Welcome to another entry in my personal Music Diary, today for the 24th October!
Back in the year 2000 I had my first live experience with an outstanding band from Finland: Apocalyptica! The quartet played a sold out and breathtaking show in Munich at the Muffathalle. You weren’t there but you would love to see this? No problem at all because this concert was filmed and released on DVD called “Apocalyptica Live” which features mostly songs from the masterpiece “Cult“.
P.S.: A few months before that show I did an interview with Eicca Toppinen at the music fair in Cologne (see the picture below) – you can watch the video here (just scroll down a little bit)!
Eicca Toppinen (Apocalyptica) with Alex Melomane (Cologne – 2000)
04/11/2005:
STEVE WYNN & THE MIRACLE 3 – Ebensee (Kino)
The very first time I saw Steve Wynn! He played with his band The Miracle 3 (feat. Linda Pitmon on drums, Jason Victor on guitar and Eric van Loo on bass) at the Kino in the tiny village of Ebensee in Upper Austria. Brilliant show and much fun for everybody (check out the pictures below) and a BIG THANK you to Steve, who was so nice and signed my whole collection after the show 😉
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If you have missed the show there is a wonderful substitute – the live release of „Live Tick“ which was recorded just one day after the show in Ebensee (5th November 2005).
The Setlist:
Death Valley Rain
Cindy, it was always you
Blind Willie McTell
Bruises
Southern California Line
What comes after
Stare it down
California Style
Your Secret
There will come a Day
Wired
The Deep End
Killing Me
Nothing but the Shell
That’s what you always say
Amphetamine
No Tomorrow
When the Curtain falls
500 Girl Mornings
The Days of Wine and Roses
John Coltrane Stereo Blues
07/11/1999:
JETHRO TULL – Munich (Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle)
Support by The Mark Gillespie Band
Jethro Tull presented their new studio album „j-tull.com“ in Munich (Rudi Sedlmayr Halle). Beside brand new songs like „Spiral“, „Hunt by Numbers“ or „AWOL“ Ian Anderson and his band played classics like „Jeffrey goes to Leicester Square“, „Hunting Girl“ and the tune „Back to Budapest“ feat. Leslie Mandoki on percussion.
09/11/2003: 16 HORSEPOWER – Arena (Big Hall)
Support by At The Close Of Every Day
The Setlist:
Strong Man
Horse Head
Slow Guilt Trot
American Wheeze
Prison Shoe Romp
Straw Foot/Phyllis Ruth
I seen what I saw
Straight Mouth Stomp
Shametown
Harm’s Way
Black Soul Choir
Haw
South Pennsylvania Waltz
Brimstone Rock
Dead Run
Straw Foot
For Heaven’s Sake
The Setlist:
Black Mirror
Keep the Car running
No Cars go
Haiti
Black Wave/Bad Vibrations
In the Backseat
Neon Bible
Age of Consent (New Order Cover)
Intervention
Antichrist Television Blues
The Well and the Lighthouse
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
Rebellion (Lies)
Windowsill
I’m so bored with the USA (The Clash Cover)
Still ill (The Smiths Cover)
Wake up
11/11/2010:
STEVE WYNN & THE MIRACLE 3 – Vienna (Chelsea)
Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3 introduced us their new album „Northern Aggression“ in Vienna at the Chelsea. Steve, Jason Victor, Eric van Loo and Linda Pitmon rocked with full force – another amazing performance of this outstanding group!
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The Setlist:
Resolution
Cindy, it was always you
Shelley’s Blues, Pt. 2
Consider the Source
Love me anyway
Daddy’s Girl
No One ever drowns
Bullet with my Name on it
Now I ride alone
Colored Lights
Death Valley Rain
Burn
The other Side
Still holding on to you
Amphetamine
Ribbons and Chains
Strange new World
The Way you punish me
The Days of Wine and Roses
Just before the show I did an interview with Steve for the Austrian independent radio station B138 – you can stream/download it for free here!
My first live experience with New Model Army in Munich at the Muffathalle. I was very impressed by the amazing fanbase who came from all around Europe to see Justin Sullivan with his band on that tour feat. the new album „Carnival“.
The Setlist:
Whirlwind
Believe it
Water
Fate
Wonderful Way to go
Carlisle Road
Another Imperial Day
Here comes the War
Snelsmore Wood
Red Earth
Before I get old
Island
51st State
No Rest
Purity
Poison Street
Get me out
Flying through the Smoke
Green and Grey
Vagabonds
125 mph
The Setlist:
West Country Girl
Abattoir Blues
Red Right Hand
The Ship Song
Deanna
The Weeping Song
Hallelujah
Babe, you turn me on
Rock of Gibraltar
Tupelo
Cannibal’s Hymn
The Mercy Seat
God is in the House
People ain’t no good
Henry Lee
Right out of your Hand
The Lyre of Orpheus
Nobody’s Baby now
Love Letter
Little Janey’s gone
Sad Waters
Jack the Ripper
The Setlist:
Krautobahn
The Devil is a Girl
Red Room
Kinski
Oh la la (Love is dead)
I was not to you what you were to me
Mother Nature
Katzenjammer
Amsterdam
No
Sour Grapes
Pornography
Low-Dive Jenny
Can’t stop laughing
Oh la la/Outro
Woven Hand again – this time in Salzburg at the ARGE! Amazing performance! David Eugene Edwards, Pascal Humbert, Peter van Laerhoven and Ordy Garrison created a wonderful atmosphere and the performance was just breathtaking. It was obvious that DEE suffered the jetlag, but nevertheless he gave everything on the stage. After the show we met Ordy, Peter and Pascal at the local bar. We talked about the upcoming shows – Woven Hand was booked for Moscow on that tour! They signed the official concert poster and some CD covers and then left for the tourbus.
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The Setlist:
Winter Shaker
The Speaking Hands
Elktooth
Into the Piano
Dirty Blue
Whistling Girl
Full Armour
Truly Golden
White Bird
Deerskin Doll
Phyllis Ann/Swedish Purse
Down in yon Forest/Tin Finger
Chest of Drawers
Your Russia
Another review (in German) of that concert you can read here!
17/11/2006:
AL DeLONER – Ebensee (Kino)
Support by Einar Stenseng
Al DeLoner (ex member of the wonderful Norway band Midnight Choir) dedicated his show in Ebensee (Kino) that night to Nikki Sudden who died on the 26th March 2006. Great show and Al was so nice to sign some covers after the performance.
17/11/2011:
THE REVEREND PEYTON’S BIG DAMN BAND – Wels (Sound Theatre)
The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band played the first time in Wels at a beautiful location called Soundtheatre. Unfortunately not many people found their way to the location and so it was more a familiar concert. But nevertheless the Rev with Breezy on the washboard and Cuz on the drums kicked ass that night! They entered the stage to the sound of „Bro Hymn“ by Pennywise before they rocked like hell!
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As you can see – Breezy does it like Jimi Hendrix 😉
The Setlist:
Entering the Stage to the sound of “Bro Hymn” by Pennywise
My Soul to keep/When the Saints go Marching in
My Old Man Boogie
Worn Out Shoe
Glory, Glory Hallelujah
Ft. Wayne Zoo
Lick Creek Road
Everything’s Raising
Easy come, easy go
Clap your Hands
Elder Greene Blues (Charley Patton Cover)
Shake it and break it (Charley Patton Cover)
Mama’s Fried Potatoes
Born Bred Corn Fed
Some of these Days I’ll be gone (Charley Patton Cover)
Train Song
Your Cousin’s on Cops
Two Bottles of Wine
Sugar Man
18/11/2009: THE BUILDERS & THE BUTCHERS – Salzburg (Rockhouse)
Unfortunatley singer Ryan Sollee was not on that tour due to swine flue! Ryan Neighbors from Portugal. The Man played on some songs Acoustic Guitar! The Builders And The Butchers were only support for Portugal. The Man on their European Tour!
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The Setlist: Devil Town
Bottom of the Lake
Vampire Lake
Down in this Hole
In the Branches
The Coal Mine Fall
Slowed down Trip to Hell/Children of the Grave (Black Sabbath Cover)
When it rains
Setlist (Woven Hand): White Bird
Kicking Bird
Deerskin Doll
The Beautiful Axe
Tin Finger
Your Russia
As I went out one Morning (Bob Dylan Cover)
Kingdom of Ice
The Speaking Hands
Whistling Girl
Winter Shaker
Horse Head Fiddle
Heart and Soul (Joy Division Cover)
Setlist (Emily Jane White): A Shot rang out
Frozen Heart
Never dead
The Waltz
Stairs
Wild Tigers
Bessie Smith
California
Victorian America
Dark Undercoat
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Setlist (Lonely Drifter Karen):
Passengers of the Night
The Angels sigh
The Carousel is turning
Salvation
Julie was an Angel
Carousel Horses
The Owl moans low
Giselle
This World is crazy
Climb
Grass is singing
True Desire
Setlist (Chris Eckman & The Frictions):
Healing Waters of the Flood
Grand Theft Auto (Walkabouts)
Ransom
Crime Story (Walkabouts)
Stranger
Cut and Run
False Alarm
The Stopping-Off Place (Walkabouts)
Road
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Ghost Rider (Suicide Cover)
22/11/2008:
WOVEN HAND – Kortrijk (Stadsschouwburg)
As we arrived in Kortrijk we were very curioius about the fact, that Woven Hand will play the so called „Next Festival“. We hit the city approximately at 6 o’clock and then we were looking for the location called Stadsschouwburg, which is a beautiful building. In a café beside we drank some beers and by reading some flyers there we finally recognised, that the “Next Festival” is an international arts festival which was running from 21st November until 13th December 2008.
As we entered the building at 9 o’clock we were heading to the hall, which is a modern and beautiful theatre with seats. So we found us in the first row in front of David and we were impatiently waiting for our very first “Ten Stones” live experience.
