Kekoas Korner got to travel to Basel to see Mumford and Sons at St. Jakobshalle on Sunday. I’ve never been to the venue and I have never seen them live so I was pretty excited. I heard only great things about their live performances and I’ve seen them on TV a few times so I was expecting a lot. Surprisingly the stage on the Delta Tour was set in the middle of venue which I already liked. So here’s a little more how the evening went:
Gang of Youths got the moves
The support act Gang of Youths is an Australian indie rock band from Sydney. Unfortunately I was quite distracted because I couldn’t find my phone and I thought I’d lost it. However, silly me, I put in my boots just minutes ago – which I always do when I have my boots on but I completely forgot. So the first 3 songs were kind of a blur. After huge waves of relief were flooding through me I could finally focus on Gang of Youths. Oh boy, David – the lead singer – can dance. Those moving hips were another distraction. He looked like the dancers on Let’s Dance Germany haha
KT Tunstall has been in our lives since 2004 but somehow I never managed to see her live! I am so glad that this changed yesterday. A very talented funny lovely scottish musician who puts up the best show for her fans. The last tour date of her tour brought KT Tunstall to Mascotte in Zurich and it really was a brill party to rock out to.
First up I want to say I have the best concert buddies ever! Yesterday morning I got invited to a meet n greet with KT Tunstall. I was over the moon but the best part of this was that we got to see the sound check. Not just 10 mins of it – no – the full sound check. It was sooo impressive seeing the band and KT being super professionall and trying to get the sound and the show just right for the fans. I love every minute of it.
Right after the sound check we were able to meet KT Tunstall and take photos. Two fans brought her a very cool fan shirt. I personally thought it was professional merch but it was actually hand made! Again I was so impressed as was KT. Another cool gift from the fans was a “Rรถsti” and some “Bratwurst”. Obviously this is an insider. KT Tunstall started doing KT’s Kitchen. Before her gigs she would set up a little kitchen in the hallways of the venue’s and cook something. Because you know on tour you usually eat pretty bad food but with the little stove KT is actually able to cook a nice meal for her and the band. So while we were waiting for the support act to come on we were watching her IG live wearing the shirt and cooking her Swiss dinner ๐
Laurel
Laurel is a British musician and I don’t know why but I think I’ve heard her before. She must have been supporting someone before but I can’t quite make out who. Laurel has a beautiful voice and she proved it over the next few minutes with “San Fran”, “LoveSick” and “Violet” which I deffo heard before. I loved the song and so did the audience. Laurel was also impressed how quiet the crowd was and were actually listening. They really were. No-one was chatting and actually respected the artist on stage. So I really love the KT Tunstall Fans! ๐ Laurel finished her set on the last tour date with “Same Mistakes”, “Sun King” and “Adored”.
KT Tunstall
With a new song “In This Body” from her recent album “Wax” – which is the 2nd album in a trilogy – KT Tunstall opened the show. It was clear she means business. The atmosphere was great from the start. She spoke with us a lot and explained songs and told stories. I love this! After the rock mood was set she treated us to an oldie “Other side of the World”. I remember this song so well. It’s amazing how you don’t forget a song you loved and over 10 years later you can still singalong to! What I also love if artists aren’t complaining about people having cell phones but actually using them to create a beautiful atmosphere. A sea of lights and we were only two songs in!
Another new song “Backlash & Vinegar” which I really liked and by then I realized I was fascinated by the crowd, the band and KT Tunstall of course. She mentioned that at every show she tells this story. She wants us to retweet as many cat, elephants dog videos as possible so when she scrolls through Twitter etc. there isn’t as much negativity going on. Living in the US and being British KT Tunstall has definitely her fair share of negative headlines at the moment. I usually don’t like when artists get into politics but the way she did it – in a funny way during her morning coffee – I thought it was amusing and we could all relate to that. The good vibes and the energy kept going strong with “Uummannag song” back from 2010.
Here’s another story KT Tunstall believes that we are all in some sorts connected and imagine if that would visibly be shown with a red thread. So from an airplane red threads would come down to the earth and then from there around the world. All of this she put in the next song called “Little red thread”. “Hard girls” and “The river was next before she launched into another story about people going through a tough time. There might be a sea of Scheisse in front of you. You can’t go around it or dive under it because it’s just too deep. So all you can do is:
You have to go across the sea of Scheisse.
And for that you need to have a good song to get you across the sea of scheisse. So she wrote “Feel it all”. And she did this beautiful song alone on stage with just her voice and her guitar.
