point out that everything needs to be taken off now! The Darkness needed to be able to set up their stage. The lads were so nice and asked me how I liked it but obviously I loved it! It was just an amazing experience I will never forget! More importantly was how they liked it and they were all satisfied and were okay with how the people reacted. The day wasn’t over though! Time to head to the Merch stand and speak to their fans.

More work was waiting for them. 2 interviews were scheduled right after the merch sale. Luckily we were able to have a quick peek at the Darkness. (Side note: WHAT A ROCKSTAR!?) I was sitting beside Saint City Orchestra and was listening in. It was quite funny to see someone else interview a band who speak non stop and over each other. Both sides were managing quite well! 🙂 After 6 hours with the band the official part was over and the lads and me were able to enjoy the other bands, meet up with friends or watch some footy and chill. Seeing stars like Santana and playing on the same stage as them must be the perks of spending every weekend away from their families. In addition to those funny little stories you get backstage bumping into random people and then you realise oh they are actually on stage right now!

Lastly I want to say thank you to Sandro, Gabriel, Jerome, Mäsi and Till for having Kekoas Korner with them and making me feel part of their amazing musical journey which I hope will continue for a long time. Also thank you to Jana and Silvan from 36zweientertainment for making this incredible day possible!
Check out Saint City Orchestra live:
1 July St. Gallen Openair
13 July Gurtenfestival
20 July 12. Südtiroler Highland Games 2018
27 July Čechomor: 30 let (Kooperativa TOUR 2018)
10 August Kultling 2018
11 August Musig am See 2018
7 September Irish Openair Toggenburg 2018
17 October Werkstatt Chur
Follow them via:
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
Twitter
www.SaintCityOrchestra.com

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Bryan Adams: A whirlwind of emotions and images

 
Pretty much exactly two years ago Bryan Adams made a halt with his “Get Up!” tour at Hallenstadion Zürich. Back then I was still in Uni and unfortunately I had to go to a mandatory week away somewhere in the middle of nowhere in Switzerland. Having already bought tickets I had to make peace with it that I couldn’t go. I was devastated. So when Bryan Adams announced his “Ultimate Love” tour I was super happy! I couldn’t wait to see this maestro live.
With no support Bryan Adams and his amazing band of 4 took the stage at 8.20. There was a huge LED screen on which amazing images and stories supported the songs. The stage itself was very simple and small. The music and the images are supposed to be the highlights of this evening and with a repertoire this big I think it’s fairly save to say that it was.

We started into the night with the title track of this tour “Ultimate Love”. I already mentioned the big screen and I was fascinated by it! I think like me people needed “Can’t stop this thing we started” and “Run to you” to stop staring at the screen and the band and to actually start clapping their hands. During the third song my concert buddy and I were both trying to figure out in what shopping centre Bryan Adams shot the video on screen. At the end it was revealed that it was NY. Now what image would you project to this third song? Legs running! It made so much sense and the rhythm of the song finally got the Swiss audience going. Bryan Adams addressed the Swiss crowd now and said:

When you go home you gotta remember this: “Go down rockin'”

Loved the song! 🙂 During “Heaven” and “This Time” you could really see how much fun the lads had on stage. Thanks to my camera I was actually able to zoom in and see their laughs and their emotions on their face. It was pure joy to play in front of an audience that came to rock with them. The next song “It’s only you” would have been a duet with Tina Turner but unfortunately she couldn’t be there 😉 So Bryan Adams and his lead guitar player Keith Scott had a bromance duet 😉 For all my fellow One Tree Hill lovers – YES I KNOW KEITH SCOTT!!! <3 I already liked him! lol

I always waited expectantly if I knew the song or not and amazingly even if you aren’t the biggest Bryan Adams fan you deffo know at least half of the set list. “Please Stay” was next but I was surprise to hear “Cloud No. 9”. I didn’t even know that this was a Bryan Adams song! I just knew that I sang along to when I was a kid and started to listen to the radio! Back then in 1998 it was one of my favs. And again Bryan Adams addressed us:

B: So I know it’s a bit tight down there but for the next song I want you to dance and shake your arse. How do you say shake your ass?
The crowd: Arschwackeln!
B: Arschwackeln? OK, so I want you to arschwackeln! 🙂

And he started to play “You Belong To Me”. Finally some people started dancing and what I loved the most is the three lads on guitars and bass who turned around too and actually shook their ass! 😀 Absolutely hilarious!

Only 3 chords were enough and people knew the song and started to jump up! 😀 On a day like yesterday with over 30 degrees I think it was more than fitting to play this song even 33 years later: “Summer of 69”. The crowd was rocking and on the LED screen we saw a naked woman tattooed all over with the lyrics – Yes, that kinda helped during the verses 🙂 After this fast song it was time to tune it down and so the next two songs were played acoustically. First up “Here I am” and then “When you’re gone”. And I thought where’s Mel C? 😀 I love that song but I haven’t heard it in a while either! YAY

One of the most famous soundtracks (Robin Hood) and awarded with an Academy Award Bryan Adams started to play “(Everything I do) I Do It For You”. What a ballade! And again I was not only fascinated by listening to this song live but also by those hanging lights which were moving up and down. It looked brilliantly! It reminded me a bit of the Red Hot Chili Peppers lights. Huge hits just in the middle of the set and not as you would expect at the end as an encore. I mean how cool is that??!! Without a break – it was just song after song – “Back to you”, “Somebody” and “Have you ever really loved a woman?” with a Spanish touch.

And another song that celebrates the woman came next: “The only thing that looks good on me is you”. How cheeky?! haha “Cuts like a Knife” continued this incredible set of songs. For the next one I let you guess the title from my pictures below:

Before the encore Bryan Adams played “I’m ready” and “Brand New Day” before the 5 super talented musicians left the stage only to come back for the encore a little while later and yes, he knew about the Swiss “ohhhhh” wave. But before I forget I’d like to mention that Bryan Adams had freaking Helena Bonham Carter on the screen during Brand New Day!!!! How amazing is that?! I was amazed again… and now that I watched the video clip I am gobsmacked. Not only did he get Helena Bonham Carter for the clip he also got Theo Hutchcraft from Hurts to play in it!! :-O

Back to the gig: “I could get used to this” and a cover by the Crickets “I fought the law” finished the main set and Keith Scott and Co. left the stage for the evening but not before they all bowed and did a little dance for us. Time for Bryan Adams and his guitar (and his harmonica) to finish the evening. Even though he is Canadian we enjoyed a very slow acoustic version of a traditional Irish song called “Whiskey in a Jar”. As you all know I have a bit of a thing for Irish music so he definitely hit a nerve 🙂

For “Straight from the heart” Bryan Adams told us a little story:

When I was little my parents saved money for school for me but then I saw this piano. I asked my Mom if she would buy the piano from that money and she said “Yes sure!” My Daddy didn’t know about it at first and when we told him waay later he said: “Good for you!” that’s what he always used to say – Good for you. So when people ask me how do you remember Switzerland I can say that today is the day my daddy died. So I want you to sing the next song with me for him.

I couldn’t believe what he just said. I managed to not cry because my concert buddy and I were wondering towards the end of the song why would you be doing a concert when your daddy just died? Did he mean it’s “just” the anniversary of the day? In any case I was very moved and I was close to tears which only Adele and Robbie Williams were able to do once.

With a lump in my throat I put on my phone torch for “All for Love” and the whole Hallenstadion did the same. It looked incredible and we all belted out the song in honour of Bryan Adams’ dad. And this is how I want to finish this review as well. In Memoriam  Conrad J. Adams – Good for you!
Have you seen Bryan Adams live? Share your experience with Kekoas Korner in the comments below or on Instagram.

Check out my latest gigs: Caribana Festival, Gavin James, Foo Fighters

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From A**hole to Motherf***er

I knew I wanted to see them as soon as they announced the gig last year. However I wasn’t happy with the ticket prices. Although it’s actually quite normal for stadium gig to have super expensive tickets. But I wanted to have a shirt to remember this gig so I waited and waited and luckily I got my chance a day before the gig!
I decided to drive to the gig because I didn’t want to be sitting on the overly full SBB train back to Zurich. It was a great decision for the way back but driving there was absolutely madness. I felt like everyone in Switzerland was “driving” to Bern. I now really feel for those people who do this every time coming to Zurich. I feel very blessed to be living here and being able to see big stars within a normal driving distance. Thanks to this lovely drive I missed out on The Kills and Wolf Alice. But I did hear that especially Wolf Alice killed it! 🙂 If you want to read more about the two supports check out Sarah’s review: Planetsarah.ch.

After a long wait in the queue we literally made it in took our place and the gig started! I stood there and watched these legends take the stage. I was in awe. I started to have a bit of a crush on Dave Grohl a few years back and since then I watched a few documentaries  (Sound City, Foo Fighters Back and Forth) that he produced which introduced properly to rock music and the Foo Fighters. With an impressive energy the lads started with “Run”, “All my Life” and “Learn to fly”. 35’000 people rocked to those songs and sang a long. I loved the atmosphere. Mosh pits started to form itselves and normal people stage diving to the front. When they found their way to the front on the hands of the people the security staff members took them down and let them to the side. But they weren’t angry with them. They were friendly and they understood that this is part of a rock gig like this!

We were only 3 songs in and the Foo Fighters played a cracker: “The Pretender”. Hearing that song live is lit (that’s how a very young person would say it ;-)). Normally with big gigs like that you see a lot of people just going because it is what you have to do to be trendy. However I didn’t feel like that with the Foo Fighters. I saw a lot of people knowing the lyrics and properly rock out to those legendary songs!

Are you ready Motherf*****? – Dave Grohl

“Sky is a Neighborhood” off their newest record “Concrete and Gold” was next. Unfortunately I missed out on the start of the incredible drum solo of Taylor Hawkins during “Rope” because my own belly started his own drum solo 😉 With a bite to eat I could properly enjoy the rest of the solo and the concert. I was surprised to see that the whole drum set was high up and that made sure that everyone could see him. It came down after the song like a little UFO 🙂 (I see what you guys did there;-))

Finally during “Sunday Rain” and “My Hero” Dave Grohl used their long runway and spoke a bit more with the audience. Unfortunately I couldn’t see him on that middle stage because of the two sound tents on each side. At least I could hear him and that what he said: “Who here is seeing us for the first time?” Lots of people yelled or grunted. So he said:

Ass*****! Where have you been?

Haha damn I thought I am an a**hole! But hey 3 years ago you had to cancel the gig because you fell of the stage! So who is the a**hole now? 😉

Anyway let’s continue with another amazing song “These Days”! God my poor neck. I don’t know how the Foo Fighters do this head banging everyday! Up next was “Walk”. And now Dave Grohl asked us if we knew Alice Cooper?! Hell yeah I do! I met him at a tram station 8 years ago! 😀 So they played a cover “Under my Wheels” next. Finally it was time to introduce the others! On lead guitar we have Chris Shiflett so he started his solo – but it was enough – “We want more”! After another incredibly talented solo on his guitar Dave Grohl and the crowd still wanted more! This continued with Nate Mendel on bass, Rami Jaffee on keys and Pat Smear on guitar. During those introductions they mixed in some very famous songs like “It’s so Easy”, “Another bites the Dust”, “Imagine”, “Jump” and “Blitzkrieg Bop”.

Foo Fighters continued the little cover section with Queen’s “Under Pressure” that turned into a very old song and lots of the original Motherf*****s knew it “Monkey Wrench”. It was time for a slow song and even a bit of a romantic settings with all the lights up for “Wheels”. I gotta say The Foo Fans are very creative. They took the phone and held it against their beer which created a beautiful yellow light. I loved it! So we had beer lights, actual lighters and phone lights – it looked great! For “La Dee Da” Dave Grohl brought Alison Mosshart from The Kills back on stage. Together they sang a rock duet and for me it was the first time to see her. I loved her energy and I liked her voice.

Around two hours flew by and Dave Grohl said we have about 25mins left before they shut us off. We won’t be leaving the stage, we will play through it as long as we can. I liked that a lot 🙂 I used the time during “Breakout” and “Dirty Water” to wander around the stadium and have a look at the stage from different angles. And I finally saw Rami on keys! haha

Foo Fighters finished off with a bang! Three uber hits that left no fan with any wishes: “Times like these”, “Best of you” and “Everlong”! After 2 hours and 40 mins I was impressed and transformed from an a**hole to a motherf******! Amazing how proud you can be to be called mofo! 😀
Are you a motherf*****? So share your experience here!

Check out my latest gigs: Snow Patrol/ Travis, Caribana Festival, Gavin James

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Savage Irish Night at Amboss Rampe

I saw Gavin James at the Kaufleuten Zermatt Unplugged two years ago. Unfortunately I had to leave his set after 30 mins to see Aloe Blacc because the timing back then was really bad. However what I saw of the set I enjoyed very much so that made me go to his 2nd gig at the sold out Amboss Rampe.
The Irish Night was opened by Declan Greene who is your typical Irish guy – or at least that’s how I see it. He’s super funny and a very talented singer songwriter. Playing the guitar and singing nice songs and cracking jokes in-between and warming the crowd up. That’s what I call a good opener!

Just a little while later Saarloos took the stage… and just like that we had some more Irish lads cracking jokes and making amazing music. The Harmonies of Brian and Craig were on point and I really really loved it and I was sooo impressed. For some songs they were joined by Andy who played the bass. They played a mix of Craig’s solo songs and their first EP as Saarloos: “Alive”, “Changes”, “Free Fallin'”, “Trust In Me”, “Home”. Since it was the last night of their tour together Gavin James quickly popped on stage to play the harmony and joke a bit with the lads. So if you love The Coronas, Ed Sheeran or Passenger I bet you love those guys too, so check’em out!

Gavin James walked on stage with his keys player Jeff and sang “For You”, “Remember Me” and “Coming Home”. The Craic continued throughout this evening with these amazing Irish musicians. He taught us that in any other country savage is a bad word but in Ireland it just means f***** amazing! What I love about live music you can continue your jokes and your interaction with the audience during the songs as well. In the very hot sold out Amboss Rampe the set continued with “Boxes”, “Hard to do” and “Nervous”. Gavin James’ voice range in the latter is super impressive. He said that a few days ago he was really sick and sang the song not how he normally would. Waay lower and it kinda sounded like Joe Cocker. Laughs were guaranteed! 🙂

It was so hot and just savage so we got to hear a few more songs: “Put you back together”, “Always” and “Faces”. I was already starting to get sick and I had a sore throat so I was kinda glad that I wasn’t able to sing all the songs with him. However a lot of the front row people were very good and made sure to sing almost every song. What I loved about this gig was that most people were super quiet since it was just Gavin, his guitar and Jeff on the keys. So it was very intimate and really not loud. Every chatter would have been heard. There was only one woman from Kerry on a Tinder date as Gavin put it who was talking constantly. I loved that he called her out on it because sometimes you just want to shhh people during a gig and it’s ok to do so!

“Tired”, “Glow” and “Cigarette break” were next. Gavin James’ voice is incredible and beautiful. His songs are almost all about heart break and just very sad. So it is super refreshing to lighten the mood with lots of jokes and fun stories. This sets him apart from Dermot Kennedy who’s shows are doom and gloom all the way. Finally my favourite Gavin James song came on: “Hearts on Fire”. It’s just a super fun and up-tempo song where you can properly dance too… Or jump to. Gavin asked us to kneel down and then jump up for the chorus 🙂 Good Craic or like he said SAVAGE!
There was no normal encore break. He just hid out behind a curtain and we only saw his hand pushing us to make more noise. Just hilarious! We got to listen to four more songs “Middle”, “Book of love”, “Two Hearts” and “Only ticket home”. The gig was over so quick and the weather decided to be Irish too since it started to pour down during Gavin James’ set. I was so happy I got to see a full set and properly enjoy a night out in what felt like a small Irish Pub in Dublin.
Have you seen these Irish lads live? Leave a comment below and share your experience 😉

Check out my latest gigs: HAIM, Snow Patrol/ Travis, Caribana Festival

 

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A truly magical place: Caribana Festival with The Script

Early Saturday morning it was time to go on my last stop of my The Script tour. I was already tired but so excited to meet my girls of The Script family and to see our lads later that day. In addition to that I was looking forward to seeing the Caribana Festival for the first time.

Arriving waay to early at the venue turned out to be a brilliant idea. Because it was so warm we decided to have an ice cream and to go to the lake to put our feet in. This turned out to be a brilliant decision since we saw the lads boating. On our way back to the entrance of the festival we spotted Glen and Ben at the restaurant chillin so we made the decision to quickly wish them a nice show. Them being them they started speaking with us when Mark joined in. It was quite special to just have time to properly speak to these lovely Irish guys. They are so close to their The Script Family and I am sooo happy to be part of this. It is not just the lads that make it special it is the family members you meet. You wouldn’t believe how many good friends I’ve gained through this family 🙂

The first band we listened to was Saint City Orchestra. They’re a band from St. Gallen doing Irish Punk music 🙂 I loved their show and we had a great time Irish dancing. I also think they did a great job opening the festival. Not a lot of people were around but they made sure that we had a good time. Creating mosh pits and inviting people on stage to drink beer was so much fun!

After this is it was time to take our spot in the front row at the main stage. First we saw Protoje & The Indiggnation a band from Jamaica bringing the Caribbean sounds to Caribana 🙂 It was good fun and nice to dance to but after Irish dancing I was pretty tired and needed a break haha Thank God for those 45 mins in-between the acts!

At 21.40 Oscar and the Wolf took the stage. Being a bit ignorant I just went to the festival and I didn’t really get any info on other bands. So when Max Colombie came on stage I was very surprised. Firstly I was kinda making fun of him and his moves. Check out my Instagram stories to see what I mean 🙂 But he quickly turned out to be pretty good. I was dancing and having a great time which I really didn’t expect at first! I will deffo check him out now and would see him again!

Finally at 11.45 the Script took the stage and the energy blew my mind. I’ve been to Dublin, Amsterdam and Brussels but down here by the Lake Geneva it was smaller which I think made the difference. With “Superheroes” Danny started to jump around and the front row (including me :D) followed his lead. The people around me knew the lyrics pretty well. I was so surprised but I barely heard the lads singing. I loved it tho and we sang “Rock the World”! The energy rose another level or as Danny said it we would have blown the roof of the place as the first chords of “Paint the town green” started. It is my favourite song! Danny came down to us and for half a minute we were singing together while the green confetti came down. What a special moment!

A beautiful quiet moment as always is when Danny sings “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved” with us acapella and then Glen, Mark, Ben and Luke set in after the first verse to play it from the start. Love it! Time to sing some new songs from The Freedom Child album. “Wonders” is such a brilliant song and Mark’s part is just the best. The newest single “Arms Open” was next. Mark and Danny both took their acoustic guitar and we opened our arms to them. Glen saw it and half hugged us with one hand while the other one was playing his part of the song. How talented is he??!!

Being at a festival means for most people to be drinking as well. So “Nothing” is the perfect song for this time. It’s about drunk dialing your ex and in the end all you got it Nooothing 🙂 Everyone was yelling it back. I think it’s one of the lads favourite song haha “No Man is an Island” was next and being to so many shows I knew exactly the moves to do. Danny caught me doing the fish and shark moves and had to laugh and followed my lead 🙂 And of course it was time to gather our bags because of the 8 steps left, 8 steps right movement.

That afternoon I properly met Ben – the Bass player – for the first time. He’s so nice and as a joke I quickly put together a poster saying “Ben’s No 1 Fan”. During “For the First Time” I held it up and one of my concert buddies pointed to it. Ben saw it and burst into big laugh and so did we. That was just the funniest moment ever! 😀 As already mentioned the lads are so close to the fans even during the show. So Danny jumped into the crowd during “Energy Never Dies” and the front row started to get squashed which I motioned to Luke. While everyone was looking for Danny The Script Family members had a ball with Glen, Mark and Co. Everyone knows Mark loves to throw his picks around so I was pointing towards me and he did try to throw it to me however I didn’t catch one. I think  he needs to practice even more lol 😉

With Danny back on stage the “Rain” could start. Well thank God it was just the song and the weather remained absolutely stellar. I knew now that we are close to the end or more precise 1 song before the encore. It made me really sad since it was such a great gig but I didn’t have time to wallow! Trying to dance while getting squashed is pretty hard but I think we managed alright.

After a short break Luke and Ben came back on and one by one The Script came back too. There is really “No Good in Goodbye” and normally the light show to this song are incredible but because it was a festival they didn’t put up all their gear. I bet part of it was already on the way to Milano where they had a show the next day. “Breakeven” followed and the Caribana Festival crowd was still in full voice. I have to say it again the energy was incredible! The Script’s final song “Hall of Fame” is their most famous and gained them a lot of fans. They always ask us to put up our phones and turn the torch on. It always is an incredible sight. And finally they are blowing up not just one set of confettis but two.

Lastly Glen and Mark are throwing their picks and drum sticks into the crowd. I had to tell you I am a bit of a pro of catching the drum stick! 🙂 This time I caught it for one of my concert buddies. After a final bow of the 5 lads it was time to say Goodbye. Luckily the Festival was so small that we met all of them again after the gig just before they left for Milano. Thank you lads for putting up such a great show and for being just so lovely and nice to your fans! It was one of the best days I’ve ever had. I got to spend the day listening to my favourite band with lovely people of the Script Family 🙂
Have you been to Caribana Festival? Or did you see a show by The Script? Let me know in the comment below and share your experience with The Script Family.

Check out my latest gigs: Snow Patrol/Travis, HAIM, Katy Perry

 
 

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1 evening, 2 concerts: Snow Patrol and Travis

Thanks to my Irish luck I was a very busy woman on Wednesday! First I won two tix to see Snow Patrol at the Energy Live session at Kaufleuten and then I won 2 tix to see Travis at the opening night of the Unique Moments Festival at Landesmuseum. So I had to try and watch both gigs and it kinda worked out 🙂

With a very unfortunate 10 min delay Snow Patrol took the stage at 8.40 in a very hot Kaufleuten. First they sang “Chocolate”, “You’re all I have” and “Crack the shutters”. I’ve never seen them live and being in a small venue helps to properly watch them. The 4 lads are so passionate and love their music. Plus they are very humble and funny! Apparently there’s a club in Belfast that looks exactly like Kaufleuten so Gary Lightbody said:

I think we’re in a time warp!

I wish we were! But unfortunately I knew that I would miss the last song of this gig and a few of Travis’ first. This did not make me enjoy the next few songs any less. Finally the first song from their newest record Wildness was “Empress”. It sounded very good but I loved what they did with their current single “Don’t Give In”. Firstly Gary Lightbody played and sang the song only with his guitar and in a much slower tempo then it picked up and it ended up in the normal version we now. I enjoyed that a lot!

“Run” followed and I just love their version! But I do still hear Leona Lewis screaming in the back ground haha. Another one from their new record was “Heal Me” and I love the rhythm of it! I think this could be my favourite – especially live. It’s a perfect song to get the crowd going. “Shut your Eyes” was next and finally the song everyone knew came on: “Chasing Cars”. It was super special to hear it live and to me it’s even better! But unfortunately this meant that we had to leave the gig now. The last song “Just say yes” sounded great as we made our way to the back.

After a short Uber ride (the first driver cancelled our trip – you are an a*** – I’m not gonna name any names) we arrived at the next venue. Now we had to look for the entry to the Landesmuseum. We heard a few beats and then the music stopped. I was afraid that it was already the encore! Luckily after another short run/walk we made it to the Unique Moments Festival with Travis. What a magical place! It looked like a castle in which the stage was set.

At 9.30 we already missed 11 songs including “Why does it always rain on me?”. But we had another hour and 10 mins which we enjoyed a lot! First song we heard was “Love will come through”. It was a very relaxed atmosphere on balmy summer night. What I didn’t know is how funny Fran – the lead singer – is. He told a lot of stories which I always enjoy at a gig. One story was that he sang in front of Liam Gallagher who at that time was one part of the legendary Oasis. Liam ended up crying because he sang so beautifully! How funny! The set continued with “Last Train”, “Good Feeling” and “Side”. A lot of the songs you kinda know even if you aren’t Travis’ super fan 🙂

Fran in true Scottish manner wore a Kilt which at first I thought were just shorts! haha As the evening wore on I started to cool down and relax. Travis’ songs are perfect for that but they can party and dance as well which they showed in the later stage of their set. “Re-Offender” was next and because I didn’t know the songs so well I was able to do a live video on my Instagram account. I also made a very special follower of mine happy when I video chatted with her during the gig so she could listen.

I really don’t know why I know “Closer” but I do and I had a great time listening to it live! Nothing beats live music 🙂 “My Eyes” and “Flowers in the Window” were next and my crazy concert buddy from Loads of Music decided to go down to the standing area to enjoy the last part of the gig. When we got down for “All I want to do is rock” I was amazed and annoyed by how many people were chatting loudly. I would expect this from the seating area but down here with the fans, seriously? And then “Sing” came on! Everyone sang along and to me it was a magical moment in a unique setting. I’m very thankful for all the opportunities I get. Thank you Energy Radio and Starticket!
Fran then started to speak about live music. He thanked us for coming and for buying tickets because without us people like him wouldn’t be able to do what they loved and continue to do it. Supporting live music is a big thing especially these days when music can be easily accessed through streaming. I still love records and I am starting my own vinyl collection. There is something about a record that iTunes or Spotify cannot give you in my opinion. In addition to this if you meet the band you have something to sign! 🙂

Travis left the stage now for the real encore only to come on stage to tell us another story about a festival Radio 1 organizes. Thanks to a silly jam session we got to hear the next cover. Travis a Scottish rock band covers the Pop Princess Britney Spears. Everyone laughed but sang as loudly as they can “…Baby One More Time”! Lastly the perfect song to end this set “Happy” with the following lyrics:

I’m so happy ’cause you’re so happy!

I loved it and was dancing along with everyone else. Slowly rain drops were falling on my head 😉 However we did have a stroll around the venue and found the top 100 record collection corner with all the legendary records. Great idea! As we headed to the train station the rain started to pour down and we all thought:

Why does it always rain on me?

Have you seen Travis live? Yes? Then let me know in the comments below! 🙂

Check out my latest gigs: HAIM, Katy Perry, Jimmy Cliff

 

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HAIM: Monday is flirt day

Thanks to the Gadget Golden pass I won over Christmas I had the freedom to finally see HAIM. I’ve heard sooo many good things about the 3 sisters and I know that Este Haim is sooo funny so I decided that I had to see them.

The girls invited Grace Carter to join them on their Sister Sister Sister tour and that was a very wise decision. She is an awesome singer and a great opener. She sang “Silhouette”, “Saving Grace” and “Ashes”. I was a fan already and somehow I thought I knew her but I couldn’t place my finger on it. But the most fun and the best atmosphere she created with  “Silence”. People clapped along and started to dance even more. I will deffo keep following her and would love to see some more 🙂

At 9.20 (so late!) the lights went off and the red stage lights went on. A drum beat started and one by one Alana, Danielle and Este took the stage at X-Tra. The energy came through already. People started dancing and clapping. I was amazed. I spent the whole first two songs “Falling” and “Don’t Save Me” watching them. They switched between singing, playing the keys, guitars etc. You could really see that they feel the music – especially Este. Her face tells you the whole story of a song.

After two songs I could already tell that they are the perfect festival band! I wanted to take off my shoes and just sway and jump to the rhythm! Speaking of festivals what I find incredible is that they are headlining Glastonbury, Coachella etc. but they only play X-tra in Switzerland and it isn’t even sold out. Plus if you mention HAIM in Switzerland everyone looks at you like you’re from the moon. It’s a pity but they’ve won me and my concert buddy within the first few minutes. A brilliant good vibes songs is “Little of your love” which contrasts the next song where Este sings lead. It is a super modern and aggressive song and I immediately liked it. And the Swiss audience managed to sing a long to “Song 5” which brought a smile onto Danielle’s face.

The sisters are so very talented musicians and their songs are brilliant to singalong to. Especially “Ready for you”. But like I said they are also funny. So they said:

A: What day is today? Oh Monday. I hate Monday’s.
D: But now we’re here so let’s start the week off right.
E: Monday’s are here to flirt. I like to flirt.

Then someone shouted something and Este was like “Ohh I like you. And you got a Pepsi shirt on. I love Pepsi – but light. Hey, we can work on that”. I couldn’t stop laughing! I loved the way they told stories and all three of them spoke their minds. It was a very lively show which continued with “You Never Knew”. I bet you’ve heard of “Want You back” before. It is such a familiar song. To me it represent the perfect festival song. I can picture myself with flowers in my hair and barefoot dancing and singing to it. “Walking Away” and “Nothing’s Away” followed.

Before the next song the sisters told us the story how this song became what it is today. Alana said she really really liked that song but it wasn’t right and she wanted it to make it perfect so the others would come on board. So finally she played the first three seconds and everyone knew exactly which song it was. She said those beats made it to what it is. Now Este said “Well hold on I play the bass on it and without it wouldn’t be a hit”. Danielle went on and said “I sped the song up and you know that this is songwriter 101”.

Alana: Let’s just play the f**** song

And so they played “Forever” and “The Wire” came next before they left the stage for the encore.

From their 2nd album “Something to tell you” which was release last year they played “Found it in silence” and it resonated pretty well with the audience. I love those smaller gigs because the people that are there really came for the band and know the lyrics and are ready to dance. After around 90mins Alana, Danielle and Este finished a brilliant show with “Right Now”. They turned me into a fan and I am looking forward to seeing them again! Check out the highlights on my Instagram account by clicking here.
Have you been to a HAIM gig or a festival they played at? Let me know your story in the comments below.

Check out my latest gigs: Katy Perry, Jimmy Cliff, Sam Smith

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Zurich roooaaared with Katy Perry

I was super excited to see Katy Perry for the fourth time at Hallenstadion! I remember her doing a great show at Volkshaus and then half of the Hallenstadion and now for the second time a sold out show. I am incredibly happy to have seen her grow so big 🙂 What I love about her audience is that it is super divers. From little kids to teenagers to families to very specially dressed people (I guess me kinda included haha)

I guess the mini-club at the concert was why Tove Styrke started at 7.30 already. I really really loved her sound and she seemed incredibly humbled but very talented. I’d love to see her at a small venue to get a good look at her. Partying with Tove Styrke is great 🙂

The Witness Tour gig is divided into 5 parts. Katy Perry in a golden suit took the stage at 8.45 with “Witness” in a crystal like floaty thingy which opened the first part “In the space”. It continued with another song “Roulette” of her newest album. For that song she brought huge cubes on stage on which she was climbing around. During “Dark Horse” – such a tune! – she was supported by 8 dancers who are extremely talented and always dressed in awesome costumes. Huge computer giants took the stage for “Chained to the rhythm”. I was already up and dancing – how can you stay still? But lots of people were there to watch the show.

 

And boy did they get something to watch. For every song Katy Perry brought something new out. Her 29 trucks were fully stocked with props. The 2nd part – act my age – started with “Teenage Dream” and a flying yellow Lego! Katy now started to talk to us. It felt like a conversation she’d have with approximately 13k friends 😀 She said that she wanted to learn some Swiss German. I have to say she must be pretty great at phonetics since she was mimicking what the first few rows were doing and it sounded very Swiss. So we taught her “Chalt und warm” / “Hot and Cold” and off the party went! 🙂

It was a Friday Night and what better way to celebrate today with Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F)”. Katy had an LED-top on where both songs were displayed on. She was literally glowing! 🙂 Two huge flamingos came out. They looked super funny and honestly it was so much fun dancing to this. Hit after hit the evening continued.

“California Gurls” was next and obviously Left Shark couldn’t be left out. He came on stage as a big star! 😀 And apparently he wanted to play a huge piano since he was a real musician. It was super entertaining and it didn’t feel rehearsed at all. After a water fight the stage was quickly cleaned while Katy Perry sang a song for all her Katycats: “I kissed A Girl”! What I really liked about this tour is that she completely remodeled her oldest songs into new versions. And off she went into a huge mouth covered in red lipstick.

Act 3 “Celestial Body” brought out huge flowers all over the stage. For “Déjà Vu” Katy Perry walked slowly down to the middle of the Hallenstadion. Unfortunately she was engaging the other side of the venue more than mine. This is the only thing I can criticize. During “Tsunami” she had a dancer on a huge flower pole. It looked very cool. Another fav of mine “E.T.” was next and a huge mosquito took the stage. Honestly it is incredible what Katy Perry and her creative director did with this Witness tour! Even people who don’t go to concerts a lot or don’t enjoy it as much were in for a treat. It was just a spectacular show!

During “Bon Appétit” an oversized carnivorous plant took the space below the huge eye which was the center of the stage the whole time. It is hard to describe all the things on stage because there were just too many. I bet someone sat across the room had another few and saw something else. At the end of the song Katy Perry was eaten by the huge plant and off she went to change for the fourth act.