The light went out at 10 o’clock and David (with his bandana again) entered with Ordy the stage to open the show with the Bob Dylan cover “As I went out one Morning” which featured some vocal improvisations. Then the first song of the new record was played – a powerful “Kicking Bird” hit me with full force – Ordy’s heavy drumming, the drowning in the background and Pascal’s bass playing kicked ass. And David rocked like always and shaked his head and feet wildly! After that it was obvious that this place is perfect – the sound was crystal clear and the seats very comfortable. Unfortunately the stage was a little bit far away and the light was very dark, so you have to need some flashlight to take good pictures. “The Beautiful Axe” followed – a new song, which was already played at the last tour in summer. Very powerful, impressive and intense again! After that, David said “Thank you”, made some vocal improvisations before Ordy played the first notes of “The Speaking Hands”. As you all already know, this is live still a real killer and rocks like a beast. And not only me was headbanging – a lot of others banged and so some people might thought, that this is a Heavy Metal concert. “Just like the lightening from out of the sky, all men will see Him, and all men will cry” was the vocal improvisations in the song, before the last two minutes with full power filled the theatre. What a performance, I was thinking after this song. Then a very big surprise came next: Another vocal improvisations lead into “Splinters” from the fantastic 16 Horsepower album “Secret South”. When they played this one, pictures from the amazing black and white video came into my mind. This one gave me the creeps again. Then David showed us some vocal improvisations and Ordy played his typically intro for “Tin Finger” which David followed by knocking rhythmically on his guitar. Also known as a wild live song it was very heavy performed and so it was time for more headbanging. David played with full force and so it was no surprise that one string broke during his performance. The roadie came to fetch his guitar and David grabbed the microphone with both hands and shouted “The love of Him is law” into the hall. The crowd went nuts and cheered loudly after this wonderful song. The amazing “Whistling Girl” followed and during this song Peter was putting a new string on David’s guitar and also played some riffs on it. Suddenly the sound engineer came to me and said: “Please don’t use flashlight when you take pictures”. “Oh, okay, I answered” and he patted on my shoulder and headed back to his mixing console. “Thanks for coming on such a nasty evening” (the weather was really not fine – it was cold and still snowing outside), David said while fetching his guitar. “That’s a new string, that’s gonna be trouble”, David joked while tuning his guitar. Then a loud twang sounded and David said “See what I mean”. The crowd laughed and “Dirty Blue” followed. With “Cohawkin Road” another new song was on the setlist. Especially the line “Yet in the mirror of the knife, I see only me” gives me the creeps at any time I hear it. The next surprise followed with some lines of “Consecration” in which David showed us again, that his voice is getting better and better. Peter lead then into the amazing “Horsetail”. When David sang “by the wave of the horsetail” he moved his left arm like a swinging horsetail. And by singing “there is number to your hours” twice he raised his left arm again and looked first on his watch and then to the crowd. And when David sang “You cannot reach Him, no not from your tallest spire” at the end of the song, he laid back and made circles with his right hand above his head by repeating the word “spire” over and over again. The live performance of “Kingdom of Ice” was not really new to us, because we heard this one also at the last summer tour. But the vocal improvisations before the begin was amazing again in which David hid some parts of his face with his right hand. After that, some other vocal improvisations and drownings lead into my personal favorite of “Ten Stones”. David turned to Ordy and then they started “Not one Stone”. Very powerful and Ordy’s unbelievable drumming gave me the creeps over and over again. Drowning, vocal improvisations and atmospheric sounding was the begin of the 16 Horsepower song “Horse Head Fiddle”, in which Peter, Pascal, Ordy and David created an unique atmosphere. With the next song the regular set was finished: After more vocal improvisations Ordy opened in his typical style the wonderful “Winter Shaker”. After the line “it is the storm that brought me in” the band created a real thunderstorm sound on their instruments. “Thank you very much” from David, some waves from Pascal, Peter and Ordy and so the band left the stage. During the encore break some Indian chants were played from a tape. After returning on the stage “Deerskin Doll” was next. Especially the last two minutes were amazing heavy played. And as David stood up to fetch his bandoneon the crowd cheered loudly. And with the first notes of “American Wheeze” everybody was shouting and crying. The atmosphere was just unbelievable during this song. A “Thank you very much” followed again and it seemed, that the show was over. But the crowd continued to cheer and applaud. I was seeing Ordy watching behind the curtain beside the stage and then Woven Hand returned once more. David was joking with Ordy and made some grimaces: He held his hands under his eyes and winked with his fingers to Ordy. Then the roadie plugged David’s guitar and the band gave us an intense and heavy finish with “Your Russia”. Everybody went nuts during this song and also Pascal was completely in the music and suddenly he was kneeling next to David for a few seconds. “Just like the lightening from out of the sky, all men will see Him, and all men will cry” was sang during a break again and then the band rocked with full force until the end. “Thank you VERY much, VERY much” were the last words from David before the band disappeared finally.
After the concert we were waiting outside the theatre and so I met Bert from Belgium again. The last time we saw each other was in Bonn at the Harmonie in October 2005. Approximately 30 minutes later we entered the hall again to meet the band. David was signing some covers and talked to some fans, while we said “Hello” to Peter, Ordy and Pascal and thanked for this wonderful show. We left by saying “See you tomorrow in Paris again”.
This concert was simply amazing. The sound crystal clear, the band in an excellent mood and the crowd was really awesome! So it was really perfect! And if you have got the chance to see a concert in this beautiful theatre – please do it! Especially the acoustic is outstanding.
The Setlist:
As I went out one Morning (Bob Dylan Cover)
Kicking Bird
The Beautiful Axe
The Speaking Hands
Splinters
Tin Finger
Whistling Girl
Dirty Blue
Cohawkin Road
Consecration
Horsetail
Kingdom of Ice
Not one Stone
Horse Head Fiddle
Winter Shaker
Deerskin Doll
American Wheeze
Your Russia
Just after the soundcheck I did an interview with David Eugene Edwards for the Austrian independent radio station B138. You can stream/download it for free here!
The Setlist:
White Bird
Kicking Bird
Deerskin Doll
The Beautiful Axe
Tin Finger
Your Russia
Kingdom of Ice
The Speaking Hands
Whistling Girl/As I went out one Morning (Bob Dylan Cover)
Winter Shaker
Heart and Soul (Joy Division Cover)
Read a nice review here (Achtung – it’s in German)!
So after the Kortrijk show our next concert was in Paris at the location called “La Maroquinerie” which is in the Rue Boyer. When we arrived it was great to meet Tony and Magali again. Although it was the first time to say “Hello” to Marie and Philippe – I only knew them via the internet so far. We had some time and so we went into the restaurant of the club. A very nice place and it was obvious that you get real excellent food here. The band was also there and they were enjoying their meal – there was a special “Woven Hand Menu” on the black board which featured the following: “Cabecou tori au miel et sa petite salade” and some “Pavé de rumsteack Poelé” and finally “Crème de Champignons epinard et pennes” – all French speakers will now get very hungry, I guess!
As we knew that it’s necessary to be one of the first to queue to get a place directly in front of the stage, we didn’t stay too long in the restaurant and began to wait outside until the doors opened. As we were waiting for the entrance the queue was getting longer and longer – no real surprise, because the concert was already sold out a few days before! Then suddenly the road manager came to me and told me the following “Please no flashlights tonight”. So he remembered me when I took pictures in Kortrijk the day before. “Yes, Sir!”, I answered. When the doors opened we were going down a stair and then on the right side there was another room which is the hall for the concerts. It’s a typical Punk-Rock location – very intimate and not really high. Also the stage is not really a big one. So we found us in the first row again, this time I was standing on the right side – in front of Peter. More and more people found their way into the hall and then the support band The Cave Singers began. A three piece from the USA played a wonderful set of eight songs (“Ramble”, “Seeds of Night”, “Helen”, In a House”, “New Drum”, “I don’t mind”, “Oh Child” and “Dancing on our Graves” – as stated on the setlist which I get after the show). Unfortunately I couldn’t buy their CD after the concert because they were sold out! So in the meantime I got my copy (thanks to Tony!) which is called “Invitation Songs”. A great album which is worth to check it out!
Well, after The Cave Singers grab their things together the club was full crowded. The air was not really good anymore and I thought to myself, that this is gonna be a very hot and exhausting night. Then the lights went out again and Woven Hand entered the small stage of La Maroquinerie. A nice drowning opens “Kicking Bird” again and like the show before in Kortrijk it kicked ass. Also it was obvious that the light was very dark again. So if you were not at least in the first rows you had no chance to take good pictures without flashlight. Luckily I had an excellent position to take at least some good shots. This night, Woven Hand sounded more heavy – so the location was perfect again. After the first song of the show the crowd cheered and applauded loudly and Ordy, who was not sitting directly behind David as usual, said to the crowd: “No flash”, because some people in the back took pictures by using the flashlight. “The Beautiful Axe” followed in which David shook his feet wildly again. And during this song the light was sometimes like it has to be – more brighter, so you could really see the faces of the band. But this was only for a few seconds and then it was dark and blue again. So you had to be very concentrated on the light changing, when you wanted to take good pictures. “Merci beaucoup” from David lead into some vocal improvisations (“She is turning into gold”) before “The Speaking Hands” rocked the hall intensively. During this one David repeated his vocal improvisations again after the first break. More vocal improvisations which some lines from “Slota Prow” provided an atmospheric feelings before the crowd cheered loudly again when David played the first riffs of “Splinters”. This night it was more heavy than the day before. Especially when David started at the end of the song with “Who is it now that loves you” the song exploded in some way. Then they rocked the La Maroquinerie again with an awesome heavy and loud version of “Tin Finger”. After “Here on this road, there are other who move so slow” the band created a musical thunderstorm – just unbelievable! David rocked with full force on his stool and shook his head and feet. Then David fetched his Banjola for a wonderful “Whistling Girl”. “Just like the lightening from out of the sky, all men will see Him and all men will cry” was the next vocal improvisation before the light turned into a dark blue for an amazing “Dirty Blue”. Then David sang more improvisations including the wonderful “Consecration”. By the way: If you don’t know this song then please check the 2-CD-Set “Awake, My Soul – Help Me To Sing” (it’s a soundtrack from a documentary about the Sacred Harp) – there you can find the studio version of this gem. So back to the show in Paris again: After that, “Cohawkin Road” filled La Maroquinerie in an atmospheric and beautiful way. During the song the road manager came to us (there were some photographers beside me) and told us that we have to stop taking pictures. Although nobody used flashlights we all stopped and packed our cameras. “Horsetail” was next – like the day before in Kortrijk, David supplied his lyrics with some gestures again. “Kingdom of Ice” followed, in which Peter created wonderful sound atmospheres on his guitar and Pascal joined with some great heavy riffs. “Merci”, David said after that before Ordy counted loudly “Three, Four” for “Not one Stone”. Wonderful again and once more a reminder for anybody, that Ordy Garrison is an unbelievable drummer. Especially at the end of the song when David sang “Behold the lamb, given for us”, he played with full power. “Merci, merci beaucoup” from David before some drownings, more vocal improvisations (some lines from “Swedish Purse”) and other sound collages created a new “Horse Head Fiddle”. After that, the crowd was absolutely quiet for a few seconds. It seems that they were completely caught by this amazing version. A heavy “Winter Shaker” gave us the creeps again and finished the first set. “Merci beaucoup, thank you very much” from David before Woven Hand left the stage and some Indian chants from the tape supplied the encore break. The crowd cheered, yelled and applauded loudly until David and Ordy came back for the Bob Dylan cover “As I went out one Morning”. Beautiful again and when David get his hands on the bandoneon, the crowd applauded and cheered loudly. Nearly everybody knew that another 16 Horsepower classic will follow, and with the first notes of the fantastic “American Wheeze” the people went nuts. Before the second verse, David cried loudly and the atmosphere was completely electrified. With the line “And if I die by your hand, I’ve gotta home in glory land”, which a lot of people sang with David, another musical thunderstorm was perfect and nearly everybody was shaking and headbanging in some way. Some drownings and vocal improvisations lead into the last song of the show: An unbelievable powerful “Your Russia” gave us the creeps again and like yesterday in Kortrijk Pascal was kneeling again for some seconds beside David for a few seconds. It was obvious that he was enjoying every minute to play in his native country. “Raise your hand, she is turning into gold” sang David as some improvisations after the first break before they rocked with full force again to create an unbelievable finish of “Your Russia”. “Thank you very much, thank you very much” were the last words from David before the band disappeared from the stage.
