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
A week ago I published the New Music post about Jack Savoretti where I told you guys that I’d be so excited to see him play and I was very curious. Well fast forward a week and here we are at Volkshaus in front row waiting to see if Jack Savoretti would fullfil my expectations. But I might have been even more excited to see his support act called Ward Thomas.
Ward Thomas – Voices from heaven
At 7.30 the two sisters Lizzie and Catherine took the stage accompanied by their two musicians. I saw the two girls at the C2C Songwriter Sessions in London and I fell in love with their voices. Unfortunately they only performed one song “Cartwheels” because they were actually just surprise guests winning the CMA Jeff Walker Global Artist Achievement Award! How cool is that?!
Are you a fan of indie rock? Yes? Then you’ll love Ten Tonnes. This lovely lad from England started out in pubs and slowly making his way across Europe now. Before his performance at this year’s RADAR Festival I got to speak with Ten Tonnes about his debut record, his relationship with his famous brother and Bob Ross!
I gotta ask Ten Tonnes is a super special name. I read somewhere that you came up with it while you did open mic shows and you wanted to have a name that no-one else has. But that doesn’t really answer where it came from, does it? 🙂
I don’t actually know where it came from. It just came out of no-where. I wish I had a better explanation than that! 🙂 I was at the pub and it came out of thin air. I’m sorry it’s not really a satisfying answer! *laughs*
Jack Savoretti is a British singer-songwriter and I’ve heard a lot of good things about his live performance. Like so many I haven’t had the chance to see him live although he’s been around for ages. Lucky me he just released his 6th studio record called “Singing to Strangers” which makes him go on tour through Europe. On May 6th he is in Zurich at Volkshaus thanks to Allblues.
Jack Savoretti’s song “Home” is one of his most famous – at least in my eyes. Such a beautiful ballade and with his raspy voice he is transporting just the right kind of sadness. But that was way back in 2014. Fast forward 5 years and we’ve got “Singing to Strangers” to listen to. And I mean how true is that. Next Monday he will definitely singing to strangers… well at least I’ll be a stranger since it’s gonna be my first time listening to him. However my friends from Loads of Music are no strangers at all as you can see by the beautiful headline picture.
Rudimental has been one of my fav artists to dance to for years. All I needed to like a party is a song by Rudimental haha From UK fans I heard that their live show is freaking amazing so when Gadget finally announced a Rudimental gig I was over the moon!
I think Rudimental is one of the most underrated artists in Switzerland just like The Script. These guys fill stadiums and over here they struggle. I really don’t understand it but your loss is my gain. At a little after 8 I walked in and managed to score a 2nd row spot right in the middle. I was so much looking forward to this gig and the energy. I was super giddy and my expectations were super high.
At 9 pm the lights went out and everyone was ready to party! The stage filled with 9 musicians during a short intro and off it went with “Right Here”! The energy Locksmith & Co. brought on stage was incredible! The atmosphere was amazing and literally everyone was dancing! What I loved is that you actually had space to dance! And with Rudimental songs you really need space because you go mental without even knowing it haha
“Not Giving in”, “Summer Love” and the title track of their brand new album “Toast to our Differences” were next. With Rudimental it’s hit after hit after hit. No wonder Locksmith is drinking grey goose vodka on stage toasting to our differences 😀 At this point I really want to point out the amazing musicians Rudimental got on stage. The two female and 1 male singers replace BIG names such as Rita Ora, James Arthur, Ed Sheeran, Emeli Sande and you actually do not miss them at all. They are incredible singers doing an amazing job! But of course their brass section is brilliant too! I still got the sound of the trumpet in my head!
Afronaut Zu literally blew me away with his voice. James Arthur you may or may not like him but his voice is super special and brilliant live. But Afronaut Zu made “Sun Comes Up” to his own song. I bet it would’ve become a hit even with him singing it. Then the stage turned red and with the first chords of “Bloodstream” I couldn’t stop moving! I remember it so vividly last summer when Ed Sheeran performed it. The energy of this song is sooo gripping. I think you just have to dance! 😀 And wow it really kicked in just have a look in my IG stories.
With “Walk Alone” we calmed down a little until Locksmith asked the guys on the balcony to stand up. I loved that haha I was like okay what song is next that we need to get prepared to get mental. It was “Let me Live” which I’ve also heard last summer performed by Anne-Marie. SURPRISE SURPRISE MAKE SOME NOISE FOR ANNE-MARIE!! YES, freaking Anne-Marie was there! She performed her song live for us and not only that. She stayed on as a 3rd backing singer. So now you got 10 musicians on stage for 50 francs?! Yes, this time I paid for my ticket and I would do it again. They all deserved my money. They worked hard, put on an amazing show and they love what they are doing plus they appreciate us coming to the show!
