Here are the dates so far – for tickets just follow the links:
May 19 Oslo – London (UK)
May 20 Willemeen – Arnhem (The Netherlands)
May 21 BiNuu – Berlin (Germany)
May 22 Orangehouse – Munich (Germany)
May 23 Exil – Zurich (Switzerland)
May 24 Way Back When Festival – Dortmund (Germany)
Hey Musiclovers all around the world – welcome to my music diary again!
Today back in 2011 I received a very nice and special release from Murder By Death: This awesome band from Bloomington (Indiana) started a split vinyl single project for which they invite a group or musician who covers a Murder By Death song – and vice versa. In this case The Builders And The Butchers recorded the tracks „Ball and Chain“ and „Until Morale improves the Beatings will continue“. In reverse, Adam Turla, Sarah Balliet, Matt Armstrong, Dagan Thogerson and Scott Brackett recorded their versions of „In the Branches“ and „Down this Hole“.
The singles of this fine project are very limited editions of 1.000 copies worldwide. Before this release Murder By Death did the same with William Elliott Whitmore, O’Death, Amanda Palmer (from The Dresden Dolls) and Sam Lowry. More information about the 7 series you can find here: http://murderbydeath.bandcamp.com
01/12/2007:
WOVEN HAND – Live in Amiens (Maison De La Culture D’Amiens – Petit Theatre)
The audience in Sotteville-lès-Rouen was very different: There were young teenagers, some typically Theatre visitors and I saw one woman before the show as she was knitting a pullover! Anyway – the location was really very beautiful: A modern theatre with seats. So it was my very first seated Woven Hand experience. We find our stools in the seventh row in the middle. A perfect place, because so we had a wonderful overview of the stage. When the lights went out, Woven Hand entered the stage. David said “Hello” with a small gesture and then they started to play. After the tape intro of “Snake Bite” the show started with ”My Russia”. After some improvisations (“Down in yon Forest”) a powerful “Tin Finger” filled the theatre. David stood up again for a few seconds at the end of the song and after the last note was played, the teenagers shouted out and cheered very loudly! For a few moments I thought that they were at the wrong show, because Woven Hand is definitely NOT a boygroup 😉
Anyway – it was really great fun to see and hear these girls crying. “Harm’s Way” was perfect as at the last two shows and then “Wooden Brother” was played instead of “Aeolian Harp (Under the World)”. What a big and beautiful surprise! Then Ordy worked on his drums for “The Speaking Hands” as always – powerful and very impressive! When David fetched the Banjola for “Whistling Girl” some people cheered loudly. More vocal improvisations before the magical “White Bird” were to come. After that, “Slota Prow” with some lines of “Horse Head Fiddle” followed. And the fantastic “Your Russia” with some more improvisations in the middle finished the first part. Needless to say that the teenagers cried and cheered again with full force during the encore break. David returned alone to play the beautiful “Swedish Purse/Phyllis Ann” – and the people began to clap rhythmically. Then Ordy, Peter and Pascal also returned and “Winter Shaker” shaked the theatre. By starting “American Wheeze” people went crazy and cheered again. “Deerskin Doll” and the amazing “Dirty Blue” were the last songs of the night.
The Setlist:
Snake Bite
My Russia
Improvisations (Down in yon Forest)
Tin Finger
Harm’s Way
Wooden Brother
The Speaking Hands
Whistling Girl
Improvisations
White Bird
Slota Prow/Horse Head Fiddle
Your Russia
Swedish Purse/Phyllis Ann
Winter Shaker
American Wheeze
Deerskin Doll
Dirty Blue
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I have to say that the sound at the Maison De La Culture D’Amiens was AMAZING! I wish that Woven Hand would play more locations like this.
After the Vienna show, which was – apart form the “audience” – really an excellent one, I headed to my final “Ten Stones” live experience to Bern in Switzerland. I arrived the day before the show so I had enough time for some sightseeing. Bern is a beautiful city – especially the older part of the town is amazing.
Before I started my sightseeing tour I looked for the location “ISC Club” which was not really easy to find. It’s hidden behind an autonomous area which is called “Reitschule”, the club itself is located in an university building. I saw only one Woven Hand poster by going through the city for some hours, so I was curious how many people will find their way to the show. As David played here for many times (with 16 Horsepower and Woven Hand) I was sure, that the concert will be well attended.