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We were completely impressed by this amazing and heavy performance. As I was wet from the sweat I changed my shirt and then we went back to the restaurant to get some beers and food. Before leaving we said “Hello” to Ordy and Peter. So the next stop for us and the band was Salzburg in Austria. As they had a day off before I was really curious, if this will change something in the performance, because Paris was the sixth show in a row. So I did think that they were happy to have a free day and save some strength for the Austrian shows in Salzburg and Vienna.
WOVEN HAND – The Speaking Hands
(poor sound, but you can see me headbanging!)
The Setlist:
Kicking Bird
The Beautiful Axe
The Speaking Hands
Slota Prow
Splinters
Tin Finger
Whistling Girl
Dirty Blue
Consecration
Cohawkin Road
Horsetail
Kingdom of Ice
Not one Stone
Horse Head Fiddle
Winter Shaker
As I went out one Morning (Bob Dylan Cover)
American Wheeze
Your Russia
After our return from Paris on the 24th November we had some time to rest before we were driving to Salzburg for the next “Ten Stones” live experience. This time a different support act was opening for Woven Hand: Birch Book, a project from a musician named Bobin Eirth (you can call him B’eirth or B’ee), who is also the front man of his other band In Gowan Ring. David is a big fan of this group for years, I guess, and so I was very curious about to see this man live on stage for the first time. But to be honest: My first thoughts were, that this could be a little bit boring, because his music is a very light and gentle form of Folk. So I really didn’t expected too much.
By fetching my card for the show I asked how many tickets were sold in advance. The answer was a little bit surprising for me, because 120 are not that much in my opinion. Anyway – I thought, that a lot of people will buy their tickets just before the show, and this was the case, because the hall called “Rockhouse” was nearly full before Woven Hand started. I must admit that this concert was really special for me, because it was the first time that I attended a rock show with one of my nephews, who has begun to study in Salzburg. And I was very curious about his comments after the concert.
Before the show we sat in the “Rockhouse Bar” and drank some beers. There I met Ulli from Nuremberg again. Then one of us went into the hall to see Birch Book, which was at that night a three piece: B’eirth sang and played guitar and harmonica, one guitar player and one on the Bodhrán. So the rest of us finished our beers and followed to see this band.
What can I say? It was simply magic! This voice is an unbelievable beauty and this sweet and soft arrangements were amazing! Especially the last song of the setlist caught me completely. After Birch Book finished their set, I asked the guitar player about the name of this tune. So he gave me his setlist and said to me: “The Trip goes on”. Then I rushed to the merchandising and bought me one CD with this beauty on it and a shirt. Now I became a fan of Birch Book!
An announcement was hanging next to the hall entry saying, that taking picture is only allowed during the first three songs. And without flashlights again, of course. So I headed to the front row again just in front of David. The lights went out and Woven Hand entered the stage of the “Rockhouse” in Salzburg. “Kicking Bird” improved what I thought about this concert: The day off before was very good for the band and so they sounded wonderful fresh and heavy! And it was obvious that they enjoyed their playing from the beginning until the end. As I was only taken pictures during the first three songs, I am not exactly sure about the setlist anymore. But for 98 % I would say, that it was the same as in Kortrijk. And the performance was also on an unbelievable level: Hard, heavy and fresh too! In my opinion it was a little bit better than in Kortrijk, because of the more rocking sounding. David was completely in the music and shaked his body especially during the louder songs (“Kicking Bird”, “The Speaking Hands” and “Tin Finger”). When they played an awesome hard version of “Winter Shaker”, one string broke on David’s guitar. Another proof for his wild and heavy performance on this night. And if I’m not completely wrong, the encore was “As I went out one Morning”, “Deerskin Doll”, “American Wheeze” and “Your Russia”. I’m not quite sure about “Deerskin Doll”, but I do think they played it.
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As I said before, this show was really awesome and one of the best Woven Hand experience, I’ve seen so far. Heavy, rocking and very fresh sounding – so it was perfect for my nephew to get full into Woven Hand. After the concert he only said one word with shining eyes: “Amazing!”. Woven Hand headed for the next show directly to Prague and we had one day off before we were going to see them again in Vienna at the WUK.
On this day it was my very first Rome experience. Unfortunately we had not enough time to do a real sightseeing tour but nevertheless I was bewitched by this wonderful city. Especially the Colosseum left me speechless.
After that we went to the location called Init, where Woven Hand played. Just before the show we ate something at a very nice trattoria just around the corner. While we were waiting for our meals the band passed our table. Ordy tapped me on the shoulder and David said: „Hey fellas“ 😉
The Seven Seas Duet feat. Loukas Metaxas from Greece did the support that night. And they also played with Woven Hand together after that. Loukas Metaxas appears also on the Woven Hand release „Live at Roepaen“ – he did some percussion work on some songs.
It was the first time that I attended a concert in the Vienna location named „WUK“. Woven Hand never played there before, but 16 Horsepower – they had their second appearance in Austrian here back in the year 2000 (17th March). Unfortunately I was not able to catch this show – a big mistake as I know now.
When the doors opened I was able to get the best place – but what did I see? A barrier was installed in front of the stage like they do this at big open air festivals or other big halls. “What the hell?”, I thought to myself, because the WUK is a small venue for approximately 500 people, I guess. And it’s Woven Hand, not Metallica or any other big name. Anyway – the positive thing about the barrier was, that I could hang up my bag and pullover.
This time I wanted to see the whole Birch Book show – and it was amazing again. This time B’ee played barefoot. The setlist was almost the same as in Salzburg, two days before, but nevertheless very impressive. The songs were: “Backwards”, “Zephyr through Willows”, “Diaspora”, “Empty Corner of the Page”, “How the Hours”, “Along Straggling”, “Mornings Waking”, “Young Souls”, “Wisps of the Wind” and finally once more “The Trip goes on”. And it was magical again – this voice and the arrangements – well, just beautiful! Apart from a very noisy and sometimes rude crowd, the show was brilliant. And I had my doubts if the people will be more quiet when Woven Hand will play.
“Kicking Bird” opened the show with full force. A perfect “The Beautiful Axe” was next before Ordy began with the intro of “The Speaking Hands” which David supplied with some vocal improvisations “Just like the lightening, from out of the sky, all men will see Him. And all men will cry”. Then the well known riffs followed and an amazing version gave me the creeps again. When David played the intro of “Splinters” the loud crowd became more noisy which was extremely annoying.
Some lines from “Slota Prow” lead into a heavy and loud version of the live killer “Tin Finger”. Especially during this performance I really loved the heavier and louder songs, because this was the only way not to hear the speaking audience. And especially Ordy showed the crowd, how powerful a drummer is able to play. So he and David fought a beautiful duel.
After that, suddenly Pascal, Ordy and Peter left the stage while David fetched his banjola for his solo performance of “Whistling Girl”. It was really amazing to hear this version again and David finished it with a smart “Thank you”.
“Cohawkin Road” followed but I really couldn’t enjoy this song, because of the stupid audience again. People were still talking during the songs – I never have seen such a rude and disrespect behaviour in front of a wonderful band like Woven Hand. After the song I shook my head unbelievingly again. “Horsetail” was next in which David gave us some gestures and vocal improvisations (“He is looking for gold”) again. Then something happened which changed the mood completely: After David was fetching his Banjola the hall lights went suddenly on! First, he didn’t care about and played the intro of “Kingdom of Ice” but as the lights were still on he stopped. Someone shouted “Amazing light show” and then the lights went out again and David began again to play on his banjola. During this song he pawed with his right feet on the stage while singing the line “In fierceness and rage, he paws at the ground” and then he sang “Lay hand to mouth, spoken twice and shut your mouth!” – after that David kicked his microphone (some little sound problems, I guess) with his right fist and sang “Shut your”. Shortly after that he looked on his ring (the one with a green stone) and checked if it’s broken. But it seemed that nothing serious happened. The light went darker and “Horse Head Fiddle” with some lines from “Swedish Purse” created an unique atmosphere again. This time Pascal was knocking with his bottleneck on the body of his bass guitar.
A short conversation between the musicians followed: Pascal said something to David and then to Ordy. After that “Not one Stone” was played. And “Winter Shaker” finished the regular set in an intense and heavy way. “Thank you very much, God bless you all” David said before they left the stage for the encore break which was again supplied with Indian chants. After returning “We wanna say thank you very much for coming to see us playing tonight and thanks to Birch Book – they were fantastic. I like to thank my Mum. It’s Thanksgiving Day, you know?”, David told us. Some vocal improvisations (“The destiny is manifest” ) lead into the Bob Dylan cover “As I went out one Morning”, which he played with Ordy again.
A wild and heavy “American Wheeze” finished the show in an amazing way.
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After some good bye waves something happened, that I have never seen before: One idiot threw a boot (!) on the stage and almost hit David! I do think that David didn’t recognised it first really, because he turned the back to us. Then he saw the shoe and threw it softly back into the first row of the audience.
Well, I was really disappointed about this rude and disrespectful people who were “attending” the show. I still can’t understand why some visitors have to speak during a concert? And this mostly the whole time! Apart from that, the concert was really excellent as you can see it on some videos. The setlist was short (no “Dirty Blue”, “Deerskin Doll” and “Your Russia”) but really fine. Anyway – I was really ashamed for my countrymen – so I have to attend another show of this tour. And so I bought my ticket for Bern (Switzerland), the 7th December 2008. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
28/11/2012:
CALEXICO – Salzburg (Republic) Support by Blind Pilot
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Watch nine clips of the show („Dead Moon“, „Para“, „Two Silver Trees“, „Sinner in the Sea“, „All Systems Red“, „Alone again or“, „Look at Miss Ohio“, „For your Love“ and „Spokes“) here!
As we arrived at the Divan Du Monde I was really surprised, because there where a very long queue in front of the location. Remember – the last concert at this place was a little desaster: David left the stage because of the huge sound problems. I was told that this was the only time that David abort a show and left the stage. By queuing I met Cédric and Magali – it was great to meet fans in real life finally.
After passing the entrance we took some beers (thanks Magali for the first one!) and wait that the show began. Before the support act The Good Life began, a screen hid the stage on which some videoclips were shown. In the meantime the location get crowded and finally The Good Life started to play.
After the support the screen was rolled out again and some music videoclips were shown. In one of them Woven Hand was featured – it was from the last show at the Divan Du Monde. Then the light went out and Woven Hand started the show. It was obviously that the sound problems of the last show should not happen again: David was really very concentrated and checked with some improvisations if everything is alright and that there are no feedbacks or other noisy and disturbing things. After the Intro of “Snake Bite” they began the evening with “My Russia”. After that an explosive “Tin Finger” was followed (David stood up for a few seconds!) and when David get the bandoneon for “Harm’s Way” people began to cheer and so the very first highlight was played. With “Aeolian Harp (Under the World)” a quieter song was on the setlist before Ordy rocked his drums with the fantastic “The Speaking Hands”. The beauty “Whistling Girl” was next and then “White Bird” (some vocal improvisations, like “Horse Head Fiddle” and “To make a Ring” from David before starting the song) captivated the crowd. “Slota Prow”, also with some various improvisations enriched, was more or less the intro to the amazing “Your Russia”. At the end Peter and Pascal put away their instruments BUT David and Ordy played on – so after a few seconds Peter and Pascal looked at each other, fetched their instruments quickly and an outstanding end of “My Russia” was born. This was the finish of the first part. After that they came back for an perfect encore-set: The powerful “Winter Shaker” rocked the Divan Du Monde and then David fetched the bandoneon again: With the first notes of “American Wheeze” the crowd went crazy! After “Deerskin Doll” and “Dirty Blue” (some people sang some lyrics) the show ended.