During dress change big planets were blown up and Katy Perry flew in on big Saturn. She sat there covered in silver with a silver guitar and played “Wide Awake” for which she asked us to be her duet partner. It looked sooo pretty! Especially when everybody started to light up their phones. A wow moment!

Now what I realized yesterday is that a lot of people there knew her biggest songs and a lot of the new ones. However the old ones weren’t sung that loud. What I didn’t like about the audience too is that they were seated almost the whole time. Honestly how could they???!!!
Katy Perry landed on the 3rd stage and asked for the Swiss flag someone in the audience was waving to be given to her. She said:

Thank you for spending your time and your money to be with me. I know that you had to take a train, a bus, a car or a plane and maybe spend money on a hotel. I really appreciate you and that’s why I wrote this song for you.

It was a very intimate moment where Katy Perry knelt in the middle of her Katycats singing “Into Me You See”. The last song of act 4 was “Power” and off she went for another dress change.

Part 5 started with “Part of Me” and it was time to put your fist into the air! When I walked in I spotted a pretty cool shirt at the Merch stand from the “Swish Swish” song. Unfortunately it was so expensive that I didn’t buy it but the song was stuck in my head. And finally she sang it now! 😀 I had to laugh and it stayed in my head all night! In the video of “Swish Swish” Katy Perry plays Basketball with pretty famous people. At the gig she chose a Dad and his 10 year old son. A huge basketball court was the background for the song and now it served as a little game. If the duo won they could take a selfie with Katy. So they took turns at trying to put the oversized ball into the huge net and obviously Katy Perry made sure that she’d loose 😀

The basketball court was replaced by an impressive lion.

Zurich it is time to “Roar”!

I love that song and I adore that record. Every song on that album tells a very personal story. That’s why the last gig in 2015 was so special to me. Last night it was even bigger than the last time but I couldn’t relate as much. But in any case it was a brilliant gig and I had a great time. If you want to get some impressions have a look at my stories on my instagram account. Just click here.  After nearly two hours Katy Perry left the stage for the Encore.

Katy flew in on a big clock to sing her song “Pendulum”. It was a very quiet song and a nice Encore song before the Big Bang! She landed in a huge hand in the middle of the stage and sang with us “Firework”. And with Boom Boom Boom real fireworks were set off before Katy Perry sank into the hand and into the floor of the stage. As you can see I am in Love with Katy Perry and I am so impressed with her journey. I can only recommend to you guys to see a gig of hers. It is just amazing! 🙂

Have you seen Katy Perry live? Let me know your experience and leave a comment below:-)

Check out my latest gigs: Jimmy Cliff, Nena, Sam Smith

 

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Kekoas Korner’s lowdown on all the Summer festivals

Temperatures are rising and the first festival of the summer is around the corner. So it’s time for me to give you all the deets of this year’s festival season.
First up we got the

Caribana Festival 5-9 June

Motto: Can you feel the rhythm?
Deets: The Greenfield festival is based in Interlaken and was established in 2005. From the start the organizers were able to get the biggest names in rock to take the stage at Greenfield. 30 Seconds to Mars, Slipknot, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Linkin Park are just a few of the big names from the past years. But every festival lives off the “smaller” bands who create the best atmosphere even before the headliner starts.
Highlight: This year will be my first time at the Caribana Festival because my highlight The Script are playing there. After cancelling their show this is one of two performances left in Switzerland. From busking at a London station to playing the big stages Passenger is always worth to listen to. For the lovers of DJ music we got the French duo Ofenbach. Follow @Kekoaskorner on Instagram to check out the festival via her stories.
Dress code: Colourful big patterns with a little bit of leather.

Unique Moments 6-9 June

Motto: Special nights within special surroundings
Deets: Unique Moments is held at Landesmuseum Zurich for the 2nd time and promises to be special. As any festival in Zurich it is quite pricey but the great acts and the special surroundings might make it worthwhile. Follow me on Instagram to check out the opening night with Travis.
Highlight: Like I said Travis will be opening the festival this year celebrating their hit record “The Man Who”. The German Band Kraftklub closes the festival with an energetic bang. Stephan Eicher & Martin Suter and Patti Smith and her band will round up the great line-up this year.
Dress code: Fancy clothes for a warm summer evening.

Greenfield Festival 7-9 June

Motto: Rock the Valley!
Deets: The Greenfield festival is based in Interlaken and was established in 2005. From the start the organizers were able to get the biggest names in rock to take the stage at Greenfield. 30 Seconds to Mars, Slipknot, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Linkin Park are just a few of the big names from the past years. But every festival lives off the “smaller” bands who create the best atmosphere even before the headliner starts.
Highlight: My personal highlight has to be Limp Bizkit. Who doesn’t remember Halle Berry and Fred Durst in “Behind Blue Eyes”. But I guess this is the softest song in their repertoire and they are ready to freaking rock the stage! Another band I’d like to mention is Oomph! I didn’t know that they still existed but reading this name immediately brought back memories of way back when they were on Hitlist Germany on MTV! Who remembers “Augen Auf?”
Dress code: Black and Band-shirts is big yes! You can never ever go wrong with that combo.

Openair St. Gallen 28 June – 1 July

Motto: There is no bad weather just bad clothes!
Deets: Openair St. Gallen was established in 1977 and is based in a protected area close to the city. It is known for its bad weather and the heaps of mud in front of the stage. However this set up can make for very special moments. Lorde loved it last year and it turned out to be a very special gig. I do think that they always have a special line-up of newcomers and it’s a good festival for trend scouts.
Highlight: I want to mention a few artists here. First up Depeche Mode and the Killers. I witnessed the 80s band first hand last year and they are superb live as well the Killers who put up a great show. Jess Glynne is making sure to include everyone which I love. Unfortunately I haven’t seen Portugal The Man yet but I’ve heard so many good things about their show so it’s well worth checking them out as well as the shooting star Alma.
Dress code: Super cute wellies and rain ponchos 🙂

Frauenfeld Openair 5-7 July

Motto: Hip Hop’s best
Deets: Openair Frauenfeld is one of the most prestigious Hip Hop festivals. It manages to get all the big names since 1985 and obviously attracts a lot of hip hop fans from all over Europe. It always sells out pretty quickly so if you haven’t gotten your ticket yet you are too late. Being a early bird is super important for this festival.
Highlight: That’s quite obvious! EMINEM is giving one of his rare shows and I am super excited to hear all about it. I loved N.E.R.D live and I can imagine that the Frauenfeld crow will love it. Another Highlight on Saturday evening is Wiz Khalifa. Chilled out rap music make for the perfect ending of this year’s hip hop festival.
Dress code: Hoodies and baggy pants… and a lot of bling bling

Montreux Jazz Festival 29 June – 14 July

Motto: Glam up for the Music Connoisseur’s festival
Deets: Montreux Jazz Festival has one of the best reputations in music -not just Jazz- I believe and is a famous festival within artists ranks. It was established in 1967 and is the 2nd largest Jazz festival behind Montreal’s International Jazz festival. The venues changed over the years or should I say a few venues got added since it grew bigger and bigger. Unfortunately I have never been but I would love to go.
Highlight: Aloe Blacc is one of my favourite artists EVER! He’s so talented and over the years he learned to entertain the audience. Billy Idol and Hollywood Vampires are sharing the night! How awesome is that? THE Jack White – Yes, Seven Nation Army – is on too and it this would be one of my highlights to check out. I’d love to see how he performs live.
Dress code: Like I said Glam Up and dress for the occasion. If you go the the rock night make sure to wear leather pants or a jacket. If you go to Jamie Cullum’s Jazz Night why don’t you wear your best little black dress with some nice high heels? And guys suit and tie looks always nice 😉

Gurtenfestival 11-14 July

Motto: Rock the hill!
Deets: Gurtenfestival must be the highest festival in Switzerland. It’s based on the “Berner Huusberg” (the local hill in Berne) called Gurten. Guess when the festival started?! 1977!! So there’s a lot of history to this amazing festival. My first visit was 2011 and I had the best time and last year I won a 4 day VIP pass from Ticketcorner. You can read all about it here.
Highlight: My highlights this year aren’t the headliners. Gurtenfestival has managed to get so many good “smaller bands”. I can only imagine how cool it must be chilling to the soft sounds of Angus & Julia Stone or rocking to “No Roots” with Alice Merton or getting goosebumps listening to the amazing voice of Jacob Banks.
Dress code: It’s all about the layers at Gurtenfestival. It’s super hot during the day but it can get cold pretty quickly – after all we’re in the mountains! So make sure you’ll take a light jacket and maybe a leather jacket with you.

Moon and Stars 13-21 July

Motto: Parla Italiano? under the stars of the beautiful Ticino
Deets: Moon and Stars was established in 2004 and it is based in the beautiful Piazza Grande in Locarno. The festival has a great mix between international superstars, Swiss artists and Italian singers. I’ve heard a lot of good things from people who discovered new artists, ate great food and had the best time.
Highlight: Obviously The Script! #TheScriptFamily But we also got the Girl Power evening with Rita Ora and Emeli Sande and The Swiss Night with Pegasus, Hecht and Baschi. But I think the best evening will be Anastacia and Nek – they are both super powerful and very entertaining.
Dress code: Summer in the city! Plus the concerts are held in a Piazza where the air isn’t really flowing but the dresses definitely should. Get your loose and flowy things out.

Openair Lumnezia 19-21 July

Motto: The energy never dies!
Deets: Openair Lumnezia was established in 1985 and is based in a valley in Graubünden. It started out as a rock festival with only 700 visitors. This increased dramatically to around 18’000 visitors over the years which led to a location change. However because the space is limited it cannot crow any further which guarantees for a cozy atmosphere. To me that sounds amazing!
Highlight: The little energy bundle called Beth Ditto is a headliner and as well as Marteria and Bastille! As soon as the line-up came out I couldn’t believe it. I loved it so much! The energy will be unbelievable and if you are going I can guarantee you that you’ll be loving it 🙂 All of them are amazing live performers and those are 3 are just my highlights!
Dress code: Again this open-air is in the mountains. So make sure you have clothes for warm and cold weather with you. I love the layer look and you’re dressed for every occasion.

Paléo Festival Nyon 17- 22 July

Motto: Chillax and parlais français 🙂
Deets: It started out in 1976 as the Nyon Folk Festival and just got bigger and bigger over the years. On 6 stages within 6 days lots of artists are able to show their talent from super famous to newcomers you’ve got everything here. To me it sounds really cool and I’ve heard that the people are super chill and you’ll have a great time there.
Highlight: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats are only playing this festival in Switzerland so it is well worth travelling there for this amazing band. Their energy live is incredible. The brilliant country rock group from Iceland Kaleo will be performing at Paléo too. Dancing away to 80’s Synthie Pop by Depeche Mode is always a good idea.
Dress code: Be your own. If you love flowy dresses and jeans jackets or leathery rock outfits you’ll fit in perfectly. The festival crowd is super divers and special. So no matter what you wear you’ll have a great time.

Blue Balls Festival 20-28 July

Motto: Meet the artists at Blue Balls!
Deets: Blue Balls is located right next to the main station in Lucerne next to the beautiful lake. The sound is really great and what I love most about the festival is that they have a talk with the artists of the evening before the shows. It’s called “Meet the artist” and tix cannot be bought. They are for free and given out in front of the building. They also have a few smaller stages outside and art shows to look at.
Highlight: Veronica Fusaro is a Swiss artist and has a brilliant voice. She is well worth checking out. Some more female power comes from Alanis Morissette. The British duo Hurts are not only super funny but also so very talented. Speaking of talented Tom Odell is giving one of his rare gigs or so it seems to me. So if you wanna see him you better do it at the Blue Balls festival who knows when his next gig is. Lastly another funny talented guy is Milow. I’ve seen him live and I’ve met him so if you love good vibe music he’s the right person to go to.
Dress code: It’s kinda glamorous so dress up! My go to leather jacket or leather pants are appropriate. Plus it’s one of the rare festivals that are inside. So don’t worry about the weather! 🙂

Im Fluss 23 July – 13 August

Motto: Amazing Music and you can decide on the price!
Deets: I was amazed when I heard that the Im Fluss Festival set in Basel is for free. Well actually it is not for free. You pay the musicians fairly and squarely to what you think it’s fair. So be generous! Putting up a show and entertaining you is not easy. Give them what they deserve. Also it is based on a first serve first come basis so if you want good spots come early. The stage is set in the middle of the river Rhein so “Im Fluss” which deffo makes for a good atmosphere.
Highlight: Naturally 7!!! I adore those 7 guys who are giving everything to make sure you are having a good time. They don’t need any instruments, they have their voices and it sounds like you have a full band. But read it yourself or better listen to them live! The German Electro band 2Raumwohnung open this lovely festival and they are super energetic too!
Dress code: Basel is said to be a bit warmer than other cities but remember it’s in the evening so make sure that you don’t forget your jeans jacket over your summery dress.

Heitere Openair 10-12 August

Motto: As it says in its name be heiter! (Happy)
Deets: Heitere Openair is based in Zofingen was founded in 1991! What a good year (The year I was born ;-)) It has a mix of all kinds of genres from Rap to Clubmusic, Rock to R’n’B. To me it always looked like a very chilled happy party with friendly people.
Highlight: I’d like to mention this lad from Liverpool. Louis Berry is awesome and comes from the town of the Beatles! For the Schlager party people Heitere has Trauffer for you. His shows are very passionate and I promise you you’ll have a good time. My favourite song is “Z’jung für mi” (Too young for me) and I cannot get enough of it. Lastly this Gentleman JP Cooper will amaze you with his beautiful voice and thoughtful lyrics.
Dress code: A T-shirts and some comfy trousers will be just fine! It’s about having a good time not what you wear.

Stars in Town 7-11 August

Motto: Party close to Europe’s biggest water fall
Deets: Stars in Town is located in the heart of Schaffhausen and founded in 2010. They’ve managed bring many huge stars to town but what I love most about the festival is that they have lots of mini stages where you can enjoy gigs for free. Last year KARAVANN managed to get a spot to showcase their talent.
Highlight: What I love about this festival is that the acts of one evening fit perfectly together. We have the Power Woman Night with KT Tunstall, Joss Stone and Anastacia and The Big Man Voices Night with Kaleo and Rag’N’Bone Man. There’s the Rock Night, The German Night and the Perfect Son in Law Night. Find out more here.
Dress code: Like I said we have theme nights here in Schaffhausen so you know exactly how to dress for the event. But also make sure it’s not too fancy after all it’s a small town 😉

Musikfestwochen Winterthur 8-19 August

Motto: Party on the streets of Winterthur!
Deets: Musikfestwochen Winterthur are a 12 day festival with lots of music and art for free. Only a part of the huge programme needs to be paid. What I love about it is that a lot of local artists get the chance to play in front of big crowds and they get to present themselves. Around 50k people are visiting the festival within those 9 days. There are 4 stages but lots of busking is going on too.
Highlight: I’m gonna mention two highlights of the paid programme but make sure to check out the amazing atmosphere surrounding it. Billy Talent one of my favourite punk bands are headlining the Saturday. Friday is headlined by the German rap crew the Beginner who I saw last year at the Gurtenfestival and let me tell you. They know how to party!
Dress code: Billy Talent is Punk and Beginner is rap. So dress accordingly 🙂 During the day just come as you please! It’s a festival celebrating art and music and it’s for the families so I don’t think a dress code applies.

Openair Gampel 16-19 August

Motto: Go Big Or Go Home!
Deets: Gampel goes waaay back to 1986 and is based in the beautiful canton of Valais! A year later they had Uriah Heep as Headliner. How cool is that? 1995 Bob Geldof did the honours. Die Toten Hosen were there lots of times. So it’s clear that it got bigger and bigger over the years until today’s 80’000 people rocking their heads to brilliant music.
Highlight: Where should I start???!!! There are sooo many highlights at Openair Gampel this year. I wanna start with Welshly Arms who are an incredible live band and just the nicest people! Check out my interview with them by clicking here. But nothing and no-one can beat Marteria at a festival! This is a must!
Dress code: Good question! We have lots of different music genres and the people are relaxed. So I guess whatever you feel like works for me. Comfy clothes such as yoga pants and a loose top. But remember it’s in a Valley so don’t forget a jacket.

Zurich Openair 22-25 August

Motto: Time to show off!
Deets: Zurich Openair is the baby of all the openairs. It’s only the 4th time it is held on a lawn close to the airport. However from the start they were able to get all the big names in the industry. I do think they have a bit of an electronic/house feel to it but it really depends on the evening.
Highlight: For those of you who didn’t see them in April at Hallenstadion or if you want to see them again Imagine Dragons are back in Zurich! My rap fans will be happy to see Kendrick Lamar. But I’d like to mention two brilliant British masterminds: Liam Gallagher – as you were – and Tom Grennan. Both of them have an attitude but they put up a brilliant show and let’s face it Liam Gallagher is a legend.
Dress code: Make sure to check out all the latest Festival trends which you’ve spotted at Coachella. I can guarantee you that this is perfect for the Zurich Openair. I wanna see hot pants, fringe ponchos, gold tattoos etc.
Those are all brilliant festivals but there are even more gigs. For example Stars of Sound has amazing acts and is always worth a visit. The Line-up of Rock the Ring is great too! H2U Openair Uster is a very small one but managed to get great acts for their 2nd season.  Openair Etziken showcases the amazing Swiss artists we got and Nena is coming back after her 2 sold out shows at Volkshaus. I could go on and on but I think I gave you enough deets so you can decide for yourself what kind of festival and which bands you’d like to see. If you go I’d love to know more about your experience. Just message me on Instagram! 🙂

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From Kingston to Zurich with Jimmy Cliff

It’s summer in the city! 🙂 Not just because the temperatures are rising but also because the Jamaican Legend Jimmy Cliff is in town. He brought 8 musicians with him who started the show at the sold out Volkshaus.

The leader of the band sang the first song of the night and the only lady of the band followed this up with a brilliant version of Dawn Penn’s “You Don’t Love Me”. And finally the legendary Jimmy Cliff walked towards his bongo with a typical Jamaican calmness. Of course “Bongo Man” was his first song and it gave me goosebumps. You have to check out the highlights on my Instagram account. He covered “Rivers of Babylon” which got stuck in my head all night. I loved the vibe of “Love song” and “Treat the youths right”. Lots of people started to whip and even some stood up at the back. It was quite fun to watch how Swiss people dance to Reggae music.

They performed another cracker “Wild World” and everyone sang to it and waved their hands. It looked great. I had a very good time! “Rebel Rebel” and “Roots Woman” made me dance.. well it made me sit dance 😀 So I was shimmying and whipping with my upper body and my legs. Maybe you’ve already done the sit dance.. If so let me know in the comments below 🙂 “Best of my Love” was next and “Vietnam” made everyone sing along again. Of course this is an important song and Jimmy Cliff changed the lyrics to Lybia, Syria, Afghanistan etc. The message was clear. Stop the War – no matter where or when!

The soundtrack “Harder they come” followed and the temperature of the sold out Volkshaus rose another few degrees. To cool down and a life lesson everyone should follow Jimmy Cliff and his band sang “Hakuna Matata” The summer feeling kept on going with “Many rivers”, “King of Kings” and “Let your yea be yea”. The uber hit “I can see clearly” was next and again the audience was in full voice. But I think the most famous song was “You can get it”. It was another highlight of mine since my Mom has been singing it to me for year. This really is a motto for you:

You can get it if you really want
But you must try, try and try, try and try
You’ll succeed at last

Dance time with “Reggae Night”! However I was quite disappointed that only some people stood up. Honestly this was the perfect gig to stand up and dance but since I was one of the youngest people there I guess they weren’t up for dancing… “Wonderful World” was the last song before the encore. By then we were way past the promised 9.30 finish. It seems like Jimmy Cliff liked his Swiss audience and was in for another few songs. You know other artists wait for the crowd to sing “One More” but not Jimmy Cliff. He and his band turned it into a song! I loved this! The whole crowd was singing one more and of course they gave us one or should I say two more.

“Johnny too bad” and “Turn the table” finished this long set of amazing Reggae music by the Legend of Jimmy Cliff. I am ready for summer and I bet everyone who was at that gig is ready too. In addition to that Jimmy Cliff sent us home with the following words:

Blessed Love for All

Have you been to a Jimmy Cliff gig? Let me know and leave a reply below!

Check out my latest gigs: Nena, Sam Smith, Anastacia

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Nena’s Family Affair

Nena has been around for ages and is still well known to everyone – especially since she did Sing meinen Song last year. That’s why the Volkshaus’ audience was very divers – Young children with their parents, girls night out or couples enjoying a date night. The sold out Volkshaus was boiling when I walked in to see the support Crimer.

Very Swiss – on time – Crimer started with his mixture of Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys. His dance moves are just incredible and because he was such a fitting support the audience was actually enjoying him and it was already a good atmosphere! I was very happy for him.

Just a little after 9 Nena and her 9 musicians took the stage to an already loud cheer of the audience. She started with “Indianer” and “Ganz oben”. I already realized that this crowd knows the lyrics very well and with “Nur geträumt” I even joined in. Lots of people were already standing and dancing to “Tanz auf dem Vulkan” and “Lass mich dein Pirat sein”. Nena continued her set with songs all the way throughout her career. “Einmal ist keinmal”, “Rette mich” and “Kleine Taschenlampe brenn” was next. This was one of my favourite moments when the people took out their phone and swayed to the song.

Nena left the stage and it took a bit longer than expected. Suddenly we heard screams in the audience. It turned out that Nena has a B-stage in the middle of the standing audience. Unfortunately we didn’t see anything because it was right under our balcony. On a small stage Nena played the guitar and had 3 other musicians with her to sing “Es regnet”, “Ich häng an dir”, “Das alte Lied” and “Es word schon weitergehen”.

With “Noch einmal” Nena returned to the main stage and we were able to see her again. She continued with “Famous flavour”, “Berufsjugendlich” – LOVE THE SONG – and “Du kennst die Liebe nicht”. Nena had a lovely mix of slow and dancy songs. I loved the fact that we had always something to look at. I’m going to be honest I didn’t know a lot of songs but still I enjoyed seeing everyone else around me enjoying themselves and singing along. It was so much fun looking at the audience!

Up next was “Das weisse Schiff”, “In meinem Leben”, “Vollmond” and “Schicksal”. Nena told us now that we had a choice of two songs: “Liebe ist” and “Be my rebel”. So she had a listen which song had the louder cheer and then decided that we do them both 🙂 I love it. She really wanted to please her audience and sing each and every song. Another beautiful song was “Wunder geschehen”. For the next song I really hoped that Nena would invite Seven on stage. He really did an amazing job singing “99 Luftballons” during the Sing meinen Song show. But unfortunately he didn’t pop up. However I enjoyed the song anyway. Obviously Nena had some huge balloons with her and the audience were playing with them.

 
She gathered up the band and said her first goodbye. After a long wait Nena came back on stage with “Genau Jetzt”, “Old School” and “Willst du mit mir gehn”. 3 Encores are a lot and two hours are a lot of concert for 70 francs. However we weren’t done yet. The energy of this woman doesn’t die that quickly. So after another quick costume change the band and Nena came back on stage to sing “Irgendwie, Irgendwo, irgendwann”. Literally everyone knew the song and was singing along. Nena finished her two hour and 10 min set with “Ich bin immer noch hier” and she really is still here!

Have you been to a Nena gig? Share your experience with us and reply below.

Check out my latest gigs: Sam Smith, Anastacia, Isaac Gracie

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Sam Smith put Zurich under his spell / Sam Smith verzauberte ZürichSam Smith put Zurich under his spell / Sam Smith verzauberte Zürich

Today we got to enjoy almost two hours of Sam Smith’s immaculate voice in a sold out Hallenstadion. We is a super divers audience from the small kids to teenagers to gays to older people. Sam Smith’s crowd represents everything he stands for:

Be yourself and love who you want to love

But before Sam Smith took the stage Lewis Capaldi warmed up the crowd. I was sooo excited to finally see him live since I’ve heard so many good things about him.. and I wasn’t disappointed. He hobbled on stage and started with “Don’t get me wrong” and I was blown away by his voice and I wasn’t the only one. Everyone clapped and wooped and wanted to hear more. Lewis was supported by two very talented musicians for “Fade” and “Lost on you”. After each song Lewis Capaldi said a few words and they were absolutely hilarious. I love the fact that he knows that he’s singing sad songs so he has two lighten the mood with some jokes. Dermot Kennedy could learn from this guy!

As an exception Lewis Capaldi covered “Issues” by Julia Michaels and he did an amazing job! Everyone could sing along and it made for a great atmosphere. He then explained that he twisted his ankle during some football this afternoon and advised us to stay inside and eat pizza – it’s much safe. Let me tell you he’s my kinda guy 😀 The sad songs continued but it gave us a chance to listen to his deep raspy voice. This guy will go all the way! “Rush” and “Bruises” completed his set not before the whole Hallenstadion was lit up with cell phone lights. Just gorgeous or like he would say: COOL!

On time at 9.45 the lights went off and Sam Smith was lifted up on his chair onto the stage which was formed as a triangle. After the first few chords of “Burning” Sam Smith had the people under his spell. The all seated Hallenstadion stood up and hung onto every words he sang and said. Sam Smith waved hello to every part of the audience and he was met with waves and screams back which brought the cutest smile onto his face. Yes, I was that close that I could even see his dimples. He went on to say that he realised that he’s got very sad songs in his repertoire but tonight Sam Smith wants us to have a good time and dance!

And you bet we did! Who would have thought that Sam Smith is doing music to dance to but with “One Last Song” he proved us wrong for the first time. My favourite song “I’m Not the Only One” was already the third song and the Hallenstadion had a huge singalong to it. Have a look into my Instagram stories! Taking us back to the start Sam Smith sang the wonderful ballade “Lay me down”. His voice is just to die for! If you like the way it sounds on the radio or on record you will love it live. The next one is a slow one and a Lauren Hill cover “His Eye is on the Sparrow”. A quick breather before we got up to our feet again to dance to “Omen” featuring Disclosure and sing “Oh Oh Oh”.

Time to hug your concert buddy and enjoy the next two “Nirvana” and “I’ve told you now”. The incredibly talented piano player started and I knew immediately which song this is going to be but hey everyone deserves his solo. After a few mins Sam Smith rose above to sing the 007 James Bond song “Writing’s on the Wall”. Very dramatic! I loved it 😀 Time to dance again! Another Disclosure feature “Latch” got us up again. After that Sam Smith and Brandon – his bass/guitar musician aka his best friend since 4 years ago – sat down together to sing with us “Money on my Mind”

Sam Smith introduced his 8 musicians one by one which I really loved. They are amazing and they are doing a brilliant job so it’s only right that they get to have their time in the lime light too. Sam and the four singers stood in one row and dance synchronically to “Like I Can”/”Best things in life are free”. It looked great and of course everyone sang along. My concert buddy and I and the whole band were two stepping to “Restart”. Such a fun song! After the two stepping it was time to wave to “Baby, You Make Me Crazy”. Being so close to the stage means that you kind of get to see it from the artists view and I loved the fact that you saw each and everyone waving until the very top top row way under the roof.

“Say it first” was next but the most emotional moment came just now. Sam Smith explained that he wrote the next song when his parents got divorced so you could really feel the emotion in his voice while he sang “Scars”. He even managed to make some people cry. “Midnight train” is another slow song where I just sat down and listened to this beautiful voice. My highlight of the evening was “HIM”. What a song! I had goosebumps because Sam Smith turned it into a Gospel like song and it felt very powerful. Like I mentioned he said that he wrote this song so that people can love who they want and after I carefully listened to the lyrics I have to say that I really really love this song. Such a powerful message wrapped up in an incredible arrangement.

It was time to say Goodbye and what better way to finish the regular set with “Too Good at Goodbye”. Again everyone was singing along and the smile on Sam Smith’s face was huge. After an hour and 15 mins Sam and his 8 musicians left the stage. He returned to it by climbing the stairs onto the top of the prism/triangle construction at the back of the stage. He sang “Palace” as a duet with one of his singers called Lucy. That woman can sing! Plus she transported the emotion so well. It was a wonderful moment. After they finished the song Sam Smith hurried down the stairs to sing “Stay With Me” and again the whole Hallenstadion knew the lyrics and sang along. Towards the end of the song red confetti rained down on us.

He then stood there and took it all in – the screams, the woops, the stomps, the claps. Of course he promised to come back and I really do hope that he does! I enjoyed this gig a lot and I’m pretty sure that I wasn’t the only one. The last song after almost two hours was “Pray”. With a “Have a safe journey home – I love you” Sam Smith said Goodbye and left behind an enchanted audience.

Have you seen Sam Smith live? Wanna share your experience with Kekoas Korner? Leave a reply below 🙂

My latest gigs: Anastacia, Turin Brakes, Isaac Gracie

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Master of the night: Anastacia

To be honest with you I was really looking forward to this gig until it was clear that my football team LFC will play on the same date. Thanks to abc production I got to see the incredible Anastacia again (Queen of Sprok) and it was well worth it.

At 8.30 Anastacia took the stage with a huge hit “Left outside Alone”. It became clear that she meant business. 6 musicians and a three story high stage including various light effects supported her amazing voice. As soon as she started I was glad I came and the whole Volkshaus was too. From the first song everyone was singing along and Anastacia loved it. She loves Switzerland and that is no secret.

With her newest single “Caught in the Middle” the set continued. Both songs were very rocky which set the tone for the night. However it wouldn’t be an Anastacia concert if she didn’t have some soul and pop songs. “I can feel you” and “Redlight” were next. As you might know I had slight inflammation in my knee so I couldn’t really dance. But let me tell you already it wasn’t easy! Anastacia’s next song “Sick and Tired” is such a personal song with so much passion. It’s one of my favourite live songs because during the chorus everyone is waving their hands and is enjoying themselves.

“Before” sounds like a fighting anthem and if you know Anastacia’s history you know why. She is a strong beautiful woman with a brilliant voice you’ll recognize immediately. For the next one she said:

This is a song from the first album. If any of you guys are under 16 you might not know the song but it’s called “Cowboys and Kisses”

The summer feeling continued with “One Day in Your Life”. This song was one of the summer hits in 2009 and is still an amazing song that makes you want to dance right away. While Anastacia left the stage for a costume change the musicians did a great job doing a funk medley including Bruno Mars. With “Nobody loves Me better” she came back with a super sexy outfit. However Anastacia has not only men in her audience. It is a divers mix. Women and men of all ages, in couples or on a ladies night out. I loved the fact that you really couldn’t describe the typical Anastacia fan. At one point she asked how many of you see me for the first time? Half of the Volkshaus raised their hands. So she said:

Where have you been? 🙂

Seriously where have you been? She comes to Switzerland at least once a year and has been around for well over 10 years. However it is fascinating how she gathers new audience every time she is here. But most people are able to singalong and so we supported her during “Pieces of a Dream”. Lots of people were in awe of her beautiful and strong voice – very understandable.

“Why” of her latest record Evolution followed. I don’t know why but the next song is special because it will get stuck in your head and I love the dance she and the two dancers are doing for “Stupid Little Things”. When the first chords of “Paid my dues” started I couldn’t believe that she was already playing it since it was one of the biggest hits. I checked my watch and I saw that we were coming to an end. The past hour flew by!

A few years back Anastacia released an album where she covered all the classic rock songs… Stones, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, The Foo Fighters and many more. Unfortunately she was not able to tour that album because she was diagnosed with breast cancer for the 2nd time. However she wanted to perform those songs live at least once so on her App we were able to choose which song of that album she would perform tonight. And Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On” won.
“I Do” and “Boxer” off the new record were the two songs before the musicians left the stage. After minutes of deafening applause and stomping and wooping Anastacia came back on stage with a slow new song called “My Everything”. She told us that we are her everything. She feels so blessed that we still come to see her and support her doing what she loves to do so that’s why she wrote this song – for her Fanily. Her voice gave me goose bumps and it was a very quiet beautiful moment.

For her last song she asked everyone to stand up and everyone obliged. I tried my best to dance with only one leg properly working. So the Volkshaus turned into a club where people had a good time including dancing and singing to “I’m Outta Love”. After an hour and 40 minutes of pure Entertainment from the Master of Sprok Anastacia said Goodbye. I already know that I want to see her again but I really do hope that at least 50% of the people who saw her for the first time that night will come back because she deserves it.
Calling on all my Fanily members, please share your experience below.

Check out my latest gigs: Turin Brakes, Isaac Gracie, Seven

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The wicked Isaac Gracie

Last year I saw Isaac Gracie supporting Angus and Julia Stone and enjoyed his set however the venue was too big. So when I heard about him playing the Papiersaal I knew I had to see him! Thanks to Loads of Music for sharing my passion and for keeping me company.