As the doors were opened at 8 o’clock I was waiting 15 minutes before outside of the venue with some other fans. When I entered the location I headed the stairs above to the so called concert room. But this was really very small but at the right hand there was a curtain and so I thought to myself “behind this, there will be the hall”. So I lifted the curtain a little bit and saw directly behind it the “stage”. A very tiny one which was only knee-high! So I fetched myself a beer and waited for the support act Birch Book again. As I heard about the last concerts, B’ee aka B’eirth played the last shows (Utrecht and Leuven) with Ordy on the drums! So I was very looking forward to see this and as the curtain was opened he was sitting behind the drums, gave me a little wave and then Birch Book (with one guitar player) started his wonderful set. It was magic again and luckily the audience was very quiet during the show so this was really an amazing performance. Especially the final song (“The Trip goes on”), in which Ordy played a little bit louder, was simply unbelievable! Then the curtain was closed again and the club get more and more crowded. I had my place in front of Pascal this time and so me and a lot of fans were waiting for Woven Hand approximately 15 minutes. During this time a girl asked me if I have seen Woven Hand live before. So I have to laugh a little bit and so I told her my live experiences. She was very curious and nervous, because it was her first Woven Hand show. I said: “Just wait and see – you won’t trust your eyes and ears, bu you can trust me.” Then a drowning filled the room and the curtains fell for Woven Hand – the band was already on stage and so they started directly with “Kicking Bird”. As the last note was played, the people cheered and applauded very loudly – so they loved the hard and heavy performance like me. “The Beautiful Axe” was next, followed by “The Speaking Hands”, which was a personal highlight again. This one caught everybody and after the song the people went really nuts. Then the first riffs of “Splinters” gave me the creeps again. After that David had some technical problems with his amplifier. So it was the first time for me hearing him saying the F-Word. After two or three minutes he handled the problem and it seemed that he worked off some anger in an unbelievable hard and heavy version of “Tin Finger”. Some vocal improvisations on “Into the Piano” followed before the big surprise came next: “Poormouth”! I really didn’t trust my ears – one of my personal 16 Horsepower favorite was played live! With wet eyes I enjoyed this wonderful song. So it was no surprise that the audience went crazy again after the song was finished. While the people cheered loudly, Ordy, Pascal and Peter left the stage and David gave an amazing solo performance of “Whistling Girl”. After that the boys returned to their instruments for “Cohawkin Road” and “Horsetail”. Again David made a lot of gestures during the songs and after that he fetched his banjola again. While tuning it, somebody shouted “Sinnerman”. David’s answer: “I don’t know this song.” Nearly everybody laughed and then “Kingdom of Ice” hit the audience with full force. Another heavy version of “Not one Stone” followed and it was such an enjoyment to see the band playing this gorgeous song live again. “Horse Head Fiddle” with a lot of improvisations took us the breath away – it’s simply unbelievable which sounds they created again. And with a rocking “Winter Shaker” the regular set was closed. Some Indian chants supplied the encore break before Ordy and David played the Bob Dylan Cover “As I went out one Morning”. After this beauty David fetched the bandoneon and you can imagine what happened next: The people went nuts again and a lot of them sang some lines to the unbelievable “American Wheeze”. And with “Deerskin Doll” a heavy final chord was set. Unfortunately they didn’t play “Dirty Blue” and “Your Russia” but therefore “Poormouth” was much more than a consolation.
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After the show I asked the girl next to me, who has her first Woven Hand live experience, what she was thinking now. She shaked her head and answered luckily and with a big smile. “Unbelievable”! Then I met Hanspeter from Bern and Millie from France. It was quite fun again to meet people in real life, who I only knew from the internet. I was standing on the stairs watching the scenery, as the guitar player from Birch Book asked: “And did you enjoy the show?” As I had my Birch Book shirt on I do bet he was curious about my opinion. So we talked for approximately 15 minutes about Birch Book, his musical background and the touring so far. Finally Dean (he is from Manchester) signed some Birch Book covers for me and before he had to leave Hanspeter was so nice and shot a picture of me and Dean – many thanks again!
Then I met Ordy and Peter for a short “Hello” and after that I left the club. As I headed to the hotel I passed the tour bus where some people loaded all the instruments and gear. As Dean told me they left tonight and drive through the night to Lausanne, where the next stop was scheduled. But no more shows for me – five times is enough! And I’ve also to spare some money for the next tour in 2009 – see you there again!”
My first Murder By Death live experience was on the 21st April 2007 in Munich (Atomic Café) and this show was simply awesome. Due to the wedding of my best friend in France (I was one of the witnesses of the marriage) I couldn’t make it to the first Murder By Death concert in Austria, which was scheduled for the 2nd July 2008 in Vienna. So I have to wait until the 12th December 2008 when Adam Turla (Guitar and Vocals), Sarah Balliet (Cello and Keyboards), Matt Armstrong (Bass) and Dagan Thogerson (Drums) were playing in Vienna again – this time at the wonderful small location named B72. There I attended one of my best live shows ever – Woven Hand back in 2005 played an outstanding set and so I was really very looking forward to see a concert of one of my all time favorite bands in this wonderful place again. This time Murder By Death toured to promote their latest and fantastic release “Red Of Tooth And Claw”, which has blown me straight away when I first listened to it – a real masterpiece!