Between the songs David did always a little improvisation and sang some new and well known lines – like “To make a Ring”, for example. The sound was not that loud which was really okay, because the people were amazing quiet during the songs and you could hear ANY word, that David sang. The audience was really PERFECT. No speaking or
This was the kick-off of a personal small tour with Woven Hand. Me and my friends planned to see David Eugene Edwards first in Paris at the Divan Du Monde on the 29th November. The next day we attended the wonderful show in Sotteville-les-Rouen and the last show of our tour took also place in France – this time in Amiens. In Paris I saw David the first time after the break-up of 16 Horsepower with the bandoneon again. So the classic songs „Harm’s Way“ and „American Wheeze“ were in the setlist of Woven Hand. And it was obvious that the people loved to hear those gems again! Warren Ellis from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Dirty Three and Grinderman was also at the show – you can see him at the end of the video („The Speaking Hands“) talking with DEE 😉
Snake Bite
My Russia
Tin Finger
Harm’s Way
Aeolian Harp (Under the World)
The Speaking Hands with some Improvisations
Whistling Girl
Improvisations (Horse Head Fiddle/To make a Ring)
White Bird
Slota Prow with some Improvisations
Your Russia
Winter Shaker
American Wheeze
Deerskin Doll
Dirty Blue
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WOVEN HAND: „White Bird“
WOVEN HAND: „The Speaking Hands“
WOVEN HAND: „Whistling Girl“
WOVEN HAND: „Winter Shaker“
WOVEN HAND: „Your Russia“
(one of the best „extended live versions“ – just check out the second video and you will see!)
30/11/2007: WOVEN HAND – Sotteville-les-Rouen (Trianon)
On this day I saw one of the best Woven Hand performances – this time David Eugene Edwards, Pascal Humbert, Peter van Laerhoven and Ordy Garrison played in the village of Sotteville-les-Rouen at the Trianon in France. David was completely into the music that night and when you are looking at the pictures below I’m quite sure that you understand what I mean – you can see an feel the intensity! Enjoy 😉
This one confirmed my opinion of concerts which take place in very small cities or villages: Most of them are one of the best – and also this INCREDIBLE show at the Trianon!
After a two hour car drive we arrived Sotteville-lès Rouen. Therefore it was a Ultima Vez festival, Woven Hand began their show at 10 p.m. We checked our positions in front of David and then 90 minutes of UNBELIEVABLE INTENSITY started:
“Snake Bite” from the tape was the intro before “My Russia” was played. And then the evening started in an incredible HEAVY and HARD direction. It seems that David loosed sometimes his control and rocked like an animal. During “Tin Finger” David leaned back on his stool and spitted in the air and simply went mad. “Harm’s Way” rocked like a beast and with “Aeolian Harp (Under the World)” David gave himself a little time to get calmer for a moment at least. This time the intro was longer played and it reminded me on the Nick Cave classic “Stranger than Kindness”. “The Speaking Hands” were AWESOME as always (still one of my favourite live songs!) and after that, David played “a new song”: He made another vocal improvisation and sang some lines of “Consecration”! What a beautiful moment! Then the wonderful “Whistling Girl” followed. “White Bird” with a lot of improvisations was simply OUTSTANDING and before starting the next tune David turned to Ordy and said in a deep and dark voice: “Slota Prow” – and Ordy get the order and counted in: “One, Two, Three, Four!” Also full with different improvisations (some lines of “To make a Ring” at the beginning) the POWERFUL “Your Russia” followed and left the audience sweating and clapping for more. Then David returned alone for “Swedish Purse/Phyllis Ann”. Then with “Winter Shaker” Woven Hand gave the audience exactly what they want: AN OVERDOSE OF HEAVY AND ROCKIN’ WOVEN HAND – it was incredible! David thanked Wim and Ultima Vez for the inviting and then the next highlight came with “American Wheeze” – the crowd went simply crazy and sing along some lines like “And if I die, by your hand, I’ve gotta home in glory land!”. Just typing this I’m remembering the situation and it just send shivers down my spine. “Deerskin Döll” (as stated on the setlist) and “Dirty Blue” not finished only the show – these two songs improved, why Woven Hand are one of the best live bands. Pascal forget himself like David for a few seconds and kneed down while playing – now everybody in the location recognised that some magic happened at the “Trianon”.
The Setlist:
Snake Bite
My Russia
Horse Head Fiddle/Tin Finger
Harm’s Way
Aeolian Harp (Under the World)
The Speaking Hands
Improvisations (Consecration)
Whistling Girl
Improvisations
White Bird
Slota Prow/Down in yon Forest
To make a Ring/Your Russia
Swedish Purse/Phyllis Ann
Winter Shaker
American Wheeze
Deerskin Doll
Dirty Blue
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I was told that Bertrand Cantat (Noir Désir) also attended the show. The French musician did some recordings with 16 Horsepower – the Gun Club cover „Fire Spirit“ and „The Partisan“ which were released as a single and on the so called „Nouvelle Version“ of „Low Estate„.
I won’t forget this day, because it was my very first Jethro Tull live experience! When I was 9 years old I became a fan and so this concert is still very special to me. Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, Dave Pegg, Martin Allcock and Doane Perry were on the „Rock Island“ world tour and stopped in Munich, Olympiahalle. Awesome performance!!!!
What a bill: Calexico, Vic Chesnutt and Lambchop played that day in Vienna at the Szene! Unfortunately no pictures or videos of that night are on the internet, but in my memories this evening will stay there forever 😉
17/10/2009:
CHRIS ECKMAN & THE LAST SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN BAND – Hartberg (Schloss)
For this show I travelled to the village called Hartberg in Styria to see Chris Eckman (Walkabouts, Chris & Carla) performing with The Last Side Of The Mountain Band at the Schloss Hartberg (Rittersaal) to perform some songs of the album of the same name. He also played some Walkabouts classics and Neil Young’s „Cortez the Killer“. Before the show I did a very interesting interview with Chris for the Austrian independent radio station B138. You can stream/download this interview totally for free here!
The performance was amazing and after the show we had some fun backstage 😉
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The Setlist:
Healing Waters
Grand Theft Auto
Ransom
Down, Down
Eyes
Who will light your Path?
Stranger
The Same
Hours
Slow Red Dawn
Crime Story
Black Field
The Stopping-Off Place
Raise them Hands
Rock’n’Roll (Velvet Underground Cover)
Cortez The Killer (Neil Young Cover)
Ghostrider (Suicide Cover)
18/10/2005:
WOVEN HAND & HELLDORADO – Bonn (Harmonie)
As a huge Woven Hand fan it was obvious that I will do the trip to Bonn because this performance was filmed for the series of „Rockpalast“ at the Harmonie. And as a bonus the amazing band Helldorado from Norway did the support on that night. The shows were simply outstanding and luckily they broadcasted the recorded gigs on German television.
You have missed this? Really? Shame on you! But hey – you are a lucky bastard because you can watch the performances on internet!
Helldorado – you can stream the broadcasting here!
Woven Hand – you can stream the full broadcasting including interview snippets here!
It was billed as “Mick Harvey Trio” but due to a knee injury Thomas Wydler (drums) has cancelled the whole tour. So the line up was Mick Harvey (Vocals, Guitar) and Rosie Westbrook (Double Bass, Cello, Backing Vocals)
The Setlist:
First St. Blues
October Boy
The Ballad of Jay Givens
Bethelridge
Planetarium
The Bells never rang
Frankie T. & Frankie C.
Slow Motion Movie Star
Mother of Earth (Gun Club Cover)
Two Paintings
Glorius (PJ Harvey Cover)
Famous last Words
Photograph
Home is far from here (Crime & The City Solution Cover)
That’s all, Paul
Sonny Boy
Out of Time Man
Hank Williams said it best
The River
Kurt Wagner with his Nashville band Lambchop played in Ebensee again! Very breathtaking and beautiful performance at the Kino! Most songs were from the current album at that time called „OH – Ohio„.
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This is the Setlist from the Graz show (22nd October 2008), which was almost the same, I do guess:
Ohio
Slipped dissolved and loosed
You’re a big Girl now
National Talk like a Pirate Day
Close up
Sharing a Gibson with Martin Luther King Jr.
I’m thinking of a Number (Between 1 and 2)
A Hold of you
Of Raymond
Please rise
Popeye
I believe in you
Give it
Let’s go Bowling
The Man who loved Beer
Your sucking funny Day
All Smiles and Mariachi
Autumn’s Vicar
Soaky in the Pooper
Up with People
Chelsea Hotel #2 (Leonard Cohen Cover)
The Walkabouts (Support Larry Barrett) live in Vienna, Szene. It was the „Shimmers“ tour which features very rare songs from the whole backcatalogue. After the show Chris Eckman and Carla Torgerson were so kind to sign some CD covers and the poster below 😉
Apocalyptica from Finland rocked the Muffathalle in Munich. This show was filmed for a DVD release called „Apocalyptica Live“ which features mostly songs from the masterpiece „Cult„.
P.S.: A few months before that show I did an interview with Eicca Toppinen at the music fair in Cologne – you can watch the video here (just scroll down a little bit)!
25/10/2006:
TRANSMISSIONARY SIX – Vöcklamarkt (Premysl)
Transmissoinary Six (feat. Terri Moeller from The Walkabouts and Paul Austin) played at the very small Austrian village called Vöcklamarkt. It was a very familiar performance at the Premysl because only a few people found the way to this bar. After the show Terri was so kind and signed my whole Walkabouts and T6 collection – thanks 😉
Jethro Tull stopped in Munich (Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle) druing their „Roots To Branches“ tour. My personal highlight was the opening „A“ medley feat. the songs „And Further On“, „Fylingdale Flyer“ and „Protect and Survive“ as an instrumental. Unfortunately we sat far away from the stage but nevertheless it was a fantastic performance.
The Setlist:
„A“ Medley (And Further On/Fylingdale Flyer/Protect And Survive)
Roots to Branches
Rare and Precious Chain
Out of the Noise
Valley
In the Grip of stronger Stuff
At last, forever
Dangerous Veils
Nothing is easy
Beside myself
Aqualung
In the Moneylender’s Temple
My God
Misère
Fat Man
Budapest
Wounded, old and treacherous
Locomotive Breath
Jump Start
The Dambusters March
Thick As A Brick (Reprise)
Joe Cocker in Vienna, Stadthalle. Yes, I was there, but to be honest: Just because a friend of mine wanted to be there. So I joined and it was not that bad at all! Especially the female background singers were awesome 😉 I do think this show was part of the „One Sight Of Sin“ tour …
Deep Purple in Wels (Jubiläumshalle) with new songs from „The Battle Rages On“ on the setlist. One of the last concerts with Ritchie Blackmore on guitar. It was very sad to see that Ian Gillan and Ritchie Blackmore avoided each other. On the 17th November Ritchie left the band.