Isaac Gracie started shortly before 9 o’clock with “All in my Mind”. A solid rock song and I already realised that this gig as a headliner will be much better. After a quick tuning of the guitar and chat with the audience Isaac Gracie continued his set with “that was then” and “terrified”. And again Gerry – the sound tech – was suppose to tune his other guitar which he didn’t do but Isaac used the chance to talk to the audience. He was incredibly humble and sweet and we enjoyed a great gig.

The slow songs were up next “all the burning lovers” and “love” made us listen to Gracie’s amazing voice. He can not only sing the grungy rock songs but also beautiful ballades. “Telescope” started slow but turned into an uptempo song. However if I heard telescope I think of Juliette’s song in Nashville. 😀 The two songs have nothing in common! But speaking of country music “one night” is a beautiful song perfect for a summer night. While the three lads on stage I could picture myself around a bonfire watching the stars listening to this song. A memorable evening and a special moment during the gig.

A girl in the audience shouted “silhouettes of you” a few songs ago and Isaac Gracie finally granted her wish. To be honest with you – again – Isaac Gracie is a live artist. I adored the songs during the gig but listening to them now after the concert isn’t the same. The memory of the gig and how he sounds live make them great. Another slower song “hollow crown” followed. Finally the first chords of “death of you and i” were played – my absolute highlight of the evening! It starts like a good old western song. You can literally picture a cowboy riding his horse through the desert and the BOOM! It turns into a very loud rock song and Isaac Gracie is screaming the lyrics. After the chorus the song goes back to the western sound and changes again. With this song you never know what comes next and I seriously adore this song!

“running on empty” and “reverie” finished todays set. But of course Isaac Gracie came back and asked the audience what they wanted to hear and they shouted “last words”. Someone must have sneak peeked onto the setlist since he planned to sing this song as an encore anyway 🙂 However I loved how he spoke to the audience and was joking with his bandmates. A very humble and talented man this Isaac Gracie. He left the stage with two peace signs.

yes, peace out!

Have you seen Isaac Gracie live? Yes? Share your opinion with us and reply below.

Check out my latest gigs: Turin Brakes, Seven, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats

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Howl at Turin Brakes

Thanks to Mainland Music I got to actually see Turin Brakes this year. A few years back they performed at the Zermatt Unplugged in Zurich and I only got to hear them from outside since I didn’t have tickets for that show. They smashed it and I really wanted to see them too so last Wednesday I finally had the chance.

An Italian band called Dog Byron opened up. They performed quite a few songs of their record Eleven Craters. I loved the voice of Max – the lead singer. He has a very deep characteristic voice you can listen to all night. Make sure to check them out on Spotify.

A little after 9 the four lads took the stage in a very casual manner. Turin Brakes presented songs from their new album Invisible Storm as well as old songs from their 9 year career as a band. Turin Brakes started with “Would you be mine”, “Wait” and “Life Farms”. Around 100 people came to the London lads at Papiersaal. I loved the atmosphere. We had space to dance and just enough space to fully enjoy the brilliant music.
“Future boy”, “State of Things” and “Rain City” were next. Turin Brakes are able to play slow songs as well as rock songs but what I enjoy the most is that all of them have a certain rhythm. I was stamping, clapping or nodding the whole time. Eddie the base player looked a bit wild to me and he confirmed it when he said that he loves wolfs and feels like he is almost one. So he asked us:

Zurich, are you ready to howl with me?

The whole Papiersaal howled a few times while the first chords of “Lost in the woods” started. One of the highlights of the evening to me. “Last chance” and “72” followed which I really liked too. Such a good rhythm. Gale – the guitar player – tried to joke with us but no-one laughed so Eddie started howling again. Apparently Swiss people like to howl 🙂

The set continued with “Painkiller”, “Fishing 4 a Dream” and the title track to the new record “Invisible Storm”. Olly said that they had some time off today and watched some Swiss people doing loops with their bicycle and now in their mind every Swiss person can do this. For my international readers: No, not every Swiss person is able to do this ;D

Like they said they know that we know that they know that we know that they will head off stage soon only to come back if we are loud enough 🙂 So “Black Rabbit” was the last song before the break. The audience got louder and louder. We enjoyed a great evening with amazing live music from Turin Brakes.
Rob on the drums was the first one to come back on stage to play “Keep me around”. Of course we wanted to keep them around! 🙂 My favourite song and the loudest so far was “Everything All At Once”. We got another one called “Under Dog”. The four lads from London left the stage again and we started howling again. Eddie was so happy about this and promised to come back soon after they came back for a 2nd encore.

“Don’t Know Much” and the final song “Slack” finished this evening. I was really glad to have seen them however I think last time was more special when I couldn’t see and just hear them. 🙂
Have you seen Turin Brakes? Share your experience below and leave a reply.

Check out my latest gigs: Seven, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Sunrise Avenue

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Seven: 4 colours, 2 hours, 8 musicians

Many of my international readers probably won’t know Seven. He’s a Swiss musician and he’s been around for quite some time. I’ve seen him last summer at the Gurtenfestival and Seven and his band shared a very special moment with us. He asked us to close our eyes and listen to “Help”.

With “Help” Seven and his 7 musicians started their set at the sold out Kaufleuten last night. A very brave move to start with a slow song. Unfortunately in this venue most of the people are not there to actually listen to the lyrics. They are there because it’s the place to be so they are chatting throughout the gig. So disrespectful! Now let me introduce you to Seven’s show concept. His newest album is called 4 colours and it supports the various songs on the album and gives a bit of structure to it.

First he started with blue and after “Help” we got hear “Thank you Pain” and “Lisa”. The colour changed to yellow and the tempo of the songs got faster. A little summer thunderstorm started to break out in Kaufleuten and they performed “I can’t wait for the rain”. Another warm song “City of Gold” got us dancing and singing. Then Seven spoke about his incredible year he had last year after he was invited to join the programme “Sing meinen Song” (Sing my song). It’s a German programme where around 7 musicians participate. They meet up and sing each others songs and the outcome are beautiful new songs of classics.

So Seven sings Xavier Naidoo‘s version of his song “Go Slow” which like he said is sing sing my song song. Absolutely hilarious! Seven is an entertainer and shared private stories as well as jokes which I really really loved. And of course this concept goes both ways so he sang one of Xavier’s song and my favourite “Das hat die Welt noch nicht gesehen”. So different but so cool! 🙂 It was time to change the colours again…
Time for Red. During “Trick” I stood up again and danced away. Luckily I had enough space and I really enjoyed this moment. This next song “Black Pearl” he sang for his wife. They are sharing two kids and Seven said how humbling it is to come back to a normal life after a gig like this. His son won’t ask him how the gig was but he will ask

Papi, Lego?

Again the whole Kaufleuten was laughing. Finally he sang his first single and my favourite. But of course Seven being Seven he didn’t perform it the way it was. Him and his super talented band mates turned it into a complete new song. A song that I even like more than the old version! Again you have to be really brave to do that or maybe as talented as they are to pull that off.

Another interlude and a colour change followed. Time for Purple. Time to dance. Time for funk. “Africa”, “1978”, “Brave” and “Partytown” turned Kaufleuten into a disco party. More and more people stood up and the people downstairs were already dancing. A quick walk through the crowd and high five’s to everyone on the way to the stage was also part of the set. Seven knows how to feel everyone welcome and to entertain big or small crowds. He is a an incredible musician and so talented. I am repeating myself but it’s true. He deserves all the praise he gets and I wish that he and his band can continue to do what they love. The passion, the love for music is palpable and this transfers onto the audience. Concerts like these are the best!

After a quick party set Seven did something I have never seen at Kaufleuten. He was able to shut up the chit chatters with “What if”. A beautiful moment. With “High” the band finished a brilliant two hour set. It was time to go home and play lego. 🙂
Have you seen Seven live? Please share your experience with us and leave a reply below.

Latest gigs: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Sunrise Avenue, Franz Ferdinand

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Say it louder with Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats

Two years ago I saw Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats at Kaufleuten and I just loved his set so when they announced that they are coming back I knew I had to go. I was very much looking forward to this gig and to listen to some new songs of his brand new album Tearing at the Seams released March, 9th.

We had to wait a long time for the support to come on. But finally at 8.10 a band called Slim Cessna’s Auto Club took the stage. And for the first time ever I don’t know what to tell you guys. I think they were completely nuts! I mean they were nice. They greeted us in the front row by handshake but the weirdness continued.. They stepped into the crowd and were just dancing weirdly and the songs… It was kinda country but also almost goth, rock and just very disturbing. But I think that’s what they want. They are on a European at the end of this year so if you’re into dark goth country music check them out!
At 9.30 Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats finally took the stage with a whiskey in his hand and his first word to us was:

Proscht!

I was kinda mad at them for letting us wait but that intro just made me laugh and I couldn’t stay mad anymore. In “Shoe Boot” Nathaniel Rateliff showed off his dancing qualities or should I say sliding qualities 🙂 It was a brilliant start and with “Grüezi, I’m Nathaniel Rateliff and we are the Night Sweats” it was enough said. “Be there” from the new record was next before he played “Look it here”  of his self-titled older record. The front row was already dancing and clapping along.

“I did it” came before “Howling at Nothing” which definitely got the crowd going and is an old one I really liked. What I really love about this band is that we have three horn/saxophone players, a drummer, a key/piano player, a bass and a guitar player so this fills up the stage quite nicely and transports the music right into your soul. It’s raw live music. Nothing can beat this! They are all so very talented and know their instruments inside out. Plus what I really loved to see that they had sooo much fun on stage making good music. I think this good vibe feeling is so easily transported over to the crowd. That’s why the Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats gigs are always good fun!

“A little honey” is just a good feeling song and I can already picture myself driving down the road with the windows open in summer and having a good time listening to amazing music. For the next one the band put together a new and and old song “Cooling Out” and “Shake”. “Out on the Weekend” followed before Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats played their first single of the new record called “You Worry Me”. I must have listened to it so much that I actually thought it was one of the old songs 🙂 But hey, that’s a good sign! An actual old song “Wasting Time” was performed next. I really really enjoyed the good atmosphere and the brilliant live music with an incredible voice.

That beautiful voice of Nathaniel Rateliff was shown off even more in “Babe I know”. After a short solo and a song called “Intro” we got to enjoy “I need Never get Old” and the party definitely started and the crazy continued. After a little dance on stage Nathaniel decided to walk down the stairs in front of me and actually lean over the barrier. I quickly moved out of his way. It was hilarious! Check out the video on my Instagram account by clicking here.  It’s one of my favourite tracks on the last record next to “Mellow Out” which I was hoping he would play. Unfortunately because he came on so late there was no time for more than 2 encore’s. And from what I gather is that this song would have been an option for an encore. Well I guess I just need to go see them again and hope for the best 🙂

Nathaniel Rateliff asked us now to join in and sing-along to “Say it louder”. He said it’s really easy just “Say it louder, say it clearer” and the whole X-Tra joined in. Again what an atmosphere! “Baby I lost my Way” and “Hey Mama” rounded off the brilliant set. However Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats couldn’t leave without playing S.O.B. The Party was on and we all kneeled down just to jump up during the chorus. We were also turned into a huge choir and it was just a lot of fun!

The lads left the stage to the audience’s “ohhh ohhh ohhh” which didn’t fade until they started the first chords of “Trying so hard”. Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats finished the set with a beautiful slow song and the title track “Tearing at the Seams”. His last words were:

Ich liebe dich

Adorable! He thanked us for our support more than once and you could really feel that it was appreciated. We – the audience – allow them to do what they love. It has to be an incredible feeling and I hope that they can continue to live their dream.
Have you been to one of their gigs? Leave a reply below and share your experience 🙂

Check out my latest gigs: Sunrise Avenue, Franz Ferdinand, Liam Gallagher

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Finland’s finest Sunrise Avenue rocked Zurich

A sold out Hallenstadion. Not many artists manage this but the 5 lads from Finland did. I gotta say I’m very happy for them. Years back I got to see them in a much smaller venue and I still remember it today that it was an amazing gig and one that I fondly think of. So let’s see how last night’s gig went down.

The support Tim Kamrad is a German singer songwriter. The songs are very mainstream and sound like I’ve heard them before. Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes will be happy to see that they inspired this young lad. I missed his personal signature but I am sure that it will work well on the radios. I do clapped a long and it made me want to dance.

Nearly at 9 on the dot the lights went off and an amazing stage with an incredible light show supported Sunrise Avenue. Normally I would go right into the review but this time I want to make something clear. Sunrise Avenue are a band. It’s not just Samu Haber. Yes, he is the lead singer and more famous then the others but I cannot stand it if radio hosts introduce the next song and say Hollywood Hills by Samu Haber. It is wrong that’s why I want to introduce to you the band members first Raul, Sami, Riku, Osmo and yes Samu too.

 

They started with “Prisoner in Paradise” and a wonderful ballade called “Beautiful”. The atmosphere was amazing right away. Even the people seating were clapping and having a good time! The title track of their 2013 album “Unholy Ground” was next. Samu said that the band always feels a lot of love from the Swiss crowds and obviously everyone needs a “Little bit of Love”. The first chords of the newest single “I help you hate me” were played and everyone started to clap and sing a long again. It is one of the best songs to sing with large crowds and it made for a great moment.
Samu’s voice is so special and so incredible and in “Hurtsville” we could enjoy it in a slow ballade. “Heartbreak Century” the title track of their current record can’t be left out in this 20 songs strong setlist. “Never Let Go” and “Room” were next. Another great rock ballade is “Lifesaver”. The Hallenstadion was lit up with phone lights and everyone waved it in the right rhythm. Just beautiful. Each song had a brilliant rhythm where people could clap along too and that automatically creates a good atmosphere. In “Question Mark” I wasn’t sure if they spoke finish for a sec but it turned out that they just quickly speak English in their cute accent.

The band thanked his long-time friend Anna who had the great idea to put the flag onto the album cover. The huge flag of the Swiss Sunrise Avenue Crew hung at the back of the venue. A lot of Swiss and Finish flags were in the audience so the next song “Flag” fitted perfectly. I enjoyed another very old song “I don’t dance” before the Hallenstadion was turned into a sea of lights again for “Afterglow”. Last time they played this song in this venue they were at the Energy Star Night and Samu tripped over the moving camera on the floor. Again he mentioned how much he hurt himself but like a pro he finished the set.
This next song was my highlight of the evening! Sunrise Avenue changed up “Forever Yours” to a complete new song. So intense, so dark and so good. Imagine this song is 9 years old! Sunrise Avenue already played two hours and they weren’t looking tired so we got see and listen to even more songs such as “Let Me Go” and “Point of No Return”. Riku and Raul always made sure to include the people on their side even out on the stands. I honestly love to see so much interaction with the audience. Sunrise Avenue seemed to be the same rock band from way back when just on a bigger stage with a huge production.

The production is amazing. The lights and the 3 screens are part of this great rock show. But what makes them so likable is their charm. Samu addressed the audience quite a few times and joked with us. When he didn’t manage to open his water bottle he just ripped it only to realise that it was already open. Boys will be boys so he squeezed the bottle and water came out. 😀 Obviously Sunrise Avenue couldn’t leave the stage without playing one of their biggest hits “Fairytale Gone Bad”.

Unfortunately the two hours fly by and the lads had to leave the stage only to come back for 2 more songs. A slow song called “Home” and their uber hit “Hollywood Hills”. Finally everyone was standing and partied and sang along to. It was the perfect ending to a great gig.

Are you party of the Sunrise Avenue Crew? How did you like the gig? Leave a reply below.

Check out my latest gigs: Franz Ferdinand, Liam Gallagher, The Script

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Back to the 80’s with Franz Ferdinand & Crimer

Thanks to Gadget I was able to attend my first Franz Ferdinand concert. They’ve worked together with Just Because to bring the legendary Scottish band to Zurich. What I love about Just Because concerts is that they publish the times late afternoon. This means you can actually plan your evening and know when to be there and how long you need to wait.

When it was announced that Crimer was the support of FF I was so looking forward to see him too. I’ve heard so much about him and I gotta say he didn’t disappoint. The three lads on stage put on a great show of a mixture between Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode and maybe David Bowie. I really liked their 30 mins performance and honestly he gave his best. The dance moves were crazy and people warmed up perfectly for the main act.

I am completely honest with you guys now. I knew Franz Ferdinand but I don’t think I have ever listened to a song… I thought they’d be rock – rock like Foo Fighters, Kaiser Chiefs or The Killers. But they were so different to what I was expecting. They had this kind of 80’s vibe going. Yes, they were rock but not too hard core. At 9 o’clock the perfect party could start when the band took the stage. I was shocked I didn’t expect them to be this old haha But hey they were famous when I was little so what did I expect?! 😀

With the title track to their newest record „Always Ascending“ they opened the 90 mins show. I really couldn’t get my head around the fact that I was expecting something completely different. The people loved it and were already dancing and singing. „Walk Away“ and „Lucid Dreams“ were next and I really loved the atmosphere. Plus you could sense that the lead singer Alex Kapranos knew what he was doing. The kind of energy and presence he was presenting cannot be taught. You just have it or you don’t.

I really liked the song „Lazy Boy“ which was followed by „Glimpse of love“ and „No you girls“. I went to the venue Halle 622 without preparation and to be honest I started to like this. I used to listen to every song and get as much info on the band as possible beforehand but I learned that sometimes you need to surprise yourself. What I love is to check out the songs after the gig. Memories of the concert will flood in and you have an automatic connection to the song.

Franz Ferdinand continued with „The Dark of the Matinee“, „Lois Lane“ and „Do You Want to“. I felt like I knew the latter but I couldn’t singalong to so it must have been a distant memory 🙂 Before the crowd went wild for „Take me Out“ the band played „Slow Don’t Kill Me Slow“. Lots of hands and people jumping around and singing along which made for a great party and an amazing atmosphere. After witnessing two DJ gigs at this venue I was so glad to see a rock band play.

Their newest single „feel the love go“ (which you can also find on my Spotify playlist: Kekoas Korners Favourites) was another one that sounded familiar. This made for the perfect time to introduce the band members to everyone. Alex Kapranos asked the Zurich audience:

Do you feel the love?

And of course we felt the love. We felt the love for Bob Hardy, Paul Thomson, Julian Corrie and Dino Bardot! „Love Illumination“ and „Ulysses“ completed their great 80’s rock set. A few mins after 10 Franz Ferdinand left the stage for their long encore. I was really tired but I enjoyed the whole concert so they deserved to come back to a huge applause/roar from the crowd. The people partied even more for „Paper Cages“, „Jacqueline“ and „Huck and Jim“. The cherry on top was „This Fire“. Eeeeveryone knew the song and was dancing like crazy. Almost at the end Franz Ferdinand asked us to kneel down and everyone did it only to jump up for the chorus! The atmosphere is hard to describe but you can have a look at the highlight in my instagram profile. Let me tell you this. If you weren’t there you missed out on a great party!
Have you been to the Franz Ferdinand gig? Let me know your experience in the comments below.

See my latest gigs: Liam Gallagher, The Script Dublin, The Script Zurich

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Freedom Child Tour Diary: Zurich – Six Degrees of Emotions

The Swiss The Script Family has been waiting for this for three years and finally on March 8th we were blessed with a gig or so we thought. Unfortunately the flu made the rounds and Danny caught a chest and a viral infection so the gig was cancelled. However the outcome I had an amazing day with lots of good friends. Let me share some emotions with you.
I woke up feeling very excited which is very unlike me before a The Script gig. I couldn’t wait to get to Hallenstadion and meet everyone. So at 2.30 I walked to the venue and met already people I know on the way. I felt really happy and excited. It was like a big family reunion. Two of us stood at the other end of the venue and tried to catch a glimpse of the band. The majority gathered in front of the entry. So what to do for the next 3 hours? Two of us found 2 Lime Bike’s laying around so they circled the venue.
The 2nd time they came around they brought bad news. The gig is cancelled. Our first thought: Yeah right. I don’t believe it. Then I got a text from the 2 on the other end. Security went home. Gig cancelled. No way?! Let me call the venue. Yes, gig cancelled. Seriously? This can’t be happening?! We decided to stay and wait for the lads to tell us or tweet us. Again people started circling the venue to get more info. We don’t believe it. Finally we found Matt – one of the roadies – Yes, gig is cancelled. Unbelievable…
We all started getting texts from people at home. We heard rumours that the gig is cancelled is it true? Do you know more? It was 3, 3.30 and more and more sources started to confirm it. However Good News the organiser still told people they don’t know anything while the venue confirmed it right away. I think they were already trying to reschedule the gig. I’ve heard they tried to do it on Saturday but I am glad that they didn’t do it. People forget that performers are still human. Yes, they get most likely super great care but still a chest infection hurts and takes weeks to heal. We love them and we want them to be healthy and happy to perform. A cancelled gig is never fun but we understand.
I completely understand if people are upset about having paid accommodation and travel fees but then again would you really want someone sick performing? Put yourself in their shoes and then ask yourself would you be able to perform a two hour gig? No. I read a few comments when Lady Gaga and Helene Fischer cancelled their gigs of people saying they should pay for their travel expenses. They were angry and didn’t even consider another persons health! That’s why I am glad they The Script didn’t reschedule to Saturday! In fact I would have understood if they cancelled Milano and Vienna too. This would have given them a week of rest and they’d be ready to rock out the two sold out shows in Amsterdam and Paddy’s day in Brussels.
But you know them they don’t cancel gigs lightly. So I’m actually sitting on the train to Milano not knowing if the gig tonight is going ahead or not. But you know what?? I am not even the slightest bit worried. If it doesn’t go ahead I still had a nice day out and I’m meeting another member of our The Script family! How great is that?!
Back to yesterday’s events. Like I said we all had messaged floating in from people at home and we all told them to stay at home and wait for the announcement at 4! At 4 The organiser finally announced that the gig was cancelled. So it was finally official plus the lads posted a video which got deleted shortly after for whatever reasons and got replaced by an official message. So if people traveling from far away didn’t have someone at the venue who told them to stay home by the time the cancellation was official they would have been already on their way. That’s why we saw lots of people with sad faces later that night.
All 18 of us stayed at the venue because we wanted to quickly speak to Glen and Mark. Me personally I wanted to know about Milano and what they were planning about tomorrow’s gig. So a little while later someone managed to see Glen and he was quite positive about Milano so let’s see! I will keep you posted. At 7 Mark came out and spoke the ones left however I was too cold and too hungry so we left right before. But seriously can I just say how cool it is that they come out at this huge venue and talk to us? How many artists do this? Not many…
And what did Ella Eyre do? She went to the zoo and enjoyed her day off like the other guys from the crew. They finally had some time to get a drink in Zurich. So to some it was a blessing, to some it was devastation and to others it was a fun day out. To finish this article with words of the Script: All we heard is nothing… but at least we got a poster! 😉
Want to share your experience? Leave a reply below.

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Freedom Child Tour Diary: Dublin Night 3

For years I wanted to see The Script in their home town and after 10 years I finally managed to fly over to witness one of the best gigs ever. Little did I know that Night 3 turned out to be the best of the 3. But as Mark said Night 3 was the first on sale so all the people who really wanted to go got their tix for Saturday Night.
Leaving Zurich on Wednesday meant that I had some time to wander around Dublin and obviously visit Grafton Street. Another thing that you have to do is a tour around the Guinness grounds. The history was fascinating and yes I did like that Guinness straight from the factory. Last year I interviewed Danny from The Coronas and asked him what to do in Dublin. Click here to read the full interview. He said to visit Temple Bar and Dun Laoghaire which I did and it was well worth it. Another beautiful area is Bray – a little town with a beautiful beach just outside Dublin and a little bit further than Dun Laoghaire.

Now back to reviewing the gig. I was not only excited to see The Script but also to finally see Ella Eyre live. Having a seat meant I had to dance sitting and I’m telling you it was the hardest. She started her set with “Good Times” one of my favourite songs of her. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be there and enjoy a little Ella Eyre gig. Another good one “Together” followed before she sang her new song “LOVE”. A beautiful ballade “We don’t have to take our clothes off” showed off the amazing voice of Ella Eyre.

With this next song it took me all my strength not to stand up and go crazy because this one is my go to on a night out. Believe me you have never seen me like this! 🙂 I enjoyed every second of “Waiting All Night”. Ella sang another new one “Answer Phone” before she sang Sigala’s feature song “Came here for Love”. Her support performance went by waaay too quickly but I was excited to see The Script too so I guess the 30 mins set made sense.

Finally at 8.45 the lights went off and the first chords of “Superheroes” started. Again I couldn’t believe I was here. My boys, 10 years, first time in Dublin, Night 3 it couldn’t get any better. Everyone jumped up and Danny, Mark and Glen rocked our world with “Rock the World”. They started the show on a square in the middle of the 3Arena. One of my favourite songs “Paint the town green” is a hymn and tonight the lads were supported by a local drum group who made this song even more special. Lots of green confetti was blasted into the air and the lads walked back onto the main stage. They finished the song and more green confetti came out.

Mark took a minute and spoke to us and said: “You know what!? Night 1 was great, Night 2 was brilliant and we didn’t think that this could happen but you guys topped the two nights already after 3 songs. Saturday was first to go on sale so thank you guys for supporting us”. I was stocked to be there and so glad they enjoyed Night 3 as much as everyone else in the building. We went “ohh ohh ohh, ohhh ohhh ohhh ohhh” which means that “It’s not right for you” was next.

 
Danny sat down and said let’s create something similar to last year’s Croke Park. So he started and we took over:

Going back to the corner where I first saw you
Gonna camp in my sleeping bag I’m not gonna move
Got some words on cardboard, got your picture in my hand
Saying, “If you see this girl can you tell her where I am?”

Some try to hand me money, they don’t understand
I’m not broke I’m just a broken hearted man
I know it makes no sense but what else can I do
How can I move on when I’m still in love with you

‘Cause if one day you wake up and find that you’re missing me
And your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be
Thinkin’ maybe you’ll come back here to the place that we’d meet
And you’ll see me waiting for you on our corner of the street
So I’m not moving, I’m not moving

It was magical. Let’s see the 8 world “Wonders” before we’re six feet under. Danny and Mark ran around the stage like crazy and I remembered singing it super loud in my car 😀 Being part of the Script Family means that you have family members all over the world who take you just the way you are. But most importantly we welcome everyone with “Arms open”. Such a beautiful important message.

One of the crowd’s favourites is “Nothing” and they put it back into their setlist for the Freedom Child tour. This followed by their first track on the record “No Man is an Island”. I was really looking forward to seeing this song long live and they turned it into a brilliant performance. The slow song section came next with “If you could see me now” and “For the first time”. The first one means so much to the band and us it was a very special moment we all shared.

For the next two songs the lads stood in the midst of their fans on the balcony and sang “If you ever come back” and “Never Seen Anything quite like you”. Just the three of them like when they were busking the streets of Dublin. It was very intimate but also very funny since they were joking with the people around them. Mark and Glen were heading back to the stage but Danny to the long route through the rows of people singing “The Energy Never Dies”. Honestly I wish I sat right there and not over on the right side haha

Back on stage Danny asked us take out our umbrellas for “Rain”. This took me by surprise because in Switzerland we are not allowed to bring umbrellas into the venue but apparently here in Dublin it’s ok. Those two hours were over way too quick when they headed backstage for the encore. The crowd was super loud and wanted them back on stage. Just a little later the first chords of “No Good in Goodbye” filled the 3 Arena. I knew this meant we are close to the end and I really really didn’t want it to end.

I think for this song literally everyone stood up and sang along to “Breakeven”. Another magical moment of an amazing concert. The Script finished their set with their most famous hit “Hall Of Fame”. Danny gave us a speech and told us to take out our cell phones and film this magic moment. We should be able to whatever we wanted. Dye our hair the colour we want (Like he did), love the people we want to love and do the things in live we love. The 3 Arena was lit up with lights and a really special moment was created to end this beautiful Night 3 of the Script’s Freedom Child tour in Dublin.
Calling all Family Members have you been to one of the 3 Night’s in Dublin? Want to share your memories? Leave a reply below. 🙂

Check out my latest gigs: Dermot Kennedy, Galantis, Liam Gallagher

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Back to the 90’s with Liam Gallagher

When Liam Gallagher announced his gig in Zurich I knew I really wanted to see this legend. But I was a bit cautious and I didn’t want to buy tickets right away. To be honest with you I was afraid of him not showing or showing up and leaving after 20 mins. So when I won the Gadget concert pass I was super happy and I was looking forward to the gig.
I walked into the venue and I felt like I was transported into the 90’s somewhere in England. Lots of people looked like part of the band and I felt right at home 🙂 At 8 the supporting act The Sherlocks from Sheffield took the stage and they really had a hard time warming up the crowd. It is not easy to perform in front of a rock legend but they did quite a good job however you could sense that everyone was waiting for Liam Gallagher.

At 9 on the dot the lights went off and the long intro started. Liam Gallagher did show up and what a show it turned out to be. He started his set with “Rock’N’Roll Star” and the crowd went crazy. Everyone was singing along and people loved it. I have to admit I think I was too young to actually understand how much influence Oasis had on everyone back then. But I understand it now. Another Oasis song “Morning Glory” followed before “Greedy Soul”. “Wall of Glass” should be used in speech therapy for all the people who have got problems with their “S”. It was absolutely hilarious how he highlighted the S at the end.

Whatever he said between songs was either not understandable or swearing. But to be honest I liked it and I didn’t expect anything else. Everyone has a brilliant time and were singing their hearts out. “Paper Crown”, “Bold” and “For What It’s Worth” were some of his solo songs and the crowd went a bit quiet since I think most people were there to listen to the Oasis songs. The smart rock star that he is he mixed in another 2 Oasis songs into the set list and people absolutely loved “Some Might Say” and “Slide Away”.
“Come back to me”, “You better Run” and “Universal Gleam” followed. Honestly I didn’t know a lot of the songs but I still had the best time watching this legend perform and looking into the crowd and seeing how much they enjoyed themselves. The time flew by as “Be Here Now” started. Then finally the song literally eeeeveryone knows started. 1 guitar and Liam Gallagher singing

Today is gonna be the day
That they’re gonna throw it back to you

The huge singalong started and during the chorus the crowd took over. It was magical to witness “Wonderwall” live. A truly special moment. Time to leave the stage after an hour.

Liam Gallagher came back for 2 encore songs. First up “Cigarettes & Alcohol” . A classic. Then the last song “Live forever” was another song that everyone seemed to be able to singalong too. The little time capsule we stepped into was unfortunately over. I have to say that this was the first gig after the Script in Dublin of course that I really enjoyed in 2018. Plus Liam Gallagher proved to be an absolute professional. He played his set even though City was playing. I really hope that he was able to catch the highlights after the show 🙂
Have you ever been to an Oasis or Liam Gallagher show? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Have a look into my last reviews: The Script, Galantis, Dermot Kennedy

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Galantis lit up Halle 622

Thanks to me winning Gadget‘s concert pass 2018 I am able to choose gigs and experience different kinds of music for free. So I decided to give Galantis a shot at winning me over even if house dance music is really not mine. I went to the concert completely unprepared and was ready to just be open minded.
Luckily I found two good concert buddies. One has seen them before (Check out Loads of Music) and one is a pro in this genre. At 9 the two Swedish lads took the stage and the party started. However my party didn’t start. I realised that it really wasn’t my music and I only liked the songs where they remixed “Rather Be” and Katy Perry’s “Feels” into it. Of course the only two songs I knew “Runaway” and “No Money” were pretty cool too. Galantis had also a pretty cool feature with a guy called Wrabel. He’s got an amazing voice! You should check him out. After a little more than an hour Galantis left the stage we were quite disappointed. My friend said that they weren’t good at changing songs and the messed up the drop. So I won’t be going into much detail here and let short videos on instagram and pictures speak for themselves:

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P.S: I loved the confetti! 🙂
Have you seen Galantis live? Leave a reply below and let me know your opinion! 🙂

Wanna check out my latest gigs: Tom Grennan, Alt-J, Dermot Kennedy

 

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Can you feel Dermot Kennedy’s struggle?

Thanks to Loads of Music I got a last minute invite to the sold out Dermot Kennedy show at Papiersaal last night. I was pretty excited since this Irish lad got hyped the last few months. I wanted to see for myself if this hype and my Artist2watch is justified or not.
Dermot Kennedy chose Sam Fender as his supporting act. I am sure you’ll be hearing more of this British talent from Newcastle. He was named onto the BBC Sound of 18 list and yesterday we got to see more of this young artist. His 7 song set started with “All is on my side” and “Living without”. My favourite song was “Millennial”. It was very powerful. He mentioned that normally he’s playing with a band but today he was alone on stage with 2 guitars and a keyboard.