Before the show I met Dagan at the merchandising stand. We talked a little bit and then I bought two new shirts and a badge. Also I asked him for signing some covers after the concert. “Yes, of course”, he answered. As the doors opened we headed to the balcony. When you’re sitting in the first row you have a perfect overview and an excellent sound. The supporting band was also from the USA – Unwed Sailor, a three piece (Bass, Guitar and Drums) which only plays instrumental. Very interesting performance, but in my opinion some vocals would be fit perfectly into this special sound. Nevertheless we (and Adam Turla with Matt Armstrong from Murder By Death, who were standing on the left to us) enjoyed their performance, which endured approximately 40 minutes. Then, after they grabbed their instruments, Murder By Death entered the stage. “Thanks for coming out, we’re Murder By Death”, Adam welcomed the audience and they began their show with a straight “Sometimes the Line walks you” from the album “In Bocca Al Lupo”. After that, Sarah fetched her cello and the wonderful “’52 Ford” followed. This one is one of my favorite tracks on the recent album “Red Of Tooth And Claw” so it was no surprise that this one gave me the creeps. The new song “Ball and Chain” was next on the setlist, in which Sarah showed us her unique cello skills. After Adam said “Thank you very much”, the powerful “Rum Brave” filled the B72. The amazing “A Masters in Reverse Psychology” from their second LP “Who Will Survive, And What Will Be Left Of Them” hit me with full force. “We are all waiting for the end, what kind of finish will he send” were the last words. Then I have to shout “Amazing” and Adam answered “Amazing finish, I hope” with a smile. “It’s nice to be back here in Vienna, thank you for having us! We were here in July, I guess. It was the 2nd of July, the day before my birthday. Which was a good one. I had Schnitzel on my birthday so everything was okay. This song is about escaping a rough town”, Adam introduced “Steal away”, which you can find also on their last album. “Fuego”, the first song which I heard before the official release of “Red Of Tooth And Claw”, was next, in which Sarah played cello and keyboard alternately. “Thanks a lot! We are doing a series where we put out our own records and we are doing covers of our favorite bands and our friends and they’re covering our songs – so we are trading. And this is a song by a guy named William Elliott Whitmore who’s amazing”, Adam told us before they began “One Man’s Shame” which is released as a limited edition (1.000 copies) on a special vinyl single series. If you want to save your personal copy then go to their official website (www.murderbydeath.com) and place your order before it’s too late! Well, back to the Vienna show: “Ash” gave me another reason for headbanging and shaking. With “One more Notch”, “The Organ Grinder” and “Steam Rising” three more beautiful tracks from “In Bocca Al Lupo” followed. “Thank you very much! It’s good to back in Austria. You’re very kind, come to see us and make us feel good. This song is about having a good time by doing all the wrong shit, I guess”, Adam told us before “Brother” hit everybody at the B72 and so it was no surprise that the people went completely nuts during this song. And I was so happy to hear the full version, because of the last time in Munich a crazy guy interrupted Adam’s singing by entering the stage for some stagediving. “Until Morale improves, the Beatings will continue” from their second album gave us the creeps again. When I first heard the line “Buckshot is my Bread and I’ll drink Whiskey instead of Water, ‘cause I can’t stand to be sober in this place”, I was caught immediately. “Thank you very much, you’re very awesome. I hope you were here early enough to see Unwed Sailor. Those guys are fucking awesome. They’re friends of ours from the states. And it just happened that we were meeting here in Europe. And this one goes out to them”, Adam told us before he started an unbelievable version of “The Big Sleep”. After that, the crowd went nuts again and applauded loudly. “Tomorrow is our last night of the tour. It’s always nice to go home, but we will be sad for leaving Europe. Thanks for taking good care of us”, Adam introduced the last song of the regular set: “Comin’ Home”, in which nearly everybody was singing the beginning with Adam. Then a short encore break followed. “Usually we go somewhere and have a few drinks. And if you wanna hear more, we will play more songs. But there is no place for us to go”, Adam explained about the small stage at the B72. So they had to stay on the stage, because there is no place for an usual backstage area. So the crowd cheered, shouted and applauded loudly for more songs. “I like your style, I like you guys. I don’t know what songs we are gonna play”, Adam told us and so some people shouted some titles. “Okay, here are a couple of ones we haven’t played on this tour yet”, Adam introduced us the following songs. Before they started to play again, Adam asked about this special thing, which was outside the bar hanging above the barkeepers. It holds all types of liquor bottles upside down and so the bartenders can easily fetch some Whiskey, Vodka etc. for mixing some drinks. “By the way, has anybody else noticed that there is a revolving thing of liquor? I wanna lay down underneath it. The thing is beautiful. I gotta get rich and get one of those for my house above my bed. And I will never have to leave”, Adam was joking. Then a wonderful “Three Men Hanging” opened the encore set. “I heard someone asked for this song, so we will play it”, introduced “The Desert is on Fire”, which finished with a big surprise: Adam played the classic guitar riff of the Jethro Tull song “Aqualung” just before the end. “Okay, let’s do one more. This song is about pirates and getting drunk. You’re awesome. You know, this song is about Viennese pirates” Adam joked again and then a heavy and powerful “Dead Men and Sinners” closed the wonderful set. “Thank you very much, thanks for coming”, said Adam as a good bye before leaving the stage finally.
The Setlist:
Sometimes the Line walks you
’52 Ford
Ball and Chain
Rum Brave
A Masters in Reverse Psychology
Steal away
Fuego
One Man’s Shame (William Elliott Whitmore Cover)
Ash
One more Notch
The Organ Grinder
Steam Rising
Brother
Until Morale improves, the Beatings will continue
The Big Sleep
Comin’ Home
Three Men Hanging
The Desert is on Fire
Dead Men and Sinners
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After the concert I firstly met Matt and asked him for signing some covers. “Of course”, he said. As I was wearing the official shirt of “Red Of Tooth And Claw”, which was available by pre-ordering the album, he knew that I’m a big fan, I guess. And so he gave me his plectrum as a gift – many thanks again! Then I met Sarah and she also signed all my vinyl covers which I brought along. Then I waited until Adam has some time for me and so I walked to the merchandising stand again and asked him for some signatures. So he signed everything and after that I thanked him for playing some notes of “Aqualung”. “Oh, you recognised it”, he answered. “Oh yeah, of course”, and then I lifted my Murder By Death shirt to show him not my belly, but my Jethro Tull Baseball shirt, which I wore beneath it. He looked with bright eyes, smiled and shook his head astonished. Finally I bought some pins and the official and limited tour poster and wished him and the band a save trip back to the USA. Before we were leaving we had the chance to take a picture with Sarah and Dagan. So many thanks to my friend Kurt who took one featuring Sarah Balliet, Dagan Thogerson and me.