29/10/2010:
THE REVEREND PEYTON’S BIG DAMN BAND – Vienna (Porgy & Bess)
The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band live in Vienna at the Porgy & Bess. Awesome perfomence – this band KICKS ASS!!!!! They performed almost any song of their masterpice called „The Wages„.
Before the show I did an interview for the Austrian independent radio statin B138 – stream/download it here!
Nick Cave (solo show feat. Warren Ellis, Jim White and Norman Watt-Roy) live in Vienna at the wonderful Burgtheater. It was obvious that this „band“ didn’t play a long time together – I do think it was the very first time that they performed officialy. The soundcheck was VERY long so the show started one hour late. This performance was part of the 10th anniversary of the „schule für dichtung„, a school for poetry in Vienna for which Nick Cave did some lectures.
Setlist:
The Mercy Seat
Sad Waters
Hallelujah
Into my Arms
God is in the House
There is a Kingdom
Darker with the Day
Gates to the Garden
West Country Girl
So far from me
Little Janey’s gone
The Ship Song
People ain’t no good
As I sat sadly by her Side
Do you love me? (Part 2)
Jack the Ripper
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More information about this very special concert are here! And pictures can be found here!
After my very first Jethro Tull live experience in October 1989, which was one of the most impressive things of my life, my favorite band played very close to my hometown in the beautiful city of Salzburg. As I have heard that Ian Anderson and his group will play at the Kapitelplatz behind the wonderful dome, I was thrilled. But unfortunately they changed the place and we had to walk into the Eishalle, which is the place for ice hockey in winter.
Before the show we were just walking around through the Volksgarten area – a nice park behind this hall. As we killed time I saw Ian Anderson doing an interview. I waited until he finished it and then I worked up the courage to ask him: „Would you mind taking a picture of you?“ „No, not at all“ was his very polite answer and so I took two pictures, just to be sure that at least one is okay. „Oh, two!“, he said and then I asked for another one with me. After he said „No problem“ my girlfriend took one 😉
Then we entered the hall and I bought myself a „Thick as a Brick“ shirt and a cap. While standing in the second row and waiting for the show, bass player Dave Pegg passed by. I called; „Hey Dave!“ and in his typically and funny way he greeted back.
With the intro of „Cross-eyed Mary“ Ian Anderson was brought in a wheel chair to the microphone – a sort of „Too old to Rock’n’Roll: Too young to die!“ joke. So he immediately stood up for his vocal parts and began to sang.
The setlist was a very good section from Tull classics, old tunes and rarities like the wonderful „Jack-A-Lynn“ or the fantastic version of „Fat Man„. Unfortunately they didn’t play any song from the upcoming album „Catfish Rising„, which was scheduled for release just two months later in September 1991.
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The Setlist:
Cross-Eyed Mary
Steel Monkey
Thick As A Brick
Farm On The Freeway
Paparazzi (Instrumental)
Living In The Past
Serenade To A Cuckoo
Mother Goose
Jack-A-Lynn
Budapest
Fat Man
My God (incl. Bourée)
The Whistler (Instrumental)
Nothing Is Easy
Kissing Willie
Too Old To Rock’N’Roll: Too young to die
Aqualung
Locomotive Breath
Seal Driver(Instrumental)/Black Sunday (Instrumental)
Thick As A Brick (Reprise)
During the „25th Anniversary“ tour Jethro Tull played after Vienna (30th June at the Arena) and Wiesen another show in Austria – this time in Wels, which is from the mentioned three the nearest place to my hometown. And it was an indoor performance at the Stadthalle.
It was almost the same show as in Vienna – but two things were different: Firstly, at the end of „Too old to Rock’n’Roll: Too young to die!“ Ian Anderson was saluting for a few seconds to the balcony – me and my friends had no idea what’s behind this gesture. And secondly, this time I was the lucky guy who cought the Polaroid picture taken by Martin Barre 😉
The Setlist:
My Sunday Feeling
For a Thousand Mothers
Living in the Past
Bourée
So much Trouble
With you there to help me
Steal
Black Sunday
Sossity: You’re a Woman/Reasons for Waiting
Songs from the Wood/Too old to Rock’N’Roll/Heavy Horses (Medley)
Later that same Evening (Instrumental)
Life is a long Song
Thick as a Brick
Andy Giddings‘ Parrot
Budapest
A new Day Yesterday
Passion Jig/Seal Driver (Instrumental)
Farm on the Freeway
Aqualung
Locomotive Breath
Cross-Eyed Mary
Dharma for One
02/07/2010:
JETHRO TULL – Vienna (Arena – Open Air)
Before the show and while the support act Colosseum did the soundcheck I interviewed Jethro Tull drummer Doane Perry for the Austrian independent radio station B138! It was a very interesting and comprehensive talk in which Doane told me everything about his career, all his recordings he did all over the years and his lost luggage! And during the chat Ian Anderson came along and watched the scenery for a while 😉 You can stream/download it for free here!
The venue (at the Arena – an open air location in Vienna) was almost sold out and after Colosseum finished their set, Jethro Tull entered the stage with the classic „Nothing is easy„. Apart from two brandnew songs („Hare in the Wine Cup“ & „A Change of Horses„) one remarkable situation touched the hearts and souls of all longtime fans: Ian Anderson dedicated „Bourée“ to Michael Cermak, who passed away just two days before on the 30th June.
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JETHRO TULL: Locomotive Breath
The Setlist:
Nothing is easy
Beggar’s Farm
A new Day Yesterday
Pastime with good Company (King Henry’s Madrigal)
Thick as a Brick
Songs from the Wood
Bourée (dedicated to Michael Cermak)
Hare in the Wine Cup
A Change of Horses
Farm on the Freeway
The Whistler (Instrumental)
My God
Aqualung
Locomotive Breath/Teacher (Instrumental)
The setlist was full of surprises and brandnew songs from the upcoming masterpiece „The Laughing Stalk“ (which was released a few weeks later in September) were played. The wonderful „Glistening Black“ was the opener of the show. Shortly after that two more new tracks blew me away: „Long Horn“ and „King O King„. After the classic live tracks like „Winter Shaker„, „The Speaking Hands“ and „Tin Finger“ the new tunes „In the Temple“ and „Maize“ followed. During the encore break I was wondering if Wovenhand can be more louder than this – the answer is definitely YES! An asskicking „Kicking Bird“ and the killer track „As Wool“ were the last songs of the show. And when you close your eyes you had the feeling that you are attending a Heavy Metal show – so loud and intense was the sound that night!
After the gig a friend of mine said: „Wow, that sounded like 16 Horsepower meets Social Distortion!“. A very interesting quote and it’s the perfect description of this breathtaking performance – HOKA!
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WOVENHAND: Kicking Bird
The Setlist:
Glistening Black
The Beautiful Axe
Long Horn
King O King
The Speaking Hands
Winter Shaker
Sinking Hands
Kingdom of Ice
Tin Finger
A Holy Measure
In the Temple
His Rest
Maize
Kicking Bird
As Wool
Almost the whole concert was filmed by a friend of mine – you can watch the clips here!
04/07/2010:
JELLO BIAFRA & THE GUANTANAMO SCHOOL OF MEDICINE – Vienna (Arena)
The first time that I was able to see the Godfather of Punk: Mr. Eric Reed Boucher, better known as Jello Biafra! He and his band The Guantanamo School Of Medicine performed in an awesome way. Of course they played also some Dead Kennedys classics like „Holiday in Cambodia„, „California über alles“ or „Too drunk to fuck„. And of course Jello did a lot of speeches between the songs (many taken from the current release „The Audacity of Hype„) as you can see on the video listed below.
A very nice compilation of that performance:
More clips from that performance you can watch here!
04/07/1991 or 1992:
JOHN LEE HOOKER – Vienna (Arena – Open Air)
I’m not quite sure if this concert took place in 1991 or 1992. If anybody knows it – please drop me a line – thanks! Anyway – as a huge fan of origin Blues I was very looking forward to see Mr John Lee Hooker live in Vienna at the Arena (Open Air). Unfortunately the performance was not that long, but it was obvious, because this music legend was over 70 years old that time! With the Coast To Coast Blues Band John Lee celebrated the Blues at its best. And was a unforgettable moment of glory to hear his classic songs like „Boogie Chillen“ or „Boom Boom“ live.
05/07/2009: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E-STREET-BAND – Vienna (Ernst-Happel-Stadium)
First of all – I was not really that huge fan of Bruce Springsteen’s albums – some are really excellent (especially his solo albums like „The Ghost of Tom Joad„) and some just average because of this typically US producing, which sounds always very mainstream and radio friendly. A friend of mine is a producer and he told me that you CAN’T compare the studio recordings with the live performance. This is completely different and you will understand when you see The Boss live on stage.
So I headed with him and other friends to the Ernst-Happel-Stadium in Vienna. As we were very early to queue up we had the chance to get a very close place in front of the stage at the so called „Wave Breaker“ area. It was perfect and also obvious that I was very looking forward to see Bruce Springsteen with his E Street Band. So Nils Lofgren opened the show with a tribute to Austria and played the „Donauwalzer“ on the accordion – well, the first goose started to walk over my grave 😉
And when Bruce started to play and sing I understood immediately what my friend told me before – this guy is an outstanding performer. Or like Chris Eckman from the Walkabouts told me in an interview: „He is music, he breaths music!“. And that’s the point. The setlist was very well chosen and featured songs from the new release „Working on a Dream„, classics like „Cover me„, nice rarities („4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)“ – and first played on that tour!), covers („Proud Mary„) and a super awesome cover version of Tom Waits masterpiece „Jersey Girl„. And I was told that this track was never played before outside the USA so far! So thanks to the girl who was wearing a „Jersey Girl“ shirt during that show 😉
Another remarkable thing was the performance of Clarence Clemons, the long time saxophone player of the E Street Band. „The Big Man“ had serious problems with his knee that time so he had to sit most of the time during the shows. Sadly he suffered a stroke two years later and passed away on the 18th June 2011 – R.I.P.
After the show I bought myself two shirts and the tourbook as souvenirs of one ot the best concerts I have ever seen so far.
You were not there? Or you were there and you want to hear/watch it again? No problem at all – the full performance is here for you:
The Setlist:
Intro („Donauwalzer“)
Jackson Cage
Badlands
Cover Me
My Lucky Day
Outlaw Pete
Darlington County
Working On A Dream
Seeds
Johnny 99
Darkness On The Edge Of Town
Raise Your Hand
Growin Up
Rendezvous
Proud Mary
4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Because The Night
Waiting On A Sunny Day
Promised Land
The River
Into The Fire
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Born To Run
Cadillac Ranch
Jersey Girl (Tom Waits Cover)
10th Avenue Freeze-Out
American Land
Bobby Jean
Dancing In The Dark
Twist And Shout
06/07/2000: JAN GARBAREK – Munich (Tollwood Festival)
A wonderful performing by Jan Garbarek with his group in Munich at the Tollwood Festival. Eberhard Weber on bass, Rainer Brüninghaus on piano and Marilyn Mazur on percussion created a perfect classic/jazz sound carpet for Garbarek’s unique saxophone playing. There was magic in the air while this outstanding quartet filled the huge tent with such beautiful sounds as you can also hear on releases like „Rites“ or „Visible World„.