After some more jokes he continued with “Greasy Spoon”, “Start again” and “Hold out”. He finished the set on the keyboard and sang a powerful ballade called “Use”. I like the set and I am sure that we’ll be hearing more of him soon.

Dermot Kennedy came on stage shortly after 9. He seemed like he was either sick or drunk. He wore trainers, a hoodie and a hat it seemed like he was ready for bed. Dermot Kennedy started his set with “Evening” and his incredible voice resonated through the venue. You could hear a pin drop and no-one was chatting. It really was a special atmosphere. He continued with “A Closeness” and “All my friends”. All of his songs are slow ones and his voice is full of struggle and pain. The stories he tells with his songs are powerful and full of emotions.
After each song he said a quiet thank you and if we were lucky he murmured a short explanation into the mic how the song came about. I was actually asking myself how people understand him who don’t know English that well. He didn’t make us feel welcomed even though he is still a new artist. Tom Grennan has got some pretty deep sh*t as well but he has been a joy to watch. He looked at the audience spoke with us and owned the stage. I am honestly not sure if Dermot Kennedy is arrogant, shy or just doesn’t give a damn anymore.

My highlight of the set was “Young & Free”. This will be his next single. I loved it and enjoyed this song a lot. I was fascinated by the drummer Micheal who was super passionate and did an amazing job! Dermot Kennedy said that everyone has a place or a person to go to where you feel safe. So for him it’s a little island off the west coast of Ireland and this is what the next song “For Island Fires and Family” is about. I spent the whole song listening to his every word. A very beautiful ballade and my depressing mood skyrocketed. Like I already mentioned in my Artist2watch post Taylor Swift put “Boston” on her Spotify playlist and we got to listen to it live now.
Apparently it was the best time in Dermot Kennedy’s life busking on the streets of Boston. On the Setlist it says “Malay” but it doesn’t have a name yet. It’s a new song and a work in progress. The song everyone knew came on “Moments Passed” and a little more than just the super fans started singing a long. “Glory” and “After Rain” finished the set without an encore. After 50 mins Dermot Kennedy has done his job for the day. He left a sold out venue wanting more and clapping and wooping for minutes hanging. People couldn’t believe that it was finished already and hung back. Only after a few minutes of disbelief people started queuing up to reclaim their jacket.

I felt his struggle. But was it also a struggle to be on stage for him? I was left wondering and a bit disappointed to be honest. I get the hype around his voice but I don’t think he deserves a hype around his person. If he really was sick he could have told us. I think everyone would have understood. But his performance yesterday doesn’t make me want to see him again which is a shame really.
Did you feel the struggle? Leave me a reply below and share your opinion on Dermot Kennedy.

Kekoas last gigs: Alt-J, Tom Grennan, Stone Sour

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All of the Lights

Yesterday I enjoyed my first gig in 2018. Alt-J played their biggest show in Switzerland to date at Hallenstadion Club and it was a super special gig. I am very grateful to Just Because for bringing these interesting artists to Switzerland and for always supporting my blog.
Like I said in my New Music post I am so curious about these british lads. So I got to the venue with mixed feelings. As soon as Alt-J started their show they had me. I was in awe of their light show and I still am. It was fascinating to see how it matched the music. The patterns and the colours were absolutely incredible. Who would have thought that a few light bulbs can make for such a show!

I do have a few pictures to show you but this show is really hard to catch in a picture. This is why I recommend you to go onto my Instagram page and have a look at my Alt-J highlights. The trio started their show with “Deadcrush”, “Fitzpleasure” and “Something Good”. I spent the first few songs staring at the lights and was mesmerized by it. “Nara” and “The Gospel of John Hurt” followed. I finally got round to focus on the voice of Joe Newman. He’s got a super special way of singing but it totally matches their sound and their show.

Before “In Cold Blood” Alt-J spoke to their Swiss fans and the first woop’s were heard. But I gotta say the crowd was very quiet but I guess everyone was just fascinated by the show. What I really loved about last night’s audience was that they were really relaxed. Everyone had a good time even if they weren’t the loudest crowd I’ve seen at least they seemed to enjoy themselves. “Ripe & Ruin”, “Tessellate” and the Intro of “This is All Yours” followed my favourite Alt-J song.

The lights sparkled and changed colours from green to pink to blue. “Every other Freckle”, “Hunger of the Pine” and “Bloodflood” were next. I wasn’t really dancing because I was watching the show so I started to get really cold. I think there was also a draft in the Hallenstadion and I looked like an eskimo with my jacket and scarf on 🙂 Finally for Matilda the crowd started to wake up and dance a little more. For the last few songs “Dissolve Me”, “Pleader” and “Taro” there was quite a good atmosphere. After an hour they played “Left hand free” before Alt-J went off stage for the encore.

Joe Newman, Gus Unger-Hamilton and Thom Green obviously came back for two more songs before they sent their Swiss audience back into the snowy rain to get home. The encore began with an intro of their debut record An Awesome Wave. Their huge hit “3WW” followed. But my favourite song because of the light show and the up-tempo feel of the song was “Breezeblocks”. Alt-J put all the lights in action with as many colours as possible and it was a brilliant to their 90mins set.

Were you at the gig yesterday? Did you enjoy the light show as much as me? Leave a reply below.

Check out my latest gigs: Hoodie Allen, Stone Sour, Tom Grennan

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Concert Highlights 2017

This is most difficult task I’ve ever had to do for this blog. I cannot choose my highlights! I loved each and every gig I attended this year. So many special moments I witnessed thanks to incredible artists who gave 100% to their audience. So I will try to name a few gigs and I will let you know why they were special to me. I apologize already since this blog post will probably the longest I’ve ever done.

My gig highlight of the year: Marteria

I saw him twice – at Gurtenfestival and at his headline show in Zurich. Both times he completely took over the whole venue and the people were at his command. The atmosphere was incredible and the energy blew the roof of the building. But my fondest memory is actually the morning after the Gurten gig. We literally stayed awake until the clouds were purple again which is one of Marteria’s songs “Lila Wolken”. It was the perfect ending to a very special four days at the Gurtenfestival.

The most special venue: P!nk

When it was announced that P!nk would only play 5 odd shows this summer I knew I had to go to Berlin to see her. I’ve never been to Berlin so it was even more special. I love the city and I loved the two gigs at the Waldbühne. A stage set into midst of a very green forrest just outside the city. It was raining a lot but that didn’t matter. Finally after years I saw my P!nk again. I grew up with her and her gigs and it will forever remind me of my childhood. It was just perfect.

My first interview: Naturally 7

I’ve always been a huge fan of the 7 lads from America but this summer they actually made a huge accomplishment possible. They agreed to give me my first interview for Kekoas Korner after their wonderful gig at the Live at Sunset the day before. I will always be very grateful for that and will support them forever. Their shows are brilliant and I would suggest if you haven’t seen them – go see them!!! It’s well worth your money plus they really make an effort to meet the fans after the show. Go say hello.

My first time as a Merch Seller: Welshly Arms

The guys from Welshly Arms were looking for a volunteer to sell their merchandising. Obviously I took that opportunity 🙂 Let me just say each and everyone of them were super nice and very grateful that I helped them. I was happy to help plus I got to witness an amazing gig! Being a Merch girl is great and I loved to talk to all the fans about the band. I also got to interview the guys from Welshly Arms before their show.

The best entertainer EVER: Robbie Williams

Robbie Williams is hands down the best entertainer and knows how to put up a good show. He rocked the Letzigrund for around two hours and blew fireworks and confetti and fire into the air like there was no tomorrow. He also brought out his dad which gave the show a very cute touch. Only recently it was brought to our attention that Robbie Williams actually was quite sick during that performance after which he flew directly to London into the intensive care unit for a week. It was actually a miracle that he performed that night! Thank you for that but please next time listen to your body Mr. Williams and cancel the show.

The longest show with the most stars: Capital’s Summertime Ball

We spent 7 hours at the Wembley stadium in London and got to see so many stars. Bruno Mars opened the show. JP Cooper, Niall Horan, Charlie Puth, Dua Lipa, Clean bandit and this is just the beginning. My highlight was that I finally got to see Sean Paul live. He did an amazing job and since he was quite close to the end he took my last energy so that I was seriously knackered and couldn’t enjoy Little Mix who closed the show.

The hottest gig: Pegasus

It was July and it was boiling hot. The Pegasus gig was at 8 IN THE MORNING on a ferry on lake Zurich. It was the perfect weather and the perfect gig. Pegasus are a super talented band from Switzerland and everyone just had a good time and by the time it finished we were already sweating.

The most colourful gig: Coldplay

It took me years to like Coldplay and to make me want to see them. This summer I suddenly felt the urge so within two weeks I organised a little trip to go to Frankfurt and see them. The weather was awful but the gig was great! Tove Lo and Femme Schmidt supported them. But what I liked the most were the colours. I have never seen such a colourful concert and what I also loved was how appreciative the band was.

The best rock gig: Stone Sour

That’s a hard one. I really loved Guns ‘N Roses and you know they are just legendary! Mando Diao were incredible to see live and I want to see them soon again! But I think I will give this one to Stone Sour because they seriously f*****g rocked and Corey Taylor has an amazing voice aaaand he looks gorgeous! 😀

The most special voices: Tom Grennan

This one was also very close. Jacob Banks and Tom Grennan went head-to-head. Both have super special voices which give me goosebumps and both are very very talented. But Tom Grennan got the call because he seemed more open to his fans and made the effort to meet each and everyone. This is what I want to see in an aspiring artist.

Best Newcomer 2017: KARAVANN

I got to meet the two lovely lads from KARAVANN for an interview before I even seen them live. They seem really serious about their venture and I have a good feeling about their journey. In August I finally got to see them live and believe me they didn’t disappoint. They have an incredibly international sound and they make sure that you have a good time at the gig. Please check them out and go say hi after the gig 🙂

The worst gig EVER: Kings of Leon

I didn’t think I would ever say this but unfortunately I had to witness the worst show ever from Kings of Leon. They didn’t want to be on stage, they didn’t know where they were and they played songs no-one wanted to hear. For an hour you could hear a pin drop in the Hallenstadion and everyone was quite baffled at how bad they were. Since I paid a lot of money to see them it was even worse. So two big thumbs down for you guys!

The most relaxing gig: Anastacia and Baschi at Bossard Arena

The people were super relaxed and to be honest the arena was quite empty. Nonetheless did we have a brilliant time! Anastacia was amazing and she is just a force on stage. Baschi is our Swiss Robbie Williams and entertained the sh*t out of the Arena. So I had space to dance, I knew the songs, I had an amazing time! 🙂

The Scandinavian gigs: Lukas Graham & Mans Zelmerlöw

I got to see the sound check of Lukas Graham and we spoke a little afterwards. Super lovely lads and just very talented and grateful to travel the world with their music. I’ve seen them twice already and they’ve done a brill job both times. Mans Zelmerlöw won the ESC and came to Switzerland twice already. Always very special gigs!

Kekoas Korner’s soft spot: Gavin DeGraw

I literally grew up with his music. His song “I don’t want to be” is my hymn for anything. When I listen to the song I always have to sing out loud. He is an incredible musician and I am so glad that I was always able to meet him after the show. He is so nice. If you have the chance please listen to this guy.

The Irish frenzy: Walking on Cars, The Coronas, Tom Walker

As you might know I go a little crazy for Irish bands.. 😉 The lovely Walking on Cars came to Switzerland 4 times this year and I saw 3 of them. Zurich, Lausanne and Lucerne. Each gig was different and I just love their music! They were supported by Tom Walker. Another Irish lad who’s very talented and is coming to Switzerland on 20th April 18. Go check him out! Lastly I got to interview the Coronas in October and the lovely Danny gave me some tips for my trip to Dublin.

The good times with Bastille

Bastille always make sure that everyone has an amazing time. We jump, we kinda dance, we sing. They are an incredible live band and unfortunately I won’t be seeing them next year on April, 20th 18. But please go and let me know how it was. The very talented brits are coming back with their newest record and I’m very much looking forward to see them some other time…. maybe at a festival again.

Best Merchandising Top 5:

1. Welshly Arms – This has to be number 1 since I sold their merch and I proudly did so because they really were amazing. I love the designs of the T-Shirts and the Jackets. They also had Vinyls and hats too. I still wear their stuff every other day.
2. Guns N’Roses – The designs of the shirts are amazing and I nearly got two shirts.
3. Ed Sheeran – He had a various range of Merch. I really loved the Army Jacket and the lumber jack shirt. The jacket was one of my favourite this summer.
4. Stone Sour – Lots of nice designs on T-Shirts plus signed Vinyls.
5. Amber Run – I loved the lion on their shirt and I still regret that I didn’t buy that shirt.
Jacob Banks came really close to making it into the Top 5. He was selling a shirt where it said in this is merchandising and below Jacob Banks. I thought this was hilarious and I was this close to buying it.
All those gigs wouldn’t have been possible without the help of ARTNOIR magazine, Just Because, Mainland Music, ABC production and Goodnews. Thank you for supporting Kekoas Korner!
Lastly I want to thank all my concert buddies for joining me at various gig and for having as much fun as I did! <3

I cannot wait for all the gigs in 2018! So bring on the new year 🙂

I’d love to know what your concert highlights 2017 are. Please leave a comment below or on Kekoas Korner social media channels Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

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Grennan’s coming for ya

Just Because brought Tom Grennan to Papiersaal. He’s one very talented singer songwriter from the UK and will be huge next year I guarantee you that. Grennan is one the BBC sound of 17 list and will release his first album Lighting Matches on 9th March 2018. All of this made me really excited to see him live for the first time.

Josh a Swiss band opened up for Tom Grennan and they were really very cute and the two girls had both great voices. They talked around a little technical problem easily even if they were nervous. Wonderful job 🙂

Finally at 9 Tom Grennan and his band took the stage and they started with a bang. First song was his most famous so far and an uptempo song called “Found what I’ve been looking for”. The atmosphere was brilliant and everyone clapped, danced and sang along. I love artists who sing their biggest hits at the beginning! It really gets the crowd going and it’s the perfect set up for the rest of the night. Next was “Make ’em like you” and Tom Grennan said it’s pretty easy so sing along and we did. Another brilliant song from the upcoming record. The title track “Lighting Matches” followed.

Tom said that he was really lucky this year and he is incredibly grateful and happy to end his tour in Zurich tonight. Coming to another country and people coming out to see you is just brilliant so here comes the next song called “Lucky Ones”. During “Aboard” I started to think… Who does Tom Grennan remind me of?? And there it was! He looks and talks just like Cook from an English TV Series called Skins!! I had to smile a little and enjoyed the next song “Giving it All”. I think “Barbed Wire” will be one of my favourites from the new record. It has that kinda feel good vibe topped off with Tom’s incredible raspy voice.

Tom Grennan asked us now if Chase & Status were big in Switzerland I replied “No, not really” and shook my head. He said “Good, no I’m joking. Check them out they’re really good”. So the 4 musicians and him played the Chase & Status track “All goes Wrong” where he lent them his voice. It is also the single which got him his first charting single. The band started a reggae beat and we had to sing “Um a Um a Um a yeah”. It sounded very very good and Tom seemed to be satisfied too so he sang “Praying” with a Swiss backing choir. He said: “Normally I go off stage now and you make me feel incredibly good about myself but today I feel the vibe so I stay on and play three more songs for you”.
 

For “Old Songs” it was just Tom Grennan and his guitar on stage and WOW just wow. His voice, the guitar and the lyrics are incredibly sophisticated! His very released single “Royal Highness” was a little more upbeat again and the band came back on stage. People were dancing and just had a good time! Tom made sure of that with little stories in-between songs and a great setlist. So the next song was the intended last song but my concert buddy said very disappointingly “What about “Patience”?” and Tom Grennan seemed to have heard that and said “We might play it later!”. So “Something in the Water” was the last song and the crowd was feeling the groove. When it finished he said:

I’ll be back definitely back I promise you that. Grennan’s coming for ya!

Then he remembered what he promised my friend. So he stepped into the audience and sang “Patience” with people from the left and right side standing on stage. It was an incredible moment and why I love small concerts. In addition to these special moments you get to meet the artist after the gig most of the times. Today was no exception and let me tell you he is a very lovely down-to-earth lad from Bedford and as he said Grennan’s coming for ya next year so watch out!

Have you been to one of his gigs? Share your story in the comment section below or on Kekoas Korner’s social media accounts Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

Check out my latest gigs: Stone Sour, Hoodie Allen, Jake Isaac.

 

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Are you ready for Stone Sour Motherf******?

Thanks to Goodnews I got to witness Stone Sour for the very first time on Thursday night and I was quite excited since I didn’t know what to expect. As you might have noticed they are just a little more different to what I’ve been going to on a regular basis. But seriously who wouldn’t want to see a gig by the very talented Stone Sour?

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Stone Sour brought a very special guest with them The Pretty Reckless. I was super intrigued to see them live also for the first time. Those of you who watched Gossip Girl this might be very interesting for you. Remember Dan’s little Sister Jenny? Yup, that’s Taylor Momsen who is rocking out on stage. I gotta say the music is quite special but still I enjoyed the 45mins set. But I just don’t know if this dark sided girl is just an act since it seemed very over the top as if she tried to prove us that she really is into this music. But hey it might be just me.

Finally at 9.15 Stone Sour took the stage and played “Taipei Person/Allah Tea”. They lit up the Samsung Hall with golden Fireworks and an amazing light show. Stone Sour started like other bands finish! In the middle of the song Corey Taylor brought out a huge confetti gun and fired three times into the audience. The party started so he shouted:

Are you ready Motherf***ers?!

A low grunt was the response to that since 80% of the crowd were men. Which I gotta say was quite refreshing especially down in the restrooms. Finally us women could just walk in and the queue for the men’s toilet was huge 😉 Me and another woman had a quick laugh about that. During “Knievel has Landed” Corey Taylor showed his incredible talent for head banging or probably more spinning! I seriously cannot believe how fast he can turn his head around. Anyway I am incredibly fascinated by Corey Taylor. He has a beautiful voice, absolutely enjoys making music and to some he is even good-looking!

Corey Taylor had the audience in his pocket from the minute he walked onto the stage. He asked us now: “Who here has seen us before?” A few people put their hands up and screamed. So he answered “Thank you for coming back and always supporting us. So who is seeing us for the first time?” Lots of hands went up including mine 🙂 “Thank you for coming out to see us. Let’s play some older songs”. “Made of Scars” and “Reborn” from their first album Come What(ever) May made a lot of fans happy. They moved on to the next album Audio Secrecy and played “Say You’ll Haunt me”, “30/30-150” and “Hesitate”

After a few songs I finally had time to look at the other members of the band and wow Josh Rand looks almost like Pitbull! 🙂 But this is not why he was so fascinating. Josh’s guitars changed for every song and all of them looked very special. They were neon yellow, neon pink with black dots or a deep red wine red. The drums played by Roy Mayorga were also very special since it had two bass drums and on it two eyes staring directly at you. I really really loved that! Unfortunately I didn’t see much of the other two members of the band Christian Martucci and Johny Chow since I had someone tall standing in front of me.

On it went with the album House of Gold & Bones, Part 1 and “Tired”. Corey decided it was time to dance! Stone Sour played their longest title of the new record Hydrograd and one of my favourites of the night “Rose Red Violent Blue (This song is dumb & So am I)”. I’d really recommend you to have a look at the funny video on YouTube. “Do Me a Favour” from the record House of Gold & Bones, Part 2 was next and it got really heavy now with “Cold Reader” and “Get Inside” from their self-titled album. But we are some crazy Mothersf***ers and we deserved this. Lots of devil signs went up.

My absolute favourite song “Song #3” came on – finally – and I was super happy 🙂 As I already mentioned in my New Music review of the Hydrograd record it is a classy rock song and it’s probably too soft for the most part of the audience but I really really love it. Again I want to mention how much I love Corey Taylor’s voice! It is pretty incredible and has the perfect raspy rough part that I really like. The softness continued with a ballade called “Through Glass”. I really recommend you to listen to this song if you are not into Metal you will really like this one. This shows how diverse this group is.

Unfortunately it was already time for them to leave the stage only to come back a few mins later to play “Gone Sovereign”. I really liked that song because it has a cool beat and people even started clapping their hands until it went into the heavy s**t again. “Absolute Zero” started and I expected Corey Taylor to take off his shirt. However it stayed on until the very end which was quite disappointing 😉 Instead Corey split the audience in four parts: Back, front, right and left side. Like a conductor he let us sing “Eh Eh Eh” and pointed his finger at the different parts of the audience. “Fabuless” made a perfect finish to a very different (for me) but amazing gig.

Believe me next time Stone Sour is coming to Switzerland I will be back! But maybe Corey Taylor decides to reactivate his other band Slipknot and comes back with them.. Lots of Slipknot would be happy and I think I would even have a look at a Slipknot gig 😉 Until then I guess I have to train my neck for all that head banging! 😀
Have you been to a Stone Sour gig? Or do you have an opinion about the Pretty Reckless? I’d love to know more about your experiences so please share them below or on Kekoas Korner’s social media accounts Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Check out my last gigs: Hoodie Allen, Jake Isaac, Marteria

 
 
 

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Huge party with Hoodie Allen

Hoodie Allen partied hard with his Swiss fans on a Tuesday night. It was the first time the American rapper came to Europe and he was blown away by the reception of his European/Swiss fans. Before the gig Hoodie himself stood by the merch table and sold his own T-shirts. Of course I had to say hi and got his signature onto my ticket.

Goody Grace warmed up the crowd for Hoodie and he did quite a good job. However I was super annoyed by the people constantly chatting and disrespecting the artist. Seriously it was so loud I could barely hear him sing. From what I’ve heard though I can tell you guys that he is quite talented. He did two acoustic songs and a few party songs. Unfortunately I didn’t get his set list but please check this lovely lad out.

A little later Hoodie Allen took the stage with “Believe” and the people already went crazy. I gotta say that I was among the oldest people in the crowd. Hoodie attracted lots of teenies. With “Sushi” the Swiss audience could prove that they knew the lyrics inside out. “Fun” and “Fakin” were next and I was seriously amazed how good the crowd was.. I think Hoodie Allen was too. You could see how much fun he and his four musicians had on stage. He spoke a lot and told us how much he appreciated us coming out to see him since without us he’d still be in the garage at home.

“Something Dangerous”, “Robot” and “Act my Age” followed. It was good fun and I wish I would have know a bit more songs but unfortunately I couldn’t really listen to the songs since I had so many gigs this week. “Small Town” seemed to be a crowd’s favourite and I get why. I loved the song as well. The fun continued with “Surprise Party” where balloons where thrown around and for the crew it really was a special day. It was the official tour photographers Birthday and of course we sang “Happy Birthday” to him. Hoodie Allen was really happy with the audience and asked us to choose between 3 songs. “Cake boy” and “Two Lips” got around the same amount of noise so he just played both.

During “Cake Boy” they threw two cakes into the audience! I was like “Wait what?!” but the crowd seemed to love it. “Two Lips” was done acoustically and all the cell phone lights went up. It looked great! Hoodie addressed the people who were just dragged along and said you just need to know three words for the next song “Champagne and pools”. The gig continued with a brilliant drum solo and the song “Fame”. For “Heartbreak” Goody Grace came back on stage to sing/rap with Hoodie. “Know it all” and “No Faith” were next and I was still amazed how everyone seemed to know all the lyrics to every song! It made for a great atmosphere and I was so glad I came to witness this gig.

Hoodie Allen said then you might know of a very talented musician called Ed Sheeran and we did a song together! Yesss! I finally was able to singalong to “All About It”. Back when it came out I played it constantly and it’s the reason why I came to this gig. “Ain’t Ready (for love)” was the last song before the encore. When Hoodie left the stage the audience started to shout “Hoodie, Hoodie, Hoodie” and after a minute he came back on. He asked the crowd to form a circle in the middle and I was like wait a minute I’ve heard that before… Oh right Marteria on Saturday. This was the baby version of Saturday’s mosh pit. It still was great fun and it looked like we were celebrating a huge party with Hoodie in the middle. The final song of the night was “No Interruption” and people started jumping and singing. It was a great finish to a brill gig!
Enjoyed the party as well? Share you story below or on Kekoas Korner’s social media accounts Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Check out my latest gigs: Jake Isaac, Marteria, Xavier Naidoo

 

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Jake Isaac and his garage gig at Papiersaal

Just Because brought the brilliant Jake Isaac back to Papiersaal on Sunday night. Around 200 people mostly female spent their evening with this talented musician and his band. To be honest with you I didn’t know many songs but it turned out to be an energetic gig nevertheless.
 

At 8 o’clock the support called These Your Children took the stage. The duo Joe and Beka were supported by a young drummer. The trio started their set with “Get up & go” and “Sing for you”. The next song “David” is a very sad ballade with an emotional topic. And then they asked us if it was okay if they covered a song. They came down to the audience and played a lovely acoustic version of Whitney Houston’s “Dance with Somebody”. “Set a fire” and “Real Love” are two very cool uptempo tracks and they made everyone dance and even sing! So all in all this was one of the best support acts I’ve seen this year!

Around 9 Jake Isaac came on stage with a huge smile and played “Lonely are the brave”. He was supported by three other musicians who had a good time as well. The four of them immediately transported a very welcoming good vibe. After the song Jake said that he had four rules and everyone got serious. He laughed and said don’t worry it’s not that serious. So here are Jake’s four rules for his audience:

1. Have fun
2. Dance even if you can’t dance!
3. Sing even if you don’t know the lyrics
4. Most importantly: HAVE FUN! 🙂

After a huge laugh he started “Fool for you” and everyone clapped along. “One and Only” made me want to dance and if I didn’t have super sore muscles from the Marteria gig the day before I would have danced way more. I also looked around the audience and everyone really seemed to have fun which was wonderful to see. Next it was time to sing! During “Home” we were the backing choir and it sounded brilliantly. When he finished he had his thinking cap on and then suddenly decided to skip a song and go straight to “Still”. He told the musicians and they easily adapted. It really was lovely to see how much fun they had playing their musicians and performing for us. It felt like we were in their garage listening to friends playing music.

And now the slow part began. “Waiting Here” and “You and I always” are two beautiful ballades where his amazing velvety voice came out in full force. A little bit more uptempo was the next song “Will you be” again. The slow part was over. During “War is our name” we were back singing “Ohhhhh” 🙂 He asked us then:

Do you remember rule No 2?

Someone shouted: Dance! And he said exactly! 🙂 So please feel free to let loose during the next song “I got you” and the people really let loose and danced even more. During the last song “Long Road” Jake Isaac asked his assistant to walk around the audience and the people who were dancing the best got a free record! How cool is that?! But obviously this was done because of the customs restrictions in Switzerland. Bring Merchandising in is impossible for small artists. The costs are just too high so they just don’t take any with them which is a pity! I hope that there will be a solution soon.

Jake Isaac left the stage at 10 o’clock. When he came back he said that there was a 10pm curfew but if he doesn’t get really bad looks from the people in charge he will do one more song. Someone in the audience shouted 5! And he said well let’s do “Lose my Mind” and we’ll see. He sang the song without any microphone and just with his acoustic guitar. It really was a special moment and a wonderful finish to a beautiful gig on a Sunday Night.
 

What I love about those small gigs is that you get to talk to the artists afterwards and let me tell you he was super lovely. He gave everyone a hug and apologized for being sweaty. 🙂 He even complimented the three girls in the front row who sang every song. So so nice! TCY was also there to talk to everyone and gave out free hugs 😉 So guys if you haven’t listened to Jake Isaac or These Your Children please do so now. They are great musicians, lovely people and well worth supporting!
Enjoyed the gig as much as me? Share your story on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or leave a comment below.

Check out my latest gigs: Marteria, Xavier Naidoo, Mando Diao

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Ich bin ein Marteria Girl / I am a Marteria Girl

I go to concerts a lot – even more now since I started this blog. I knew that this concert would be special and just f****** amazing so I was excited since July after the Gurtenfestival gig. The review of his new record Roswell was one of my first blog posts because let’s face it he is one of my favourite artists.
I went to the venue early and luckily I made it to front row! This is the only place at the Marteria gig for me 🙂 The support act Kid Simius is Marteria’s buddy and bass player but it was just not for me.

Finally at 8.50 the familiar sound of “Roswell” rang around Samsung Hall! The concert started and my excitement levels went through the roof. Everyone was already all in and many concerts don’t even reach that kind of atmosphere during the last songs. On it went with “Aliens”. We are all Aliens! And obviously Marteria addressed the seats on the balcony.

This is a Marteria concert. Nobody is sitting down. Everybody is standing up! All Hands!

His favourite sentence is: “Alle Hände!” and everyone complies. With “Endboss” he performed one of his earlier tracks which I only got to really love during this tour. My bad I know 🙂 When I say he performed it’s not quite accurate. Marteria has 3 background singers (one of which is pregnant and still gives her all on stage), 1 rap buddy Pete Boateng and four musicians playing various instruments on stage. With two new Roswell tracks “Scotty beam mich hoch” and “El Presidente” the show continued.

During “Bengalische Tiger” someone smuggled in a red pyro and lit it up in the back of the hall. It looked amazing however I understand that it is very dangerous! And another two of Marteria’s Roswell “Tauchstation” and “Blue Marlin” were next. They are slower but still full of energy and obviously ALLE HÄNDE were up high. Next we had to do the peace sign and the old “Skyline” of New York was shown on the screen.

For “Neue Nikes” Marteria always asks: “What shoes are you wearing tonight?!” and yes, of course there a few guys wearing Nikes and had to show them up high. During the whole song lots of Nikes were bouncing in the air. When the first chords of this next song started I knew that this concert is going by much to fast and I really really don’t want it to end. One of my favs “Marteria Girl” came on and if you wondered No I didn’t find a big  dude to carry me for this song. I know I failed but thankfully I was front row and had still good views. 😉 So yes people: Ich bin ein Marteria Girl / I am obviously a Marteria Girl but who wouldn’t be? Have you looked at him?! 🙂

The three background singers each got a solo part. The girl from Brazil Solange did an amazing job rapping during “El Presidente”, the blonde newbie Madeleine Rauch during this song “Verstrahlt” and the pregnant lady Hanife will be doing hers later. After “Grosse Brüder” the band turned it down and Marteria sat down to sing a song for his son “Louis”.

It was a really lovely quiet moment but now the beat came back and we splashed some virtual money around for “Das Geld muss weg”. “Links” followed” with the words spread across the huge LED screen in the back. Marteria left the stage only to come back as his Alter Ego Marsimoto.

Marsi is a green alien coming from space with lots of smoke… which made it quite hard to breathe for the security and the first few rows. He was allowed 4 songs “Grüner Samt”, “Kleine Bühne”, “Nazi” and the last song of Marsimoto “Döner”. Marsi went back to space and Marteria came back with the three hits which made him known to the mainstream. First up “OMG” and everyone went crazy for it. If you thought this was loud and crazy then you were wrong. With “Kids” the crowd went bonkers and literally EVERYBODY was singing along. The atmosphere was just full of energy and of people who were there to have a good time.

Alle haben ‘nen Job — ich hab Langeweile!
Keiner hat mehr Bock auf Kiffen, Saufen, Feiern
So ist das hier im Block, Tag ein Tag aus
Halt mir zwei Finger an den Kopf und mach:
Peng! Peng! Peng! Peng!

“Lila Wolken” is still one of my favourite songs ever and the pregnant singer Hanife straight from Hamburg city sang the part of Miss Platnum. Pete Boateng did the male singing part and Marteria his rap part. Just a beautiful song which will always remind me of the set at Gurtenfestival when we stayed up until the clouds really were purple again from the morning sun. I guess it was just a special night back then and it couldn’t be topped by this one. However I am not saying that last night wasn’t great because it was f***** awesome! The sound was amazing, the audience were brilliant, the band was incredible so this will deffo make my top 10 of the best concerts this year.

The band left the stage for the encore only to come back to sing “Welt Der Wunder”. Everyone in the audience lit up their phone or the lighter and a beautiful sea of lights made a wonderful background to this amazing song. Marteria raps:

Denn wir leben auf einem Blauen Planeten
Der sich um einen Feuerball dreht
Mit ‘nem Mond der die Meere bewegt
Und du glaubst nicht an Wunder
We live on a blue planet
Which is turning around a fireball
With a moon that moves the seas
And you don’t believe in wonders?!