29/12/2009 – Fort Collins (Aggie Theater): MUNLY & THE LUPERCALIANS
The Setlist:
Scarewolf
Petr
Grandfater
Ahmen
Mattie
Three Wise Hunters
Polpot
Jehu
Wulf
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SLIM CESSNA’S AUTO CLUB
The Setlist:
Cranston
Red Pirate of the Prairie
Children of the Lord
This is how we do Things in the Country
No Doubt about it
Americadio
Magalina Hagalina Boom Boom
Pine Box
Hold my Head
Jesus is in my Body: My Body has let me down
32 Mouths gone dry
This Land is our Land Redux
All about the Bullfrog in three Verses
Last Song about Satan
Mark of Vaccination
He, Roger Williams
The unballed Ballad of the new Folksinger
That fierce Cow is common sense in a Country Dress
30/12/2009: DEVOTCHKA – Denver (Mercury Cafe) – Afternoon Show
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The Setlist:
The Enemy Guns
Queen of the Surface Streets
Basso Profundo
The Clockwise Witness
We’re leaving
Head Honcho
C’est ce la (Part I & II)
I cried like a silly Boy (Ted Thacker Cover)
Happy Birthday
La Llorrona
Undone
Transliterator
Death by Blonde
How it ends
Such a lovely Thing
31/12/2009 – Denver (Bluebird Theater): MUNLY & THE LUPERCALIANS
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The Setlist:
Scarewolf
Petr
Grandfater
Ahmen
Mattie
Three Wise Hunters
Polpot
Jehu
Wulf
MUNLY & THE LUPERCALIANS: Ahmen
SLIM CESSNA’S AUTO CLUB
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The Setlist:
Cranston
Red Pirate of the Prairie
Children of the Lord (feat. Erica Brown)
This is how we do Things in the Country
No Doubt about it
Americadio
Magalina Hagalina Boom Boom
Pine Box
Hold my Head
Jesus is in my Body: My Body has let me down
New Year Counting with Erica Brown/Auld Lang Syne
32 Mouths gone dry
This Land is our Land Redux
All about the Bullfrog in three Verses
Last Song about Satan
Mark of Vaccination
He, Roger Williams
Providence, New Jerusalem
Do you know thee Enemy
The unballed Ballad of the new Folksinger
That fierce Cow is common sense in a Country Dress
This one is a real classic for me – you have to imagine this scenery: Me and my friend were sitting in my room while listening to a sampler which was part of a German issue of the „Rolling Stone“ music magazine. One of the tracks was „The Man who loved Beer“ and I said to my friend: „Well, this band is playing tonight in Salzburg.“ His answer: „Oh, really? Then we have to be there I guess!“ And a few minutes later we drove to Salzburg to see Lambchop at the ARGE. Not many people showed up and sometimes I had the feeling that more people were on the stage than in front of the band – very strange feeling. But nevertheless Kurt Wagner and his band bedazzeld us with a sort of quiet and slow country style. Not everybody was enjoying this music – I can remember one blockhead shouted something like „More Rock!“. Well, so they played at least one speedy track 😉
Another funny thing was the merchandising: They sold shirts, CDs (the actual release of that time was „How I Quit Smoking„), vinyls and – you won’t believe that – their own Lambchop cigarettes! I never saw anything like that and I talked to Kurt Wagner a few years later about that weird topic in an interview 😉
As a friend of mine was living in the UK that time I thought about a trip to England and to visit Brighton for some sightseeing and Jethro Tull, one of my favorite band all over the years. And I was quite sure that this show will be not a normal one because it was my first chance to see my heroes live in their home country. And I was told that a special guest will appear because of the 40th anniversary of Jethro Tull.
The Dome is a beautiful place and we had some fine seats (3rd row – left) and I was very looking forward to the show. Well, what followed was the weakest performance I have seen from Mr. Ian Anderson and his band so far. I knew that he had some voice problems since the mid-eighties but that night his singing was really painful for my ears during some songs. Especially „Heavy Horses„, one of my all time Tull favorites, sounded that night really awful. Apart from that, the lightning was very annoying and I have to shelter my eyes from these pink and yellow lights which were straightened directly to our seats (as you can easily see on the pictures below).
But when special guest Dave Pegg (who was Tull’s bass player from 1980 until 1995 and is still the boss behind the UK folk rock institution Fairport Convention) entered the stage, the sorely missed Tull spirit was back again and the bumpy performance changed completely! It was so good to see him back, making some jokes and performing one of his solo songs called „Level Pegging„! He returned then for the performance of „Farm on the Freeway“ and „Locomotive Breath„. So many thanks to Mr. Dave Pegg who rescued that night 😉
But I have to admit that the concert was not that bad – for persons who saw Tull the very first time it was a wonderful show. For us die-hard fans, who saw this band so many times, it was more or less an average show.