Two months after the first part of the Europe tour to support the new Woven Hand release „The Threshingfloor“, David Eugene Edwards and his band came over again for some more dates. So they played diffent countries like Israel, Austria and Slovakia. And just before the show in Vienna the awesome guys from „They Shoot Music“ recorded David Eugene Edwards doing some very nice acoustic solo stuff – here are the videos:
And some pictures of this vey special performance can be seen here!
The location for the show was the Szene again – and it was really HOT in there! When the band entered the stage, David fetched his Banjola for the opening track „Sinking Hands„. Then with „The Threshingfloor“ and „Holy Measure“ two more new songs followed. Before he introduced us more tunes from the latest release the Joy Division cover „Heart And Soul“ gave me the creeps again. „Off the Cuff“ finished the regular set and anfter the encore break DEE returned with no shirt and so you had another chance to see his tattoos 😉
„Deerskin Doll“ and a fantastic and heavy played „Your Russia“ were the conclusion of that night. After the show we met the band again and before they left for the show next day in Slovakia I chatted with Jeff Linsenmaier about my Denver stay in December 2009. And when David came out of the Szene I said to him that the gig tomorrow will be another hot one. „Yeah, at 2 p.m. – that’s crazy“, was his answer. So in a few hours we will see them again but before that I tried to get some sleep to be ready for the drive.
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The Setlist:
Sinking Hands
The Threshing Floor
A Holy Measure
Tin Finger
Heart and Soul (Joy Division Cover)
Kingdom of Ice
Raise her Hands
His Rest
Orchard Gate
Winter Shaker
Off the Cuff
Deerskin Doll
Your Russia
09/07/2010: WOVEN HAND – Trencin (Pohoda Festival)
The first time that I was in Slovakia – and me and my friend went by car with no aircondition so you can imagine that the trip was sweat inducing. When we arrived at the Pohoda Festival area (which is like an airport – a lot of concrete) we had a huge range of picking a parking lot. As we walked to the parc with all the stages it was obvious that this will be one of the hottest shows EVER. Woven Hand was billed for 2 p.m. and so we were not really surprised that only a handful of people showed up to see the band. The setlist was short but well chosen and David decided to play only one Banjola song – the rest were heavy rockers like „Winter Shaker„, „Heart and Soul„, „Tin Finger“ or „Your Russia„. To have an idea how hot the weather was – just check out the pictures below 😉
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The Setlist:
Winter Shaker
Tin Finger
Heart and Soul (Joy Division Cover)
Kingdom of Ice
Your Russia
A Holy Measure
Raise her Hands
Deerskin Doll
Another Woven Hand show in Vienna – and it was at the Szene again. It was hot and sticky inside and I didn’t was that close to that stage. So it was not that intense as normally and during the show I missed something – this kind of magic, which was at the last shows in 2005 so present (remembering the breathtaking shows in Salzburg, Vienna and Bonn). The performance was nevertheless an excellent one, but comparing with the three concerts I attended before, it was just average.Maybe it had something to do with the return of Mr. Pascal Humbert, who played with David in the outstanding formation 16 Horsepower. It could be that they were not well-practised for the sound but anyway: David Eugene Edwards, Ordy Garrison, Pascal Humbert and Peter van Laerhoven performed a lot of the latest Woven Hand release „Mosaic“ and unfortunatley they didn’t play „Down in yon Forest“ like the year before as an extended version which was over ten minutes long. As me and my friend decided to see them two more times on that tour (Budapest and Ebensee) I was quite sure that the other shows will be much better 😉
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The Setlist:
Breathing Bull (Intro Tape)
Winter Shaker
The Speaking Hands
Elktooth
Sparrow falls
Chest of Drawers
Tin Finger
Dirty Blue
Slota Prow
Full Armour
Whistling Girl
Truly Golden
Down in yon Forest
Phyllis Ann
Deerskin Doll
Into the Piano
Your Russia
The fourth time that I was going to see Lambchop live in concert. This time in Ebensee at the Kino again and before the show I had the opportunity to do an interview with singer Kurt Wagner for the Austrian independent radio station B138. It was very funny and interesting to talk with him about the latest album „OH – Ohio„, the music industry in general and many other things like paintings or touring, while sitting on the stairs of the Kino. You can stream/download it for free here!
As I offered Mr. Wagner that I am a huge fan especially of the Lambchop album „What another Man spills“ I hoped for some songs („Life #2“ or „N.O.“ – two of my all time favorites) that night, but unfortunately they played many songs from all the othere LPs 😉 And with the Sisters of Mercy cover „This Corrosion“ Lambchop accomplished at least one of my desires – thanks!
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The Setlist:
The old Gold Shoe
The new Cobweb Summer
Sharing a Gibson with Martin Luther King Jr.
Grumpus
Buttons
What else could be
Slipped, dissolved and loosed
Unknown Song #1 (maybe you can help?)
Nashville Parent
National Talk like a Pirate Day
Six o’Clock News
All Smiles and Mariachi
Is a Woman
Up with the People
Give it (X-Press Cover)
This Corrosion (Sisters Of Mercy Cover)
Unknown Song #2 (maybe you can help?)
Chris Eckman, Hugo Race and Chris Brokaw founded Dirtmusic a few years ago. And with the African band Tamikrest they recorded the fantastic album „BKO“ (named after the airport Bamako in Mali). So the performance was a sort of a jamsession. First Dirtmusic played three songs before clearing the way for Tamikrest. The Tuareg rockgroup introduced us four songs before Dirtmusic came back and the real jam seesion began. It was a sort of „Worldmusic meets Indierock“ – a mixture which blew everybody away!
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The Setlist:
The other Side (Dirtmusic)
Collisions (Dirtmusic)
Still Running (Dirtmusic)
Saharel Song (Tamikrest)
Amidini (Tamikrest)
Alhoriya (Tamikrest)
Outamachek (Tamikrest)
Black Gravity (Dirtmusic & Tamikrest)
Ready for the Sign (Dirtmusic & Tamikrest)
All Tomorrow’s Parties (Velvet Underground Cover)(Dirtmusic & Tamikrest)
Desert Wind (Dirtmusic & Tamikrest)
Unknowable (Dirtmusic & Tamikrest)
Toumastin (Dirtmusic & Tamikrest)
Aicha (Dirtmusic & Tamikrest)
Tidite Tille (Dirtmusic & Tamikrest)
Tamiditin (Dirtmusic & Tamikrest)
Lives we did not live (Dirtmusic & Tamikrest)
Adagh (Dirtmusic & Tamikrest)
Smoking Bowl (Dirtmusic & Tamikrest)
Tahoult (Dirtmusic & Tamikrest)
After the Vienna show the day before we took the train for Budapest to see Woven Hand again. This time on a boat called „A38“ which is on the Danube! When we arrived there Pascal Humbert crossed my way, pointed on my shirt (I wore a Slim Cessna’s Auto Club brown tee) and said: „Good band!“. I smiled back and we went to the boat and inspected the ship. To get into the concert hall you have to take the stairs downstairs so the stage was more or less under the water. And the temperature was very nice there – not too hot like the day before. I was quite sure that the show tonight would be much better – also the sound, because of the water outside which surrouned us. Also I do know that David has some friends in Budapest so it was obvoius that he was very looking forward to meet them again. The performance was much better than the oone the day before in Vienna. Very intense and tight – and it was really great to see Woven Hand playing with a bass man again 😉
The setlist was more or less the same, BUT David came back for a second encore! He performed solo the 16 Horsepower songs „Black Soul Choir“ and „Outlaw Song“ which left me speechless.
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The Setlist:
Breathing Bull (from Tape)
Winter Shaker
The Speaking Hands
Elktooth
Sparrow falls
Chest of Drawers
Tin Finger
Dirty Blue
Slota Prow
Full Armour
Whistling Girl
Truly Golden
Down in yon Forest
Phyllis Ann
Deerskin Doll
Into the Piano
Your Russia
Black Soul Choir
Outlaw Song
14/07/2006: THE ROLLING STONES – Vienna (Ernst-Happel-Stadium)
The legendary Rolling Stones stopped during their „Bigger Bang Worldtour“ in Vienna at the Ernst Happel Stadium again. Due to Keith Richards‘ coconut accident the show was postponed to that day. And for my second Stones live experience I had a perfect place at the so called „Wavebreaker“. Before Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood and Darryl Jones started the show the rain stopped and the sky was unbelievable coloured in all kind of orange! A video clip startet and all of a sudden I had the creeps everywhere! Then „Jumping Jack Flash“ opened the performance in a perfect way. Beside all the classics and the some new songs from the latest release I was very happy to hear „She’s so cold“ from the album „Emotional Rescue“ – what a wonderful suprise! And when the band rolled on a B stage through the crowd everybody went nuts! I never was so close to Keith Richards – just a few meters!
Nice compilation of the „Bigger Bang“ Tour:
The Setlist:
Jumping Jack Flash
It’s only Rock’n’Roll
Oh no, not you again
Let’s spend the Night Together
Rain fall down
She’s so cold
Streets of Love
As Tears go by
Tumbling Dice
Night Time is the right Time
This Place is empty
Before they make me run
Miss you (To B-Stage)
Rough Justice
Start me up
Honky Tonk Women (Back to Main-Stage)
Sympathy for the Devil
Paint it Black
Brown Sugar
You can’t always get what you want (Encore)
(I can’t get no) Satisfaction (Encore)
You can watch some videos of the Vienna show here!
And here are some reviews taken from several Austrian newspapers – just click on the pictures to enlarge them!
I was very surprised when I see a sign at the Kino in Ebensee to see the Beasts of Bourbon saying „Sold Out“! But luckily a friend of mine had one ticket left so I had finally the chance to see these Australian Indie-Heroes live on stage the very first time. It was packed and hot inside but the show was nevertheless a very good one. Most songs of the setlist that night were taken from the current release „Little Animals“ – an awesome album with a killer opener „I don’t care about Nothing anymore“. After the show I bought some CDs and a shirt with the cool bandlogo on it 😉
15/07/2000: ANDREAS VOLLENWEIDER – Munich (Tollwood Festival)
I really can’t remember this show anymore – and no, I was not drunken 😉 A friend of mine gave me his ticket for the show as a gift and so I took the chance to see the master of the harp live in concert. Andreas Vollenweider from Switzerland served us a beautiful mixture of Jazz, Classic and World Music. More infos about this show and the whole tour you can find here!
18/07/2009: PATTI SMITH – Wels (Schlachthof – Open Air)
All over the years I missed the chances to see Patti Smith live in concert. But this time it happened! Me and my friend headed to the Open Air gig in Wels at the Schl8hof. Beside from a very noise crowd and a lightly sick Patti (she had a cold and so some problems with her voice that night) the performance was an excellent one. The Setlist picked with all classics, poems and also some covers (as you can see listed below).
