Allgemein, Concerts

00s Throwback with Alien Ant Farm and P.O.D

On Sunday night Goodnews Productions made it possible for Kekoas Korner to watch Alien Ant Farm and P.O.D. in Zurich at Dynamo. It was a major throwback to when MTV still played videos like Dryden Mitchell said.

I really didn’t know what to expect from this night because – obviously – it isn’t the kind of music I usually listen to. However, I was super excited to cross some more “teen years” bands of my bucket list. The 68’s were up first, so early that we didn’t manage to catch them because our belly needed fuel for the night 🙂

Alien Ant Farm – back when MTV still played videos

Three huge Alien Ant Farm logos were put on stage. The third one was printed on a backdrop with a beautiful earth – Obviously the view of an alien. Colour, neon lights made the stage perfect! Who needs more? 🙂
The four lads from California took the stage with “Bad Morning”, “What I feel” and “Movies”. I loved the atmosphere already. People were really enjoying themselves and when Dryden announced the following it was time to freak out:

Back when MTV still played videos and not Jersey Shore etc. we had the pleasure of shooting this amazing video on top of the Masonic Temple. Who remembers it?

And with that “These days” started. I felt like 12 again and I knew exactly what they were talking about. What an iconic video and that song was one of my favs back then.

Dedication to our Mom’s and Chester Bennington

“Rubber Mallet”, “Wish”, “Neverment” followed this early highlight. Dryden Mitchell surprised me with his next dedication. He said that the next song is his Mom’s favourite and he literally just got off the phone with her. So let’s dedicate the next song to all the Moms because who doesn’t love their Mom’s. “Attitude” was another person’s favourite: Chester Bennington from Linkin Park. Alien Ant Farm dedicated “Attitude” to all the Moms and Chester Bennington. What a lovely unexpected touch.

“Courage”, “Lord Knows” and a cover by Bad Brains were next. Someone shouted “Smooth Criminal” and Dryden replied not yet first we do this cover is that OK? 🙂 I’m really glad that this person shouted it because it meant that I wasn’t the only one waiting for that song either. “Sticks and “Stones” came on before Alien Ant Farm had to say “Goodbye” already. The hour-long set was over sooo quickly. But then finally the lights went red and the telltale chords started. Everyone whooped and started singing:

Annie are you OK? Are you OK, Annie?

I loved it! 😀 And with that I knew I had to get an Alien Ant Farm shirt. I thought that a black shirt with a white logo would be amazing but unfortunately, they didn’t have it. However, they had a preeeetty sick shirt instead which was just as nice – reasonably priced as well. Happy camper over here!

P. O. D – Rockin’ with the Best

At around 9.30 the four guys from P.O.D took the stage and the atmosphere was amazing from the start. The energy was rad and the moshpits started to form already with “BOOM”, “Rock the Party” and “Will you”. When Sonny asked us to put our hands up and bounce everyone – seriously everyone – did it. What an atmosphere. I love those Nu Metal, Punk, Rock gigs. Honestly, their gigs usually have one of the best atmospheres. And with that Sonny already jumped into the crowd and said hi.

“Panic Attack”, “Rocking with the Best” and “Soundboy Killa” was next. After thanking both the 68’s and Alien Ant Farm for opening the show and warming up the crowd, P.O.D as well dedicated a song to Chester Bennington – their buddy who will be missed. Sometimes you forget that Linkin Park was actually a Metal band because their songs became so mainstream. I thought the dedication was a nice touch. One band that will forever be on my bucket list to watch – May he rest in peace.

So-Cali in my Head

I really loved the variety in P.O.D’s set as well. From the really hard metal to rap to reggae – they had everything! The new spring weather we experience already made my day and if you are looking for your next summer hit, don’t go too far: “Always Southern California” is the perfect song! Another new song “Circles” followed but the crowd was in full voice again! Big thumbs up for the Swiss crowd and even P.O.D saw that! They said:

You guys go crazy on a Sunday Night!

“Satellite”, “Southtown” and “Murdered Love” were up next. I felt like the crowd got even louder! The sold-out Dynamo definitely peaked when the next song started. The phones went up, the moshpits opened up and we were ready to sing “Youth of the Nation”. Check out my story highlights on IG to get a feel of what I mean. Another song I never expected to hear at a punk gig: A very beautiful ballad called “Beautiful”. I was swaying from side to side and enjoyed it very much.

“On the Radio” got us back on the expected track. With “Aliiiiiiiiiive” the audience was in full voice again and after 90mins we were “Listening for the Silence”. The lights came on and the music started but I think P.O.D had such a great time that they just decided to come back and play 3 more songs! They said we will play until they kick us out! 😀 They really did play until 11 o’clock when they had to stop because of the curfew. Everyone walked out with a smile on their face.

Alien Ant Farm and P.O.D rocked the sold-out Dynamo crowd and more than once we had a throwback feeling back to the good old days when MTV still played music videos. What a fantastic Metal, Punk, Rock evening and another very early highlight of 2019!

Allgemein, Concerts

Chained to the Rhythm with Walking Papers

A few weeks ago Shirley from Loads of Music told me to come along to see Walking Papers at Dynamo. And I trust her judgement on music so last night we headed to the venue where oddly enough not too many people were hanging outside compared to Sons of the East and Max Giesinger.