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The Setlist:
My Sunday Feeling
Living in the Past
One for John Gee
So much Trouble
Sossity; you’re a Woman (Instrumental)/Reasons for Waiting
Nursie
Serenade to a Cuckoo
We used to know/With you there to help me
A new Day Yesterday (incl. Kelpie)
Bourée*
For a Thousand Mothers
Dharma for One (incl. Drum Solo & Count the Chickens)
Heavy Horses
Level Pegging*
Farm on the Freeway*
Thick as a Brick
Aqualung
Locomotive Breath*
The fist time that I saw the Norway Jazz Saxophone master Jan Garbarek. With his so called Jan Garbarek Group (Rainer Brüninghaus – Piano, Eberhard Weber – Bass, Marilyn Mazur – Percussion) he introduced us his latest release „Visible World“ at the Brucknerhaus in Linz. Wonderful performance, perfect sound and a thrilled audience made this evening very special.
13/04/2010: SIVERT HOYEM (Madrugada) – Munich (59:1)
Support by Christer Knutsen
The Norway band Madrugada was and still is one of my favorite bands. Unfortunately this amazing group is history now but the singer Sivert Hoyem is still touring and recording. And so I was hoping for some Madrugada songs on that night in Munich at the 59:1.
Just before the show I did an interview with Sivert for the Austrian radio station B138. We talked about his solo career, his latest release „Moon Landing„, about Madrugada (of course!) and the music scene in Norway in general – you can stream/download the entire interview for free here!
Christer Knutsen, who is the guitarist of Hoyem’s band, did a perfect support. And it was obvious that he enjoyed it very much 😉
Then Sivert, followed by his other members, entered the stage and opened the show with one of his new songs called „Belorado„. The performance was so awesome, the setlist perfect (as you can see listed below), the audience enthusiastic – you could feel the energy in the room. And when you looked at the smiling faces of the band you could see that they also recognised that this night was a very special one. As the last encore: Sivert did „The Cool Song„, a wonderful song written by St.Thomas, solo (he recorded this one with his guitarist Cato Salsa under the name „The Hyler Twins„). So this was the perfect last point.
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The Setlist:
Belorado
High Society
What you doin’ with him
Lost at Sea
Going for Gold
The Light that falls among the Trees
Honey Bee
Majesty
Into the Sea
Shadows/High Meseta
Exiles
The Kids are on High Street
Arcadian Wives
Sister Sonic Blue
What’s on your Mind
Moon Landing
Don’t pass me by
The Cool Song (St. Thomas Cover)
As far as I remember this was the beginning that Calexico become really big and famous. They played two shows in a row at the Szene in Vienna (I attended the first one on the 15th April 2003) and both concerts were sold out very fast! It was a fantastic performance and I can’t get my eyes off John Convertino’s playing – his drumming is so unique and pure! And I also thought a lot of that „problem“ during the fantastic show that Calexico is becoming bigger and bigger now. Their release at that time called „Feast Of Wire“ charted nearly everywhere! But hey, it’s okay and I do think that Joey Burns and John Convertino don’t have any problems with that 😉
The Setlist:
Gypsy’s Curse
Across the Wire
Quattro
Crooked Road and the Briar
Fade
Wash
Sunken Waltz
El Picador
Gilbert
Deep down
Close behind
Black Heart
Dub Latina
Taster
Minas de Cobre
Güero Canelo
All the pretty little Horses
Not even Stevie Nicks
Ojitos Traidores
Alone again or
Jesus & Tequila
Cancion del Mariachi
Crystal Frontier
Attack el Robot! Attack!
16/04/1999: JAN GARBAREK & HILLIARD ENSEMBLE – Vienna (Votivkirche)
A very special concert with Jan Garbarek at the wonderful Votivkirche (a church!) with the fantastic Hilliard Ensemble. Words can’t describe the sounds that floated around me (and also Jan Garbark, who walked in the church around while playing!) when was enjoying this outstanding performance in that wonderful church. Most of the music was from „Mnemosyne“ (edited by ECM Records in 1999).
18/04/2008: EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN – Vienna (Arena – Big Hall)
My very first live experience with the German experimental band Einstürzende Neubauten at the Vienna Arena. A place where Blixa Bargeld and his group played the first time appr. 25 years before. I have to admit that I’m not really into their earling recordings – they still sound very strange to me in some way, but I have to say, that the compositions are really very unique and special. So I’m that boring guy who prefers the latest releases – like „SIlence Is Sexy“ (2000), „Perpetuum Mobile“ (2004) or „Alles wieder offen“ (2007).
The performance was excellent and the band in a very good mood as you can see on the videos below – many thanks to Isabella Felidae who put their recorded videos on YouTube.
EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN: Let’s do it a Da Da
EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN: Die Befindlichkeit des Landes
EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN: Ich hatte ein Wort
The Setlist:
Die Wellen
Nagorny Karabach
Dead Friends (Around the Corner)
Let’s Do it a Da Da
Weil Weil Weil
Unvollständigkeit
Tagelang Weiß
Rampe
Von Wegen
Die Befindlichkeit des Landes
Sabrina
Susej
Ich warte
Ein leichtes leises Säuseln
Heaven is of Honey
Ich hatte ein Wort
Alles
(Dave?)