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The Setlist:
Redondo Beach
My blakean Year
Are you experienced (Jimi Hendrix Cover)
Free Money
Ghost Dance
Beneath the Southern Cross
Pissing in a River
Dancing Barefoot
Peacable Kingdom/People have the Power
Because the Night
People have the Power
Horses/Gloria
Wing
Babelogue/Rock’n’Roll Nigger
This was the third time for me to see David Eugene Edwards performing with Woven Hand. And two days later another performance followed – and a very special one because he shared the stage then with the dance company Ultima Vez to perform „Blush„. And it was obvious that some dancers from the ensemble were also at the Flex that night, because „Blush“ was billed for a serie of three nights at the Volkstheater.
Well, back to this show: The line up of Woven Hand that time consisted of David Eugene Edwards, Daniel McMahon, Ordy Garrison and Shane Trost (who joined Slim Cessna’s Auto Club later in 2009). And the setlist was a cross section of the self titled debut album and the „Blush“ release. As a suprise „Black Soul Choir“ was also played. And it’s a funny thing when you compare the sounding, when Woven Hand started to it nowadays – it is like you hear two completely differant bands. But it’s also interesting to see how the live sound changed over one decade now – from soft and beautiful to really loud and hard. Like a folk musician who modified to a heavy metal rocker 😉
The Setlist:
Last Fist
My Russia
Wooden Brother
Bleary Eyed Duty
Arrowhead
Blue Pail Fever
Cripplegate (Standing on Glass)
Story and Pictures
Your Russia
The Speaking Hands
Aeolian Harp (Under the World)
White Bird
Black Soul Choir/Phyllis Ann
The Good Hand
22/07/2003: WOVEN HAND with ULTIMA VEZ – Vienna (Volkstheater)
First of all – I am not really into modern dance so I had my doubts about this very special performing by the Belgian dance company Ultima Vez, but I was also very curious about this performance while my favorite band Woven Hand accompany the dance scenerie with music. Me and my friends had very good seats at the beautiful Volkstheater in Vienna – we sat in the middle of the fourth row. So it was simply perfect to watch and listen. I have to admit that the dance performances were breathtaking. And by using huge video walls for some clips the scenerie was very impressing. While the dancers did unbelievable things, Woven Hand played not only songs – they also did a kind of soundtrack thing between the tracks.
The Songs:
Cripplegate (Standing on Glass)
Animalitos (Ain’t no Sunshine) (Bill Withers Cover)
White Bird
My Russia (Standing on the Hands)
Aeolian Harp (Underworld)
Your Russia (Dance without Arms)
Another White Bird
Story and Pictures
A review of the Austrian newspaper „Der Standard“ can be found here! And here are some more reviews!
My very first Tom Waits experience happened in Paris on the 24th July of 2008. I was pretty nervous, because HE was and still is one of my most admired musicians ever. A MASTER and GENIUS without any doubts. As a big fan all over the last years I was really looking forward to see HIM live on stage.
As we arrived at the wonderful location “Le Grand Rex” some very long queues were at the entrances. But we have already our tickets, so we didn’t have to queue and so we entered this wonderful building – an old cinema which has a capacity of approximately 2.500 people. After checking the merchandising (I bought one T-Shirt, the small tourbook “True Confessions” in which Tom Waits interviews himself and a concert poster) and one beer we head to our seats. And what can I say – I found myself in the SECOND ROW in the middle – almost directly in front of the stage! I really didn’t believe my eyes. So I sat there with always the same thoughts: “Is this true? Am I really going to see Tom Waits live? Is it me who is sitting here?”
Then the lights went out and the master entered with his band the stage! The crowd went crazy and Mr. Tom Waits greeted the audience.
He opened the concert with “Lucinda” and “Ain’t going down to the Well”. My eyes started to become wet and it gave me the creeps! Now it was REAL – I was seeing Tom Waits live! I was in Heaven! Then the classic “Rain Dogs” followed and it was surprising how the song sounded! Tom and his amazing band created new arrangements – and this not only for “Rain Dogs”! Almost EVERY track of the show was completely rebuild and so the compositions sounded fresh and wonderful! “Falling down” was the next one – and Mr. Tom Waits showed us all the colours of his UNBELIEVABLE voice! “All the World is Green” and “I’ll shoot the Moon” caught the audience.
Then Tom Waits spoke the first time with us this night: “This is a song about family reunion. The trouble with family reunions – in my opinion – there are too many of them. And they go on too long. And there’s always people there that I know and I don’t want to see again. There’s Bob – don’t look! There’s Steve – really don’t look! There’s Pierre – don’t look, don’t look, don’t look! There’s Franklin – don’t even, just walk the other way!” And then “Cemetery Polka” was played! After the breaks in that song (before the lyrics go on with “Auntie Mame” and “Uncle Phil”), Tom shouted “Boom! Boom! Boom! Sorry!” for shocking the audience. The beautiful “Cold cold Ground” came next.
Tom introduced the following song: “I’ve got two eyes. One is stationary and the other one is removable – so this is a true story about my eyeball.” During “Eyeball Kid” (also with completely new arrangements) Mr. Waits set up a special hat with mirrors – so the lights shined on him and the rays of the light lighten up the Grand Rex.
After that Tom Waits went to the piano and gave us some stories and more classics of his huge and fantastic song collection. “Okay, okay, okay”, said Tom and started with some of his “true tales”. And he spoke one sentence in French, which I really didn’t understand but the audience was very happy about this fine gesture and applauded immediately! One of his stories was about lemon: “You always get lemon with fish. And everybody thinks that this is good for the flavour. This is untrue! The idea was when people ate fish originally they were so afraid of the bones getting caught in their throat and maybe die of this. Somebody told them, if you put a little lemon in your mouth after you have a bite of fish it will kill the bone and it will disintegrate the bone. I had a mathematic professor and he had a piece of fish during a test we were having and he choked on a fish bone and he died in the middle of the mathematic test.”
After the first “history lesson” of the night, Tom played the wonderful “The Briar and the Rose” solo on the piano. Then another story was told by the master: “I didn’t know this. In Paris it’s against the law to wash your car by using an old underwear. It’s also against the law to give a monkey a cigarette. And you can’t get a fish drunk. Okay, let’s do some requests!” So, one person shouted some song requests. And Tom answered: “I said, let’s have SOME requests, not YOUR requests! You’ve got to pay more attention!” Another one shouted something and Tom said: “That’s my brother in law. You’re still working on the airport? I’m happy for you!”
So Tom carried solo on with “You can never hold back Spring” – just WONDERFUL! Then some lines of “Lucky Day” followed, but Mr. Waits aborted the track with the words “What the hell is this place on the piano!”. Meanwhile Seth Ford-Young accompanied on the Upright Bass for “Tom Traubert’s Blues”.
Another story followed: “On an aeroplane I was reading a magazine and there was this article saying ‘One out of every ten men are important’. I thought about this and then I realised that I switched the letters. It was not ‘important’, it was ‘impotent’.” So he continued his story with this: “Every time a male has a release, you know, A RELEASE – THAT kind of release. Every time that happens 250 million sperm are released. Now as we know only one of these sperm is going to fertilize that egg. So the thing is, before you even get here, you already a winner! That’s the way I see it.” Then he played the first tones of “Innocent when you dream” on the piano.
During the song, Tom said “Come, sing with me!” and the audience sang with the Master the refrain. “And it’s such a sad old feeling, the fields are soft and green. It’s memories that I’m stealing, but you’re innocent when you dream.” After that Tom returned to his small stage on the main stage and he began to sing “You’ve got to lie to me, Baby!”. And the audience cheered loudly between the breaks and after “I know you got yourself a skinny ol’ man, let me be your Baby, I know that I can” the microphone slided through the hand of Tom Waits and fell on the floor. But he didn’t get bothered about this at all. During the outstanding “Hoist that Rag” (it featured Tom Waits’ son Sullivan on Percussion!) the crowd went nuts once more!
And this time Patrick Warren on the keyboards, Omar Torrez on guitar and Vincent Henry on the woodwinds get enough space for their amazing solos. “Bottom of the World” was also fascinating and wonderful. Then “November” gave me the creeps again and “Hang down your Head” drove me to tears – not the very first time this night!
“Get behind the Mule” (from one of my personal favorite Tom Waits albums “Mule Variations”) hit me with full force. I really couldn’t believe my eyes and tears – words can’t describe the feelings I had by listening to this. But this was not the end of highlights! “Dirt in the Ground” (from another favourite album of mine – “Bone Machine”) with minimized arrangements blew me straight away – WHAT AN UNBELIEVABLE BEAUTY!
Then “Make it Rain” surprised with new arrangements and special confetti rained down, which fell during the song on Mr. Tom Waits!
He introduced the whole band (Vincent Henry on woodwinds, Casey Waits on drums and percussion, Omar Torrez on guitars, Patrick Warren from Paris/France on keyboards, Seth Ford-Young on bass, Sullivan Waits on the second clarinet in that song) and after that the second confetti rain fell on Tom!
Then he said good bye the first time tonight and disappeared from the stage with the band.
The audience cheered, shouted and went completely nuts! After a short encore break Tom returned with the band for an amazing “Chocolate Jesus” – yeah, this version (including the famous megaphone) tasted superb!
Tom howled into “Trampled Rose” and – as we all know – everything has come to an end: “Come on up to the House” (with false start!) finished this OUTSTANDING concert.
“Thank you” and “Bonsoir” were the last words of the evening.
The audience cheered, shouted, clapped and howled for another encore, but Mr. Tom Waits stayed backstage. Well, this genius is already 59 years old and he has to be economical with his health and strength. And remember: This was the first show in Paris – the next followed the day after.
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The Setlist:
Lucinda/Ain’t going down to the Well
Rain Dogs
Falling down
All the World is Green
I’ll shoot the Moon
Cemetery Polka
Cold Cold Ground
Eyeball Kid
Way Down in the Hole
The Briar and the Rose
You can never hold back Spring
Lucky Day (aborted)
Tom Traubert’s Blues
Innocent when you dream
Lie to me
Hoist that Rag
Bottom of the World
November
Hang down your Head
Get behind the Mule
Dirt in the Ground
Make it Rain
Chocolate Jesus
Trampled Rose
Come on up to the House
By leaving the Grand Rex, we were all sooooooooooo happy and glad. But some questions came into our minds: How will be the show tomorrow night? Which setlist will be played? And in which shape will Mr. Tom Waits be? The answers are listed below 😉
As the day before, we took the tube very early to “Le Grand Rex”. And it was the same as 24 hours before: A lot of people were queuing in front of and beside the location. As we have already our tickets, we enjoyed some beers before the show in a restaurant vis à vis of the location.
After finishing our beers we went into the location and headed to our seats: This time we were at the balcony – third row. Perfect place again with a wonderful view. All instruments stood there like yesterday and we began to discuss about the setlist, because of other reviews of the concerts before, we knew already that he changes the setlist every night. So we were really excited to get our second portion of Tom Waits.
The begin of the show was the same as the day before: The crowd went crazy and stamped with their feet rhythmically, when Tom and his band entered the stage. Tom was really impressed, lift his hat and said in his best French: “Sacrebleu!”.
