Dr. Frank live in Baltimore

It was Thursday, June 21st. I had arrived in Philadelphia coming from Zürich and drove south into the heat of Maryland (104° Fahrenheit). Not the most relaxing way to start one’s vacation but I didn’t want to miss the rare opportunity to see some one of the most underrated punk musicians coming out of retirement. After three hours of sleep in the hotel I got up and drove to the Ottobar. I got there half an hour before midnight local time. Mikey Erg was still on stage and sang some pop punk songs on his own with just an electric guitar (sounding excellent). His songs were pretty cool and he was obviously enjoying the gig. The audience – maybe 200 people – was in a good mood, too, albeit a bit exhausted, because the event (Insubordination Fest) was already rolling since 6 pm.

Mikey Erg live in Baltimore (June 21st, 2012)

Dr. Frank hit the stage after a really quick change over. His backing band that night were the Mixtapes, who delivered a powerful, passionate performance. Dr. Frank himself wasn’t completely sober and kept on drinking throughout the show. I guess a proper punk rock concert was a nice change for him compared to his usual book reading events that take place during the day and have young adult readers in the audience. I had no idea what kind of setlist to expect. Needless to say I was thrilled when “Sackcloth and Ashes” was played as opener. A barrage of MTX classics followed (“Here She Comes”! “Semi-OK”! “I Love You, but You’re Standing on My Foot”!). I loved every minute of it! The 30-second song “Told You Once” (off the “Short Music for Short People” compilation) was played three times in a row before the other musicians left Dr. Frank alone on stage for a couple of softer songs (mainly about alcohol and romance).

The mood during this part of the show was especially relaxed. It was cool to see several other artists standing by the side of the stage and singing along every word by heart. After a formidable version of “Even Hitler Had a Girlfriend”, the House Boat guys joined Dr. Frank for a couple of songs. Finally, two of the best songs (“Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba” and “Dumb Little Band”) from the best MTX album “Love Is Dead” concluded the set and the audience went wild one last time. There were stagedivers and happy faces and all was good despite the Baltimore heat at 1 am.

Dr. Frank (and the Mixtapes) live in Baltimore

I hesitate to lament the lack of public interest in the event. It was great to see this style of music played in such a small place. No way a stadium gig could feel as imminent. It all reminded me of the MTX concert I attended back in 2001 in Stuttgart, Germany. Maybe it’s even a good thing that shows like these have become scarce. We’re all getting older and punk rock nostalgia is one of the ugliest forms of nostalgia if you ask me. Still, on that sweaty Thursday night Love might have been dead, but Punk certainly wasn’t.

  1. Sackcloth and Ashes
  2. Last Time I Listened to You
  3. Danny Partridge Got Busted
  4. Here She Comes
  5. She’s No Rocket Scientist
  6. I Love You, but You’re Standing on My Foot
  7. Semi-OK
  8. I Wrote a Book About Rock and Roll
  9. Told You Once
  10. Told You Once
  11. Told You Once
  12. Now That You Are Gone
  13. She Runs Out When the Money Does
  14. Two Martinis From Now
  15. Even Hitler Had a Girlfriend
  16. Gilman Street
  17. More Than Toast
  18. Somebody Who Cares
  19. Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba
  20. Dumb Little Band
  21. How’d the Date End?

PS: I’ll leave you with the wise words of Ben Weasel, who wrote on February 1st, 2004: In the meantime it’s worth the price of admission and then some to see [the Mr. T Experience] play. Whatever one of those American Pie bands might be worth, the MTX is worth double, and I’m being kind to the AP bands. Buy their CDs. See them play. Be one of those few people who vote with their dollars for substance over posturing; for quality over marketing magic. Because twenty-five years from now, do you really wanna be the person who decided to see Journey when you could’ve seen AC/DC with Bon Scott? Of course you don’t.

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!

Suff-X in Konstanz, Jonathan Coulton in Amsterdam, The Hooters in Würselen

The gigs with Suff-X last weekend were thoroughly enjoyable. Especially the Opensee concert was a blast! We played a great show in front of 3000 surprisingly supportive people. Wahoo! Playing the drums for a change was a lot of fun. Check out some pictures! I also made a little behind-the-scenes video.

Next thing I knew I was sitting in a train to Amsterdam, where Jonathan Coulton (and Paul and Storm) played his first show in continental Europe. It was fun to meet folks from the forums and be surrounded by the eclectic population that is JoCo’s fan base. The concert was great, the banter hilarious and the city beautiful despite the light rain. I filmed a little travel diary. I also took some pictures.

Then I saw the Hooters in Würselen (near Aachen) at a beautiful venue (Burg Wilhelmstein). I sat near the mixing desk for a change and enjoyed the show from that perspective. My view looked like this. The setlist was spiced with a good dose of “Out of Body”, once again. No big surprises apart from that.

Jutze 52

Today at 19.15 German time (13.15 EST) I’ll be broadcasting a short live show online. Join me at Ustream!

I made a Jutze 52 page to wrap up the past 52 weeks of short songs and deadline frenzy. To celebrate the successful completion I also uploaded another live video. Check out “Laundry Day” below.