Youme & Meyou
An example for the experimental spirit is the song „(Dave?)“: For this one every musician drew a little note, on which the instructions were. So every night sounded this song different 😉
After the show I bought myself a shirt and the recording of the show, which is unfortunately not complete, but it’s nevertheless a wonderful souvenir of that night. An idea, which was very innovative at that time 😉
The Gutter Twins (feat. Greg Dulli from The Afghan Whigs and Mark Lanegan from Screaming Trees) introduced us their latest release – the masterpiece „Saturnalia„. To the sound of „The Proposition“ (yeah – the fantastic soundtrack by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis) they entered the stage of the Szene in Vienna and started the show with „The Stations„. The atmosphere was a little strange in some way, because Mr. Dulli was not really amused about people who were taking pictures and videos. And also Mr. Lanegan had his „problems“ with one fan in the front row. He pushed the micro stand two times down the stage … But apart from this it was a breathtaking performance and Greg Dulli came down for some singing in the crowd (as you can see on some pictures below).
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THE GUTTER TWINS: The Stations
THE GUTTER TWINS: I was in Love with you
THE GUTTER TWINS: Papillon
The Setlist:
Intro – Nick Cave & Warren Ellis: „The Proposition“
The Stations
God’s Children
All Misery/Flowers
Live with me
Seven Stories Underground
Idle Hands
Bete Noire
Down the Line
I was in Love with you
St. James Infirmary
Spanish Doors
Each to each
Front Street
Papillon/Shadow of the Season
Hit the City
King only
Methamphetamine Blues
Number Nine
Adam Turla (guitar, vocals), Sarah Balliet (cello, keyboards), Matt Armstong (bass) and Dagan Thogerson (drums) were obvious surprised that the club was nearly sold out! So they enjoyed any second of their performance – and also the enthusiastic crowd. One of the fans did some stagedriving during the song „Brother“ – and he landed on the floor. After that Adam called him „The Death Angel“ 😉
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The Setlist:
Sometimes the Line walks you
A Masters in Reverse Psychology
Boy Decide
The Desert is on Fire
Dynamite Mine
One more Notch
The Devil in Mexico
Raw Deal
Flamenco fuckin‘ easy
(Bang Bang) My Baby shot me down (Sonny-&-Cher-Cover)
Brother
Until Morale improves, the Beatings will continue
The Big Sleep
That Crown don’t make you a Prince
Those who stayed
Steam Rising
Killbot 2000
I’m afraid of „Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf“
Shiola
After the show I did some shopping at the merchandising and I also talked a little bit with the band. What a perfect night!
23/04/2009: SLIM CESSNA’S AUTO CLUB – St. Gallen (Grabenhalle)
Do you remember the feeling when you were a child and it’s Christmas? When you are unpatiently waiting for the presents? Do you remembert? Yes? Then you have a small idea about my feelings when I was going to my very first Slim Cessna’s Auto Club concert back in 2009. I was very long hoping and crossing my fingers for an Europe tour and when I was told that this is really going to happen I decided to start a sort of mini tour for four dates in a row. So it started for me in St. Gallen (Switzerland) at the Grabenhalle.
When we arrived Slim Cessna was standing at the door of the location. So we took the chance for some talking and my friend, who joined my mini tour through Switzerland and Austria, took a picture of me and Slim. I do think you can see how happy I was at that moment, knowing that I finally see the fantastic Slim Cessna’s Auto Club from Denver, Colorado! And it was not only the band from the US I met – I also crossed the paths of three long time fans: John Dalby from Denver, Carol Kennedy from Albuquerque and Tony Kiernan from Scotland attended already some shows on that tour and they also saw the guys a few times all over the world! We had very much fun before and also after the show! And it was also a start of fantastic friendships – thanks again to the Good People 😉
While waiting on the beginning Munly showed up – and I was hooked! Seeing this outstanding musician in real life was really very special to me. Unfortunately he disappeared very fast so I had no chance to talk with him before the concert.
I have to say that I was really disappointed that not many people showed up – I do think there were appr. 40 or 50 people in the room waiting for the band. But when the Auto Club entered the stage and started with „Pine Box“ it was obvious that this band don’t care at all how many people are watching. They rocked with full force and after a few minutes I found myself headbanging, dancing, cheering, screaming and singing in front of this amazing band – the line up for the first Europe tour was:
During „32 Mouths gone dry“ something very strange happened: Munly Munly came up in front of me and put his fingers into my mouth while singing! First, I really didn’t recognised at all, because I was so thrilled by the performance. But after a few seconds later I was thinking to myself: „Was this real?“ Anyway – I fell back into my enthusiastic behaviour and rocked with the boys like there was no tomorrow.
Speaking about strange things: During the song „Jesus is in my Body – My Body has let me down“ Munly Munly crawled under the stage so that only his boots were visible (see some pictures below)! Luckily he appeared for his singing part again, sitting and lying on the floor 😉
I took a tons of pictures and I always looked on my watch during the songs – I wished I could stop the clock and that this show will never end! Most of the tracks were taken from the current release – the masterpiece „Cipher„. After the last tune of the night „This Land is our Land Redux“ I was speechless, grinning, sweaty and the happiest man on earth 😉
For some souvenirs I bought me a shirt and a fantastic photo book of the band by the awesome photgrapher Gary Isaacs. Then I waited for the band for some signatures – Slim was so kind to sign all the covers I brought along. And also Munly Munly signed everything I gave to him – especially all his solo stuff (which is OUTSTANDING by the way!) and his book „Ten Songs With No Music“ which is hard to get nowadays. For this he took his own ballpoint and wrote something on the first page 😉
Before we left the Grabenhalle, my friend took two pictures of me with Munly and we had to say goodbye to John, Carol and Tony who returned to their homes. But our paths should cross again very soon 😉
Back at the hotel I tried to get some sleep before we were heading to Winterthur for the next show at the Kraftfeld.
