Dave Hause live in Hahnstätten

Yesterday, I was at my first concert since 2019: Dave Hause (along with Tim Hause) played in a garden in the middle of nowhere between Cologne and Frankfurt (Hahnstätten). What a relief! What a joy! And what an almost sacred feeling of cherishing music, hand-made and live, intense, soft, deep, flawed, spontaneous. Speaking of which, after the premiere of a brand new track (“Little Wings”) and a stunning rendition of “Saboteurs” came “Damascus” followed by an unplanned performance of the entire “Devour” album, which was then followed by the actual set. 25 songs, 2 hours, old and new, energetic and emphatic.

The audience was a bit shy, hell, I was shy. Can we sing along? Whistle? The dog next door had fewer reservations; he gladly barked whenever the audience clapped and also sometimes during the songs. The church bells at 9 pm interrupted the show for a minute or two. The audience was attentive, to say the least. No chatting, no murmuring, no stage-diving, either. “The Flinch” was one of my favourite songs of the evening. “Sandy Sheets” brought happiness and lightness and summer despite the chilly evening air. Thankfully there was no rain. Ending with “Fireflies” underneath the lightbulb cable in the tiny stage pavilion, the Hause brothers once again brought all the feelings, leaving everyone happy and moved.

  1. Little Wings
  2. Saboteurs
  3. Damascus
  4. The Great Depression
  5. We Could Be Kings
  6. Same Disease
  7. Before
  8. Father’s Son
  9. Stockholm Syndrome
  10. Becoming Secular
  11. The Shine
  12. Bricks
  13. Benediction
  14. Autism Vaccine Blues
  15. Shaky Jesus
  16. High Hopes
  17. Hanalei
  18. The Flinch
  19. Civil Lies
  20. Time Will Tell
  21. Surfboard
  22. Sunshine
  23. C’mon Kid
  24. Sandy Sheets
  25. Fireflies

Jutze live in Waiblingen

Ich spielte am 18. Oktober in Waiblingen im Kulturhaus Schwanen bei der dortigen Open Stage einige 52-Sekunden-Lieder. Den gesamten Auftritt gibt es nun zum Runterladen und Nachhören. Falls das wen interessiert. Neun Minuten Kurzeweile mit einer Ansage und den folgenden Liedern:

  1. Einkaufszettel
  2. Konrad
  3. Fremde Leute
  4. Tapirlied
  5. 79 Jahre
  6. Reis

Von wegen Lisbeth live in Potsdam

Kurz entschlossen besuchte ich am 12. September das Konzert von Von wegen Lisbeth im Waschhaus in Potsdam. Ich hatte am Tag des Auftritts zum ersten Mal von der Existenz der Band erfahren und ein paar Stücke auf YouTube angehört. Für 15 Euro an der Abendkasse kam ich so in den Genuss eines kurzweiligen Popmusikkonzertabends. Als Vorband spielten Findlay. Im vorderen Teil der Halle gab es leider sehr viel Bassgewummer, so dass Gesang und Melodien häufig im Lärm untergingen. Bei eingängigeren Songs wie “Electric Bones” wusste die Musik aber durchaus zu gefallen, zumal der Gesang bei aller Eigenwilligkeit eingängig blieb. Insgesamt hätte ich das Ganze natürlich gerne poppiger gehabt, da ich mit Grunge-Gitarren so meine Probleme habe. Den etwa 150 anwesenden Leuten schien es zu gefallen, wenngleich es nach acht Stücken keine nennenswerten Zugaberufe gab.

Von wegen Lisbeth machten im Anschluss daran praktisch alles richtig. Statt einem pseudoatmosphärischen Intro vom Band, begann der Auftritt mit einer passenden Keyboardexploration, die nahtlos in den Opener “Vor deiner Tür” überging. Mit vermeintlich einfachen Worten näherte sich das Lied vermeintlich einfachen Begebenheiten, doch zusammen mit der fluffigen, flotten, aufgeräumten und zugleich schwungvollen Popmusik wurde ich sofort in den Bann gezogen. Die Rhythmusgruppe legte einen starken Groove vor, auf dem sich Gesang, aber auch Gitarrenlicks, Elektro-Spielereien und Glockenspiel ausbreiten konnten. Die Stücke waren eingängig, eben nicht, weil der Titel zigmal wiederholt wurde, sondern weil Zeilen wie “Lang lebe die Störung im Betriebsablauf” so charakterstark sind, dass man unweigerlich den Drang verspürt, an Ort und Stelle ein Plakat mit dem Slogan zu malen. Manche Kompositionen wirkten ein wenig austauschbar, doch es war da eben etwas Eigenständiges, das deutlich zeigte, dass hier eine Band ihren Stil gefunden hatte.