PS (edited): I played a jolly gig in Konstanz on December 17th, last year (!). Maybe there will be video footage online at some point. For now, here’s the setlist (I’m a bit pedantic with this kind of things):

  1. Die wichtigen Fragen
  2. Joey Dumps Pacey
  3. Wunschzettel
  4. Bio-Bier
  5. Mr. Tom Furby (Joe Covenant Lamb-cover)
  6. Der Speckgürtel von Paderborn
  7. Reis
  8. Laundry Day
  9. Einkaufszettel
  10. I Wish Natalie Portman Was My Neighbour
  11. Tinnitus

Rückblick auf meine ersten beiden Soloauftritte

Vorgestern hatte ich meinen ersten öffentlichen Soloauftritt. (Bis dahin hatte ich nur bei meiner Abschiedsfeier 2001 einmal solo gespielt.) Mein Debüt fand im Rahmen der Kulturnacht statt. Die bunte Mischung aus Schauspiel Musik, Tanz und anderer Kunst wurde von KUK (Kultur Uni Konstanz) veranstaltet. Vielen Dank an dieser Stelle an alle Beteiligten für einen tollen Abend!

Die Veranstaltung fand im Kulturladen in Konstanz statt. Mein Auftritt umfasste drei Stücke und steht (ohne die Anmoderation) bei YouTube.

  1. Die wichtigen Fragen
  2. Einkaufszettel
  3. Kulturnacht-Programm

Gestern folgte spontan gleich der nächste Soloauftritt. Unter dem Motto Küchenkunst gab es in einer WG ein buntes Programm u.a. mit Goethes Zauberlehrling (nass und klasse), Kammermusik (emotional und klasse) und A Cappella (sehr unterhaltsam und klasse).

Ich spielte erneut einige meiner 52-Sekunden-Lieder. Es lässt sich schwer in Worte fassen, wie gut es sich anfühlte, nach einem Jahr des Schreibens und Aufnehmens die Songs in freier Wildbahn zu erleben. Auch an dieser Stelle vielen Dank für Einladung und das tolle Publikum!

  1. The Time We’ve Lost
  2. Die wichtigen Fragen
  3. Wunschzettel
  4. Joey Dumps Pacey
  5. Reis (Video!)
  6. Laundry Day
  7. Einkaufszettel
  8. I Wish Natalie Portman Was My Neighbour

PS: Meine Musik steht unter einer Creative-Commons-Lizenz (by-nc). Das heißt, solange Jutze dabeisteht und kein Geld damit gemacht wird, kann man die Lieder einfach kopieren, verschenken, hören, nachspielen, ausschneiden und anmalen.

Richard Shindell live in Twickenham

Last Sunday, Richard Shindell played at the Twickenham Folk Club (upstairs in the Cabbage Patch Pub). It was the third time I saw him live. This time around Richard’s music was augmented by the very tasteful electric guitar playing of Marc Shulman.

I won’t bother you with boring details (keeping that for the Shindell mailing list). Among my personal highlights were a fantastic version of “Fishing”, the groovy new “Stray Cow Blues”, the 3/4-and-yet-no-waltz taxi drive meets folk song masterpiece “The Last Fare of the Day”, and finally “Wisteria”, the achingly beautiful song about a nostalgic encounter with a place from one’s past. It doesn’t get better than this! The timeless story of “Reunion Hill” and the soothing darkness of “Nora” deserve a mention, as well.

Both musicians were in excellent shape. I loved how the whole gig was not a preprogrammed set but a dynamic journey through Richard’s repertoire (along with a couple of cover songs in between). Concert stables like “Transit” were thus played along with requests like “Nora” and “Confession”, the latter featuring very good impromptu arrangements by Marc Shulman. Richard kept telling stories in between songs, which added to the already rewarding concert experience. I really hope he’ll be back in Europe next year or so.

Marc Shulman and Richard Shindell

  1. The Kenworth of My Dreams
  2. You Stay Here
  3. Transit
  4. The Last Fare of the Day
  5. She Belongs to Me
  6. Fishing
  7. Nora
  8. A Change Is Gonna Come
  9. Confession
  10. Stray Cow Blues
  11. Wisteria
  12. Satellites
  13. Get Up Clara
  14. There Goes Mavis
  15. A Summer Wind, a Cotton Dress
  16. Reunion Hill
  17. Arrowhead
  18. One Man’s Arkansas

The Hooters live in Friedrichshafen

Yesterday, the Hooters played in Friedrichshafen. This was the first time I had to take the ferry to get to a concert. Funnily, the band played “South Ferry Road” this time around. They also had plenty of songs from “Out of Body” in the setlist, four in total. I liked that. Two new songs from the upcoming EP “Five by Five” were also featured. “Pissing in the Rhine” was sung in German; a quick rocking opening track with no deeper meaning as far as I can tell from one listen. “Silver Lining” was a bit closer to serenity of the “Time Stand Still” record, yet had an upbeat infectious chorus. One of the highlights was the ending of “500 Miles”. Eric (on harmonica) and guest musician Tommy Williams (on guitar, helping out until Eric’s broken shoulder is healed) delivered a fascinating duel that reminded me of the tours in 2004 and 2005, when the band jammed quite a lot. I wasn’t perfectly happy with Johnny B being put into the encore section of the setlist. I always loved how “the big hit” came on halfway through the set, paving the way for a grand finale of non-stop rock with Karla, Satellite, Danced and so on. Anyway, be sure to catch the band on their 30th anniversary tour this summer!

  1. Pissing in the Rhine
  2. Day by Day
  3. South Ferry Road
  4. Fightin’ on the Same Side
  5. The Boys of Summer
  6. Great Big American Car
  7. Silver Lining
  8. 500 Miles
  9. Morning Buzz
  10. Deliver Me
  11. Private Emotion
  12. I’m Alive
  13. Twenty-Five Hours a Day
  14. Satellite
  15. All You Zombies
  16. Karla With a K
  17. And We Danced
  18. Johnny B
  19. Free Again
  20. Boys Will Be Boys
  21. One of Us
  22. Time After Time

Fran Smith, Jr. (The Hooters) live in Friedrichshafen