If you haven’t looked at Marteria’s lyrics you should definitely do so now. He always has very smart lyrics and each time I listen to a song carefully I discover new little rhymes which I love. During “Feuer” everyone has to jump and this song is just full of party and energy and after two hours Marteria still got everyone under control. Everyone’s hands are up and singing/rapping along. Okay and now:

Welcome to the last 20 seconds of this song

Those 20 seconds last about 7 mins and it really is the last song of the night. Everyone should take of their shirts and wave them in the air during the 20 seconds of the song. Me as a pro Marteria girl I always take a scarf with me 😉 During the next 20 seconds the boys who took off their shirt will throw them through the air and this is done repeatedly. And again welcome to the last 20 seconds of this song Marteria walked through the crowd into the mosh pit in the middle. And again it’s jumping and waving and pushing time with Marteria right there in the midst of his crowd. Yesterday he wasn’t even able to get back so he just crowd surfed back during another last 20 seconds of the song. And finally the concert has ended. Marteria walks through the first row and high fives everyone. Back on stage he says thank you for coming out and always supporting us since the early days in Abart, Komplex 457 and now tonight 5000 people!

 
In his Instagram stories you saw that he was struggling with a flu and he still went on stage and you didn’t see a thing. He and his band gave us 200% of energy and we did our best to give it back to them. Again I have to say those kinds of artists are well worth supporting! Thank you to Mainland Music for bringing me to this awesome gig! Lastly I want to say thank you Marteria and Ich bin ein Marterial Girl forever! 🙂
Have you been to one of Marteria’s gigs? Yes?! Share your story here in the comments or on my social media accounts Facebook, Instagram, Twitter!

Check out my last gigs: Xavier Naidoo, Mando Diao, Texas.

 

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Xavier Naidoo – A little heaven on earth / Ein bisschen Himmel auf Erden

Xavier Naidoo and his angelic voice brought his “Nicht von dieser Welt” tour to Zurich. On Monday I got a message that I’ve won in the advent calendar of Hallenstadion and so I was able to spend “Samichlaus” day in my 2nd living room 🙂 I really want to thank Hallenstadion for this amazing gift!
When I arrived at the Hallenstadion it was chaos. The people arrived by car and had to wait for a parking spot and then they were waiting in front of the venue to get in. Xavier Naidoo even had to delay the start of his set because half of the audience wasn’t in yet. This very quiet reflective concert was perfect after this troublesome start. We took our seats very close to the stage which was set in the middle of the Hallenstadion.

At 8.20 Xavier Naidoo and three other musicians took the stage. They started with one of my favourite songs “Wo Willst Du Hin?” and I was totally in awe of these incredible musicians. I knew that I would love Xavier’s voice but this being an acoustic set the instruments were very prominent too. The drummer had lots of different instruments around him and it was incredible to see how easily he switched from one to the other. I loved the yellow egg thingy on the floor. I loved the sound of this very special drum instrument.

Xavier spoke a lot before and after every song. He explained why he wrote the song and why it’s important to him. I really really loved that. He was also quite funny. The musicians played “20’000 Meilen” and “Alles kann besser werden” which is another beautiful song and inspired me to this blog posts title. Xavier’s voice is a God given talent and listening to him brings a little bit of heaven to earth.

Alles kann besser werden
Holen wir uns den Himmel auf Erden
Alles soll besser werden
Holen wir uns den Himmel auf Erden
Alles wird besser werden
Wir holen uns den Himmel auf Erden
Und keiner muss sein Leben mehr gefährden
Einer der kostbarsten Schätze auf Erden

He sang a few songs which had various views of people in war and others were criticising our society. Xavier took a stand and the Swiss audience applauded ferociously. One of my favourite moments of the night was the song called “Still” (“Quiet”). You could hear a pin drop and I’ve never heard so many people being this quiet. We were all listening to Xavier’s pure angelic voice. I had goosebumps and closed my eyes to enjoy this very special moment. “Hört hört” (“Listen listen”) followed after being quiet for a song. And just before the 20 minute break a really special and beautiful love song was played “Sie Sieht Mich Nicht”. This song was the title track of the Asterix & Obelix movie in 1999.

After the break the slow meaningful songs continued. Lots of lyrics to learn and I think this is why Xavier had a song book in front of him to help with the words. However you never ever had the feeling that he needed to look into it. He can put so much feeling into his songs. It is just WOW! He then said that it is always special to perform in front of amazing musicians who are sat in the audience. I wondered who it was but I didn’t need to wait long for the introduction of Seven! The two met a few years back at the brilliant Blue Balls festival in Lucerne and they participated in the VOX show “Sing meinen Song” and tonight they sang Sam Cookes “A Change is gonna come”. Absolutely stunning!

And just before the encore one of the most amazing love songs was played “Ich kenne Nichts”. The whole Hallenstadion sang along and at the end we were split into two choirs. First up were the women singing the chorus but as Xavier said this song was written by a man to serenade a woman he asked just the men to sing. Surprisingly a very strong sounding men choir sang “Ich Kenne Nichts, das schön ist wie du”.

Xavier Naidoo asked us if we need to do this silly game of him going off stage just to come back to do a few more songs. Obviously the answer was no and so he stayed and gave his encore just like that. “Dieser Weg” was his last song and the whole Hallenstadion stood up and sang together with Xavier. He finished the concert with the words:

Thank you for coming! Have a safe journey home.

I love artists who do that. Again I want to thank the Hallenstadion for this amazing gift of an incredible night and a lot of special moments with my concert buddy. And finally I want to thank Xavier Naidoo for three hours heaven on earth. Gott schütze dich!
Have you been to Xavier Naidoo’s concerts? Please let me know how you felt about it in the comments below or on my social media accounts Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
Take a look at my last three concerts: Mando Diao, Texas, JP Cooper.

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Wakey Wakey Zurich! It’s Mando Diao!

On Tuesday night I got to see Mando Diao at Kaufleuten thanks to Mainland Music. The venue was sold out and it was quite packed. Luckily I found a good spot on the balcony. The Swedish lads have been around for ages but I never managed to see them live so I was super excited to cross them off my bucket list.

First up were a German band called RAZZ who reminded me of The New Cities. I liked their music but they couldn’t fully catch my attention. Nevertheless it was a good warm up and the sound suited Mando Diao.

At 8.30 the lights went off and a long intro started. Finally the 5 musicians came on stage and the energy immediately radiated off them. With “San Francisco Bay” and “All the Things” they literally tried to wake us up and Björn the lead singer asked the crowd to come even closer to the stage. So his first words to us were:

Wakey Wakey Zurich!

“Sweet Ride” was next and one of my favourite songs of the night was “Good Times”. I loved the vibe and the good feeling the song transported. It will deffo make my playlist. We were asked to put our hands up and everyone complied. This was the perfect way to get everyone clapping. It looked amazing from the balcony and the Kaufleuten was buzzin’. “All my senses”, “Dancing all the way to hell” and “One two three” followed and by then I knew I should have seen them live sooner. Mando Diao is an absolute force on stage and they are making sure that you will have a good time for around 100 minutes of your day.

The lights were amazing and different for every song. During “Mr. Moon” and “The Band” I looked around the audience and everyone had a smile on their face and were dancing. During “Break Us” only Björn Dixgard and the first Mando Diao member Daniel Haglund were on stage. Together they played this beautiful ballade – moment to just enjoy. Björn’s voice is quite remarkable. It seems like he drinks Whiskey for breakfast to get this beautiful raspy voice.

The three others came back and the rock show continued with “Voices on the radio”, “Watch me now” and “Down in the past”. The guys did an amazing job to include everyone. Even the people on the balcony were involved. Mando Diao created a great atmosphere! Suddenly it felt like Kaufleuten turned the heating on. The warmth was rising from the people below or maybe it was just because Björn took of his shirt? 😉

Before we were all looking for that special girl in the audience we rocked to “You got nothing on me”. And there she was “Gloria” – a huge hit and everyone knew it so we were asked to sing the chorus. So everyone shouted “Gloria” but the rest of the lyrics were quite a mumble which made even the band smile. So here are the lyrics for next time:

So Gloria steps out from the prison
Gloria’s no longer the wasted disco girl
You’ve been dreaming about
Gloria, alone now forever
Gloria, away in the air now
Gloria, she’s no longer your slave, no, no

The Swedes left the stage after they played “Ochrasy” but of course they were brought back thanks to a continuous very loud cheer of the Kaufleuten audience. “Child” was the first encore but obviously they hadn’t played two of their biggest hits yet. So “Shake” was next and literally everybody was shaking their body and singing as loud as they could. During the song Björn went off stage and Jens Siverstedt took the mic. He introduced the bass player Carl-Johan Fogelklou, the drums Patrik Heikipieti – the beast from the north! – and Daniel on the keys.

Björn rejoined the band to sing one last song: “Dance with Somebody”! The energy level rose to the max and I guess this is why Mando Diao plays the smaller clubs. This kind of energy is quite hard to reach in bigger venues. I could see everyone’s hands in the air and we were all singing along. Patrik joined the four musicians in the front and the 5 stood there to orchestrate the Kaufleuten crowd. So the gig ended with a choir of

I’m falling in love with your favorite song
I’m gonna sing it all night long
I’m gonna dance with somebody
Dance with somebody
Dance, dance, dance

I absolutely loved this end to an amazing rock gig. Björn said they were proud to sing in front of us and thanked us for coming out to see them since without us they’d still be a band playing in a garage. These are the kind of artists I want to support with my hard earned money. A Mando Diao Fan is born – I know I’m a bit late to the party but hey better late than never! 😉 Hopefully they’ll be back for some festivals in the summer so I really have to start listening to their newest record “Good Times“.
Did you enjoy yesterday’s gig as much as me? Leave a comment and share your opinion below or on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

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Texas – Childhood memories and solid Scottish Entertainment

I was super excited to see Texas tonight even though I was still very sick but thanks to abc production I had wonderful seats on the balcony. I couldn’t wait to hear my favourite song “Summer Son” from way back when I was 8!

The support act was an electro pop band called Hightre – a mix between La Roux and Pet Shop Boys! I really liked their set but unfortunately it was over after just 20 minutes. I would have loved to buy their CD but because Switzerland has those strict customs rules quite a few artists refrain from taking any merch with them. This happened now twice in a row. First JP Cooper and now Texas.

Just before 8.30 Texas played the first chords of “The Conversation” and the tornado of Sharleen Spiteri took the stage. She ran around and animated the crowd to stand up and dance. I was kind of blown away! The atmosphere was brilliant from the start and I gotta say this never happens in the new venues such as Samsung Hall or Halle 622. The Volkshaus guarantees good atmosphere and I can recommend it to anyone! Throughout “Halo” and “Let’s work it out” people clapped and sang and I very much enjoyed watching the people and the band.

Sharleen is one hell of an entertainer! She started to tell stories and jokes! Plus she interacted with the audience in a way which I haven’t seen in a long time. She looked at them and actually spoke with the first few rows and at one point even with a fellow Scottish lady on the balcony. In-between we heard new songs and old songs like “When we are together”, “Tell that Girl”, “Everyday now”. Sharleen also spoke about the Scottish culture and her family life. But the most eye-opening moment was when she said that the  band started out 30 years ago! People including me couldn’t believe it 🙂

Sharleen had 5 other musicians on stage but she was clearly the star of the show and filled it like a whirlwind. I thoroughly enjoy the gig – the music – the talking – the atmosphere. LOVED IT! I also liked that the audience were there to enjoy the music. You rarely saw a phone or a camera. It’s probably because most people were around 40-50. Next were the songs called “Thrill has gone”, “For Everything”, “Tired of being alone” and “So called friend”.

I went to the concert because of that one song and I was dying to hear it and finally I heard the chords I knew so well! “Summer Son” was one of my highlights of the evening and I could see the 8 year old me rocking out to this tune. After this Texas played “Midnight” and a beautiful love song called “In Demand” where even the “oldies” got their smartphones out to light up the place. Surprisingly I knew more songs than I thought “I don’t want a lover” is a classic! At one point Texas invited an avid fan on stage to sing a song with Sharleen. Another highlight! “Black Eyed Boy” followed before they played “Say what you want” which is another hit! So before we even knew it they quickly left the stage only to come back for the last two songs.

When Texas started to play “Inner Circle” I couldn’t believe it! I knew that song too because of the movie Bend it like Beckham. I seriously didn’t know that this song was by Texas so obviously I stood up again and sang along. Sharleen introduced the last song like this:

If you don’t know this song within the first 3 chords, LEAVE!

Again the whole crowd was laughing and at the same time everyone was a bit sad because this was the last song called “Suspicious Minds”. After two hours of entertainment everyone left the Volkshaus happy. We all enjoyed an amazing night of good music and good fun – the Irish would say good craic! 😉
Have you seen Texas live? Please share your experience in the comments below or on my Twitter, Facebook or Instagram account.

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Under grey skies is a lot of good music

On Tuesday I got to see two brilliant artists: JP Cooper and Supporting him on his European tour the Irish band Picture This. Back home they are very well known but over here they are Newcomers.
I already started to feel sick when I went out so it was no wonder that by the time JP was one stage I had no voice at all. But first things first. I arrived at Papiersaal and this time it was mandatory to leave your jacket at the wardrobe. Me being sick and feeling cold I still had to give them my jacket. Plus pay 2 francs! So I was super furious but this feeling got stronger when I saw loads of people with jackets inside. Apparently they only started these shenanigans a bit later so the first to arrive were allowed in with jackets. This guaranteed chaos after the concert. I normally don’t add these kinds of things into my review because these things have nothing to do with the artist but is seriously taking the piss and I don’t understand it at all.

At 8 Picture This took the stage and I had kind of a deja vu. A few weeks ago I saw the Irish lads of the Coronas right on this stage and Ryan sounded a bit like Danny. However Picture This do have their own sound and I really really liked it. I also loved how Ryan spoke with us and told us some stories to the songs. For example the song “Jane” was written for a specific girl but he didn’t want to make her feel that special in naming the song after her so he just picked a random name. They started their set with “Let’s be young”, “Everything I need” and “Dream” – A beautiful ballade. Just before “Jane” we enjoyed “Addicted to you”… Well we is a bit much. There were loads of people chit chatting about their day. I seriously don’t understand how you can be so disrespectful to an artist.

The last three songs “Never Change”, “You & I” and “Take my hand” were over way to fast and the lads left the stage after some more stories. I mean they really had to go since Ireland was playing the World Cup qualification game and they had to cheer for them 😉 In case you wonder Ireland unfortunately lost against Denmark and is not going to the World Cup next year.

And I deffo lost my voice by 9pm while JP Cooper stepped on stage with his first song “Under grey skies” which is the title track of his debut record. Me trying to “woohoo” after the song to show my appreciated failed royally. So I enjoyed the concert quietly. The 2nd song “She’s on my mind” is a brilliant track to dance to and I was very glad I came. Next we heard “Change” and “Birthday”. After which someone shouted “happy belated Birthday JP!” and the whole crowd started to sing Happy Birthday. He was very touched and said I think this will be a good night.

It took him quite a long time to be successful with his music. Before his first record “Under Grey Skies” he released a few EP’s of which he will sing the next song called “Satellite”. A beautifully slow song with which he could show off his wonderful voice was this ballade called “Streetlights and the moon”. “Closer” he wrote for his son since he hopes that one day his son will understand why Daddy’s gone quite a few times during the year – A very touching moment. With “September Song” he sang the song literally everyone knew and loved. This song gave him his breakthrough and I am sure will be only the start of a great career.

“Wait” and “Shivers” were next. He then apologised to the people who came here and thought he was a dance artist since he collaborated with Jonas Blue to sing one of my last year’s summer hits “Perfect Strangers”. For the last song before the Encore he told us the story about him loosing his passport while he was in the process of writing his new album. So he thought I have to write a song about this and here it was “Passport Home”. After a quick break he came back on to cover a John Lennon song. However I know “Jealous Guy” by Gavin DeGraw and I did see some similarities. Both guys sang it beautifully and I had goose-bumps. Thank you JP for singing this beautiful song.

After 90 minutes JP said Goodbye with “Good Friend” and I really do hope that he is coming back soon and I can enjoy the concert without being feverish and including my voice. Of course the jacket chaos started and we decided to stay close to the backstage door since we were told that he’s coming out to meet fans. He did quite quickly after the show and I unfortunately couldn’t tell him at all how I loved his gig since I couldn’t utter a word. He understood anyway.. What a lovely guy and amazing musician so it is well worth supporting him.
Were you at one of his gigs? Leave your opinion on twitter, facebook or instagram or down below in the comment section. 

 

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Punk Rock vom Feinsten! Punk Rock at its best!

Die Toten Hosen graced Zurich and the Hallenstadion with two nights of their Laune der Natour tour. So I enjoyed my Friday night with those amazing musicians. A lot of people did the same and went back on Saturday again. Let me tell you guys that this concert wasn’t like any other concert I’ve been to.

First difference: At 8 o’clock on the dot Campino – the lead singer of the Toten Hosen – came on stage to introduce their special guests. I’ve never seen the main act introduce their support. I absolutely loved it and to be honest I think it should be like that all the time. It’s a f***** hard job to get out in front of people who actually don’t want to see you and are only waiting for the main act. So kudos to every support act. YOU ROCK! Now back to the gig. Campino told us:

This band from Brighton is one of their favourite UK bands at the moment, so make some noise for The Barstool Preachers!

After a hug the show started and I absolutely loved their music and their attitude. I would have liked to buy some merch and their record but unfortunately we couldn’t find it anywhere… Anyway they did an amazing job and how cool is that name??? Plus they had a song where they actually sang about this dude who preaches from his bar stool. So well done you guys. Hope to see you again soon.

The songs played before the show were carefully chosen. We heard Campino’s buddy Marteria, Kaiser Chiefs, Blur and just before the show the whole crowd started to sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone”! How amazing is that?!?! Me in my Liverpool shirt singing YNWA I don’t think I ever started a concert in such a happy place 😀 (P.S: for those of you who don’t know Campino is a huge LFC fan like me)

At 9 die Toten Hosen flags were raised and they came on stage with a bang! For the first song “Urknall” everyone was already singing along and lots of flags were also raised within the audience in the front section. I was mesmerised. “Auswärtsspiel”, “Du lebst nur einmal”, “Laune der Natur” followed. The atmosphere was already boiling and lots of beer was thrown around and drunken too 😉 Mosh pits were forming and people were jumping and just having a good time. Even the people with seating tickets were standing!

I knew that I won’t be singing a lot since I didn’t know a lot of lyrics and songs but it really didn’t matter. The songs are designed that everyone can singalong to during the chorus. So I gladly joined in for “Niemals einer Meinung” and “Die Schöne und das Biest”. I also had time to have a look around the audience. I’ve never seen such a mixed crowd. You saw families, a lot of guys but also women of all ages. Die Toten Hosen manage to embrace everyone. “Liebeslied” was played but then for “Bonnie & Clyde” you could really hear the crowd singing. Finally a song I knew “Altes Fieber” and I jumped up and was chanting along.

“Wie viele Jahre (Hasta la muerte” is another crowd favourite and is always a big hit. (Also in the merch department) You could seriously sense their energy and it vibrated off into the crowd. All of the lads are around 50 and they still rock around like 20 year olds. For the next two slower songs “Tauschen gegen Dich” and “Ertrinken” they got the strings out! They showed that they can’t just rock around but also do slow songs. I especially like the great thoughtful lyrics. But I just realised that I won’t be able to catch up on all the old songs who the real Toten Hosen Fans know by heart. But anyway it is an amazing band and you deffo need to see them live. Again I was surprised when they started to sing English. The guys sang “Pushed Again”. They did a brill job!

“Alles was war” was next and I liked “Unter den Wolken” a lot because I kinda knew it! 🙂 Somewhere in the depth of my lyrics mind I found the words to sing to this song. I loved it haha Suddenly the first rows started to kneel down and I was like what’s going on?? Campino then explained to the others that we all have to sit down now. We gladly obliged only to jump up to the chorus of “Steh auf, wenn du am Boden bist!”. The atmosphere was buzzin. Only that afternoon I started to listen to some songs and I really really loved a song called “Wannsee” and lucky for me they played it. Campino got the strings back on stage and said let’s get the Vodka Ltd out. It was absolutely hilarious. He explained before that before the strings joined the tour they were running low on alcohol but now it’s Vodka at 3pm! (At least for them not the guys) 🙂

Another older song was played “Das Mädchen aus Rottweil” before die Toten Hosen took a stand with “Willkommen in Deutschland”. It is honestly quite hilarious to listen to the stories the lads tell. Campino mentioned a living room concert in 1993 or that they had a fondue with lots of Kirsch in it after a gig. When they walked home to the hotel they realised they lost a band member so they walked back. He had fallen down a hole on a construction site! I couldn’t stop laughing. The gig went on with “Paradies” and “Wünsch dir was”. Just before they left the stage for their first encore they sang “Hier kommt Alex”! After 90 mins straight we had a quick break.

Die Toten Hosen won’t run out of songs to play so they came back with “Alles passiert”, “Mehr davon” and “Alles aus Liebe”. Only to play one of the most famous songs “Zehn kleine Jägermeister”. I didn’t think they would play that one but I enjoyed it a lot! The people gave out a loud cheer when they started to sing it so I wasn’t the only one. A lovely song to say goodbye to is “Schönen Gruss, auf Wiederseh’n”. But they only said goodbye for a few seconds. Campino came back with a Fortuna Düsseldorf shirt which Breiti gave him as a present. So I felt right at home with my Liverpool shirt. Plus I wasn’t the only one in a football shirt. It was quite funny to see: the audience either wore a Hosen shirt or a football jersey. There weren’t many people wearing plain clothes.

“All die ganzen Jahre” and “Freunde” were song 28 and 29 on the set list. They guys played over 2 hours now and they weren’t finished. Campino told us you know that we are here the whole weekend so you know that we have time. Do you want us to play some more songs? Of course we did and a loud cheer confirmed this. So this song is probably the most mainstream song die Toten Hosen got. It’s played on the radio, in football stadiums or at political conventions. Once you release a song you don’t have much power over where its played. Campino explained:

“Tage wie diese” was written for nights like these!

The guys cannot leave the stage without playing this song. Whether you are a Liverpool Fan or a Fortuna or FCZ or Basel or supporting Switzerland, this song brings people together and connects them. It is my favourite song and the best way to end this amazing concert:

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark

At the end of a storm
There’s a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone

You’ll never walk alone

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone

You’ll never walk alone

 

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Herz und Kopf / Heart and Head

Es ist der letzte Abend der diesjährigen Baloise Session und das Motto des Abends ist “Mann singt Deutsch”. Zur Einstimmung ist auf den Leinwänden eine frühere Session mit Silbermond zu sehen, was sehr viel Sinn macht. Silbermond sind unglaublich live! Sie haben so viel Energie auf der Bühne und sie wissen ihren Erfolg zu schätzen, denn sie haben in ihrer eigenen Garage ganz klein angefangen.

Als erster betritt Max Giesinger die Bühne. Er hat in einer Casting-Show angefangen und wurde erst später berühmt. Ich weiss nicht warum, aber irgendwie hatte ich das Gefühl, dass ich seinen Auftritt nicht mögen würde. Ich dachte, dass er nur langsame Lieder spielt und die Nähe zum Publikum nicht sucht. Es ist unglaublich, wie falsch ich lag! Max hatte vier Musiker auf der Bühne, die ihn unterstützten. Sie haben mit “Roulette” und “Barfuss und Allein” angefangen. Ich war super fokussiert am Fotografieren, aber ich merkte schon jetzt, dass ich mochte, was ich sah und hörte. Während des dritten Songs wurde ich fast überrannt von den Fans, die in die erste Reihe stürmten. Da ich noch nicht fertig war mit Fotografieren, stellte ich mich neben die Bühnentreppe in der Mitte. Nach dem dritten Lied merkte ich, dass ich da bleiben und das Konzert von Nahem verfolgen wollte.
Gegen Ende von “Kalifornien” ging Max ins Publikum. Er schüttelte viele Hände und irgendwie schuf er eine tolle familiäre Atmosphäre. Er sprach viel mit dem Publikum und erzählte viele kleine Geschichten. Es fühlte sich an, als ob er nur für 10 Leute spielte – jedoch waren es 100 Mal mehr. Er schaffte es, alle Leute zu berühren, sodass sogar die Leute mit Sitzplätzen aufstanden. Eine seiner Hit-Singles “Wenn Sie Tanzt” kam als nächstes und alle sangen, tanzen und sprangen mit. “Für Dich, Für Mich” ist ein wunderschönes Lied bei dem wir im Chor “Ohh ohh” sangen :-).

Die Backstage-Crew brachte drei Stühle auf die Bühne und wir durften ein tolles Akustik-Set geniessen. Bevor sie anfingen, erzählte Max eine kleine Geschichte über seinen ersten Besuch in Basel. Damals, als er noch Strassenmusiker war, traf er ein Pärchen aus Basel, welches ihn zum Musik machen in ihre Stadt einluden. Er nahm die Einladung an und spielte die ersten zwei Minuten des nächsten Songs “Alles auf Anfang” – dann stoppte ihn die Polizei. Lars und Paul kamen zurück auf die Bühne, um mit Max, Steffen und Klaus “Der Junge, der rennt” mit einem Country-Musik-Touch zu spielen.

Wir haben nicht nur sehr familiäre Momente mit Max Giesinger erlebt, sondern bekamen auch Reisetipps für Mannheim und Minnesota. Max hat mich als Fan gewonnen und ich weiss nun, dass ich sein Album kaufen und zu seinem nächsten Konzert gehen werde. Ich konnte echt nicht glauben, wie falsch ich lag! Nach dem Akustik-Set wechselten sie wieder zu den normalen Instrumenten mit “Vielleicht im nächsten Leben”. Die Jungs rockten die Bühne und fingen an für “In Balance” synchron zu tanzen. Max holte sogar eine Glückliche auf die Bühne und tanzte mit ihr. Nachher sagte er uns, dass er das schon immer mal machen wollte. Sehr sympathisch! Max setzte sich hinters Piano und für das Intro von “Nicht so schnell” war nur er und sein Piano im Mittelpunkt. Einfach nur wunderschön!

Natürlich konnte Max nicht gehen, ohne seinen Hit 80 Millionen zu singen. Die Leute hatten Riesenspass! Als Zugabe nahm Max drei Girls aus dem Publikum und bat sie, seine Background-Sängerinnen zu sein. Die Jungs und die Mädels sangen eine wunderschöne Ballade “Für immer”. Es war ein wundervoller Moment und ein perfektes Ende für ein tolles Set! Für mich konnte der Abend nicht besser werden. Tim Bendzko wird’s nicht leicht haben…

Ums Vorauszunehmen der Abend wurde nicht besser. Tim Bendzko hatte sehr strenge Regeln für die Fotografen und normalerweise ist das ein Zeichen, dass das Konzert schlecht wird. Er kam auf die Bühne und sang ganz alleine das erste Lied “Das wissen wir beide” – nur er und seine Gitarre – sogar ohne Mikrofon. Dies fand ich toll und es war sehr anders. Die Band kam auf die Bühne, die wie ein Wohnzimmer dekoriert war, um etwas Familiäres zu kreieren, so als ob er in seinem oder deinem Haus spielte. Während “Leichtsinn”, “Ohne zurück zu sehen” und “Hinter dem Meer” konnten wir Bilder schiessen. Und wieder rannten viele weibliche Fans vor die Bühne.

Vor der Treppe von Max platzierte Tim eine schwarze Kiste, damit kein Fan ihm zu Nahe kommen kann. Er hat uns in den ersten Reihen nie richtig angeschaut – nicht wie Max. Tim Bendzko sprach mit uns und erzählte viele lustige Sachen, aber es schien mir alles sehr durchdacht und es fühlte sich nicht an, wie wenn es von Herzen kam. Er spielte weitere langsame Lieder “Am seidenen Faden” und “Ich steh nicht mehr still”. Endlich kam ein Lied, das ich kannte: “Keine Maschine” – Ich mag den Text sehr, aber das nächste ist mein Lieblingslied von Bendzko: “Nur noch kurz die Welt retten”. Das ist bis jetzt sein grösster Hit und man merkte es auch. Es war der längste Song und das Publikum musste natürlich mitsingen.

Das letzte Lied vor der Zugabe war “Keine Zeit”. Viele der Frauen um mich herum kannten den Text und es war sehr süss anzusehen. Er kam zurück mit “Wenn Worte meine Sprache wären” und Leute, das ist eine wunderschöne Ballade! Schön, konnte ich dieses Lied mal live sehen. “So fühlt es sich an” und “Sag einfach ja” folgten. Die Band ging wieder Backstage, um wieder nach vorne zu kommen und 2 weitere Lieder zu singen. Tim suchte eine Person, die alle seine Lieder kannte und fand auch eine. Ein Mann namens Chris, der seinen Lieblingssong wünschte. Tim und Fabian am Piano sangen dieses Lied ohne Probe! Dies war recht beeindruckend – vor allem der Klavier-Part! Mit dem Lied “Warum ich Lieder singe” endete das Konzert.

Die zwei deutschen Jungs beendeten die diesjährige Baloise Session. Ich kann es kaum erwarten bis die Acts des nächsten Jahres verkündet werden und freue mich jetzt schon riesig auf die nächste Ausgabe der Baloise Session. Ich möchte euch nochmals sagen, wie toll dieses Festival ist und wie freundlich alle Helfer sind. Ich kann es euch nur empfehlen 🙂 Wie ihr wisst, durfte ich vier tolle Abende hier verbringen und jeder einzelne war wunderbar. Seid ihr neugierig geworden, dann lest es doch nach: Clean bandit/Goldfrapp, Kaleo/Asgeir und Dabu Fantastic/Kool & the Gang oder das lustige Interview mit Dabu Fantastic.
Wart ihr an der diesjährigen Baloise Session? Lasst es mich in den Kommentaren wissen 🙂 

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Tonight’s the last night of this year’s Baloise Session and the motto is “Mann sings Deutsch” which means “Man sings German”. And tonight they show an old Session with Silbermond which makes so much sense. Silbermond is German band and they are seriously incredible live. They’ve got so much energy on stage and they don’t take their success for granted. And just FYI they started out as a band playing in their garage.

First up we got Max Giesinger. He started out with The Voice and turned big after a few years. I don’t know why but I felt like I wouldn’t like his set. I thought he’d be distant and played only slow songs. Unbelievable how wrong I was! Max got 4 musicians to support him on stage. They started with “Roulette” and “Barfuss und Allein”. I was taking pictures and was super focused however I already liked what I was seeing and hearing. During the 3rd song I nearly got run over by fans who wanted to get front row. I took my spot next to the stairs in the middle to finish taking pics and then I realised that I actually wanted to stay here.
At the end of “Kalifornien” Max headed into the audience and shook hands and just created a very nice atmosphere. He also talked a lot and had a lot of stories to tell. It felt like we were just 10 people he was singing to – so intimate – but it actually was a 100 times more. He managed to touch everyone’s hearts and to get even the seated people standing. His hit single “Wenn Sie Tanzt” was next and everyone was singing and dancing and jumping. “Für Dich, Für Mich” is a beautiful song where we were the back up choir singing “ohhh ohhh” :-).

The stage hands came on and brought some chairs. We were about to enjoy a lovely acoustic set. Max explained that he met a nice couple from Basel years and years ago when has busking on the street. They invited him to busk in Basel. He said he took their invite and so he tried to play in the streets of Basel. Two minutes of “Alles auf Anfang” was all he could manage before the police stopped him. Max, Steffen and Klaus were joined by Lars and Paul to sing and play “Der Junge, der rennt” with a country touch.

We not only got very intimate moments but also travel tipps for Mannheim and Minnesota. Max Giesinger won me over by then and I knew that I will buy his record and will come back to a full gig. I really couldn’t believe how wrong I was. After the acoustic set they went back to normal with “Vielleicht im nächsten Leben”. The guys were absolutely rocking the stage too and now they got their dance moves out for “In Balance”. Max even took a lucky lady on stage to dance with her. At the end he said I always wanted to try this. So cute! Max now sat down behind a piano and the intro of “Nicht so schnell” was just him and his piano. Just beautiful!

Obviously he couldn’t leave without singing this hit “80 Millionen”. Everyone went crazy! As an encore Max asked three girls on stage to help them out as a backing choir. All the lads and the girls sang a beautiful ballade called “Für immer”. It was a wonderful moment and very brilliant end to an amazing set! To me the evening couldn’t get any better so Tim Bendzko had big shoes to fill.

Let me tell you this already he didn’t fill them. Tim Bendzko had some very strict photographers rules and usually that’s an indication of bad performances. So he came on stage alone and sang the first song “Das wissen wir beide” with his guitar and no microphone. This I quite liked and I thought it was quite different. The band came on stage which was decorated like a living room since he tried to make it as intimate as if he would play in his or your living room. “Leichtsinn”, “Ohne zurück zu sehen” and “Hinter dem Meer” were the songs we could capture in pictures. Again lots of mainly female fans were running towards the stage.