Die fünf Musiker hatten sichtlich Spaß und lebten die Musik auf der Bühne, jeder auf seine Art. Statt dämlicher Loops gab es wohl dosiert Offbeats und richtiges Schlagzeug, welches von einem jüngen Simon Phillips-Klon gekonnt bearbeitet wurde. Statt langweiliger Soloteile gab es heitere Ansage; statt Coverversionen gab es durchgängig tanzbare Stücke, die bereits beim ersten Anhören zündeten. Kaum jemand im (überwiegend jungen, weiblichen) Publikum stand still. Statt verkrampft mit dem Handy das Geschehen zu filmen wurde getanzt, wurden die Gefühle der Musik verinnerlicht. (Entsprechend habe ich auch nur rasch ein einzelnes, unten zu sehendes Bild gemacht, was mit meinem Super-Duper-Handy auch ganz toll gelungen ist.) Etwa anderthalb Stunden lang waren Band und Publikum gemeinsam glücklich, wobei dieser Zustand auch nach den drei Zugabeliedern fortbestand.

Von wegen Lisbeth live in Potsdam (2015-09-12)

  1. Vor deiner Tür
  2. Bäreneck
  3. Schwester
  4. Kafka Luise
  5. Plötzlich
  6. Hellersdorf
  7. Cherie
  8. Milchschaum
  9. Drüben bei Penny
  10. Lang lebe die Störung im Betriebsablauf
  11. Bitch
  12. US-Studie
  13. Sushi
  14. Pflicht
  15. 14 Tage Testversion
  16. Das Zimmer

Von wegen Lisbeth Setlist (Konzert in Potsdam, 2015-09-12)

Help! A Beatles Tribute live in Schramberg

On Saturday, July 4th, 2015, I finally got to see Help! A Beatles Tribute. Two band members used to play with The Brandos, which is why I became aware of this Beatles cover band in the first place. Still, I went to the concert primarily to hear Beatles songs – and, hopefully, to get an idea what a Beatles concert would sound in the year 2015 if John, Paul, George, and Ringo had magically travelled through time (and had even more magically solved their conflicts). So I drove to Schramberg in the middle of the Black Forest. It was a particularly hot summer day and the town seemed very sleepy. As the sun set, however, people flocked to the venue, a beautiful garden area. About 350 people had arrived when the four musicians appeared on stage.

The music sounded terrific, mostly because the songs were and are amazing, but also because the band brought the tracks to life with fervent passion and dedication. This wasn’t about creating an exact copy of the original in terms of looks, chronology, or stage banter. Yet, the songs themselves were performed faithfully to the point where you could just close your eyes and pretend to witness the magical journey through time mentioned above. Here was a group of musicians with strong voices and even more impressive melodies. Song after song, hit after hit, classic after classic – it was a barrage of the very best that music has to offer. The first set was a blazing journey through 2-minute pop symphonies. The second set was more of the same with a few songs off the later albums. I just loved that Help! A Beatles Tribute focused on songs that work in a live setting.

There was hardly any pause between songs. There were no solos, no pointless animation attempts, no tiresome history excursions. Only once in every set did the band encourage singing along (“Yellow Submarine” and “Hey Jude”). Plus, there was a conga-line (Polonaise in German) during “Ob-la-di Ob-la-da”. Naturally, people sang along during most of the songs, anyway. The song selection left nothing to be desired. A few lesser known songs spiced up the show – and similarly to the original, there were a few driving cover songs sounded oh so good. I don’t remember the exact setlist, but the list below should be rather complete. If you get the opportunity to see the band (tour dates can be found here), go to their concert!