Fueled by Grace

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Unfortunately for the support act my first impressions were right. Only a few peeps showed up for their set which was a very good warm up – especially since it’s been short notice for them. My fave was called “Escape”. It has a bit of a country vibe to me. The guys did their set in a very professional manner even though only a few people showed up. I felt very sorry for them. Here’s their set list if you wanna check out this cool Swiss band: 1. Overcome, 2. She, 3. Dad’s track, 4. Escape, 5. Home, 6. The End

And then came Walking Papers with Rattling Chains

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Walking Papers came on stage with “This is how it ends” and I was absolutely fascinated with the Saxophonist who was rattling a chain which sounded great. I couldn’t believe how easy it is to create such an amazing sound. Within the first few secs they already had me and the few people who showed up were about to witness a great rock show.
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“How it feels”, “Death on the Lips”, “Hard to look Away” were next and lead singer Jeff used the space and came down to us to rock out. In a small venue you can properly connect with the audience which I personally like very much. And like he said it’s bigger and better than a parking lot in which they played frequently.

Parking Lots are the same from Argentina to Zurich

The set continued with “Somebody Else”, “I’ll Stick Around”, “King Hooker”. It was great to see the 6 musicians doing their thing. You could feel and see that they knew what they were doing. The Sax, the guitar, the drums, the huge bass, the keys and of course the voice were on point!


“Into the truth”, “A place like this”, “The butcher” followed. But my highlight of the show was the Missionary Position cover “Every Man for himself”. A little audience choir sang the chorus back and the few people did a good job. What I love about the crowd yesterday was that they were quiet! Everyone enjoyed the good music and were dancing, head-banging, clapping or just listening which I was so happy to see. This is how I am at every gig haha

Christmas is in 3 months!

Was my first thought when Gregor – the Saxophonist – brought out the bells. If Walking Papers ever need female band member I’m in LOL I could do the bells, chains and rattle part 😀 “Capital T”, “Two Tickets and a Room”, “Already Dead”, “The Whole World’s Watching” were next. Walking Papers didn’t do the Encore thing they just played their songs without a break. After 90 mins we had only three songs left “Your Secret’s Safe with Me”, “Leave me in the dark” and “Red and White”. After a lot of good music, mic swinging and a bit of small talk the band jumped off stage to meet their fans by the merch.
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I headed for the toilet and I couldn’t believe that Jeff – the lead singer – was already there.  Other bands take minutes to hours and Walking Papers literally took only seconds to meet their fans. So if you see that Walking Papers are coming to your town please support them and enjoy a great rock show 🙂
Have you seen the Seattle Rockers live? Share your experience below:

Check out my latest gigs: Sons of the East, Selah Sue, Max Giesinger
Allgemein, Concerts

Wakey Wakey Zurich! It's Mando Diao!

On Tuesday night I got to see Mando Diao at Kaufleuten thanks to Mainland Music. The venue was sold out and it was quite packed. Luckily I found a good spot on the balcony. The Swedish lads have been around for ages but I never managed to see them live so I was super excited to cross them off my bucket list.
Razz
First up were a German band called RAZZ who reminded me of The New Cities. I liked their music but they couldn’t fully catch my attention. Nevertheless it was a good warm up and the sound suited Mando Diao.
Mando Diao
At 8.30 the lights went off and a long intro started. Finally the 5 musicians came on stage and the energy immediately radiated off them. With “San Francisco Bay” and “All the Things” they literally tried to wake us up and Björn the lead singer asked the crowd to come even closer to the stage. So his first words to us were:

Wakey Wakey Zurich!

“Sweet Ride” was next and one of my favourite songs of the night was “Good Times”. I loved the vibe and the good feeling the song transported. It will deffo make my playlist. We were asked to put our hands up and everyone complied. This was the perfect way to get everyone clapping. It looked amazing from the balcony and the Kaufleuten was buzzin’. “All my senses”, “Dancing all the way to hell” and “One two three” followed and by then I knew I should have seen them live sooner. Mando Diao is an absolute force on stage and they are making sure that you will have a good time for around 100 minutes of your day.
Mando Diao
The lights were amazing and different for every song. During “Mr. Moon” and “The Band” I looked around the audience and everyone had a smile on their face and were dancing. During “Break Us” only Björn Dixgard and the first Mando Diao member Daniel Haglund were on stage. Together they played this beautiful ballade – moment to just enjoy. Björn’s voice is quite remarkable. It seems like he drinks Whiskey for breakfast to get this beautiful raspy voice.
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The three others came back and the rock show continued with “Voices on the radio”, “Watch me now” and “Down in the past”. The guys did an amazing job to include everyone. Even the people on the balcony were involved. Mando Diao created a great atmosphere! Suddenly it felt like Kaufleuten turned the heating on. The warmth was rising from the people below or maybe it was just because Björn took of his shirt? 😉
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Before we were all looking for that special girl in the audience we rocked to “You got nothing on me”. And there she was “Gloria” – a huge hit and everyone knew it so we were asked to sing the chorus. So everyone shouted “Gloria” but the rest of the lyrics were quite a mumble which made even the band smile. So here are the lyrics for next time:

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

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


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

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

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