Where Max had his stairs Tim put a small black box there so that no fan will be able to get close to him. He never looked at us properly – not like Max. Tim did talk to us and also told a lot of jokes but it felt like it was well thought out and it didn’t feel like it came from his heart. He continued with mainly slow songs “Am seidenen Faden” and “Ich steh nicht mehr still”. Finally a song I knew “Keine Maschine” – I quite like the lyrics of that song but my favourite came now: “Nur noch kurz die Welt retten. It’s his biggest hit so far and you could deffo see it. It was the longest song and the audience had to sing along to.

The last song before his first encore was “Keine Zeit”. A lot of the ladies around me knew the lyrics and it was quite lovely to see. He came back with “Wenn Worte meine Sprache wären” and let me tell you that this is one beautiful ballade! I enjoyed seeing it live. “So fühlt es sich an” and “Sag einfach ja” followed. The band went backstage again only to come back to sing another 2. Tim was looking for the one person who knows all his songs and he found one. A guy called Chris who wished for his favourite song and Tim and his band mate Fabian on the keys were singing it without any rehearsal. This was quite impressive – Especially the piano part! The final song “Warum ich Lieder singe” finished this quiet set.

The two German lads finished this years Baloise Session in style and I cannot wait to see who the organisers get to perform next year! Again I want to tell you how amazing this festival is and the staff is just super friendly. I can deffo recommend it. As you know I enjoyed 4 evenings here and I loved each and everyone of them. Have a read of Clean bandit/Goldfrapp, Kaleo/Asgeir and Dabu Fantastic/Kool & the Gang or the funny interview with Dabu Fantastic.
Have you been at this years Baloise Session? Leave a comment below 🙂

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God Bless Naturally 7

! Naturally 7 are amazing !
There are not enough words to describe how talented and lovely those 7 lads are. So I will give my best to review yesterday’s brilliant concert. I’ve been looking forward to this concert since their announcement and you know that means a lot since I’m going to gigs quite a lot lately. But you can count on Naturally 7 to give a 110 % and to make these two hours the best you’ve ever had.
At 8 they started with “Jericho” and “Wall of Sound” two of my favourite songs! Each time it is mesmerising what they can do with their voices! Plus it is very familiar now and I’m already dancing along which is what I love to do. Roger always asks the audience: “How many of you see us for the first time?” And always quite a few people raise their hands which surprises me every time. But just as much people have seen them before and come back as friends. I would also like to mention that each time they are playing in Zurich the crowd is incredibly loud and is cheering almost from the start. This really doesn’t happen a lot but Naturally 7 manages to turn the quiet Swiss people into a loud crowd within just 1 song. Yesterday evening it was even louder than the last time!

In my interview in July they told me that we are very loud and that they love to come here because of it. They said it again yesterday and I have to agree. You could really see that they were enjoying it too. As you might know Dwight is originally from Jamaica so they covered the Rastafarian song “Rivers of Babylon” which was sang by Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton in 1970. Later it was covered by the famous Boney M. It was an early highlight and a change to their set which I didn’t even expect.
Tonight they also sang two songs of the new record Both Sides Now. Roger explained that the new one is quite different to the older ones since they were singing acappella for the most part which differs to their usual Vocalplay. The first one “Going Home” is a beautiful ballade and I sat back and just enjoyed those angelic voices. Before the next song they asked us if there were couples in the house and how long they are married. Eventually we found a couple who are married for 40 years! So they dedicated this love song to those two people. BEAUTIFUL!

Before the next Roger asked the youngest in the audience how old they were. So he told a little story about himself and his life. Bottom line was that when you are 10 years old you don’t know how easy your life is without any worries. A few years ago they found the song called “Stressed out” by twentyone pilots and they Naturally 7’ed it yesterday and I absolutely loved it! Warren the “Drummer” got his solo part and it is seriously amazing! You could feel the drums vibrating even if there weren’t any to be seen! They continued with another cover “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley. Just WOW.
As many people know three of the 7 members are originally from England: Roger and his brother Warren and Garfield. So the three of them are each an “English man in New York” and the whole Kaufleuten sings along. They remix this song with Jay Z’s and Alicia Keys’ “New York” and they bring the “Jamaican Man in New York” back at the end. Dwight then takes the whole Kaufleuten to Jamaica while we sing “One Love”. I felt a lot of love in the room and it was embracing everyone. Funny enough on the way home Bob Marley’s “One Love” came on the radio and my concert buddy and I smiled at each other.

Before the encore they sang another cover “Fix you” by Coldplay. I’ve seen them in Frankfurt this summer (click on Coldplay to read more) and they were good but I adored Naturally 7’s version of this song. It is a quiet highlight of their 2 hour set. And the last song brings the party back! Dancing, clapping, jumping and singing and the whole Kaufleuten went crazy. Just before they left Kelz – the bass – played the chords to the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” and naturally we Swiss people know what to do. I think they were quiet a bit surprised how loud and well we sang that part.
And as always Naturally 7 says Goodbye with a bow and these words:

God Bless You

And yes, God Bless Naturally 7. 7 incredible musicians and lovely people who take time to meet their fans or friends as they say right after the show. Everyone left that night with a smile on their face and I think this is their goal which they achieve every time. So if you have never seen Naturally 7 live you missed out BIG TIME! So stay tuned to my blog and you won’t miss their next concert. Can’t wait that long? Have a look at my instagram and facebook stories to get a little sneak peek or get their newest record “Both Sides Now”
Have you seen Naturally 7 live? Share the love in the comment section below.
 

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Party Night at Baloise Session with Kool & the Gang and Dabu Fantastic

It’s Friday night and it’s party time! That’s why tonight’s motto “Let’s celebrate” fits perfectly and is a perfect match for these two artists: Kool & the Gang and Dabu Fantastic. Please come back tomorrow to read more of my interview with the latter. Again I’d like to mention that the staff at Baloise Session is incredibly friendly and helpful! Plus the concerts shown on the screen is a treat. They chose Parov Stelar again who will be coming to Samsung Hall on 9th March!

First up was Dabu Fantastic. They are a band from Zurich singing in Swiss German. Even if you don’t understand the lyrics you gotta see them live. Their energy is off the chain and they are super entertaining. Unfortunately it’s only been the 2nd time I’ve seen them live. The first time was at a free concert on a float at Badi Enge. It was an magical gig and a lot of fun. They started with “Autobahn” and “Grosse MC” which was mixed with one of my favourites “Vo Vorn”. This song is perfect for a gig! “Vo Vorn” means to start again so it makes perfect sense to say let’s start again.

The 3rd song was “MsG” – Mir seget Grüezi which is a translation of the German Fanta 4 song “MfG”. They did a whole set with those kinda song and in my interview you’ll hear about Fanta 4’s reaction. Next up was “Schön” and “Fredi” before they got a bit quieter and mellowed down a bit for “Min Ort”/ “My place”. It is a beautiful ballade about Dabu’s hometown. You don’t expect these guys to be able to do slow but they really can do slow! Just before they suddenly vanished they played a song called “Maybach”.

Suddenly Dabu and DJ Arts showed up on a B-stage in the middle of the room. They had a short old school break where just the two of them were doing their thing 🙂 On the way back they were dancing with the audience. Another favourite moment of mine was when they remixed Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of you” and KRS-One “Sound of da Police” and replaced it with Jeans and made it to their own song. Such a funny song! Before the next song “Hässlich”/”Ugly” they announced that either we have to dance really bad or really good and the best people get a shirt for free! 🙂 And yes, people were dancing or the posh people sitting where trying their best. One lady won and she put the shirt right on and stood on a chair. How great is that??!!

Just before the encore we enjoyed “Paradiis and Het Sie Xeh”. They came back just to say “Gang Jetz” which means “Off you go” and they remixed it with another Swiss artists “Brütigam” by Dodo. And lastly the song a lot of people have been waiting for – their “Angelina”. It basically is about a relationship where it’s working on top of each other but not next to each other if you know what I mean 😉

Will mir händ so viel Liebi zge
Als wär das öppis wos Läbe lang hebt
Aber morn bisch wider weg
Will ufenand gats aber näbenand nöd

I was ready to take pictures of Kool & the Gang but I wasn’t really ready for this! The 11 musicians took the stage and their energy just blew me away! But I wasn’t the only one within seconds they’ve managed to get the people standing and the security had problems keeping them back for the first 3 songs. They started with “Fresh” and I took pictures but I was also singing. I guess that looked quite funny so the lads on stage smiled at me a few times. A singing photographer must be new to them too 😉

Shawn McQuiller and Lavell Evans and Walter Anderson switched the lead vocals between each other. Plus the latter took to play the keys a few times. It is incredible how versatile all these musicians are. I expected old men on stage but they managed to bring on the new generation too! In “Tonight” and “Too Hot” the guys showed off their dancing skills and the people in the audience were too. As soon as the security released them onto the dancing floor I had to flee! I’ve never experienced anything like it and thankfully there was a tiny space left out for the camera which I fled into. I really didn’t envy the camera guys’ job that night! 🙂

 
The crowd was on fire that night. We were dancing, singing and just having a good time. These incredible musicians were giving it their best and you could sense it. “Joanna” and “Open Sesame” was next and during “Jungle Boogie” I found myself way back onto the dance floor. The boys were dancing in sync to Hollywood Swinging and it just looked incredible and by then I knew that it was going to be a very good gig. For all the lovers in the house Kool & the Gang played their huge hit “Cherish” and the lights of the phone and lighters went up.

What followed can only be described as a huge party and everyone joined in to celebrate this wonderful evening. With “Let’s Go Dancing” we were turned into a big backing choir to sing the “Oh la la la’s”. Now the next song they sang for all the beautiful ladies in the house:

Oh, yes, it’s Ladies’ Night
And the feeling’s right
Oh, yes, it’s Ladies’ Night
Oh, what a night (oh, what a night)

And the feeling was really right! I think by then everyone at Baloise Session was standing or should I say dancing. “Get Down on it” was so so cool and it was amazing to see these Legends on stage. All those songs were written in the 80’s and I still know them and they can travel the world singing it. This must be the dream of every musician. The final song of the night was of course “Celebration”. What impressed me the most was that the band stayed on stage and shook a lot of hands and said thank you. They do not need to this anymore. They are huge stars and still they thank every person who came out that night.

 
Those are real musicians and are well worth supporting and seeing. I adore artists who show their appreciation and I tend to see those kinda artists more than once. For example Naturally 7 are like that too and they are coming to Zurich next week! After the 3rd night at the Baloise Session I can tell that I am in love with this festival. If you want to read about my first two nights check out Clean Bandit/Goldfrapp and Asgeir/Kaleo.
 
Have you been to the Baloise Session? Let me know in the comments below! 🙂

 

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British Indie Rock and English Charme at its finest

Amber Run’s first Swiss concert nearly got cancelled because their tour bus broke down in the middle of – I quote – f***ing nowhere in Germany! Just Because informed us via facebook about this and that the show started an hour later. I love the fact that this organiser cares about us fans and is communicating problems early enough so we can adjust. So well done to you Just Because! 🙂

At 9 the support band Flyte started. Well it wasn’t really a band since only the lead singer/guitarist Will made it to Zurich. His whole band had to stay back because I assume there wasn’t enough room in the 2nd bus. Poor him! Even by himself he did a great job and it was very charming how he explained that he is very nervous since he has never done this before without his band. Someone shouted a request which he fulfilled. It was absolutely adorable. His 20mins set was great and I cannot wait to see them in February.

At 9.30 Amber Run took the stage with “Pilot” and “Spark”. After a few seconds I knew I loved them! 5 musicians giving their best for us. The crowd seemed to enjoy it too so they clapped and wooped loudly. This animated the band even more so they went on with “Insomniac” and “Stranger”. During “Fickle Game” people started singing even louder. I loved their mix between uptempo rock songs and slower songs.
In-between songs Joshua talked to us. It was hilarious! He said that we didn’t know how close they came to cancelling the show because they just couldn’t make it. He was also totally overwhelmed by us singing along since English is not our mother tongue. I have to say I was surprised to how the sold out Papiersaal reacted to Amber Run! “JMS” and “Dark Bloom” were next. One of the highlights of the evening was “Good Morning”. My concert told me it’s perfect for early mornings and she was right! It is a feel good song which makes you dance.

After this amazing song the set went on with “Island” and “5am”. During “Noah” we were asked to be their back up choir and it was just incredibly beautiful. The lads proved again that they can sing in this wonderful ballade called “Wastelands”. We nearly reached the end of the show with “Heaven” as the last song before the break.
Amber Run came back for three encore songs. Joshua explained that a few years ago they didn’t like each other very much and they had problems within the band. So this is what the next song “Haze” is about. It is a beautiful slow song and the harmonies of Joshua, Will and Henry were just perfect and gave me goosebumps. During “I Found” the Swiss audience proved that they know their lyrics and can sing! 🙂 “No Answers” is rock song to head bang to and a brilliant way finish to this 1 hour and 40 mins gig. Their last words were

Thank you very much for coming out to see us! It means the world to us!

I am officially a fan of Flyte and Amber Run and I gotta say their Merchandising is on point! Tonight they play in Basel and later they tour Germany. Click here to see dates and get tickets. Please support these amazing british bands!
All pics were taken by Denise Stocker. Check out her lovely pics on her site.
Have you been to one of their shows? Show your love in the comment section below!

 

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Angus and Julia Stone brought a whole lotta love from down under

A few weeks ago I wrote about their newest album Snow in my New Music category. So I was quite curious how Angus and Julia Stone sounded live and lucky for me Just Because made it happen. I was quite afraid that I wouldn’t like Julia’s voice since it’s quite mellow and usually I don’t like that kind of voice. Little did I know that I’d be a fan by the end of the night.

Isaac Gracie opened the night. He has a special voice and it was nice listening to him. However it seemed like he didn’t click with the audience even though he seemed super nice. Maybe it was just because the venue was too big for him.
Finally just after 9pm the siblings took the stage and I immediately was super impressed. They had a huge LED screen in the back where beautiful pictures were shown. In front of that screen Angus and Julia Stone had a totem which had LED lights included too. A smoke machine run wild with a lot of smoke coming off the stage. All of this created a mysterious atmosphere.

The two were accompanied by four other musicians coming together from all over the world. They started with “Baudelaire”  and “Make it out alive”. Then they directed a few words towards the crowd and I could see that they loved to be here and enjoyed being on stage. Next we heard “Cellar door” and “Heart beats”. By then I was in love with them. The artists created a beautiful atmosphere with their music, their stage and spreading the love all around Zurich.

The new song “Chateau” came on and I loved it! It is such a beautiful song and live it was even better. The voice of Angus is much stronger and deeper live and Julias is just incredibly beautiful. My worries that I wouldn’t like her voice were blown away in an instant. I enjoyed every song 🙂

Julia then said that she loved writing love songs which the next song “Wherever you are” is. In “Bloodhound” Angus took the lead with his raspy voice and I adored it. Their harmonies were incredible and you could sense that the two of them know each other since they were kids. All guitar lovers were made happy too with the wonderful guitars (including a banjo) Angus and the other musicians played.

“Private Lawns”,”Who do you think” and “Nothing Else” were the songs before the big big hit “Big Jet Plane”. Everyone seemed to know the it and sang along. Julia asked the audience to get out ours phones and light it up. This created and incredible sight to a beautiful song. They seemed to enjoy it as much as we do. Being at concerts as often as I am I mostly enjoy the concerts where the artist loves to be there too. So this was definitely one! For the next song “For You” Julia explained the story behind it. She was dating a guy for 8 years when they broke up. She realised later that she was still in love with him so she wrote this song on guitar hero (How adorable! :-)) and sent it to him in an e-mail.

If I talk real slowly
If I try real hard
To make my point dear,
That you have my heart

It took him weeks to write back but eventually he did. It said “Cool song!” and attached was a random song he wrote which was a mix of metal and hip hop. My heart flew out to her.

The duo introduced the next song “My House” by saying:

We are in your house and you are kinda in our house

So this is what the next song is about. Such a lovely song and we had to help them sing the chorus which created a unifying atmosphere full of love. For the title track “Snow” they brought out the big guns. In the middle of the song it literally started snowing and it wouldn’t stop. What a wonderful idea! This seemed like the last song to me but they only disappeared for the encore and came back to sing 3 more songs. “A Heartbreak” and “Uptown” of their own songs. But they finished with a shanty called “Stonecutters” since they grew up with sailing parents and grand parents. I love those kinds of songs and it was the perfect end to a wonderful evening.

If you can make sure to check out Angus and Julia Stone live. Click here to check out their  tour dates!
Were you at the concert in Zurich or in Geneva? Let me know how you liked Angus and Julia Stone in the comments below.

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Electro times 2! The lovely Clean Bandit and the mysterious Goldfrapp

I’ve never been to the Baloise Session before and I was positively surprised when I entered the venue. It is a super classy location and the people dress their part. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. So if you haven’t been to this amazing festival you’ve definitely missed something.

Clean Bandit opened the evening which surprised me quite a bit since they are huge at the moment. Luckily I was able to see them this summer at the Summertime Ball in London. Back then they had two singers who were changing for each song. Today, instead of the second singer Grace herself sang a few times which surprised me even more since she seemed very shy in London. You might not know this but Clean Bandit is just an instrumental group formed by the brothers Luke on drums and Jack on keys and Grace on cello. They get supported during their live performances by Sam on bass, Stephanie on violin and as previously mentioned Yasmin on vocals.
They started with a funny intro where we were transported into a rainforest. The electro dance vibe was there and after 3 songs the audience couldn’t be kept on their seats anymore so the dance floor in front of the stage was opened. Of course the majority stayed at the beautifully candle-lit tables and enjoyed the concert seated. However I felt that there was a great atmosphere and everyone was happy. The 4th song was already “Symphony” a huge hit and brilliant live – especially sung with a great voice such as Yasmin has.

Clean Bandit mixed slow songs where the singer could show her talent with dance songs where they got everyone jumping and dancing. The band got also a Reggae song called “Come Over” and I haven’t mentioned it on my blog yet but I love this genre. So this song was a lovely surprise and one of my highlights of the night. “Rockabye” followed which features Sean Paul and Anne Marie (who is coming to the Energy Star Night as well as to Kaufleuten on April, 18th) and had to be included in the set. Unfortunately today without the original singers of the song. This makes me realise how lucky I was in June!
With “Should have known better” Yasmin got everyone singing. “Disconnect” came after which is originally sang by Marina from Marina and the Diamonds. Her voice suits this songs incredibly well. The last song before the encore was “Real Love” another dancy song and one of their biggest hits. The first encore song was “Tears” originally sang by Louisa Johnson who is more or less unknown in Switzerland but in the UK she’s a rising star. And finally the song everyone knew was “Rather Be”. I was dancing and singing and this song is just brilliant. I’ve heard it at a small fair in a village in London sang by a choir and I adored what they did with it.

After an hour the lovely British musicians left the stage to make way to their fellow countryman or should I say woman. Goldfrapp took the stage after a short break and what a start it was. It was all dark and you could only see her features. I assumed this would change after a while and the light would shine on her but I made a wrong assumption. For the whole hour she stayed in the dark. Lots of lights in different colours were shining behind her and it looked quite impressive. During the set Alison didn’t talk to the audience much and because she was so distant I didn’t really connect with her.

A few people had the same issue and left the Baloise Session early. However I’d say the majority loved it. The dance floor was opened again and many people were dancing not only there but also next to their tables. Funny enough out of the blue I recognised a song which I quite like called “Train”. It was played on the radio a lot as well as the encore but let’s not go there yet.
Someone described her sound to me as a mix of mellow tunes and electro beats which is so accurate that I had to mention it here. She went through her set quite quickly and professionally. Goldfrapp’s “dance” moves are quite special and in hindsight it reminds me a bit of the German electro band 2Raumwohnung who I got to see and review for the music magazine ARTNOIR. The set finished just before 11 with “Strict Machine”. Another song I knew and enjoyed seeing it live.

During the break we got to see a previous concert of the Baloise Session with Parov Stelar. Obviously I was quite intrigued and started to pay attention more closely. I quite enjoyed their performance and their lead singer seemed super nice and talented. Suddenly “All Night” came on and I bet you know that song! Lucky for us they are coming back on March, 9th 2018. Get your tickets here.
Lastly I can only recommend this brilliant venue and I should have come here sooner! Fortunately I get to come here another 3 times this year to cover the Islandic Night Kaleo/Asgeir, Kool and the Gang/Dabu Fantastic and finally the German night with Tim Bendzko/Max Giesinger. There’s a lot more to come so keep following Kekoas Korner and stay up to date with my social media accounts: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Did you enjoy Clean Bandit and Goldfrapp? Share your opinion in the comments below.

 

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Jacob Banks’ voice is pure magic

I’ve only discovered him a few weeks ago as you might have seen on my blog. I nominated him as one of my artists2watch and boy is he one artist to watch! I had the pleasure to listen to his voice yesterday at Mascotte Zurich thanks to Just Because. After listening to „Chainsmoking“ on YouTube I had high expectations but he did not disappoint.

First of all Jacob Banks brought out a young talented singer called Joy Crookes. She’s got a beautiful jazzy voice and plays the guitar. For all the guys reading check out how beautiful she is 😉 In addition to this she is also very funny and warmed up the crowd pretty nicely.

At 8.30 Mr. Jacob Banks took the stage and I was blown away from the very first minute! I don’t have enough superlative words to describe his voice. Seriously if you are a fan of Rag’N’Bone Man’s voice then check out this guy. With „Worthy“ and „Unholy War“ he started gloriously and from reactions of the audience they were as blown away as I was. It took him only a few minutes to win over the sold out Mascotte who were clapping, wooping, whistling louder after each song.
Apparently both artists tonight had shit relationships because they used almost the same words to introduce their next songs. Me being cheeky is wondering if they might talk about each other ;-)) Oh well we’ll never know but we got a beautiful song called „Part Time Love“. He then took his e-guitar and sang „Pilot“. Just his voice and the guitar it was magical.

„Silverlining“ and „Diddy Bop“ were next and then something happened which has never happened to me before. The music was quite loud so I put it my earbuds at the beginning of the concert and then suddenly one of them fell out. It seems like his voice popped it out. I couldn’t stop laughing. After he sang „Emty/Photograph“ he told us a joke:

What’s the church of Batman?
Christian Bale!

Everyone had to laugh! It was so random which made it very charming. After „Unknown“ someone from the audience shouted „Another Joke“ but he to sing his next song „Mercy/Grace“ so he we didn’t hear another joke. Overall he didn’t talk a lot but he didn’t really need to. His voice transported so much emotions that you felt connected to him without a lot of words in-between. So the next three songs „Love ain’t enough“, „Homecoming/Redbone“ „Sink or swim into Monster“ he sang without talking between them except a humble „thank you“.

On the setlist it says „Talk my Shit“ when he’s supposed to say something to us. Very funny! This hour of incredible music went by way to quickly and the last song before the encore was „Unholy War“. Us front-rowers we were feeling it and were dancing to it. Again I have to praise live music! This song and his voice is undescribably good but live they are fantastic!

This song took my breath away when I first heard it and now I had the honour to listen to it live. „Chainsmoking“ is one hell of a song. I will add the YouTube video again because I was enjoying it too much to video it. However a snippet of this incredible song can be found in my Instagram stories. Mr Jacob Banks left the stage after this wonderful show and me and my two concert buddies felt blessed to have seen this guy performing live in such a small venue because believe me he will come back in a much bigger venue. Jacob Banks has a thriving career in front of him.
Were you there and witnessed Mr. Jacob Banks live? Please share your opinion with us in the comments below.

 

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The Coronas are always good craic

Mainland Music brought the 4 lovely lads from the Coronas back to Zurich! It’s been years since I got to know them as the support of the Script. I immediately fell in love with their music and been a fan of theirs ever since. The thing is they are not just brilliant musicians but also very nice down-to-earth people.

This time Polar Circles a Swiss band from Lausanne got to be their opening act on the whole European tour. I really enjoyed one of their last songs a lot and they seemed like really nice people. I especially loved the red guitar <3
Just a little after 9 The Coronas took the stage at Papiersaal with their new single “Real Feel” off their latest album “Trust The Wire”. “Get Loose” and “Addicted to Progress” were the next two songs they chose to play. The lads went on with a mix of new and old songs. Their songs just get you immediately and within minutes everyone was rocking out. From time to time I was looking at people and they were smiling back! I absolutely loved the atmosphere. Everybody had a good time or how the Irish would say good craic.

For “A Bit Withdrawn” Danny made us close our eyes to fully enjoy the song and it was well worth it. What a beautiful song – especially when you listen to it closely! “Who We Are” woke us back up and was full of energy! In “Dreaming Again” you can hear the Irish influence. It makes you sway from side to side and you can almost feel that you are in a proper Irish pub. From the new album this song “We Couldn’t Fake It” is one of the best in my opinion. “Gut Feeling” was next and it’s time to praise Danny incredibly special voice. The Irish accent and the voice itself is a mix that you just have to love.

My personal highlight of the show was when Danny stepped off stage and into the crowd to sing “Heroes or Ghosts” with us as back ground vocals. 🙂 This song is very old but still one of my favourites. Before the show I was able to meet him for an interview which you can read on my blog too. I took the chance to ask him if he could sing this song in Gaelic. So the 2nd verse of “Heroes or Ghosts” he sang in Gaelic. It was amazing!

Before the title track of their last album “Closer To You” they played “Someone Elses’s Hands” a beautiful rock ballade. In “What A Love” we could prove our singing abilities again before Danny toned it down again for “Give Me A Minute”. Sitting at his keys we enjoyed this wonderful slow song. The last song before the encore was “Mark My Words” which Danny announced like this:

So we tell you that this is the last song before we go off stage and then you hopefully clap as loud as you can and then we come back to play more songs. I’m actually not suppose to tell you this! This is not how it works.

This gave everyone a good laugh and it just shows how incredibly funny and normal they are. As announced the left they stage and we started to shout “One more song, one more song”. They came back on and he said well actually we’ll play four more songs! 🙂 “Look at all the lovers” was the first encore song before they covered “Learning To Fly” to honour the late great Tom Petty. Another of my favourites called “San Diego Song” was next. This song is brilliant but just too short! One last song “Just Like That” and this 90 minutes set was over.

The four Irish lads Danny, Dave, Conor and Graham who are always supported by a 5th unofficial member Jonathan are brilliant musicians and their live shows are top notch. So please visit their homepage for tour dates and check out their new album “Trust the Wire“.
Have you been to one of their shows and enjoyed it too? Let me know in the comments below.

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From the view of Welshly Arm’s Merch Seller

A few weeks ago I read that Welshly Arms are looking for a volunteer at their concert in Mascotte on the 27th Sept. This was my cue since I haven’t bought a ticket yet and I love to help out. So this is how I became their Merch seller 🙂 A few days later I also got the job to interview them for the online magazine ARTNOIR! Lucky me!
I arrived at the venue at 6 and they were still sound checking and I was already lovin’ it. I expected a different sound but this was even better! So I couldn’t wait to interview them and later sell their Merchandising. A few minutes later I met the lovely singer of the band Sam Getz and the brilliant drummer Mickey Gould.
30 mins before the doors opened I got instructed and as soon as the first people strolled in I sold my first pieces. I’m not saying this now because I sold their Merch but I really really loved their stuff. Someone has done a pretty good job at designing them. My two favourites are the grey t-shirt and the red hoodie. I will deffo wear the grey shirt a lot I can already tell 🙂
The incredible Andrea Bignasca opened for Welshly Arms that night. I’ve already seen him before and again he blew me away with his powerful voice. Please check this Swiss artist out or visit his next gig in Zurich at Piccolo Giardino on 28th Oct.

At 9 the six musicians took the stage and the energy just radiated off them. They couldn’t have started with a better song! “The Touch” is full off energy and the rhythm gets you the minute they start playing it. It was also the song I heard at the sound check. My new favourite song! Have a listen for yourself but let me tell you it has nothing on the live version!

 
The next two songs “Ain’t supposed to rain” and “Love in a minor key” are off their 2015 record titled “Welshly Arms”. The incredible energy continued through out their set. They performed “The Only” before “Hold on I’m Coming” which featured in Tarantino’s H8ful Eight movie. Find out more about this cooperation in my interview. “We move easy” has a super souly vibe and I was dancing and clapping behind my Merch table. One advantage of this table was that I had a lot of space to dance to and I was still able to see them quite well!
In “Two seconds too late” they have quite a different clapping rhythm but most people managed to get it right. This song is from 2013 and also a fav of mine. Right after this older song “Who we are” followed and you can literally see their musical journey. By then I knew that I will always come back and see their shows. Some bands you just need to see live and they are definitely one of them. After Welshly Arms’ “Bad Blood” not Taylor Swifts they got the crowd singing with “Dirty Work” and the whole Mascotte gave their best.

Sam introduced everyone on and off the stage which I personally think it’s a very nice thing to do. This is how you appreciated the people you work with. Let me tell you it is a reflection of the character of the band as well. Only the good down to earth bands – who also care about their fans too – do it. Welshly Arms are deffo one of them bands. I got to witness first hand how they treat their fans and me. They are thankful for each and everyone and they take their time to meet them and try to fulfill all their wishes.
In “Down to the river” Bri – the only woman of the band – got to step into the limelight and show off her singing skills as well. Sam introduced the next song like this:

If you are here because of this next song we want to say thank you for coming to see us!

And so they played “Legendary” – their uber hit which is currently played non-stop on the radios. It was a magical moment and it is a brilliant song. However the first song remained my favourite of the night. “Never be the same” was the last song before the encore. Usually the band goes backstage just to come back and play some more songs but those guys they just went off the stage had a quick break and came back on. I loved it! 🙂 Lastly they covered Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge over troubled water” in a special way.

Right after the concert Sam Getz hopped off stage to come to my Merch table and to meet all the fans. MY work began now. I was glad that the people were nice and had the patience to wait a little. Overall it was an incredible night and every fan left the venue happy. When they were gone the guys came to put the t-shirts away and they were thanking me for helping them sell their Merch but I have to thank them for this amazing experience I would always do it again!
Have you been to the concert then I want to know your opinion below. Did you came to see me at the Merchandising stand, say hi in the comment section 😉

 

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Justin Nozuka brought the summer back

I discovered Justin Nozuka 10 years ago and I’ve been a fan of his soft voice and singer songwriter style ever since. Yesterday evening he kicked off his European tour with an intimitate show at Eldorado in Zurich and let me tell you it was one of the hottest gigs I’ve ever been to. It was already very warm when he started but after a little over an hour of dancing and jamming the bar temperature felt like 60 degrees.
Justin Nozuka took the stage at 8.30 accompanied by 3 musicians and started with “Down” and “Be Back Soon” which I really loved because they were up-tempo, had a summer feeling to them and I was already dancing. “Be Back Soon” was my favourite song of the night because it was so surprising and it had a nice country vibe. I adore this track especially played live.

He then announced new music and that the next one is the first single. “All I need” continued to be in the country music genre. By then it was clear that this would turn out to be an amazing concerts which will bring back the summer – even if it’s just for the duration of the concert. The tempo slowed down for the next three songs “No Place in Mind”, “Unwoken Dream”, “Swan in the water” and we got to hear those amazing ballades. The drums were played very innovatively and you could see that the four musicians harmonised perfectly on stage.
The set continued with “Gray” – a very rocky song – and you could literally see the passion for music on stage. I loved “Golden train” too because it has such a catch melody. One of the crowd’s favourite was next “After tonight” got everyone singing and dancing even more. “Woman put your weapon down” is a very intense song and is the complete opposite to the next two songs “Carried you” and “right by you” which were an easy breeze compared to the other song 🙂

With only one encore “Heartless” Justin Nozuka finished a beautifully performed set. During the last song the whole bar was singing together with Justin and his guitar. It was wonderful. After last week’s massive Rolling Stones gig at Letzigrund I enjoyed this intimate set in a small bar a lot. I only have one small thing which I was disappointed in he didn’t play my two favourite songs “Criminal” and “Mr. Therapy Man” but I get it they are 10 years old and you cannot always catch everyones favourite 🙂
As mentioned above Justin Nozuka and his band are on European tour right now. Make sure to check him out if he comes to a town near you. Click here for dates. Say hello too he is a really nice guy.

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The coolest Grandad’s in the World

The Rolling Stones hype reached its peak at Wednesday night’s concert at Letzigrund Stadion. The four musicians landed in their own jet on Sunday and since then all the Swiss people could talk about was this gig. The horrendous pricing prevented me from buying my tickets in the first place but I was lucky enough to score a pair in front of the stadium.