Help! A Beatles Tribute live in Schramberg (2015-07-04)

First Set:

A Hard Day’s Night
Eight Days a Week
Ticket to Ride
Love Me Do
I Should Have Known Better
Please Please Me
It Won’t Be Long
Rock and Roll Music
I Feel Fine
We Can Work It Out
The Night Before
From Me to You
Please Mr. Postman
Yellow Submarine
Can’t Buy Me Love
I Want to Hold Your Hand
Long Tall Sally

Second Set:

Help!
Day Tripper
Drive My Car
Paperback Writer
Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
I Saw Her Standing There
Get Back
Here Comes the Sun
Come Together
Revolution
Back in the U.S.S.R.
Ob-la-di Ob-la-da
I Wanna Be Your Man
She Loves You
Let It Be
Twist And Shout
Get Back
Don’t Let Me Down
With a Little Help From My Friends
Hey Jude

Encores:

The Ballad of John and Yoko
All My Loving
Yesterday
Roll Over Beethoven
Something

Chris de Burgh live in Trier (2013-04-05)

The concert was the first of the current tour, so the setlist was a complete surprise to everybody. Once again, Chris de Burgh had compiled a nice mix of old and new tracks. I really like how he brings back different older songs every tour. He also presented a new song, The Fields of Agincourt. It was in the vein of his battle songs with various moods that culminated in a forte ending. The audience was attentive and rather relaxed, especially towards the end. I especially enjoyed the Moonfleet songs and The Ballroom of Romance. The cover songs worked surprisingly well and brightened the atmosphere even further. Brother John felt a bit out of place; and The Mirror of the Soul and Bal Masqué had already been played four years ago at the same place. Anyway, it was a pleasant concert with a solid band performance and De Burgh’s impressive voice.

  1. Waiting for the Hurricane
  2. The Spirit of Man
  3. Up Here in Heaven
  4. Missing You
  5. The Traveller
  6. Ship to Shore
  7. The Mirror of the Soul
  8. The Same Sun
  9. The Escape
  10. Greater Love
  11. Already There
  12. The Fields of Agincourt
  13. Tender Hands
  14. Living on the Island
  15. Love and Time
  16. Summer Rain
  17. I’m Not Scared Anymore
  18. Borderline
  19. The Ballroom of Romance
  20. The Lady in Red
  21. Blue Bayou
  22. Let It Be
  23. Lady Madonna
  24. Long Train Running
  25. Africa
  26. Brother John
  27. Bal Masqué
  28. Don’t Pay the Ferryman
  29. High on Emotion
  30. The Snows of New York
  31. The Moonfleet Finale

Sophie Madeleine live in New York City

Thursday, June 28th, found me attending the seventh music event on the eighth day of my vacation. I had strolled the streets of Manhattan earlier that day and ate a delicious veggie burger at Earthmatters (177 Ludlow St New York, NY 10011). My feet got tired, eventually, and it was still rather hot outside, so I went to the Rockwood Music Hall in time to catch a couple of songs by the first artist playing there that evening. Matt Dorien sounded quite nice, playing some sort of mellow but not really mellow country folk songs (a bit Paul Simon-y in terms of the vocals) with a neat backing band. The sound man provided a good, balanced mix throughout the evening; my tortured ears were thankful. There were eight people in the audience (including me). I could write a whole post about this alone, because it shows a) that playing in NYC isn’t necessarily as glamorous as it sounds and b) despite the meagre attendance, the musicians gave it all and earned if not money at least valuable respect and experience.

Next came Emily Elbert, a jazzy singer who accompanied herself on acoustic guitar. She actually tore one of the strings towards the end, because her playing was quite energetic, yet still artistic. Her command of her talent was impressive, however, I’m not a fan of such daring tonalities. The crowd (about 25 by now!) liked her quite a bit, though. Daniel and the Lion played laid back folk songs, but they had an aweful lot of very somber, soft songs. My attention drifted time and again as I failed to connect to the songs. The duo (piano and guitar/vocals) had come from Wisconsin to find about 30 people listening (which made the venue half-empty/half-full). Again, I doubt any artist can achieve sustainable success without this sort of commitment. Still, even then it comes down to whether the front row is swinging in the groove or not. People seemed to enjoy the show and were listening attentively during the quiet parts, even though they had chatted loudly just a few minutes earlier. This certainly helped to make the performers feel good.