“Lay it all on me” from their 2nd record We The Generation was next. And again what A tune! “Run” and “They don’t care about us” followed. DJ Locksmith asked us then: “Do you want to feel free with Rudimental?” A roar he got as an answer! I Loooooove “Free” which Emeli Sande also sang at her last gig and again I wasn’t disappointed by the live vocals tonight. Just On Point!
During “Go Far” Rudimental recreated the famous Daft Punk video “Around the world” where they moved in a circle around the centre. I love the rhythm and the throwback moment. For “Rumour Mill” Anne-Marie sang her part again! 🙂 Usually those surprise performances only happen in the UK or the US. So thanks Rudimental for flying her in! The guys performed their only cover of the night “Human” by Rag’n’Bone man. The brill voice by Afronaut Zu took centre stage again.
As East-Londoners they love to rave so we all went on a little rave (That kinda rave I even love :D) with “Trouble” which turned into “Feel the Love”. Of course we felt the love and the energy in the room so when Rudimental left the stage the whole Halle 622 sang the chorus:
You know I said it’s true I can feel the love Can you feel it too I can feel it ah-ah I can feel it ah-ah
We were still singing when the Rudimental returned with “These Days” and finally my all-time favourite party hit “Waiting all Night”! And with those two Uber-Hits they let a very happy energetic crowd into the night. And we literally were in a party mood because when Earth, Wind & Fire’s hit “September” came through the speakers everyone continued dancing until we were ushered out by the party poopers 😉 While we got some water into our systems some people were still shouting “Oh oh oh” to the tunes of Seven Nation Army.
Rudimental just gave me one of my highlight gigs in 2019 and we are just 32 days into the new year. I am dying to see if anyone can beat their energy, their hits and their brilliant musical performance including a surprise guest!
Snow Patrol came on stage with a huge grin to a packed Samsung Hall after a 7 year hiatus and of course they promised to be back much sooner but let’s start with the beginning of the night.
The awesome support acts: JC Stewart & Foy Vance
Unfortunately I missed out on JC Stewart who was up at 7 but Gary Lightbody calls him the next Superstar so we better check him out! 🙂 At quarter to 8 Foy Vance took the stage with his drummer. I am soo impressed with his voice. At one point during a slow song I closed my eyes and just listened. The goosebumps came and I was super happy. Also the harmonies were on point. He also made me dance and I really had a good time! On top of the voice and the awesome songs he’s also funny and very entertaining so please Foy Vance come back for a headlining show! 🙂
Foy Vance
Take back the city!
On the huge LED screen Snow Patrol said Hello Zurich and with that the 5 lads from Northern Ireland walked on stage to an applauding audience – and that was just the beginning of a brilliant evening. With “Take back the city” the guys literally took the city back and we were all enjoying ourselves and from minute one the atmosphere was really good. People singing, dancing, clapping and having a good time. Maybe was it because I was surrounded by English people?? 😀 The hits continued with “Chocolate” and “Crack the Shutters”. What an impressive start!
It was time to introduce new music to us: “Empress” and “Don’t give in”. But you loyal readers know that due to a lucky hand Kekoas Korner got hear the new songs this summer during a super hot Energy Live Session at Kaufleuten. Lots of people were already able to sing along the new songs! Between those two songs Gary Lightbody saw a sign which read welcome back and then spoke with a guy named Miguel who said that he can play all Snow Patrol songs and to prove it Gary asked him “Which one do you want to play?” I couldn’t hear Miguel’s answer but Gary said “Can’t you choose one off the setlist?!” 😀 He must have said “Run” and so Gary informed him “You’re up in two songs!”
Every Fans Dream
“Open your Eyes” was next and then it was Miguel’s turn. Gary Lightbody said that they’ve never done anything like this before but they were willing to try – and they were lucky. Miguel fit right in and together they performed “Run” while the audience was loving it and supporting them by singing along. After “Run” Miguel got an extra loud cheer by the crowd. I’m loving those surprise moments! I think that’s one of the reason why I love going to gigs! You never know what’s going to happen.
