Tag: rain

Allgemein, Concerts

A truly magical place: Caribana Festival with The Script

kekoaskorner

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 🙂
Continue reading “A truly magical place: Caribana Festival with The Script” →

Allgemein, Concerts

Freedom Child Tour Diary: Dublin Night 3

kekoaskorner

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.
Ella Eyre
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.
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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.
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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
Allgemein, New Music

New Music: MANIA by Fall Out Boy

kekoaskorner

I love Fall Out Boy but I have never managed to see them live! It is quite a shame but I am hoping that they will come to a festival in Switzerland or add a Swiss date to their MANIA tour. But first things first let me introduce you to their newest record MANIA.

Fall Out Boy - Mania
wikipedia.com

MANIA is their 7th record and was released on January 19th. The album is 10 songs strong including the signature voice of Patrick Stump. I honestly love his voice. It has that certain something that you cannot train you just have it or you don’t. Patrick Stump definitely has it. For me Pete Wentz also plays a main part in Fall Out Boy. He not only promoted the band on One Tree Hill and had a liaison with Peyton played by Hillary Burton but his looks and his talent make him unique. Fall Out Boy to me represent the new generation of Rockstars 🙂 But of course without Joe Trohman and Andy Hurley there wouldn’t be a band and no Fall Out Boy.
Of course I had a first listen to the new record MANIA and I have already three favourites. The first one that got me dancing was “Hold Me Tight or Don’t”. It kinda reminds me of The Script’s “Rain” which is a good thing. While writing this I am still dancing 🙂 “Young and Menace” is super intense and has great vibes. The stops in the rhythm are brilliant and are quite popular these days. Fall Out Boy end MANIA with an anthem! “Bishops Knife Trick” has that certain feeling that it needs a stadium or a big venue to fully unfold its potential. But I immediately fell in love with it.
Listening to MANIA makes me realize how much I liked Fall Out Boy and with this review I’d like to make you want to listen to this band too. They have been around for years and deserve all the credit. So first YouTube video I share is my current favourite of the record “Hold Me Tight or Don’t”:

Isn’t this video amazing???!! The purple Skeleton is just the best costume. This song and the video are full of energy and good vibes. I hope you like it as much as I do. But of course I want to show you some more tunes! Fall Out Boy released a video for “Young and Menace” as well and here it is:

I love the Britney Spears reference. But WOW the video is super weird but again also very purple which matches the theme of the record. I would have loved to show you a video for “Bishop Knife Trick” but unfortunately I couldn’t find a good one. But as I said it’s better to listen to the song in a big venue anyway to really get that anthem feeling. To get the full picture here’s the full song list of Fall Out Boy’s 7th record MANIA:

  1. Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea
  2. The Last of the Real Ones
  3. Hold Me Tight or Don’t
  4. Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)
  5. Church
  6. Heaven’s Gate
  7. Champion
  8. Sunshine Riptide
  9. Young and Menace
  10. Bishops Knife Trick

All of my three favourites are on Kekoas Korner’s Spotify Playlist which you can find by clicking here. I will also notify you if Fall Out Boy decides to come to Switzerland on my social media channels Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. At the moment they are touring through Europe, the US and Asia. However there is a big break between the European and the American tour so I am hoping for a few festival announcements 🙂
But most importantly now is your opinion! How did you like MANIA? Leave a reply below.

Other new music: Alt-J and Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Allgemein, New Music

New Music: So much love for The Scripts Freedom Child

kekoaskorner

„Freedom Child“ by The Script is my most anticipated record of the year next to P!nk’s „Beautiful Trauma”. Two years ago they stopped touring and I didn’t know what to do with myself… just kidding! 🙂 They obviously deserved a break which was well needed but then at the beginning of this year the boys started to work on the new album and holy smokes we all were excited!

„Rain“ the first single was released in July and I remember listening to it on the train and absolutely loved it. The sound was new but still very Script-like. This single meant to the Script Family that an album and a tour was imminent. A month later they’ve got already the first shows under their belt. A US tour is following and now the European fans are wondering WHEN are they coming to Europe??
Back to the record. Like a child on Christmas Day I waited for the postman to deliver the album and finally at noon he decided to show up! And off it went into the record player 🙂 I have to say I was really surprised how different the sound was. The whole CD contains mostly up-tempo songs and is very dancy! I personally love it! The guys outdone themselves to write a whole new album with a different vibe but still keep the The Script signature.

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Excited!!!

First song “No Man is an Island” is a brilliant up-tempo song which I adore and made me immediately want to listen to the whole album even more. WOW “Arms open” is an anthem to friendship and so beautiful! I hope my friends that my arms are wide open if they need it. In the next song “Rock the World” we finally hear Mark rap/singing again. I love the beat of “Mad Love” and the lyrics are brill and quite funny. So The Script like 🙂 Now after listening on my way home in the car I realised this is my favourite track of the album!
In “Deliverance” Danny has been waiting all his life for the One to deliver him something. Well I can tell him whatever it is I will deliver it to him anytime just call me 😉 Back to serious matters. The band has always been political and socially critical but this is the most obvious song so far “Divided States of America” sounds like a marching song and the fighting spirit is palpable. I’m usually against politics in music but like P!nk in “Dear Mr. President” they talk about what they want to be changed and they don’t just badmouth the President with swearing words.
Surprisingly they even use auto-tune in “Wonders” but it’s a lovely ode to life:

Let’s see the 8 World Wonders before we’re 6 feet under.
Do everything we always talked about, mark them off the bucket list Go to Rome, stand in awe Climb a mountain in Nepal Land in China, walk the wall We gonna do it all Dance in Rio in the sun Head to Vegas for the fun Do the things we never done

“Love not Lovers”hits the nail on the head! It’s the perfect song for all those unlucky people who are trying to find love but only find lovers. The Script gives us hope that one day our day will come! So let’s cross our fingers that they are right. And as soon as you find someone you have a ready-made love song by the guys called “Eden”!
“Make up” is the slowest song on this record and tells of a beautiful story. If you are feeling down this your go to song! It instantly tells you to be proud of yourself and be who you are. Wonderful message thank you for this song. Also the next one “Written in the Scars” will lift you right up and it might even make you start dancing.
Lastly the title track of the album “Freedom Child” rounds off an amazing new The Script album. The “long” wait was well worth it and as I mentioned earlier I cannot wait until they tour Europe. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to go to any of the UK/US dates but I saw many pictures, videos and periscopes and let me say it again it’s good to have the boys back!
So if you haven’t already ordered or downloaded Freedom Child please do so right now! And no I’m not paid to say this I mean it. The lads are wonderful so is their music and this is how you can support them. Also make sure to check their homepage thescriptmusic.com for upcoming tour dates.

Calling the Script Family what do you think of the album and the new songs? Please comment below or on Kekoaskorner’s social media accounts facebook, instagram and twitter.

Allgemein, Concerts

P!nk @ Waldbühne, Berlin 11. / 12.08.17

kekoaskorner

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.

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“Let’s get this Party started!”

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.

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P!nks View from Saturday Night

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 🙂

oznor
Airwalk Balloon with P!nk inside

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.

oznor
Just Like Fire

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.

Allgemein, Concerts

Mary J. Blige @ Live at Sunset 09.07.17

kekoaskorner

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.

oznor
Mary J. Blige with her Kinky Boots

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.

dav
Beautiful setting @ Live at Sunset

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.