Around 9 pm it was time for Sophie Madeleine, the reason I had come to the venue. She’s one half of Rocky & Balls whom I first found out about through Tom of the Boffo Yux Dudes. Some of her songs are way too “fluffy” for my taste. Still, she has produced a few gems – and admission was free, after all! When Sophie (together with Timothy on guitar and harmony vocals) entered the stage, I was skeptical, because there was a ton of gear. Miraculously, the change over didn’t take too long and everything worked. When the show began with pre-recorded loop samples, I was afraid that the gig would turn into a karaoke session. Thankfully, this wasn’t the case. Most songs were played 100% live – and for some songs, the loops were recorded on location, which was quite fascinating. Sophie did play my favourite song of hers, “Little One“, so I was happy. She also premiered a new song that was possibly the most introverted of the songs she played. The audience (still 30 noses) was once again attentive yet a bit reserved. I found it quite impressive to see such a flawless performance close-up in this small room right there in the middle of the big city.

Sophie Madeleine live in New York

I was tempted to stay longer because all artists had been quite skilled and four more were to play. (The venue has hourly slots for artists every day of the week.) But my hotel bed beckoned and I wanted to end my week-long music adventure with a positive memory – and Sophie Madeleine had just provided one.

  1. Song to Fall in Love to
  2. The Rhythm You Started
  3. Little One
  4. Stars
  5. Butterfly Child
  6. Beautiful Lie (new song, not sure about the title)
  7. Come Follow Me

Jutze live bei der Kulturnacht 2012

Gestern Abend fand im Kulturladen Konstanz einmal mehr die Kulturnacht des KUK statt. Los ging es mit einer beeindruckend flüssigen Tanznummer. Im weiteren Verlauf gab es allerlei coole Auftritte, von Leuchtschwebestabfaszination über tendenziell skurille Texte von Matze B. bis hin zu einem mehr als kurzweiligen Kurzfilm. Es gab auch allerlei Musik, u.a. etwas Herr-der-Ringe-Filmmusik und zum Schluss das unterhaltsame Akustik-Trio Redensart mit flotten Songs.

Zwischendurch war auch ich für ein paar Lieder auf der Bühne.  Hier ist “Konrad”:

Meine Setlist sah so aus:

  1. Einkaufszettel
  2. Konrad
  3. Reis
  4. I Wish Natalie Portman Was My Neighbour

Omas Weihnachtsessen – Jutze live in Konstanz

Last Friday I played here in Konstanz at the Rheintorturm. Thomas and Suff-X played as well. It was a lot of fun. Here’s a first video from that evening, “Omas Weihnachtsessen” – a Paul and Storm cover.

My setlist ended up looking like this:

  1. Die wichtigen Fragen
  2. Einkaufszettel
  3. Konrad
  4. Die Müllabfuhr der Seele
  5. Toilet Song
  6. A Mallful of Brains
  7. Omas Weihnachtsessen
  8. Reis
  9. I Wish Natalie Portman Was my Neighbour
  10. Der Speckgürtel von Paderborn

Richard Shindell live in London

Richard Shindell live in London (2011-11-20) live photo by Johannes Schult

Here’s a review of Richard Shindell‘s early show at the Green Note in London, November 20th, 2011 (abbridged version of my post on the Shindell List).

The Green Note is a wonderful pub in Camden/London. Unfortunately, they didn’t serve any food this early, but the menu looked delicious. The staff was very friendly and made the stay even more enjoyable. There were maybe 50 people and the place was rather packed. (The evening show was sold out; this one possibly, too.)