We got in and the support act called The Struts started. They’re a band from Derby, UK and I really loved them. If you want to know more about them keep following Kekoas Korner. Another thing that I noticed was that somehow more people were walking around. People of all ages, families, rock’n’roller but the band shirt contest goes clearly to Guns N’ Roses – which surprised me.

At 8.20pm red fire was lit up and the four lads took the stage with a “Tu Tu” (“Sympathy for the Devil). “It’s only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I like it)” and “Tumbling Dice” followed. I have to say I was impressed to see them since everybody knows their story and they are just living legends. I am blessed to have seen them live. After only 3 songs you could already see that they enjoy what they are doing and they are brilliant at it. Four awesome musicians joined by a fairly big band.

 
Mick Jagger announced a surprise for us. We were the first audience to hear “Hate to see you go” off their newest record “Blue & Lonesome“. I loved the country vibe and that Mick Jagger himself played the harmonica. Luckily we got another new one called “Ride ‘Em on Down”. Absolutely loved that part and will buy their newest record.

After “Dancing with Mr. D” we got a Bob Dylan cover “Like a Rollin’ Stone” which was chosen by the audience beforehand via the Rolling Stones app. Yes, the Grandad’s have an app and this isn’t the only reason why they are the coolest Grandad’s in the World. They are rocking the stage like they are in their 20’s. The routine of over 50 years in the music industry is imminent. The four of them – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ron Wood and Charlie Watts – know each other like the back of their hand.

We’ve moved on from the fairly new ones to a super old one “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” which was released in 1969! Even Mick didn’t remember on which album it was! 🙂 In general they didn’t talk much but if they did it was quite funny! “Paint it black” and “Honky Tonk Women” were next and by then we were half way through the set and the audience looked like they were asleep! These Mid-Seventies are rocking their socks of and the crowd barely moved their heads. I was appalled but clearly most of them were there because you had to be there just for the sake of it.

Finally Keith Richards sang his two solo songs “Happy” and “Slipping Away”. I have to admit to you guys if I was 70 years old and a cool Granny I’d fancy him! 😀 Richards was smiling and joking and jamming. The show was almost flawless until Ron Wood missed his cue and all they did was laugh about it – that’s how chilled they are! “Midnight Rambler”, “Miss You” and “Street Fighting Man” were next and still no sign of an audience.

Mick tried more than once to get everyone clapping but only the people close to him followed his lead. Finally with “Start Me Up” and “Brown Sugar” I started to see some moves and clapping. The best atmosphere was during their biggest hit “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” when we all started to sing a long. That was a highlight for me. Unfortunately the momentum was lost by the usual break before the encore. We were honoured with two encore songs “Gimme Shelter” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and it all ended with fireworks after 2 hours and 15 mins.

As you know this summer I’ve seen four outdoor concerts at Letzigrund. Guns N’ Roses, Depeche Mode and only recently Robbie Williams and I gotta say that this was the worst atmosphere of all of them. I am quite disappointed to be honest not with The Rolling Stones – they were great – but by the crowd. I guess sometimes it’s not the biggest or most hyped concerts that are the best.
I’d love to know your opinion and if you enjoyed the concert! Please leave a reply below or comment on facebook, twitter or instagram.

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Country music with a Swiss charm

 
Reno Gabriel is an emerging country music artist in Switzerland. If you love Florida Georgia Line you have to check him out! I’ve been following him for a few months now and this weekend he released his debut album called “Heart Wide Open”. I was able to listen to it already and I can tell you that my car drive went by so quickly I didn’t even notice the time! (This is good ;-))

So I was invited to his album release party which included a concert in the Galicia Bar in Olten. Even with his “small” repertoire he played over an hour and the audience loved what they heard. At beginning you could see that he was a bit nervous but that is totally understandable. I would be too! 🙂
After the first two songs “If only in a country song” and “Don’t say goodbye” he welcome us to his show and hope we could party with him tonight. “Mine tonight” is one of his own songs which you can find on his new album. Just a very beautiful country song. Reno Gabriel and his 5 fellow musicians added a few covers to the set which I personally liked too. It showed his passion for country music and I love if artists show the audience own personal favourite songs. So the first of 4 was “We are tonight” by Sam Hunt.

He then introduced us to a special instrument called ganjo. It’s a mix between a banjo and a guitar. Apparently Keith Urban uses it a lot in his songs. Finally my favourite song of the record “New ways” was played and I absolutely loved it. Especially with that ganjo – I was fascinated by it. A cover by Keith Urban followed and we were right into slow part of the show with “Crazy for you” and “Believe”.
We enjoyed another cover “Red Dirt Road” before Reno Gabriel literally baptised his album by spilling beer on the cover. Accordingly the title track “Heart Wide Open” was played and this is just a superb country song. If you love this genre you will just love this song. We were slowly coming to an end but not before we heard “It should be me” and a cover by Florida Georgia Line “Sippin’ on Fire”.

Unfortunately the summer has ended here in Switzerland but “Summer Nights” is the perfect song to reminisce about the past season. With the final song “This Time” Reno Gabriel ended an amazing first album release party. I honestly hope that this is just one of many and I wish him all the best.
If you like what you just read please follow him and support him in his dream. Get your copy of the record on Cede.ch or check out his website for Spotify and iTunes. Comment below and let me know what you think!
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renogabriel.com

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I am Robbie Fucking Williams and you are mine tonight!

11 years ago I saw him for the first time in Bern Stade de Suisse aka Wankdorf. It was also one of my first concerts ever and still one of the best. I remember the day and almost every minute of the concert. So I was super excited to see him again and I knew it will be good.

Erasure opened up and it was good dancy music. They were the perfect supporting act and they tried to speak German which was just the cutest! Finally at around 8 the heaven cleared and the sun came out. Luckily for the people down standing it stayed dry. Eminem’s “Loose Yourself” announced the start of the show and if we speak in boxing terms it was Robbie’s entrance music. Then we were asked to stand for the Robbie Williams anthem! Absolutely hilarious!! 🙂 With “Welcome to the Heavy Entertainment Show” he literally welcomed us to the show and as always he said:

ZURICH! I AM ROBBIE FUCKING WILLIAMS AND YOU ARE MINE TONIGHT!

Fireworks and confetti included we were well entertained already after just one song but off we went with “Let Me Entertain You”. Other artists finish like Robbie starts. Incredible. As always the third song was “Monsoon” and of course we put our hands across the water! 🙂 For people who have never been to his concert we were waving our hands from left to right. Robbie added huge fire balls to his repertoire of entertainment which fitted perfectly to “Party like a Russian”!

Let’s swing! A few years ago Mr. Williams showed he still had some swing in him and went on tour with his swing album. Tonight we only got “Minnie The Moocher”. Then we went even further back to his first solo single “Freedom” in 1996. (Yes, I was only 5 years old but I do know the lyrics :-)) He said that he wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t met one of the best musicians that ever lived. So he dedicated the cover to the late great George Michael.

 
Robbie became a daddy during the past few years little Teddy and little Charlie who are his life. So he really loves his life right now. He mounted a huge boxing glove and floated above the first rows and sang “Love My Life”. I was jumping up and down since I just bought the “Love My Life” jumper he designed for Marc’O’Polo and yes I obviously worn it to the concert. One of my favourite songs is “Come Undone” which he sang next and as always he asked us:

Switzerland, Am I still your Son?
“Yes, You are still our Son, Robbie!!”

During the last part of the song he remixed in Take That’s “Never Forget” and there you saw the difference between people in the audience. Us Take That/Robbie Fans knew what to do. Pretty easy put two hands up in the air but you obviously have to know when 😉 Another oldie “Millennium” was next and again we put our hands up waving! But hold on Robbie told us to put the hands back down so we’ll have some energy left for the chorus to put’em back up! So funny. He’s like a conductor with a 48’000 people orchestra.

For one of his most romantic songs “Something Stupid” he brought a woman on stage with “Big Presents” but who didn’t know one of his songs. So I guess he didn’t feel bad when everyone laughed at her. Robbie and her sat down on a bench – super romantic – but then she had to wear a mask and someone was speaking for her. This has to be the funniest moment at a concert! This voice kept saying “I luv u” and “Kiss me, Robbie, kiss me!”

Even if critics thinks he cannot rap he did it anyway and “Rudebox” became one of my fav songs. “A – d- i – d – a -s – Old school ‘cos it’s the best, yes -TK Maxx cost less, yes” Love it 🙂 Last time he got Olly Murs on stage to sing his duet with Kylie Minogue and it was one of the highlights of the show. This time he sang “Kids” with a talented back round singer. And the highlight of the gig followed this song.

Robbie brought out his Dad Peter to sing with him! He always mentioned that he learned his craft from his old man and that he wanted to show us. So together they sang “Sweet Caroline – oh oh oh”. What a beautiful scene. Dad and son on a sofa in the middle of 48k people! I think his Dad enjoyed it as much as his son and we did. When he started “Feel” I knew the concert was nearly finished but I really didn’t want it to end. Everyone sang along to this huge hit. Robbie asked us now:

Can I kick it?
Yes, you can!

So “Rock DJ” was next! And we all got those disco moves out only to see him leave the stage with a bang. Thankfully he returned after a few seconds only to start the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army”. Rob’s no Ryan Tedder so we kept singing the “dodododododo” and not the actual lyrics. For his encore Robbie chose three ballads. After “She’s the One” when the first chords of “Angels” started we knew that this was time to say Goodbye. Everyone’s light went up and was swaying to the rhythm. We didn’t want it to end so the crowd kept singing.
It felt like Robbie didn’t want to leave either so he just sang a medley of his biggest hits without instruments just with us singing along. It did seem that he trained his voice well this time since he sang through 90 minutes. Last time he talked waay more and it was more of a comedy show than a concert which I liked too. It was absolutely hilarious and I nearly had tears of laughter in my eyes. So this time I was surprised that he sang through all the songs.

With Guy Chambers on the keys he finished this wonderful concert with “My Way”. After thunderous fireworks Robbie Williams drove off in a black car into the night and left almost 50’000 people happy. The concert was finished and the soundtrack of Dirty Dancing was blasting from the stadium speakers. Something I’ve never seen before happened. People started to sing and dance one last time and it felt like it was part of the show since the lyrics were perfect for this evening:

Now I’ve had the time of my life
No I never felt like this before
Yes I swear it’s the truth
and I owe it all to you

Thank you Robbie!

 

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MTV Video Music awards 27.08.2017

 
 
 
For years I’ve been watching the VMA’s and it’s been one of my musical highlights but lately the video music awards weren’t the same anymore. A big part of that problem is MTV. They’re programme changed from music videos to reality TV shows which is a pity. So even though it is called music TV it’s not showing any music unless you wait until 1 pm and watch all night – but who has time for that?
Enough moaning let’s have a look at this years line-up. Katy Perry is hosting the show again – what a treat! She is funny and has experience and does always a good job. P!nk is awarded the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award 2017 – her 7th Moonman. Past winners are Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake and Madonna. So let’s see what she has in store!
The guest list looks pretty average if you ask me. It used to be the hottest stars but now there’s a lot of newcomers with only a few top acts. But you never know, it might be the best show ever – doubt it! 🙂 So let’s watch it now:
The pre-show was super boring and filled with long commercial breaks so I was tempted to turn off the TV and go to bed. But luckily I didn’t and saw P!nk, Carey Hart and Willow in matching outfits and it was just the cutest! They seem like a normal family and throughout the evening we got to see lovely family moments. During P!nk’s red carpet interview she said:

I used to get grounded for watching MTV and now I’m on it. It’s full circle.

Finally after a long hour the show started! Katy Perry came back from outer space just to host the VMA’s 2017! Kendrick Lamar opened and did a good job. His rhymes were dope and surprisingly without swearing so the performance wasn’t muted. He had a burning man and a back ground. P!nk wouldn’t have liked that! 🙂 (Click here to read the review of her Berlin concerts)

Ed Sheeran was next and his “Shape of you” got everyone dancing. He brought out a US rapper Lil Uzi Vert to remix his song and to co-perform Lil Uzi’s Song of the Summer “XO Tour Llif3”. I really loved this combo! Paris Jackson held a political speech when instead she was there to present Best Pop Video. It went to “Down” by Fifth Harmony ft. Gucci Mane. Fifth Harmony lost their fifth member and they didn’t take it lightly which we saw in their performance later on.
Julia Michaels was nominated for Best Newcomer and performed half of her song “Issues” the rest was cut off for commercials. Maybe that’s why she lost Best Newcomer to Khalid who sang the full song during the Red Carpet show. After the commercial break we got to witness Taylor Swift’s video premiere to “Look what you made me do” and apparently the old Taylor is dead. I really don’t understand why she would give Kanye West so much limelight. She should have been the bigger person and just let it go but we all know that she isn’t that kind of person… see Bad Blood. No I’m not sharing the link here because I do not support this at all.
Shawn Mendes stole Coldplay’s Xylobands and lit up the studio during his performance of “There’s nothing holding me back”. I just love that song and he’s legal now, girls! (His words :-)) Lorde’s performance was quite unexpected. She put a cassette into a recorder and her song “Dynamite” started. She didn’t start to sing but she danced throughout the whole song. It was kind of weird but also funny and I did like what she did with the performance.

The Award for Best Dance went to Zedd and Alessia Cara. Pete Wentz (All One Tree Hill Fans have a little crush on him) presented it and yes Fall Out Boy has got new music coming! Katy Perry came on stage with a fake baby and I am not sure if DJ Khalid really crashed the stage with his real baby and fought her about who has the best baby.. WEIRD! Anyways they announced the next performers. It looked like Fifth Harmony were back together but then the fifth person got pulled back and so they were only four to perform the winner song. Bam take that Camila! Gucci Mane had a guest appearance too and the girls finished in pouring rain!
Best Collabo won Zayn Malik and Taylor Swift but both had no time to pick up their award. Goes to show how much a moonman means in this business – Not a lot anymore.. This guy from a band called bleachers picked up the awards. But behold you don’t need to google him. He performed during the pre-show and it was awful. The instruments and the his voice were out of tune!
Jared Leto took the stage to remember Chester Bennington and his friend Chris Cornell. He did an amazing job and it was a memorable moment worthy of those two amazing musicians. After the 100th commercial break we saw Miley Cyrus’ VMA comeback. It was okay and very different to her last show with Robin Thicke and the infamous foam finger. Instead of naked people she had old people and babies dancing in rockabilly 50’s style on stage.
Best Hip Hop went to Kendrick Lamar who quickly accepted the moonman and off we went to a pink birdie who nearly showed her nipple if she had one.. Let me tell you it looked like Barbie! She announced our next performer in VEGAS, BABY! Demi Lovato was “Sorry not so sorry” and had a strong voice and did a brill job with entertaining the people in the pool!

Finally my highlight of the evening! P!nk flew in a pink Cadillac and rode a lawn mower and performed all of her hits at one point she even mashed up three songs (“Don’t let me get me”, “Just give me a reason” and “Fucking Perfect”) into one! And then she went on to sing her new single “What about Us”
P!nk’s speech was breathtaking and I had to make sure I didn’t start to cry. She said this to everyone but especially to her 6 year old daughter:

She said to me out of the blue, ‘Mama, I’m the ugliest girl I know,’ And I said, ‘Huh?’ And she said, ‘Yeah, I look like a boy with long hair.’ And my brain went to, ‘Oh my God, you’re six. Where is this coming from? Can I kick a six-year-old’s ass?’

P!nk then went on and said that she went home and made a powerpoint presentation of androgynous rockstars like Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Prince, Freddie Mercury, Elton John, Janis Joplin, George Michael and they are all artists who live their truth, are probably made fun of every day of their life and carry on and wave their flag and inspire the rest of us. So she said:

I asked her what do you think of me. ‘I think you’re beautiful’. Well, thanks! 🙂 So when people make fun of me, that’s what they use: They say I look like a boy or I’m too masculine or I have too many opinions or that my body is too strong. And I said, ‘Do you see me growing my hair?’ And she said, ‘No, mama.’ ‘Do you see me changing my body?’ ‘No, mama.’ ‘Do you see me changing the way I present myself to the world?’ ‘No, mama.’ ‘Do you see me selling out arenas all over the world?’ ‘Yes, mama.’
“So, baby girl, we don’t change. We take the gravel in the shell and we make a pearl. And we help other people to change so that they can see more kinds of beauty. …And you, my darling girl, are beautiful. I love you.”

Isn’t this the best speech you’ve ever heard?! Made my night and my day after. Thank you P!nk for being you <3
Kyle had the hard task to perform right after P!nk and well yeah it was nice… So the 2nd biggest award of the night was Artist of the Year and everybody’s darling Ed Sheeran won. With a super cute but quick thank you he left the stage again. Alessia Cara sang her wonderful song “scars to your beautiful” and while she got undressed and got her make-up taken off she was able to maintain a steady voice. I like her! 🙂
Ke$ha presented Alessia Cara, Khalid and Logic who all tried to raise awareness with a song against suicide attempts- “1-800-273-8255” is a powerful song especially if the three artists were joined by survivors who had a white t-shirt on where it was written You Are Not Alone! Very meaningful moment especially in light of the deaths of Chris and Chester.

30 Seconds to Mars are back!! I loved their performance of “Walk on Water” for which they used a thermal imaging camera. It looked absolutely incredible! WOW you have to see this. Travis Scott quickly jumped into the picture too.
Back to Vegas DNCE performed together with Legend Rod Stewart his song “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?!” Just a little note on the mustache of Joe Jonas – that’s a no no. Can we appreciate now how a 72 year old totally out rocked a 28 year old! Video of the year was awarded to Kendrick Lamar for his song “Humble”.
Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj closed the show with “Swish Swish” and absolutely slayed it. A basket ball court was put on stage and with that I’d like to appreciate the huge production this show is – even if it isn’t like it used to be.
So what did you think of tonight’s VMA’s? Are you happy with the winners and who was your favourite performer? Let me know in the comments below.
 

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Is it okay Shhh people at a concert?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kekoa thinks: HELL YES! You’ve been waiting for a long time to see your favourite artist and you paid good money and then someone talks about his or her day during your fav song. That is not OK!
Lately I’ve noticed a trend that is really worrying. People go to concerts because they need to be seen at it or more likely they need to take pics for Instagram etc. so people know that they were there. I’ve seen people taking selfies during a performance. To me it’s incredibly weird and imagine the artists who’s singing a heartfelt song and someone suddenly stands in front of you and takes a pic like you’re a statue. Those people actually don’t care about the artists or the music itself. They do not listen to the lyrics and they don’t know a lot of songs. So most of the time they are talking – LOUDLY!
Don’t get me wrong I fully understand that you want to share a funny moment with your concert buddy or you want to take a pic of the band but this can be done quietly or discreetly. I always wondered if the artists on stage can hear people chit chatting and lately I talked to a few and I can confirm they do. It is super disrespectful and I feel sorry not only for the artist but also for the people who really came for the music.

When I go to a concert I’m totally caught up in the music and often the slow songs are very emotional. So if people talk it is really disturbing. I’ve wondered for a long time what I should do and I used to let it go and be annoyed about it. But you know what? Why should I or you? We came to listen and this is what we want to do now – if people want to talk they can do it outside. A concert is about music and not talking or taking pics!
So now I asked them nicely to be quiet and I do not care if they look at me funny. Unfortunately there are loads of people who are very inconsiderate and that’s just the way it is. Let me tell you another story: A few years ago P!nk asked everyone to stand up for “Leave me Alone (I’m Lonely” – yes I still know – and dance with her so my concert buddy and I did. A few seconds later I got tapped on the shoulder and was rudely be told to sit down. I could not understand this either. The artist asks you to stand up and you stay seated that’s one thing but then you go ahead and ruin someone else’s concert is another.
So next time you are at a concert and someone is telling everyone what they’ve been up to, tell them to please be quiet in a nice voice and hope for the best!
Have you had a similar experience and would you shhh a person during a concert? Do you think it’s ok? Comment below or on my social media accounts: twitter, instagram and facebook.

 

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KARAVANN @ Stadtfest Rapperswil-Jona 19.08.17

 
A few weeks ago I had the honour to interview KARAVANN for my blog. Please click here to read the full interview. Luckily I was able to attend yesterday’s concert at the Stadtfest Rapperswil-Jona which was very special to everyone since they grew up around there and locals came to support their very own.
When I arrived there I started to check out the 3 stages and I could not believe it. The organisers assigned the smallest stage to their best act. Throughout the night I had a look/listen to the other acts on stage 1 and 2 and believe me they were nowhere near KARAVANN. I think stage 3 was kind of a secret jewel. The hard rock band and also a newcomer common habits who played before KARAVANN were actually quite good!
But as a band who is only just growing to be famous I guess you have to take what you are given and make the best out of it – AND THEY DID! They had by far the most audience and the people were dancing, clapping and singing! Overall it was a brilliant atmosphere and a superb one hour gig.

They started off with “Carry your Universe” their biggest single so far and everyone was singing along. I love that they sang it at the beginning and not as an encore. It shows that they want to get the crowd going at the beginning and they are confident that the other songs are just as good. With “Feel free” and “All we need is us” they backed the first song up. What a start!

Their remix of Lilly Ahlbergs Coop single “Love is like” was next before my highlight song “Gimme Love”. And by now they have proven everyone why they don’t belong on the small stage! They covered “Mad World” by REM and I have to give credit to Ryan Sanders’ voice. I liked it just as much as the original! However I like the original of their 2nd cover “Human” by Rag’N’Bone Man better since I have already seen him three times this year and you just cannot compete with the intensity of his voice no matter how good you can sing. Don’t get me wrong it was still very good and loads of singers would have failed to sing this as good as Ryan did.

KARAVANN treated us to a sneak peek of their new music coming later this year which is called “2083”. “Angels in the Sky”, “Funk with you” and “Yes We Can” turned the first few rows into a dance floor. I would have loved to hear even more of their own songs of their latest album “Desert Tunes” but the 5 musicians left the stage only to come back to a frenetic applause to sing two beautiful covers. First up was a slower version of “Habits” by Tove Lo and their final song “Brother” by Matt Corby who is also one of their musical influences.

Unfortunately they had to stop after an hour so the gig finished just a little before 1 o’clock and the venue was still packed at that time of night! Well done KARAVANN and I think you added not just me to your KARAFANNS! 🙂 If you want to see them live you have the chance on 2nd Sept in Uster at the SLM Musik und Sport Festival. Please follow their social media accounts for more upcoming info on their newest music and on their fall gigs.

Homepage: www.karavann.com
Instagram: @karavannmusic
Facebook: @karavannmusic
Twitter: @KaravannMusic
YouTube: KARAVANN
Tickets SLM: slm-festival.ch/ticket
 
 
 
If you missed out to buy their album yesterday click here to download their music from all the common music platforms.
Were you at their gig? Let me know what you thought in the comments below!

 

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P!nk @ Waldbühne, Berlin 11. & 12.08.17

 
 
 
Every P!nk fan has been waiting for this announcement and finally this spring she graced us with two stand alone concerts in Berlin on the incredibly beautiful Waldbühne. I was lucky enough to get two seats in the best category super close to the stage. All we had to then was wait until August arrived!
This past weekend we finally flew to Berlin – for the first time I might add. I had a completely wrong image of the capital city of Germany. I thought it was grey, dirty and the people were unfriendly but the complete opposite happened. At every corner you bump into something artful or historical, the streets are lined with trees and the people are so nice.
On Friday we left the hotel at 4 – an hour before doors open. It was mayhem when we arrived 30 odd mins later. No signs, no stewards so no-one knew where to queue and the lines were long. Fortunately after an hour in the Q with nothing moving we found a good queue and were in within a few mins. We were able to bring in a 0.5l bottle, cushions and a A4 bags. I was so surprised since the rules here in Switzerland are very strict.
After a quick walk I was faced with steep slippy stairs but in the end we made it to a perfect seat across the stage. Now the only thing we had to do is wait in pouring rain! Thanks to our new ponchos we stayed dry and right before the support act started the rain stopped.
James Gillespie supported P!nk. She discovered him on Spotify and invited him for the two concerts. I really enjoyed his 30mins set and couldn’t wait to hear his duet with P!nk! Please continue to follow this blog to read more about him this week.

At 9pm on Friday P!nk finally entered the arena through the audience after a 4 year hiatus – which felt waaay longer! I cannot begin to describe how happy I was. I grew up with her and at her first concert in Zurich I was around 10 years old 🙂 No wonder I felt super emotional during “Who Knew” which was a highlight right around half time.
At 9.05 on Saturday she flew in from the top of the Waldbühne down to the stage. This was seriously BADASS and so P!nk! 🙂 The night before my concert buddy pointed towards them and said look at those wires do you think she will fly in? I guess she was right but the rain made it impossible on Friday.

With “Get the party started” she literally got the party started with everyone already out of their seats dancing and singing! With “U & Ur Hand”, “Just like a Pill” and “Trouble” she covered most of the older hits. One of my favourite songs “Trouble” was followed by “Try” and the newer songs “Just give me a Reason” and “How come you’re not here”. P!nk mixed up her song “Funhouse” with No Doubts “Just a Girl” which I loved and she wasn’t sure if people knew it.
Finally James Gillespie came back on stage to sing “Don’t let me get me”. She said

As you know I don’t like that song but he made me like it again so we will try this!

I enjoyed it on Day 1 and 2! After this new slower version P!nk and her guitarist Justin Derrico walked to the B stage and started the acoustic part. I just want to take a minute here to appreciate her incredibly beautiful voice! Even after 4 years off stage that girl can SING! With two of her own songs “Who Knew”, “Fucking Perfect” and two covers of Janis Joplins “Me and Bobby McGee”, Led Zeppelins “Babe, I’m gonna leave you” it was an unbelievably emotional soulful part of the show. While Justin gave an amazing guitar solo P!nk stepped into a airwalk balloon and rolled around the stage on the hands of her fans. This is soooo typically P!nk 🙂

While she quickly changed into a new top her keyboard player sang on Friday Night Nenas “99 Luftballons/99 Red balloons” which I thought added a nice touch ‘honouring’ the German audience. During “Sober” her dancers gave a wonderful performance which she used to dance too but now decided not to. The next song was another cover “River” by a girl called Bishop Briggs. It has a super powerful vibe with gospel, country and rock elements.

After water comes fire so she sang “Just like Fire” and added fire elements all though she said she didn’t like them. On Day 2 it was clear why. She completely forgot them and was so close to one beam that she joked:

I already felt the end of my hair going up in smoke! Nobody told me that there was fire!

Erm yes! 🙂 I knew it and thought why the hell is she that close? She should be way down by the B stage. “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)” had a nice summery feeling added with dancy salsa beats. The huge screen at the back of the stage had huge female voodoo dolls dancing in circles which looked super cute. Have a look at my video below. “Raise your Glass” blew the non-existent roof off.

On Friday Night we witnessed the live debut of “What About Us” as an encore. P!nk’s newest single of her record “Beautiful Trauma” which will be released on Oct, 13th. Due to the rain she had some problems with her in-ears and P!nk being P!nk she stopped the song after the first few lines and barked at her keyboard player Jason Chapman: “That sounds like shit!” But he’s been with her for 15 years and knows what a perfectionist she is. She started again and it sounded beautiful. We could see how nervous she was but to me she didn’t need to be! On Saturday she changed her set and sang it after only two songs with the words:

Hopefully it will be better than yesterday. Should we try it again?

After 90 mins she finished her gigantic shows with “So What” and a huge firework during which she already sneaked out into her car and was whisked off before the last spark burnt out. Me and 22’000 other fans were left with a warm fuzzy feeling after two brilliant shows in two days.
Now all we can hope for is a proper tour next year to promote her album!
Were you at the concerts as well? I’d love to know what you thought about her two “comeback” shows! Please comment below.

 

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Walking on Cars @ Blue Balls Festival 25.07.17

It is the fourth time (Within a year – I know I’m crazy) that I saw these 5 Irish musicians. I was very much looking forward to this gig since I know how awesome they are. I remember when the gig was announced it was just a little over a month since their last gig in Switzerland and of course I couldn’t wait for the next one 🙂

As I mentioned in my earlier blog post about the Strumbellas gig I was lucky enough to score a ticket to this pre talk show “Meet the Artists”. If you live in Lucerne you really have to check this out. At 6 o’clock they are giving away free tix in front of the KKL. Walking on Cars had also only 15mins but I remember that I was laughing throughout. They revealed that they’ve been working on new music and that they will go to a new house again to write their 2nd album. Sorcha said:

People say that you have 6 years to write your first album and only 6 months for your 2nd!

The host also asked what they usually do on a day off and that made me laugh. I know Irish so I knew what they would say and so Paul said go to the pub. 🙂 and yes in Ireland there are still pubs with sticky floors and pool tables. When it rains all the time what else can you do? There are not only pubs in Ireland but also a dolphin called Fungie close to their hometown Dingle. Finally, they gave away what they were eating every day for 6 months in their cottage where they wrote Everything this Way: Spaghetti Carbonara cooked by Evan.

At 10 Walking on Cars hit the stage. Sorcha came on with a long glitter kimono and she looked like a disco ball but in a good way. She looked beautiful yesterday and dressed for the stage not like the lads in their normal clothes 😉 Unfortunately they were struggling with technical problems throughout the gig. First we couldn’t hear Paul’s bass and then Pat’s mic stopped working.
Nevertheless I can tell you that the gig was awesome! Their energy is just incredible. It is felt much more in a smaller venue but even yesterday with a wide gap between the front row and the stage the audience was captured. I expected it to last only an hour as usual but it turned out that they had new songs to present!

With the first song “Ship goes Down” and the intense rhythm they had us going. My favourite song “Love backs Down” was already the 5th song and I enjoyed every minute of MY song 🙂 3 songs later we heard the first new song: “Coldest Water” and let me tell it is beautiful and you can easily sing a long to which I already did. It has the potential to be my 2nd favourite song. Way too fast they left the stage before the encore and what an encore it was!
5 songs, two new ones and one cover. Walking on Cars started with “Scared to be lonely” by Martin Garrix and Dua Lipa in a wonderful own version and it fit perfectly into their set. The two new songs “Find my Love” and “One Last Dance” followed which made really excited to listen to their 2nd album released early next year. They still have their “Walking on Cars sound” but added new different twists which makes each song unique in their own way.

I started to get nervous because my last train was due 11.35 and it was 11.20ish. But I couldn’t leave the concert early first of all I would never do that and 2nd of all I was front row.. How would I be able to do that? With a t-shirt, a jumper and my jacket on I felt like I was in a sauna but still enjoyed “Catch me if you Can” and their so far biggest hit “Speeding Cars”. I knew I couldn’t stay to get the set list so I had to catch a pick or a drum stick and when Evan stepped forward to bow I signalled him please throw me one of your drum sticks and he did! 🙂 I am super happy about this! Now Glen’s (The Script) drum stick has finally another Irish companion.
This is were my luck ended that night. I caught the 11.35 but even at this time of night it was delayed so I missed my connection. So I had to walk to my car and thanks to the bloody rain I slipped and now I am wrecked. But oh well it will take a lot more to stop me from going to concerts.
I want to hear your opinion! Have you seen a Walking on Cars gig and want to share your memories then let me know in the comments below.

 

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The Strumbellas @ Blue Balls Festival 25.07.17

I’ve heard many good things about this Blue Balls festival and this week I finally got to attend not one but two concerts at KKL Luzern. I arrived in a hurry because I thought there were already loads of people since the door opened 30 mins earlier. But I walked in and it was basically empty. FRONT ROW was safe 🙂

The lovely girl at the ticket desk told me that there was a guy walking around with tickets to this special show called “Meet the Artists”. The good thing about this is that it is completely free. I was amazed. Here in Switzerland nothing is for free. I had no clue what I was getting myself into but apparently this show is every day and introduces the artists of the night. From 6 o’clock you can get tickets in front of the building! Watch out for the video on Blue Balls facebook page.
So first up was the Canadian Group The Strumbellas. I had a hunch that I would like them but I didn’t know how amazing they were. The 6 group members wore all the same jackets with flowers embroidered. Isabel said that they wanted to look cool and so decided to make them in factory in the US. The interview continued with questions like “Do you guys see each other when you are not on tour? (No, we don’t. We need distance but we miss each other)” or “Have you got a special ritual before you go on stage? (Do you mean like ohhhhhh the strumbellas? No we don’t but maybe we do it tonight.)” 15mins later the interview was over.