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The Setlist:
Pine Box
32 Mouths gone dry
Cranston
Jesus is in my Body: My Body has let me down
Mark of Vaccination
That fierce Cow is common sense in a Country Dress
Magalina Hagalina Boom Boom
This is how we do Things in the Country
Hold my Head
Last Song about Satan
Goddamn Blue Yodel #7
Jesus Christ
He, Roger Williams
Children of the Lord
Red Pirate of the Prairie
This Land is our Land Redux
Unfortunately this was the only chance for me to see Calvin Russell live on stage. It took place in Vienna at the Rockhaus where this self titled outlaw from Austin, Texas, introduced us to his latest album called „Dream of the Dog„. I was very disappointed that there was no merchandising at all – so the ticket is the only thing that reminds me on that very special gig. Calvin recorded awesome albums (to get started I advise you the albums „A Man in Full“ and „The Story of – This is my Life„) and it’s really a pity that this man was not that well known. He passed away much too early at the age of 64 on the 3rd April 2011. Another great „Soldier“ has gone …
24/04/2009: SLIM CESSNA’S AUTO CLUB – Winterthur (Kraftfeld)
So after the amazing show in St. Gallen at the Grabenhalle we headed to our next Slim Cessna’s Auto Club night in Winterthur at the location called Kraftfeld. There we met Millie from France – she also did a long trip to see this awesome band from Denver, Colorado.
Before the show I met Slim and it was obvious that he was not healthy – he had a cold and he tried to get fit for the night. I crossed my fingers that he will be okay for the show – and it seems that this helped 😉
When we entered the room we laughed a lot because I have never this kind of stage: The rhythm section was „upstairs“ – on another level. So Shane and Greg had to play over the heads of Slim, Rum, Munly and Dwight! To have an idea of the scenery just take a look on the pictures below 😉
As you can see this location is really tiny but it was very well crowded when the Auto Club started their show. Although it was exactly the same setlist, the show was breathtaking again and so I after the intro of „Pine Box“ I was completely into the music again – until the last tone of „This is our Land Redux„. Also the people there went nuts and so it was an unforgettable night for everyone, I do guess 😉
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The Setlist:
Pine Box
32 Mouths gone dry
Cranston
Jesus is in my Body: My Body has let me down
Mark of Vaccination
That fierce Cow is common sense in a Country Dress
Magalina Hagalina Boom Boom
This is how we do Things in the Country
Hold my Head
Last Song about Satan
Goddamn Blue Yodel #7
Jesus Christ
He, Roger Williams
Children of the Lord
Red Pirate of the Prairie
This Land is our Land Redux
While Shane Trost was signing the photo book, which I bought the night before in St. Gallen, he admitted that he has no head of heights at all! So I can imagine that this gig will be in his mind forever! After that I saw Munly talking with a girl – and I was quite sure that this wonderful lady is Rebecca Vera! She is also a musician and played with Munly’s band called „The Lee Lewis Harlots“ and so I took the opportunity to give her some covers to sign and while writing her name on the covers of „Munly & The Lee Lewis Harlots„, „Jimmy Carter Syndrome“ and „Cipher„. She told me that she will be also at the show in Innsbruck the next day and maybe in Vienna too.
Before we left the club we said goodbye to the band and Rebecca and I wished Slim (who did an amazing performance again!) a speedy recovery.
The Setlist:
In the Hall of the Mountain King (Edvard Grieg Cover)
Guts
Once again
Honey White
Meanest Blues in Town
Trains
Whipping Boy
Stringmachine
Give it away (Red Hot Chili Peppers Cover)
Woodstock (Joni Mitchell Cover)
13 Question Method
Deathletter
One Meat Ball
Ace of Spades (Motörhead Cover)
25/04/2009: SLIM CESSNA’S AUTO CLUB – Innsbruck (Treibhaus – Big Hall)
Third show in a row – this time back to Austria in Innsbruck at the Treibhaus. Before the show we checked our tickets at the bar and I was told that ours were the only reserved ones. So I was worrying about two things: The health of Slim and how many people will show up at the show. Another strange thing was that the Auto Club should play the big hall in the basement which had the size for appr. 500 people! So we knew that this was not really a good idea at all …
While visiting the hall, Munly came along and we talked a little bit about the show yesterday in Winterthur and how the recovery of Slim is going on. He told us that everything is fine with him and then he left us for doing the soundcheck. When the doors opened we were told that a local band will do the support. While waiting for the show we drank some beers as suddenly a crown cap hit me from the balcony. Greg, the drummer, threw it at me and said „Hello guys“ with a big smiling.