There was a window in the roof, so the stage actually faced towards daylight. Richard pretended to be annoyed when he came on stage and remarked that he was practically a vampire. “Fishing” isn’t the happiest song in the universe, so the lack of visual gloom didn’t really matter. Richard talked a lot between songs. He told the story behind the guitar (from 1931, which he had bought from Stephen Bruton) in “Your Guitar”, a new song that has a somber feeling, sort of the atmosphere of “Abuelita” mixed with the rhythm of “State of the Union”. Some of the harmonies are pure gold. “Deer on the Parkway”, another new song, followed. He elaborated on the story of the original title (“Deer on the Saw Mill”) and that he didn’t like the implication: “Just… gore.” It sounds a bit like atmosphere of “Calling the Moon” mixed with the rhythm of “Parasol Ants”. I’m looking forward to hear a fully produced version.

“Abuelita” was the first real surprise. I really like how (so far) every Richard Shindell concert I attended featured a couple of songs I haven’t heard live before. I’m also fascinated that there appears to be a healthy mix of all studio albums in Richard’s setlists. In “Transit” he sang “Democrats and Republicans; but mainly Republicans”, which drew some laughter. The audience was “civil”, yet the closeness kept everybody attentive. “Get Up Clara” was groovy with its intricate finger picking and the dark atmosphere. In the middle part he inserted a talking bit that went like: “Here should be a bridge; but it would have to be an aqueduct.” He then promoted his “new” album, “Thirteen Songs You, Or May Not Have Heard Before”. He went on a detour about how it is not (yet) available in the U.S. – and how in the 80s people had always “gone to the UK” and then reappeared as rock stars. He translated this situation to his career in a hilarious way, saying that he’s hoping to raise his hipness factor by having a U.K.-only album – at least for another week before the U.S. release.

There was another unexpected song: “Canciòn Sencilla”. Once again, Richard spent almost as much time telling the story behind the lyrics as he spent playing the actual song. Did I mention that Richard was singing and playing fantastically? He took his time tuning and re-tuning his guitar, but apart from it was a great performance, technically flawless and still really intense. Between “Arrowhead” and “Reunion Hill” he recounted his encounters with civil war reenactors (that are attracted by his war songs) and how they asked him what kind of underwear the characters in his songs would have worn. Unlike the humorous chatter between songs, the actual song (“Reunion Hill”) was just sublime – so hauntingly beautiful! The encore was yet another surprise: “Mariana’s Table”, Richard’s favourite song off “Not Far Now”. He described his new home in Argentina at great length, suggesting that the seemingly endless pampa there would cause “horizontal vertigo”.

After the gig, Richard sold his CD and was, just like during the concert, very nice and talkative. All in all it had been a wonderful concert with many new songs, quite a few unexpected rarities, and some of the classical Shindell “hits”. Here’s the complete setlist:

  • Fishing
  • Your Guitar
  • Deer on the Parkway
  • Are You Happy Now?
  • Abuelita
  • Transit
  • The Last Fare of the Day
  • Get Up Clara
  • Satellites
  • Stray Cow Blues
  • Canciòn Sencilla
  • Arrowhead
  • Reunion Hill
  • There Goes Mavis
  • Mariana’s Table

Jutze im Vorprogramm von Phrasenmäher in Konstanz

Mein Auftritt im Vorprogramm von Phrasenmäher im Kulturladen hat Spaß gemacht! Meine Setlist sah ungefähr so aus:

  1. Die wichtigen Fragen
  2. Reis
  3. Badreligion
  4. Laundry Day
  5. 135 Zeichen
  6. Lisa
  7. Konrad
  8. Der Speckgürtel von Paderborn
  9. Fußball und Katze
  10. A Mallful of Brains
  11. Essen
  12. Die Müllabfuhr der Seele
  13. Einkaufszettel
  14. I Wish Natalie Portman Was My Neighbour

Der Auftritt von Phrasenmäher war sehr kurzweilig. Ein, zwei Songs waren zu groovy und zu wenig rockig für meinen Geschmack – aber insgesamt klang das alles sehr ansprechend. Neben unterhaltsamen Liedern wie “Hochklappdings” und “Vater” gab es auch diverser improvisierte Einlagen, die für Kurzeweile (?) sorgten. Das Publikum, das bei mir noch überwiegend abwartend am Boden saß, war beeindruckend aktiv, springend, singend, divend und sogar joggend! Und nicht eine einzige Nase, die desinteressiert hinten stand. Schöner Konzertabend!