“You could be happy”, “Life on Earth”, “Make this go on forever” followed this highlight. It’s crazy how many Snow Patrol songs you actually know because they’ve just been around for so long creating hits. “Shut your Eyes” and “Called out in the dark” are two prominent examples of that. Snow Patrol are so much more than “Chasing Cars” and Gary had to patient a guy from the audience who shouted that song after 20 minutes. 😀
The last hurrah
Gary Lightbody asked us now for help. The next song has got some super high notes and his voice is basically gone in that range so we need to help him out there and of course the Zurich audience did. Together we sang “Heal me”. For “The Lightning Strike” big see through curtains were drawn and the designs of the video clip was shown on the big screen and on the curtains – what a wow effect! 😀 And then the big moment came and a huge roar went through the Samsung Hall. The nearly sold out hall and Snow Patrol performed together “Chasing Cars”. It still gives me goosebumps thinking about that amazing atmosphere. The 5 lads said their Goodbye with “You’re all I have” but of course it wasn’t the last song.
The applause was super loud so Gary and Johnny came back on to play a very beautiful ballade of the new record “Wildness” called “What if this is all the love you ever get?”. Another highlight for me. But of course Gary, Johnny, Nathan, Jonny and Paul were ready to party I mean it was a Saturday Night after all. So with “Just Say Yes” and a promise to come back sooner than this time they let us into the night! On the LED screen you could see words Snow Patrol <3 Zurich and of course Zurich loves Snow Patrol too. The smiles on everyone’s faces were huge until we got roughly ushered out by the – as always – super unfriendly security at Samsung Hall. I guess nothing changes.
After seeing Jacob Banks last year at Mascotte and trying to see him at his uber full gig at the M4 Music Festival I was stocked to learn that Just Because invited him back to play a gig at X-tra.
Anna Leone – a tiny lady with a big voice
A very shy girl in sweats came on stage with her guitar. Anna Leone fascinated with her voice. However lots of people decided to continue talking which was a shame. They missed out on a very talented artist and I could only hope that they would stop during Jacob Banks’ performance.
Jacob Banks is back and he got moves
Last year I was front row too but I really don’t remember him having those super sexy moves. What was the same was Jacob Banks incredible voice. A voice that so soulful and magical that it gives you goosebumps every time you hear it. I loved the first song. It had sooo much energy! Unfortunately I didn’t get a setlist this time so you will get a little different review.
Jacob Banks said thank you for being here very early on and he explained that he will sing songs off his newest record VILLAGE and some songs off his previously released EP’s. With “Mercy”, “Mexico”, “Be Good To Me” we got lots of amazing songs already in the first 30 mins. But one of my highlights – sooo romantic – was the song “Caroline”. X-tra was turned pink and we enjoyed this slow soulful ballade. I bet the many couples in the crowd loved it too. Speaking of the crowd it was so diverse! There were teens, couples and older people enjoying the same good music by Jacob Banks.
This next song “Pilot” is for the people who are coming to the gigs. It is not on any record because I want you guys to have something special others don’t.
With that Jacob Banks took his guitar and sang “Pilot” which is a very beautiful ballade and I was mesmerized by his voice and that song. The time flew by listening to Jacob Banks because he fully captivates you.
Time to dance
Jacob Banks origins are Nigerian and so to honour them he wrote “Kumbaya”. You can literally feel the African vibe and the three LED screens in the back showed some videos from back home. The crowd started moving too. After focusing on him and his voice so much it was good to let loose a little. Another highlight for me was when he covered “Fix You”. Usually I get to hear it during Naturally 7‘s gig without any instruments! I keep repeating myself but I was fascinated to see the actual guitar sounding just the same! It was amazing!! 🙂 He earned so much applause which I think he didn’t expect. His face lit up and we got see a huge smile. So cute!
With “Say Something” and “Unholy War” Jacob Banks rang in the last part of his show. After a versatile music mix we were getting the biggest soulful energetic songs at the end. The crowd loved it! 🙂 And of course all good things have to come to an end so Jacob Banks and his amazing 4 piece band left the stage before the encore. One by one they re-emerge and Jacob introduced them in a very sweet way. Each of them were brothers from other mothers and sisters from other misters 😀 I loved the fact that Jacob Banks seemed to have opened up a little and spoke to us a little more.
Finally he said that:
Thank you for choosing to be here. You could have spent your evening doing something else but you chose to support us. We really appreciate thank you so much!
and with that he introduced his biggest hit “Chainsmoking” and wooo’s and yeah’s rang around the X-tra. What a song! What a voice! What a man! Amazing moves! But see for yourself:
Amazing right? I’m so glad Loads of Music and I got to see this brilliant gig which was the last one in 2018. Here’s to 2019 with many more gigs to be review here on Kekoas Korner! 🙂 Share your memories right here or on Instagram. 🙂
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! Continue reading “Ed Sheeran: 2 nights, 1 man, 1 voice, 1 guitar and 96'000 backing singers and dancers”→
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 🙂
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.
oznor
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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.
mde
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.