Then the show began:
The start was the same as yesterday (“Lucinda”, ”Ain’t going down to the Well”, ”Rain Dogs” and ”Falling down”).
But compared to the show the day before I had the feeling, that the band was a little bit in a better mood and also Tom Waits seemed (in my opinion) in a better shape. I think, he was more relaxed than yesterday and also his voice sounded slightly sharper and more powerful.
Nevertheless was the night before one of the best performances I’ve ever seen in my whole life!
Then the first change of the setlist happened: “The other Side of the World” (from the fantastic soundtrack “Night On Earth”) surprised us – wonderful arrangements, Omar Torrez’ fantastic guitar play and Tom’s voice gave me the creeps again.
“Lucky Day”, which was aborted yesterday night, followed. Words can’t hardly describe the feelings, when I heard this beauty in its full length! “Okay Baby, this one’s for you” opened another surprise: “God’s away on Business”. The crowd tried to clap in the right rhythm, but it didn’t work really, so Tom stopped the song after approximately 40 seconds: “You know, you guys never ever worked together before. Maybe there are three or four people who have a musical background. One sits there, the other over there. That’s enough for a quarrel maybe. So we start this song all over again. Then you feel like we’re further along in our relationship.” So they started “God’s away on Business” again – without crowd clapping this time (apart from some cheering after Vincent Henry’s solo and at the end of the song – but this time Tom shows how to clap correctly).
The next surprise came along with the wonderful “Hold on”.
After that, Tom told us something about his eyeball again. “I take it out right now. I don’t do this often in front of people. This I do normally in the bathroom. And then he “threw” his eyeball through Le Grand Rex, “caught” it up again and simply played with it like it was – yes, just a ball. Then he said: “Oh, by the way, it bounces!”. When he feigned this, the band played some notes and then lead into “Eyeball Kid”. Also with the light effects like yesterday night.
„Jesus gonna be here” (from the fantastic “Bone Machine” album) was the next change of the setlist. Tom’s wonderful and powerful howling filled the venue and my eyes get wet again.
Then Mr. Tom Waits went to the piano, took his seat and told us some of his wonderful stories: “You know, I realised today, I really hate it when somebody says to me: ‘You know, my phone is also a camera’. I’m waiting for someone who says to me: ‘My glasses are also a tricycle’. Or: ‘My blender is also a pocket knife’.”
A story about a male spider followed: “He sticks out one of his legs. We assume, it’s a leg, that he’s sticking out. I’m not sure. Whatever it is, what he sticks out, he spins the web with it. And it makes a sound.” Then Tom played some keys on the piano and afterwards he said: “That’s not the actual sound, that’s my impression.” He continued the story with this: “The sound, this makes, it attracts the female spider. Up to a certain degree, she can’t resist. Even she is watching a soap opera, she has to stop! Right now – and find the web.” Then he started another one: “In one square mile of earth, there are more insects than there are people, that inhabit the entire earth. Do you know what I mean? One square mile, that many insects – Jesus Christ! I hope that they never get the vote.”
Then he started playing piano with the words: “B flat – my favourite!” – and “You never hold back Spring” filled the venue.
Another story was next:
“Last time I was in Paris, I went to a little pond in the afternoon. And I swam in the pond and I don’t read French. And it probably said ‘Whatever you do, but don’t swim in this pond’. I thought it was said ‘Welcome to Paris!’. About two months later when I was home I felt something in my stomach. It was so strange and I went to a doctor and he inspected me with an ultrasound. And they found out there was a spawn of frogs. And now I have three bullfrogs living in my stomach. The doctor said to me: ‘Hey, it’s your decision, you know. If you wanna keep it. Or if you wanna get rid of it, I know somebody.”
After the story time, the classic “Johnsburg, Illinois” was introduced with “This is for my wife”. For this wonderful song, he was accompanied by Seth-Ford Young on the Upright Bass.
“Tom Traubert’s Blues” and a unbelievable and wonderful version of “Innocent when you dream” (the crowd sang along the refrains like the night before) drove me to tears. Even now, while I’m typing this, the feelings are coming back and my eyes get wet again. Like yesterday, “Lie to me” was next – this time, the microphone didn’t fall on the ground and between the breaks the crowd cheered loudly again.
“Hoist that Rag” made the crowd wild again – and Tom’s son Sullivan played the percussions on this one. And it was an excellent decision to keep this song on the setlist, because it’s such a beauty and the solo performances of the band members fit perfectly in this track.
With “Poor Edward” a song from the album “Alice” was played. Thanks to this, I discovered this LP again! Oddly enough, I always forget about this one, when I pick one of my collection, when I’m in my Tom Waits mood.
The first seconds of “Black Market Baby” left us open–mouthed – another surprise and so we felt again like a child in a candy store.
“Dirt in the Ground” was already yesterday night unbelievable, but tonight it was out of this world. What a brilliant version again – words can’t describe this properly. The refrain was this: “You know, I know, we know – we all gonna be dirt in the ground.”
“Make it Rain” including two confetti rains and the band introduction closed the regular set (just like yesterday’s show).
During the encore break the crowd went really crazy and nuts. They cheered, howled, clapped, stamped and made such a noise – unbelievable. So Tom and the boys came back on stage and “Way down in the Hole” opened the encore. With the fantastic “Jockey full of Bourbon” they gave me that feeling back, which I had at least every five minutes during the two shows: Wet eyes and another goose was walking over my grave again.
And with “Anywhere I lay my Head” an amazing song was picked for the end of this unforgettable evening. “Merci beaucoup” and “Bonsoir“ were the last words from Mr. Tom Waits before he and the band left the stage.
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The Setlist:
Lucinda/Ain’t going down to the Well no more
Rain Dogs
Falling down
The other Side of the World
Lucky Day
God’s away on Business
Hold on
Eyeball Kid
Jesus gonna be here
You can never hold back Spring
Johnsburg, Illinois
Tom Traubert’s Blues
Innocent when you dream
Lie to me
Hoist that Rag
Heigh Ho
Lost at the Bottom of the World
Hang down your Head
Poor Edward
Black Market Baby
Dirt in the Ground
Make it Raink
Way down in the Hole
Jockey full of Bourbon
Anywhere I lay my Head
All in all we had to say that the second show was a little bit better. But really only a little bit. Anyway – both shows were one of the best performances I’ve ever seen in my entire life. And I’m really happy, glad and thankful, that I was so lucky to get the chance to see one of my most admired artists live on stage. I’ll NEVER forget these two nights.
Someday the Sun won’t shine for you
Living in the Past (Instrumental)
Rocks on the Road
Life is a long Song
Serenade to a Cuckoo
A new Day Yesterday/Kelpie
The Whistler (Instrumental)
Kissing Willie
A Christmas Song
Budapest
Pussy Willow (Instrumental)
Bourée
Doctor to my Disease
Too old to Rock’n’Roll: Too young to die!
Farm on the Freeway
My God/God rest ye merry Gentlemen
Aqualung
Locomotive Breath
Thick as a Brick
Cross-eyed Mary
Thick as a Brick (Reprise)
We arrived at the location called “Ampere” (it’s beside the big one called “Muffathalle”) at 6.30. Nobody was there but we heard that the band was making the soundcheck. It was obvious that Woven Hand are at work, because of the wonderful drumming of Ordy. At 7 o’clock we saw the band eating and drinking in the beergarden, which was next to the Ampere. At 7.45 we entered the location and it was really a very nice surprise. A small club with a balcony. The stage was very small and when you stand in front of David (like me at this night) you are at eye-level. The crowd was very small and we hoped that this will change otherwise Woven Hand would play in front of approximately 50 people! But shortly before the show began more people found the way into the Ampere and so it was well crowded.
The night began with an explosive “Tin Finger” and between the song David did some very nice vocal improvisations. “Whistling Girl” follows – beautiful as always. So after these two songs – a heavy and a soft one – it was obvious that the sound was simply perfect for this night. Another vocal improvisations (“Horse Head Fiddle”) lead into the first new song of the evening: “The Beautiful Axe”! A wonderful track which makes real appetite for the upcoming “Ten Stones” album. When David played he suddenly stood up and played on on his red Gretsch Tennessee Red guitar! Then one of my personal all time favorites “The Speaking Hands” followed in a very powerful way. After that, it was time for another new song: “Kingdom of Ice”! Therefore David fetched his Banjola and the very intense track started. It was obvious that David loves to play the new songs. He was shaking his left foot and before the song ended he stood up – the second time of the evening! After that the Woven Hand classic “Dirty Blue” followed. As you can heard of the applause, this song is really loved by almost everybody. Following David changed the red Gretsch with the black one and another vocal improvisations lead to the next new song: “Iron Feather”! A wonderful beauty with some lyrics like “All these tears gathered together, down your cheek, your neck and feathers”. Nobody applauded afterwards, because of such a brandnew beauty – almost anybody was touched by this song. “Winter Shaker” broke the silence and Ordy showed again, how powerful a drummer can play! And David? Well, he stood the third time up during that song! Vocal improvisations (parts from „Slota Prow“) introduced „Elktooth“. After one minute a security guy tipped on my shoulder and said “Stop photographing!”. Well, so I stopped it, because I didn’t want to hear the rest of the show outside. Then „Deerskin Doll“ followed. During that song Ordy had some problems with one of his drum and so he had to fixed it again. But David didn’t stop to play. He just waited until Ordy was ready again and then they continued – what a wonderful version it was! I never heard it that way – AMAZING! After that, Pascal, Ordy and Peter left the stage and David played “Into the Piano” and “Chest of Drawers” solo. Beautiful and very intense! In my opinion one of highlights of the night. I enjoyed “Chest of Drawers” with closed eyes. The boys returned to close the show with a dynamic and heavy “Your Russia“. You could see that Ordy enjoyed the playing. He kicked the shit out of his drums! This guy is unbelievable! And the real fans knew that this will be the last song before the encore. After a short encore break, David entered the stage, fetched the banjola, thanked for coming to the show tonight and the 16 Horsepower classic “Black Soul Choir“ followed. After a few seconds David stood up again and sang approximately one meter far from the microphones. Another proof of his beautiful voice which is getting better and better form year to year! This version was very special, because of string and technical problems (drowning because of a cell phone) David interrupted the song three times. But he took it with humour and laughed a little bit. By the new beginning of the song he said “Voilà!”. Maybe he thought already about the upcoming gig in Clergoux the next day. Then Pascal, Ordy and Peter accompanied David for “Truly Golden” (wonderful as always!) and “White Bird”. So the show ended like it began – VERY POWERFUL AND HEAVY!!!
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After the show we met Peter, David and Ordy and talked a little bit with them. Then they had to leave – what a fantastic night!
28/07/2005: CALEXICO – Vienna (Arena – Open Air – Jazzfest)
The Setlist:
Si tu disais
Quattro
Sunken Waltz
Across the Wire
Jesus & Tequila
All Systems Red
Stray
Not even Stevie Nicks
El Picador
The Ride, Part II
Sonic Wind
Letter to Bowie Knife
Frontera/Trigger
Improvisations
Alone again or (Love Cover)
Güero Canelo
Bisbee Blue
Dub Latina
Deep down
Crystal Frontier
Ojitos Traidores
Corona
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