As the support band began more people came along – it seems that these guys were just friends of them so it was a friendly turn for watching them, I do guess, because this young group was really nothing special at all. And during the show they changed their band name! So can it get more ridiculous and annoying? Unfortunately all the friends wanted encores – so our inpatiently waiting was continued …
Finally this local band (sorry, but I really can’t remember the name but I do guess that the older label is stating on the official poster) left the stage and we cheered loudly 😉 While things were prepared for Slim Cessna’s Auto Club Rebecca joined us for watching the show.
Well, it was really hard to see that apart from us three nobody knows this group from Denver, Colorado. So the audience was picked with three Auto Club fans and the rest was just the friends of that support act … While shaking my head about this bizarre scenery the band started their set with full force again! It was apparently that Slim, Munly, Rum, Greg, Dwight and Shane didn’t care how many people are watching – they played breathtaking again and their show was excellent as always: Munly climbed from the stage again and the young people didn’t trust their eyes seeing this guy lying on the floor while clapping his hands and singing!
They did the same setlist again but the performance blew me away again! It was so weird seeing one of the best live bands playing in front of a handful people in such a big hall! But nevertheless gave Slim Cessna’s Auto Club 100 % again – as always!
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The Setlist:
Pine Box
32 Mouths gone dry
Cranston
Jesus is in my Body: My Body has let me down
Mark of Vaccination
That fierce Cow is common sense in a Country Dress
Magalina Hagalina Boom Boom
This is how we do Things in the Country
Hold my Head
Last Song about Satan
Goddamn Blue Yodel #7
Jesus Christ
He, Roger Williams
Children of the Lord
Red Pirate of the Prairie
This Land is our Land Redux
26/04/2009: SLIM CESSNA’S AUTO CLUB – Vienna (Arena – Small Hall)
Back in my friend’s hometown Vienna the last and fourth Slim Cessna’s Auto Club show of our personal mini tour followed at the Arena. This time the right place was booked – the small hall which was perfect for the band and it was the best attended show of the four concerts. Over 100 people went nuts during another breathtaking performance.
At the Arena area we were sitting outside drinking some beers and this time we met some other fans! While chatting with them the Slim walked by and greeted everybody. After some talking he had to left for the soundcheck.
While the support band opened luckily on time it was good to see that more and more people showed up. And when the Auto Club started with „Pine Box“ again the small hall was well attended with an enthusiastic crowd. I was standing in front of Rum while singing, shaking, rocking, sweating and cheering through the whole performance. After the last song „This Land is our Land Redux“ I was happy and also very sad, because it was my last show of this tour. Outside at the bar I met the band again for some signing and talking. And as I was full of sweat I had to buy me another shirt with this wonderful „Cipher“ picture, which was created by Heather Reynolds – you can watch some of her wonderful works here!
While the bar was going to close Slim sang some notes from „Sound of Music“ (this movie is VERY popular in the USA!) for me – can you imagine that? This made me really speechless 😉
After a warm and hearty goodbye to the whole band we left the Arena and headed to my friends place for the night. So this was the end of our personal mini tour with the fabulous Slim Cessna’s Auto Club which took us from Switzerland (St. Gallen and Winterthur) back to Austria (Innsbruck and finally Vienna). At that time I was thinking that I might see this band again in one or two years again – but fortunately I was wrong and it didn’t take that long 😉
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The Setlist:
Pine Box
32 Mouths gone dry
Cranston
Jesus is in my Body: My Body has let me down
Mark of Vaccination
That fierce Cow is common sense in a Country Dress
Magalina Hagalina Boom Boom
This is how we do Things in the Country
Hold my Head
Last Song about Satan
Goddamn Blue Yodel #7
Jesus Christ
He, Roger Williams
Children of the Lord
Red Pirate of the Prairie
This Land is our Land Redux
Support by The Sado Maso Guitar Club – believe me, the only interesting thing of this Austrian band is only the name 😉
First of all: I’m not really a fan of the mentioned artists. As Cat Power was announced for this festival in Krems I bought myself immediately a ticket. But unfortunately she cancelled her show and so I saw these bands for the first time live in concert.
Ian Anderson Band with The Blue Danube Chamber Orchestra and The Sturcz Quartet. Guest soloist: Lucia Micarelli.
This is my classical Jethro Tull/Ian Anderson experience which took place at the wonderful Konzerthaus in Vienna. The singer, flutist and guitarist was backed by The Blue Danube Chamber Orchestra, The Sturcz Quartet and Lucia Micarelli on violin.
With „Eurology“ (from the solo album „Rupi’s Dance„) Ian Anderson picked a perfect opener for the concert. And beside some Tull classics they performed the new track („Moz’Art Medley“ – a tribute to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), brilliant covers („The Godfather’s Theme“ and „Kashmir“ from Led Zeppelin) and rarities like „Wond’ring aloud„. A wonderful performance with a beautiful sound! And thanks to guitarist Florian Opahle who gave me his guitar pick after leaving the stage 😉
The Setlist:
Eurology
Living in the Past
Griminelli’s Lament
Aurora
Wond’ring aloud
Godfather Theme
Life is a long Song
Moz‘ Art Medley
Cheap Day Return
Mother Goose
She is like the Swallow
Bourée
Thick as a Brick
Kashmir
Pavane
Aqualung
God rest ye merry Gentlemen
My God
Budapest
Locomotive Breath
The fantastic Murder By Death are touring Europe RIGHT NOW!
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