After that the band came back and brought Laurel with them. Together they sang “Heal Over” and you could see how much they grew together over the past couple of months touring together. I know I’m kind of gushing now but again I loved how KT Tunstall introduced her amazing band. Every night she would ask them a question and they would have to answer it without any preparation. But because it’s the last night she had a proper tough question and gave them a bit of time. So let me introduce to you:
Clare Uchima aka The Medicine Woman – Healing people
Mandy Clarke aka Anti-Dick – Calling out Dicks
Cat Myers aka Catapult – Teleportation
Hattie Moran aka Nosy Bastard – Invisibility
After getting to know them a bit more they performed “Ashes”. Poor Clare who had a little mouth piano got bunny glasses put on while she was playing. Just hilarious! It was time for them to leave the stage again because KT showed us her loop station skills and sang one of her smash hits “Black horse and a cherry tree”. You guys know how much I looove loop stations so I enjoyed this part of the show a lot. The band did too as they were jumping up and down on the sofa in the backstage room which is situated on the right side of the stage and usually covered with a curtain. In what felt like a second the girls ran down and were back on stage for the next song. A song which KT and Nick from Franz Ferdinand wrote after David Bowie died. A nice vanguard song dedicated to a legend: “The Night that Bowie died”.
“Dark side of me”, “The Mountain” and “Saving my face” were next. KT Tunstall tries to combine her cooking / Mind Body & Soul side with her rock’n’roll side. “The Healer” on paper sounds like the first side but you can pretty well just trash a hotel room with it too ๐ Her words not mine but she’s right! The time just flew by and it was time to do the Encore game.
With the crowd bouncing and the energy reaching another level KT Tunstall and her band performed “Push that Know away”. She then asked us: “Do you have any good cover bands?” And everyone was just like “Meh”. And I guess that was what she was looking for because she and band are actually the best cover band in the world! ๐ They performed a classic Bon Jovi song “Livin on a Prayer” which they are using as KT’s Kitchen jingle and with that they smoothly turned it into Belinda Carlisle’s hit “Heaven is a place on Earth”. They got us singing and clapping again. This made me wonder if I really should buy a ticket to see Bon Jovi this summer??
KT Tunstall thanked each and everyone helping her put this tour together and of course us fans coming to see the show and spending our hard earned money on it. Live music can never be replaced by videos on phones. Never ever. And she is hoping that this is our happy place here with her.
Yes, KT my happy place is deffo live music and if it is as brilliant as yours it’s even a happier place ๐
With this she started the first chords of her Uber hit “Suddenly I see” and now literally everyone was singing along to. All I could see were smiling faces and happy people dancing along to “Girls just wanna have fun”. We do, especially with those girls!
KT Tunstall is still a super talented and funny musician who puts up a pretty incredible rock show. I’ll be back the next time!
Thanks to abc Production I got see Jason Derulo last night. I saw his Isle of Malta show on MTV and I knew that he’d be putting up a great show. But I was surprised at how personal he made the show. Of course there was dancing but there was also quite good singing and a lot of nice and quick talks. What I loved too is how the atmosphere was super laid back and everyone seemed to have a great time!
Marcus & Martinus
The night started with the newest teenie crush Marcus & Martinus. The two very young and very sweet twins are the next Justin Bieber. The two gathered quite an audience who came just for them. The girls were partying already. It was super cute to watch and of course you could hear lots of screaming because good old clapping is out ๐ I have to say I was quite sceptical at first but they did a pretty good job warming up the crowd with their pop music. Most girls already had the time of their life!
DJ Jae Murphy
Due to the support act there was a very funny mixture in the audience. You had the kids and teenies, the peeps who were into dancing, couples and women in their twenties and thirties who knew Jason Derulo songs from their night out. For the next 20 minutes Jason Derulo’s DJ Jae Murphy took the stage and turned the Hallenstadion into a Club. He set the perfect mood for the following 90 mins with Jason Derulo.
Jasoooon Deruuuloooo
At 9 a very long intro video showed Jason Derulo in Africa explaining to us why the tour is called 2 Sides. Jason is half human half lion. And that’s how he came on stage – like a lion king with “Watcha Say”. After a very old song he threw in his newest song “Tip Toe” and he literally was on his tip toes and of course almost all clothes had to go so he could show off his abs. With “Don’t wanna go home / Shots” we definitely got turned into a club and lots of people were already dancing on front of their seats. Because of the laid back atmosphere people didn’t feel like they had to be afraid of standing up.
