Review Archives - Kekoas Korner

Can you feel the Zurich Love Rudimental?

February 2, 2019June 23, 2019 kekoaskorner

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!

Check out my latest gigs: Snow Patrol, Jacob Banks, Black Eyed Peas

Allgemein, Concerts

From the view of Welshly Arms' Merch Seller

September 28, 2017June 23, 2019 kekoaskorner

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. The interview in English will follow tonight on my blog. The interview in German is already up on ARTNOIR.
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 😉
Black and white and indicated pictures by Denise Stocker.

Allgemein, Concerts

Justin Nozuka brought the summer back

September 27, 2017June 23, 2019 kekoaskorner

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.

Allgemein, Concerts

P!nk @ Waldbühne, Berlin 11. / 12.08.17

August 14, 2017June 23, 2019 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.

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.

2017-08-12 18.11.28 — 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 🙂

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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