At 8.30 the group took the stage and the energetic show lasted for an hour and I think they even had to cut the set short because they had so much fun with the audience. Their music is a mix of country, bluegrass, folk and pop. I personally loved every song of the set but my concert buddies felt mixed about it. What we all agreed on was that they were really funny not just what they said but also how they moved.
Our highlight of the performance was the acoustic song with just one guitar and one violin plus their feet as drums. It was unbelievable good and very impressive. During the middle of the set Simon, the lead singer, enlarged his mic stand and the front row was already scared that we had to sing and then during the song he asked the audience if they were ready – First the balcony, then left, then right and then he looked at me are you ready? I thought oh Geez no! 🙂 🙂 and he had to laugh. Very funny moment for me.

Their last song was of course their biggest hit “Spirits” which you’ve heard a million times on the radio and then it got stuck in your head for the whole day so that you were basically singing the whole day:

I got guns in my head and they won’t go
Spirits in my head and they won’t go

As you’ve probably realised by now I became a huge fan of the strumbellas that night and I would love for them to come back to Switzerland quickly so I can see them again. At the moment they have some shows left in Germany then they head back to Canada and the US. Please visit strumbellas.ca for more info.
Were you at the concert of the Strumbellas? Let me know what you thought of it?

 

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Mary J. Blige @ Live at Sunset 09.07.17

It took me two weeks to write this blog post because I didn’t know what to tell you. I’ve never seen Mary J. Blige before and I was very much looking forward to her concert. As a bonus Naturally 7 supported her for this gig at this beautiful venue. Have a look at the review of their concert by clicking on: Naturally 7.
It was pouring rain until Naturally 7 came on stage and warmed us up. After a 15mins break we were ready for her. She came on stage in sky high red overknees kind of like the guy in the musical “Kinky Boots”. I thought she would have a huge entourage with her but she had around 8 musicians and backing singers and no dancers at all! So she danced on her own and walked up and down the stage.

The first few songs I quite liked and she held an empowering speech for women that every men should treat his woman like a queen and there should be only one queen in his life. So this made me suspicious and I started googleing her and there it was. Her ex-husband had an affair with her 28 year old protégé and is now entitled to 30K per month. I’d be furious too but honestly anger doesn’t suit her very well.
She changed her kinky boots after an hour and still was screaming her heart out, raging about men and empowering women. It kinda got old very quick. I did not know one song and I think everybody else felt the same way. So they started to leave allthough they paid a lot of money to see her. The ranks started to clear out and even the standing people left about midway through.

Finally the last three songs were “No More Drama” – YES PLEASE! – “One” and “Family Affair”. For the last song I went down to dance because I told myself I paid for it I need to enjoy at least this one. Mary J. Blige left without an encore and without properly saying Good-bye. Let me tell you I was left speechless. I could not believe that this was her show. I expected it to be quiet at times but also very dancy but nothing of that sorts happened.
I was massively disappointed and only Naturally 7 saved this evening and my money’s worth. I really don’t like to write a review like this but I have to tell you the truth and I would never see her again after this concert. It was very unprofessional of her and she clearly did not want to be there at all. I get that she is furious and heart-broken but sorry as a professional musician the show must go on as hard as it sounds. If she’d work in a normal job she couldn’t pull this off either.
Have you been to Mary J. Blige’s concert? I would love to hear your opinion in the comment section below.

 

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Katie Melua @ Live at Sunset 20.07.17

This is the 2nd concert of the festival series Live at Sunset which I am attending. It’s been already 2 weeks since I’ve seen Naturally 7 and Mary J. Blige there. Thanks to a good deal we were able to afford a 2nd concert.  Katie Melua hasn’t been very active lately and this is one of only 5 concerts this year.
To be honest with you I was very sceptical about this concert since I really don’t like her song “9 million bicycles”. I’ve realised now it’s because if I hear that song just once a day it will be stuck in my head forever!
For the 3rd song “Crawling Up A Hill” I decided to sit down and listen to the song with my eyes closed. I think it was a great idea so I could listen to her voice without any distraction. I did this because Seven asked us to do this at his set at the Gurtenfestival and I really enjoyed it so I had to try it with her too.

Before every song she would explain the story behind it and this is something I really enjoy. So her concert consists of 21 little stories told by a silky voice. Katie Melua is one hell of a songwriter who turns a story into a song. She stood there with her guitar with 4 other awesome musicians and turned this into a wonderful quiet concert. (I was really glad since I had a massive headache that day)
After the “Plane Song” it started to rain or should I say pour down! So Katie said “Ohh has it started to rain? Should we wait until you put your ponchos on?” I loved that! We went to sit in the back because I wasn’t particularly keen on getting soaked since I’m battleing a cold anyway. As soon as I sat down I got a text by a friend telling me that Chester Bennington committed suicide and I didn’t know why but I suddenly felt really sad and Katie’s next few slow song increased that feeling.

Luckily she decided to cover Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart” and this lifted my spirit. I love this song and Katie Melua should be doing more up-tempo songs. It really suits her. I think this was my favourite song of the night. Then there was a little break so people could use the restrooms and stock up on drinks.
“Thank you Stars” is a wonderful song and my favourite of the 2nd part of the show.

Some call it faith, some call it love
Some call it guidance from above
You are the reason we found ours
So thank you stars

Aren’t these beautiful lyrics?
After “Perfect World” she sang her hit song “Nine Million Bicycles” and the audience “Ahh’d” and “Ohh’d” and I thought please don’t be singing this song 🙂 And of course this song stuck in my head all night!

For the two encore songs she stood alone on stage just with her guitar and her beautiful voice. She covered Shirley Bassey’s “Diamonds are forever” and sang “I Cried For You”. A very slow and quiet finish but it suited her and the whole concert. I enjoyed the concert but I don’t think I would see her again. She is a cute girl but I don’t particularly fancy her music even if I loved a few songs of her.
P.S: Have a look at the title of the set list. THE greatest set list ever!! Isn’t this too funny? 🙂

 
How did you like the concert? Please let me know in the comments below!

 

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Gurtenfestival in Bern 12 – 15.07.17

Gurtenfestival is placed in the capital city of Switzerland in Berne on the hill called Gurten. A proper citizen of Berne would call it „Güsche“. Now thanks to the advent calendar of Ticketcorner I’m able to go to the festival for 4 days and have some VIP amenities available too. I didn’t know beforehand how grateful I would be for that special treatment.

Day 1

This year the festival started on Wednesday instead of Thursday. But still so many people queued up to get their ticket changed into a wristband. After that they had to wait another 1 ½ hrs to get to the Gurtenbähnli to bring them up the hill. Lucky me I could jump the queue and walk straight in. The VIP area is really nice and on Day 1 there weren’t too many people there either.

First main act was Rag’N’Bone Man who sang again very well. Although I couldn’t really hear that much because of the chatter of the people around me. I really don’t understand how people can spend that much money and waste it on chit chat. We went on to see Nothing but Thieves who were good but I cannot put my finger on what was missing in their performance so that I cannot say: „Ohh I would see them again“.

Royal Blood was the next act on the mainstage but they weren’t my favourite either so we chilled in the lounge area. Unfortunately it was really cold and windy and very uncomfortable. So we were glad when we could walk over to the tent stage where we saw an amazing Jack Garratt. He looks like a kid who didn’t get what he wanted but God he’s good and he is really funny too! He started to play very famous songs by Justin Timberlake or Michael Jackson and then stopped. It was kinda frustrating but also very funny. At the same time Dabu Fantastic a Swiss band was playing the forest stage. Since I knew how good they were I preferred to see someone I haven’t seen before. We only heard the last bit when we had to leave the tent to be early for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

As always the two American lads put on a great show and the audience loved them. However I liked them better the last time I saw them at Hallenstadion when they had the full show going. At the end they held their traditional dance off with two random people from the crowd and wow they were really really good. Macklemore said it was one of the best dance off’s they’d ever seen and I have to agree. To finish the night we watched a bit of From Kid who were okay but couldn’t really catch my attention and so we headed home soon after.

Day 2

I was very looking forward to see Pegasus after I’ve seen them a week before on the ferry on lake Zurich. Again they didn’t disappoint. At 3.30 they had a lot of people in front of the mainstage and had them dancing and singing and waving and jumping. They are just an incredible live band! We then headed to a band from Zurich called Faber. They are Swiss but sing in German which is quite special. Next act on the mainstage was Lo & Leduc. I was really excited to see them in their home city at this brilliant festival. They were blown away by how many people turned up. They told us that they played one of the bars, then the Waldbühne, then the Zeltbühne and now the mainstage. It was an awesome 1 ½ hrs set until they finally had to make way for the next act.

We heard the last bit of Nemo who is a very young Swiss German Rapper but I really like his upbeat feel-good sound. It was finally time for Imagine Dragons. I’ve also already seen them at Hallenstadion like Macklemore & Ryan Lewis the day before and I also liked that concert better than this Gurtenfestival appearance. Maybe it was because I stood in the VIP area and not very close to the stage where I think the people had good fun. Funny enough after what felt like 20mins they turned off the lights completely on stage and for a very long time too. People thought it was already the usual walk off-walk on-encore part but I was like this is way too early. It turned out that it was some kind of power cut as the singer Dan Reynolds couldn’t hear anything in his in-ears. Few minutes later the show went on and like Coldplay’s bell I heard the drum sound in “Radioactive” really clearly for the first time.

To round off Day 2 we decided to see Trust. This band has already very famous band members such as Stress and Gabriel Spahni from Pegasus. Stress was actually singing which is quite different to what he usually does. In the end the tired eyes won and we headed down.

Day 3

Unfortunately I had to work on day 3 so I only got up the hill for the 2^nd main act Züri West. I thought the crowd would react similar to Lo & Leduc and create an incredible atmosphere but that wasn’t the case. The band didn’t interact with the audience and didn’t sing all their famous hits. Overall everyone was very disappointed. My concert buddy had the joy to see Lucky Chops before this main act. And she really liked them. They’re an instrumental band and good fun!

We also caught a bit of the performance of LP but we still don’t fancy her live voice a lot. Casper’s set must have been very good because when we reached the main stage the whole crowd did the usual rap/hip hop moves by moving one arm up and down. From my experience Hip Hop concerts have the best atmosphere. We headed to the tent stage next where we saw a German band called SDP. They had a punk rock feel and some very racy lyrics. I quite liked their performance and at one point they had huge beach balls bouncing off the audiences’ hands.

To finish this evening Fritz Kalkbrenner sang behind his turn tables. He started with: “Hallo ich bin Fritz und ich fang dann jetzt mal an!”. I’ve never heard a funnier start. He continued being funny throughout the set and he seemed very down to earth to me. I realized that his music is not my kinda cup of tea but I did enjoy his set and many other late night party dancers would agree.

Day 4

The day I was anticipating the most and it turned out to be my favourite day! Somehow there weren’t a lot of people anymore even though it was a Saturday or maybe we caught the best time to get food and found good spots at concerts. Anyway it was a very chilled fun day.

We started front row with Saint Motel on the main stage. What an awesome band! They have good up-tempo music to dance to. The saxophone was great but my highlight was when the lead singer walked through the crowd to the sound tower on the other side and climbed up. It looked very funny. Another highlight and a speciality of this festival is the dancing security. You won’t find any grim unfriendly looking security here. They help you in any way they can and even start dance moves.

Since Kate Tempest was late we decided to see Veronica Fusaro also a Swiss singer on the Waldbühne. What a wonderful setting. The stage is facing a steep part of the Gurten hill so people can sit down or even stand and everyone can see the artists down there. Veronica has a beautiful voice and good songs – perfect for the occasion, a hot sunny summer day. Close to the end we headed for Kate Tempest on the Zeltbühne – big mistake. We didn’t like her at all. She has a weird way of rapping and her songs seemed to me like she was trying to convince me to join a cult or something similar.

Seven was absolutely brilliant. He made everyone dancing, singing and clapping. It was an amazing show by awesome musicians giving their all to us. They visibly enjoyed playing and this is automatically transferred onto the audience. 1 1/2hrs of pure joy! Thank you for that.

Unfortunately we couldn’t see Asgeir an Islandic musician but he is supposed to be very good. Next up were Beginner a hip hop combo from Hamburg who have been successful for years. They created a beautiful colourful set on stage and also gave a 110% on stage. What I personally liked was that they were actually promoting the next act Marteria as well. There was no visible competition between them. My favourite words from Jan Delay was: “We need all your energy – oh wait no – you need energy for Marteria too. This is what you’re going to do. Give us all your energy, then load it up again with all those energy stations around this place and be ready to give all your energy to Marteria again.” Loved it J
Death by Chocolate was too rocky for us so we went to see Walk off the Earth. Brilliant decision. They are an incredible live band. We loved their own songs and the covers they did. Awesome musicians who I would like to see again.

Finally, the act I was waiting for, took the stage at 12.30pm. Marteria absolutely rocked the 20’000 people at Gurtenfestival. I have no words to describe this. Before every song he said “Alle Hände” and all hands went up. We danced, we sang, we rapped, we jumped, we enjoyed every minute of this 1 1/2hrs set. During his song “Marteria Girl” he asked the guys to take all the Marteria Girls on their shoulders. At that exact moment I knew I needed to find a tall, big strong guy who will join me for Marteria’s concert in Zurich on Dec, 9^th 17! J During the last song it was total “Abriss” which you can translate to “Go totally mental”. Marteria took off his shirt and asked everyone to do so as well and swing it above their heads. (Me being a pro I took a scarf with me… Hello I’m still a girl ;-)) During the final final 20 secs he created a mosh pit and on his commando everyone jumped into it.

The party went on all night until the sun greeted us with an amazing sunrise which looked like painted by Bob Ross. The clouds turned purple and Marteria’s biggest hit so far “Wir bleiben wach bis die Wolken wieder lila sind” came true. Just a brilliant finish to a wonderful 4 day Gurtenfestival in Berne with amazing weather. I have to say thank you to Ticketcorner for this incredible prize and to Gurtenfestival for these many special moments with great artists and to my lovely concert buddy.

 

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Naturally 7 @ Live at Sunset 09.07.17 Including interview!

For weeks I was excited to see this wonderful band of 7 singers aka musicians at this beautiful venue at sunset. So when the time came instead of sunshine it was pouring rain. But as soon as they took the stage the sun came out and it was magical.

We know what to expect but it is always interesting to see how people who don’t know Naturally 7 react to them when they hear them for the first time. After just one song they had the whole audience cheering. Everyone loved them! This happens every time we see them and it was brilliant to see that even in a posh venue with expensive ticket prices people react the same way.
I was basically dancing on my seat and already the 2nd song was my favourite “Jericho”. What makes a Naturally 7 performance so great is not only the mesmerising vocal play but also their performance. They are not just standing there like a normal a cappella group. They have proper dance routines and what makes it incredible is that they are imitating the instruments. So you see and hear what normal musicians do but there are no instruments!! Every sound is created by their voices. Unbelievable.
“Wall of Sound” and “Feel it (in the air tonight” followed and by now they gained a few new fans of their incomparable sound. Then they talk to you and explain why they sing songs and you feel like you get to know them just a little bit. So three of them are born in England which makes the next song perfect: “Englishmen in New York”. They mix a little “New York” by Jay-Z & Alicia Keys into the song and the two Jamaicans bring some reggae “One Love” by Bob Marley to the table.

Two weeks ago I was able to witness “Fix you” by Coldplay and yesterday by Naturally 7 and both versions are brilliant. Unfortunately after an hour they had to finish their set to make way to Mary J. Blige. Little did I know that the best part of the evening was over.
I tried my best to describe this bands performance but only if you see them live you really understand what they are about. Lucky for us they are on tour this fall to promote their newest record “Both Sides Now” which will be released October, 13th. I will be reviewing the album on this blog in the new music category. After a few US shows they tour the Netherlands and France and yes! also Zurich, Switzerland again. Check out their website for US, France and the Netherlands dates: Naturallyseven.com . Tickets for their show in Zurich on Nov, 7th at Kaufleuten are still available. Follow this link: kaufleuten.ch

Naturally 7 have agreed to give me my first interview for this blog. I am so grateful to them and I was really excited to meet Roger Thomas, musical director, and his brother Warren, drums.
Yesterday’s venue was quite special. What was your most special venue you’ve ever played in?
Roger: This is a hard question. Things are special for different reasons. About six years ago we played Montreux for Quincy Jones’ 75th Birthday. What made this one special was that we were scheduled to sing only one song. All the people on the show were his friends, Legends Herbie Hancock, Patti Austin. He didn’t know who we were. We were there because of Claude Nobs. During the performance of Wall of Sound Quincy got up and you could see he was so excited “Who are these guys?” and right after we finished he came on stage wanted to know who we were and where we came from and how do we do what we do and we became friends from that point on. So I think that was a nice day.
Warren: Yeah, that was really special. Places that we performed that were special are of course Madison Square Garden because that’s home. It is always special to play there because it’s a legendary place. In London the Royal Albert Hall and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club. When people ask us around the world where are some of the better places you performed we always say Zurich and I’m not just saying that because that’s where we are now. But anytime we played like Kaufleuten or Club x-tra there is always a good energy – as you know. We get that in other places too but it’s always consistent in Zurich. It’s one of those places when you see it on the tour calendar that you look forward to. 
Really? Usually Swiss people are quite reserved.
Roger: That’s what they tell us. But for us – we’ve never seen that.
Yes, your show is special for example yesterday it’s quite a posh place and you rocked it. So people we’re like hold on who are they?
Roger: Yes, because they don’t know us. For us it’s always fun to play a show like yesterday where the majority of the people are probably not that familiar with us. It cost a lot of money so maybe they don’t respond the way Zurich usually does but that’s never the case.
So you do realise on stage when people are mesmerised by you when they see you for the first time?
Roger: That’s our goal when they hear us for the first time. That’s why we played with Michael Bublé. We knew that people did not come because of us and didn’t know what to expect – some guys who sing prior to Michael. Our job is not just to warm up the crowd but take you away as fans. So you say I like those guys and I want to see them after the show.
That’s what happened to me. I knew you but I didn’t know how good you are live and every time you come here now I go see you.
Roger: And we appreciate that. So from stage we do realise that people turn their heads sideways and go what exactly is going on and by the end of the 2nd/3rd song they go like “I like them”. We try to make sure that we give the best performance we can possibly give.
One guy next to us was exactly like that!
Warren: For someone like you who’s seen us you say to people like that wait till you see them. So the same thing that you do is what we do. We know that people do that as well.
You changed your formation quite a bit over time. How did you manage to stay a unity on stage?
Roger: Well five of us are still the same so really it was the two positions that changed twice. So three people have sung the bass and the guitar. So the fact that the base is still the same keeps that same sound. But it’s hard to find a bass or any position and do what we do. So we feel blessed that we found the right people all the time.
So to me it’s quite special because the bass does sound more or less the same every time I see you guys even though the people changed.
Roger: We knew Kelz from before. We all come from a church back ground where we know different singers. But everybody can’t do it. To be honest if we loose a member we first are afraid because you will always loose something. It’s not like you are having a bass or guitar player and when the new guy comes he just plays the same thing. Even then it’s not exactly the same but with singing even more so. Nobody sings exactly the same. And of course his personality is important. We all live together and I spend as much time with the group as I do with my real family – if not more. So we feel truly blessed that the 7 guys you see on stage really get along. We are like a family so we have our ups and downs and fight about this or that but most of the time everything is very good.
Us fans we do realise this on stage.
Roger: Yes, you can see it. It’s hard to hide. People try to hide those things on stage but you can see it. We really like each other.
Warren: Also the outgoing members. They didn’t leave in a fight. They left because of family reasons. We still talk to them, they are still our friends, we still see them from time to time. They live in the same community as we do. So we understand if they leave because they want to spend more time with their family. If we are in town we tell them to come to our show or we call on them – which has happened before – that our old members filled in for the new ones. We still have a good relationship.
That is great! So I’ve read a few things how you founded the group but how did you come up with this special idea to play instruments with your voices?
Roger: We started in church and sang harmonies together. How do you make yourself different from the next group. Warren and I are brothers and our father was very instrumental. When we were watching Marvin Gaye he taught us what made him different or Michael Jackson – this is what makes him different. So as a group we were looking to do something different. You know because we are from the Bronx, New York, Queens all these different sections. We like hip hop. Let’s combine the things we like beat boxing that type of thing with R&B, Gospel and Pop. All the things we know and then Jazz too. It’s the Bobby McFerrin’s of the world and Jazz that imitates instruments. What if we bring all those things together. It’s no different than a chef. A chef brings all those things together and you taste something for the first time. Really is it something new? No it’s not. New as in they made something up and in bringing things together that you haven’t tasted together before.
Warren: They add a little mint to the steak. Never had mint to a steak and then you go: Oh that actually works.
Very good comparison.
Roger: So this is what we did. We brought these things together over the years and once we found out Warren can do the drums we can build a foundation – we realised we need a bass. Don’t just sing words we need instruments. Little by little we evolved. We can all be part of this band and imitate instruments. So that became the goal to this point where can we walk  on stage and somebody has never ever seen us before goes: “Ohhh” *Surprising sound*. We sound like a band and that’s the goal. Like you saw last night I don’t know how many hundreds of people have never seen us before but how long does it take for them to go like this.
Warren: Towards the end of the show you want them to actually forget that we are doing it all with our voices. We want to enjoy themselves because we are almost competing with a real band that’s there. They figured out what we are doing, sounds great, now can they just enjoy the music.
Roger: When we sing Englishmen in New York we want them to just enjoy the song. We’ve already established that we’re a band and now enjoy the song. We feel like we’ve accomplished this and it’s taken time and we are going out of our way to make it look easy because that looks good.
Warren: It takes time and hard work and talented people and voices. If you compete with the sounds of a band you need to make sure that the person who’s mixing it can make that come across.
Thank you for doing this interview. I am so very grateful.

 
 

 
 

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Pegasus on Lake Zurich 08.07.17

Die deutsche Konzertkritik fängt gleich nach der englischen an. Siehe unten.
International readers might not know Pegasus but after this post you will want to see them live. They are a Swiss band founded in 2003 and since then became one of the best and biggest we have in this country. They released a new record on June, 9th called beautiful life with a big bright sun like on the cover shot.

So when Radio Zürisee had to decide on a venue for their newest showcase they obviously chose a location where the sun is shining bright. This morning at 8am (!) on a ferry on Lake Zürich I witnessed one of the most special concerts I’ve ever been to. Only 300 lucky winners were able to enjoy this wonderful gig which lasted a little over an hour.
We started off in Horgen when Noah Veraguth, Gabriel Spahni, Stefan Brenner and two other musicians took this special stage at the back of the ferry Meilen. Two songs of the new album “Get over you” and “Lost to be found” were performed and with the first few chords of the guitars they had everyone going. This special venue and those wonderful human beings and musicians made it very easy to enjoy this concert.

The next two songs “Rise Up” and “Technology” kicked off their career. It was so nice to see that they loved this gig as much as we did. Only smiles were to be seen around the ferry Meilen. Next up were “God knows” – a song written by Noah and Gabriel in London – “Fragments” and “Streets of my Hometown”. During “Skyline” – a proper stadium song on which everyone can sing along – the lead singer walked through the crowd and up to the top part of the ferry. With the crowd’s “oh oh oh” he came back again only to go straight to next song “Last Night on Earth”.

“I take it all” and the encore “Beautiful live” were supposed to be the last songs. But no-one wanted to go back ashore so two song wishes from the audience “Digital Kids” and “Man on Mars” were played. Eventually the captain lead us back to Horgen and everyone was able to get signatures and pictures with them. Roger Rhyner, head of music at Radio Zürisee, found the best words: We will tell our grandkids about this gig! He was right.
 

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Seit der Gründung von Pegasus in 2003 mauserten sich die drei “Bieler Giele” zu einer der grössten Schweizer Bands. Am 9. Juni erschien ihr neues Album Beautiful Life mit einer riesigen gelben Sonne auf dem Cover.

Als sich Radio Zürisee für ihr neuestes Showcase einen Veranstaltungsort aussuchen mussten, wollten sie eins bei dem die Sonne im Vordergrund stand – passend zum Album. Heute Morgen um 8 Uhr (!) durfte ich eines meiner speziellsten Konzerte auf einer Fähre auf dem Zürichsee erleben. Nur 300 glückliche Gewinner kamen in den Genuss dieser wundervollen Show.
Noch in Horgen betraten Noah Veraguth, Gabriel Spahni, Stefan Brenner und zwei weitere Musiker diese besondere Bühne am Ende der Fähre Meilen. Zwei neue Songs des neuen Albums “Get over you” und “Lost to be found” wurden performt und mit den ersten Klängen der Gitarren hatten sie bereits alle in der Tasche. Diese einzigartige Lage und diese tollen Menschen machten es sehr einfach, das Konzert zu geniessen.

Die nächsten zwei Lieder “Rise Up” und “Technology” starteten die Karriere von Pegasus. Es war schön zu sehen, dass auch die Musiker Spass an diesem tollen Showcase hatten. Man konnte nur lächelnde Menschen auf der Fähre Meilen sehen. Als nächstes waren die Songs “God knows” – welcher von Noah und Gabriel in London geschrieben wurde – “Fragments” und “Streets of my Hometown” dran. Während “Skyline” – eine richtige Stadionhymne, die zum Mitsingen animiert – lief der Leadsänger durch das Publikum auf den “Balkon” der Fähre. Während wir weiterhin “Oh oh oh” sangen, kam er zurück auf die Bühne, nur um sofort das nächste Lied “Last Night on Earth” zu spielen.

“I take it all” und die Zugabe “Beautiful Life” waren eigentlich die zwei letzten geplanten Songs. Aber niemand wollte zurück nach Horgen und deshalb nahm Pegasus zwei Musikwünsche des Publikums entgegen. “Digital Kids” und “Man on Mars” rundeten dieses wunderbare Konzert ab. Letzten Endes fuhr uns der Kapitän nach einer kleinen Ehrenrunde zurück zum Steg auf der linken Seite des Zürichsees. Natürlich konnten sich alle Autogramme und Fotos bei Pegasus holen. Roger Rhyner, Musikchef von Radio Zürisee, fand die besten Abschlussworte:

Wir werden noch unseren Enkeln von diesem Konzert erzählen!

Und wie recht er hat 🙂
Wart ihr auch dabei oder habt zugehört? Gerne würde ich eure Meinung lesen mit dem unten angehängten Formular.
 

 

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Coldplay @ Commerzbank Arena, Frankfurt 01.07.17

Journey to Frankfurt

the
For years I didn’t like Coldplay at all. I would change the radio station as soon as they would come on. But recently I had a change of heart. The new music from their album “Kaleidoscope” I really love and last year when they performed at Letzigrund Zürich I went to have a look outside the stadium which actually impressed me. Then I found out that Chris Martin, lead singer, is actually funny. So two weeks ago on a silly little whim I asked one of my concert buddies if she fancied going to Frankfurt to see them. Luckily she was crazy enough to say yes. After a four hour train ride we arrived at the beautiful Hotel Le Méridien close to the main station. This left us only a few hours until show time.

Supporting Acts

Coldplay had two supports for their gig at the Commerzbank Arena formerly known as Waldstadion which usually hosts Bundesliga football club Eintracht Frankfurt. First up was Femme Schmidt who’s a German singer famous for her first single “Golden”. She performed okay but couldn’t get the crowd going.
Tove Lo was up next and had a great 45min set. She sang her two hits “Stay High” and “Talking Body”. She did a brilliant job and got me dancing and singing. I will definitely check out her record since I liked the other songs too. During the following break someone started a mexican wave which just wouldn’t stop.

Intro

Finally after a 15min delay opera sound started to fill the stadium – a very unsual intro. A video which showed where they’ve been with this tour and two fans from Sweden, their latest stop on the tour, sent their love to Frankfurt, Germany and again two fans appeared bearing a German flag wishing us a great show.

THE SHOW

The crowd was incredible and thanks to Coldplay’s brilliant idea of giving each fan a Xyloband around their wrists – a light which they can control – you could see each and everyone. I was mesmerized by it. They also lit a few fireworks and blew confetti in the air during the first song… some artists finish like this.
Chris Martin told us that it’s going to be the last German show for a while so we should better be enjoying ourselves. I think we all did. We gave them everything we had and they did as well. It was a 2+ hour show full of energy. Which I also liked a lot was what he said next:

I appreciate you coming here. I understand the hassle of travelling, queuing and paying outrageous prices for a drink but you still show up. Thank you for that!

After a few old songs like “Paradise” and “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” and “The Scientist” Coldplay changed to the B-stage in the middle of the stadium. A small minus is that a lot of people couldn’t see them there because the pillars for the lights were in the way. Luckily we were able to change our position to see them better.
“Magic”, a favourite of mine, “Princess of China” and “Everglow” were performed there. When they changed back to the main stage I really needed a break! 🙂 My resting didn’t last long though. After an hour and 10 mins they played the song I liked most “Hymn for the Weekend”. The creative team did this brilliant song justice and we saw flames rise to the top and while Chris was running down the runway coloured confetti was blown up which looked like a lovely rainbow. To calm down “Fix You” was next.

They started “Viva la Vida” but stopped it after a few seconds. Chris then asked us to put our phones away for one song and just enjoy the atmosphere, the song and the moment. It was the first time I heard that famous bell clearly. It was a revelation and the song was over way too quick. They followed it with the song which made me fall in love with Coldplay “Adventures of a Lifetime”. The colourful interactive show got even more playfull when they released big balloons which got thrown up by the standing crowd. It looked incredibly fun and makes me want to be standing at the next Coldplay concert.

Even the people at the back got to see them closely when the band changed onto the C-stage for a few slow songs and for us to take a break and breathe and just enjoy the brilliant musicians without any distractions. I really liked when Chris Martin introduced the other members of the band and made some jokes about them.
 
 

Coldplay finished the phenomenal show back on the A-stage with their latest song “Something just like this”, “A Sky Full of Stars” and another slow song “Up&Up”. Martin sent us home with the words:

Thank you for coming, safe journey home and God bless you all

On our way home I still could see all the lights when I closed my eyes. If you haven’t seen them live, go do it! An over two hour gig with beautiful songs, amazing appreciative musicians and a wonderful show is not easy to find these days. So hats off to Coldplay, they know how to play live and to make us happy! Visit their homepage Tour for dates.
Have you been to one of their shows? Let me know how you liked them in the comment section below.
 
 

 

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Depeche Mode @ Stadion Letzigrund 18.06.17

 
 
Yesterday Depeche Mode brought their Global Spirit Tour to Zurich’s Stadion Letzigrund. The three british musicians – Dave Gahan, Martin Gore and Andew Fletcher – sold over 100 million records worldwide and are one of the most popular electronic bands ever.
So we spontineously decided to go see them live on a beautiful summer evening. Luckily we found tickets outside the stadium and first sat down where the posh seats are situated. Big mistake! The people around us were very arrogant and nitpicky. In the end we weren’t as close anymore but had the better audience and much more space to dance and sit.
One silly little crowd story I have to tell you because it’s so funny. This one guy didn’t look very drunk but apparently he was. He was seated in the middle of my sector and at some point he decided to go down to dance. With a beer in his hand he tried to walk down the stairs unfortunately he lost his balance pretty quickly und stumbled down. Amazingly he didn’t fall at all but his beer was empty when he arrived at the bottom. Poor guy! 😉

At quarter past 8 the first synthie sounds echoed around the stadium. The next 60 minutes were filled with newer songs and they did have a good rhythm but weren’t spectacular so I decided to have a closer look and so I was able to walk easily almost to the front. The lead singer – Dave Gahan – has amazing charisma and his smile is adorable.
The second part of the concert was filled with hits and dancy songs. “Wrong” and “Enjoy the Silence” were my favourite because the whole stadium – 30000 people – started to dance and wave and sing thanks to Dave who stood in the midst of his fans and orchestrated us to his gusto. The show didn’t need any fireworks or a lot of light effects.

The 5 encore songs were mostly slow ones and showcased the beautiful voice of Martin Gore. The synthie pop band closed their show with one of their biggest hits “Personal Jesus” after two hours of pure joy written on everyone’s faces including the band.
I might not have been born yet when Depeche Mode hat their biggest hits but I had the best time at yesterday’s concert. Like Guns N’ Roses you could feel that they love what they do and they have been doing it successfully for years. It is like the say: Oldie but Goldie! 🙂
Have you been to Depeche Mode at Letzigrund? Let me know what you thought in the comment section below.
 
 

 

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Capital’s Summertime Ball @Wembley 10.06.17

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! 🙂
 
 

 

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Guns N’ Roses @ Stadion Letzigrund 07.06.17

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! 🙂

 
 

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One Love Manchester

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.
 
 

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Kings of Leon @ Hallenstadion 30.05.2017

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.
 
 

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Shawn Mendes @ Hallenstadion 14.05.2017

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.
 
 

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Bruno Mars “24K Magic”

Bruno Mars @ Hallenstadion 12.05.2017

Peter Gene Hernandez aka Bruno Mars is only 1.65m tall but let me tell 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!