One of my personal favourites “Wiggle” was next. However I didn’t really like the way they performed it live. I felt like the wiggles weren’t too clear, it was kinda too rocky. What we also noticed is that – were we sat – the mix wasn’t too good. The music was louder than Jason Derulo’s voice. A beautiful ballade called “Trumpets” was next where we could get out our phone lights. Derulo now said that he is doing something special he wants to try out new music for his family: “Make Up” – a very cool uptempo song with his typical style. You can be looking forward to hearing it!
“In my Head”, “Get Ugly”, “Let me be the one” (Yes, he brought out the treadmills on stage for that and I cannot tell you how much I love that effect) and “Marry Me” followed. Of course lots of girls wished that Jason Derulo would asked that question to them LOL And the romantic atmosphere continued. Derulo asked his back ground singer who was in beautiful dress to join him up front. Together they sang the Little Mix duet “Secret Love Song”. And let me tell you wow her voice blew us away!
Up next was “IT-GIRL” and the girls put their signs up “Can I be your it-girl?”. After the first few chords he interrupted the song and said “Hold Up, Hold up I cannot sing this song without an IT-Girl”. His bodyguard picked a girl from the front row and she was brought on stage to be serenaded by Jason Derulo. She couldn’t believe it and for us it was great fun to watch!
Where are my single ladies at?
With that he introduced his next song “Ridin’ solo”. This hit was followed by “If I’m lucky” and “Cheyenne” where his dancing was supported by a haunted house in the background. “Swalla” with Nicki Minaj was next and it was time to shimmy ๐ Before we had to be “Breathing” ๐ It is amazing how many songs you actually know just from going out and listening on the radio. Jason Derulo has so many hits and knows how to put them together in show! “Goodbye” started and I already thought oh oh it’s time to say Goodbye. What a great song to finish! But he wasn’t finished yet ๐
Normally the artists go off stage and we start “Oh Oh Oh” to the bass line of Seven Nation Army but this time we did it together! ๐ And finally Jason Derulo talked dirty to us! At this point I was a bit worried about the kids singing this song because I mean I hope they don’t know what “Talk dirty 2 me” is ๐ Jason closed the show with “Want to Want me” and all I could think of was why isn’t Luke Bryan popping up with some headphones on? If you don’t know what I’m talking about here’s the link:
Amazing right??!! And sooo funny haha
But what came next I really didn’t expect at all and it was my absolute highlight of last night. Jason Derulo walked into the middle of the stage into the crowd and said:
Thank you for coming out tonight. I hope you saw that every piece of this show is a piece of my heart. My crew is like my family and you are now part of it too.
I do not take this for granted. You are the reason why I am able to live my dream. And you can live you dream too. I don’t care how old you are, what you religion is or the colour of your skin. I want you to have what you desire so go after it! I don’t care how long it takes. Make it happen! ‘Cause I believe in you and you should believe in you too!
I love y’all! God Bless you and Good night!
What a way to finish this amazing 90 mins show! Again thank you abc production and thank you Jason Derulo! Have you seen a show on the 2 sides tour? Share your memories below or on my Instagram account!
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 ๐ 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 ๐
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. Continue reading “Zurich roooaaared with Katy Perry”→
Arcade Fire are coming back to Switzerland. This fact might come as a surprise to us. For years theyโve been avoiding our country because we have the worst fans at gigs. And you know I must admit that the Swiss audience is very hard to crack. However if you work hard and show your appreciation and you if you are really that talented you will find that the Swiss audience can be one of the most loyal audience – Just ask Naturally 7 or Anastacia! Continue reading “Arcade Fire's Everything Now !”→
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.
Live Music: You watch me, I watch you ๐
“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? ๐
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.
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 Waldbรผhne. 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 ๐ 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
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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
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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! ๐
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 ๐
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! ๐
The Scandinavian gigs: Lukas Graham & Mans Zelmerlรถw
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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 Zelmerlรถw won the ESC and came to Switzerland twice already. Always very special gigs!
Kekoas Korner’s soft spot: Gavin DeGraw
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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
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As you might know I go a little crazy for Irish bands.. ๐ 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 interviewthe 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 ๐
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.
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 ๐
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! ๐ Have you seen Texas live? Please share your experience in the comments below or on my Twitter, Facebook or Instagram account.
