Tag: American Musicians

Allgemein, Concerts

Zurich loves Dean Lewis

kekoaskorner

I was super excited to see Noah Kahan and Dean Lewis on April 7th at Kaufleuten Zürich. I’ve only heard good things about both of them and I guess I wasn’t the only one. When we started queuing an hour and half before doors opened we never expected so many people already there. By the time the doors actually opened people queued around the block! I don’t think I’ve ever seen this at this venue before.

Noah Kahan

We managed to get a good spot in front row and now it was time to wait. Luckily when you are in good company time flies. At 8 o’clock Noah Kahan and his band mates came on stage. The wooping and clapping was already unusally loud. Not only did we get to experience very good songs we enjoyed Noah’s funny stories as well. The guys started with “Passenger” and “False Confidence”. I love when artists crack a joke or tell us the stories behind the songs and Noah Kahan did just that. The set continued with “Carlo’s song” and “Mess”.

But here it is. The song that everyone knows and can singalong to. It’s been on the radio for weeks and the Swiss audience surprised Noah by singing loudly along to “Hurt Somebody”. Noah and his band are incredible musicians and I would have loved to hear more of them but he’s “Only” the warm-up so unfortunately after just a few songs they had to leave the stage. They finished the set with “Young Blood” and I hope they are coming back for a headlining show soon!

Dean Lewis

Holy smokes! Wow! The Swiss audience screamed their lungs out when Dean Lewis took the stage at 9pm. I think I’ve never needed my earplugs more haha
Dean Lewis started his set with “Hold of me” and the Swiss crowd knew every single lyrics. I was super suprised and so was Dean. I think this was one of the loudest singing crowd’s I’ve experienced. “Need you now” and “Place we knew” were next and the singing never stopped. A very emotional song for everyone was “Stay Awake” and I think this totally overwhelmed Dean Lewis. He said that he’s never heard a crowd sing this song as loudly as we did. You could tell by his smile that he loved this show and he loved the Swiss audience.

“Chemicals” and “lose my mind” followed this lovely moment and when he sat down to play a song by himself on his key board he was literally in front of me. And the funniest thing was he actually asked me and the girls how we were and if we’re good. Of course we were and I did my famous two thumbs up haha. With “Half a man” he enchanted Kaufleuten. His beautiful voice, the thoughtful lyrics and his piano skills was all it took to shut the usually chatty Kaufleuten crowd up. I loved it! What a great night it was 🙂

The band came back for “Time to go” and “Don’t hold me”. Back at the piano Dean Lewis performed his biggest hit “Be Alright” and the crowd’s singing got even louder! A magic moment with all the camera lights in the air swaying to the song. Check out my highlights on IG to get a little glimpse of that special moment. A lovely girl in the front row thought of something really cool. She printed out loads of A4 paper with “We won’t stop loving you! <3” on them. During “7 Minutes” we were suppose to hold it up. And our moment came now. A sea of white paper swaying along to the full song and the reaction to this was priceless. First Dean Lewis looked confused and then he read what was written on them and the biggest smile appeared.

Again we were told how cool and awesome of an audience we are and I think he really meant it. Because it really was true. The girls in the first rows were incredibly loud and knew every song. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it now.
Now this made me like Dean Lewis even more. He said that this band made him want to be a musician and of course he’s talking about the incredible Oasis! (Last year I got to see Liam Gallagher live, read more here) I loved Dean Lewis’ rendition of “Don’t look back in Anger”. Since the Manchester attack at the Ariana Grande gig this song means even more to me than before.

“For the last time” which reminded me a bit of the Script’s “For the first time” – just because I’m a bit obsessed with them as you know – was the last song before the encore. I think the people weren’t ready to let Dean Lewis go. With a deafening applause the Swiss crowd wanted him back on stage and of course they got their wish. “Straight back down” and his first single which got him known in Australia “Waves” were his last two songs of the night. Just after 10 Dean Lewis was finished and I think everyone in the crowd loved this amazing gig. A few of us stayed a bit longer and we were rewarded with an unplugged rendition of “Be Alright” on the streets of Zurich. I’ve never seen an artist come out and instead of taking pics and giving autographs he gave us a little private concert. I loved it and again it was such a special way to finish the night.

Dean Lewis and Noah Kahan treated us with a special night of great voices, great music and amazing lyrics to singalong to. I hope they both will be back very soon! 🙂

Allgemein, Artist2watch

Artist2watch: Dean Lewis & Noah Kahan

kekoaskorner

Dean Lewis and Noah Kahan – Two incredible singer songwriters going on tour together! This is a must go to gig for everyone who loves a man and a guitar shows. In addition to that I think this will be your last chance to see them in a relatively small venue at Kaufleuten because both of them are rising stars and will soon fill much bigger venues.

Dean Lewis

Dean Lewis is an Aussie slowly making it all over the world. With his first single “Waves” gaining traffic in Australia while his 2nd single “Be Alright” is already getting airplay in Europe and he sold out his show last winter at Papiersaal. So it’s only fitting that he’s playing the next bigger venue now. Fast forward into 2019 where he released his 3rd single “7 Minutes” and his back for another show on Sunday, April 7th at Kaufleuten. You can get tix here.

In an article I read that he is a huge Oasis fan and that they basically thought him how to write songs. So we all know the legendary hits “Wonderwall” or “Don’t look back in Anger” and we can only hope that Dean Lewis will be writing hits just like that and you can say you’ve been there from the start! 🙂

Instagram: Dean Lewis
Spotify: Dean Lewis

Noah Kahan

Noah Kahan is an American singer who released his first song “Youngblood” in 2017. He is working with with Joel Little who is also responsible for the hits of Lorde and Khalid. But I’m sure you know this guy from his most recent single “Hurt Somebody” featuring Julia Michaels. The song has been playing on the radio non-stop over the last few months.

twitter.com/noahkahan

Like Dean Lewis I think that Noah Kahan will be making it big time since he is such a talented singer songwriter and he’s got great people backing him. I can only recommend you to come to the show on April 7th and see/ hear for yourself those two amazing individuals putting up a brill show which you’ll be remember as your “I see them first”-moment.

Instagram: Noah Kahan
Spotify: Noah Kahan

Get your tix here: www.kaufleuten.ch
Thank you Just Because!

Allgemein, Concerts

HAIM: Monday is flirt day

kekoaskorner

Thanks to the Gadget Golden pass I won over Christmas I had the freedom to finally see HAIM. I’ve heard sooo many good things about the 3 sisters and I know that Este Haim is sooo funny so I decided that I had to see them.


The girls invited Grace Carter to join them on their Sister Sister Sister tour and that was a very wise decision. She is an awesome singer and a great opener. She sang “Silhouette”, “Saving Grace” and “Ashes”. I was a fan already and somehow I thought I knew her but I couldn’t place my finger on it. But the most fun and the best atmosphere she created with  “Silence”. People clapped along and started to dance even more. I will deffo keep following her and would love to see some more 🙂
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At 9.20 (so late!) the lights went off and the red stage lights went on. A drum beat started and one by one Alana, Danielle and Este took the stage at X-Tra. The energy came through already. People started dancing and clapping. I was amazed. I spent the whole first two songs “Falling” and “Don’t Save Me” watching them. They switched between singing, playing the keys, guitars etc. You could really see that they feel the music – especially Este. Her face tells you the whole story of a song.
Continue reading “HAIM: Monday is flirt day” →

Allgemein, Concerts

Master of the night: Anastacia

kekoaskorner

To be honest with you I was really looking forward to this gig until it was clear that my football team LFC will play on the same date. Thanks to abc production I got to see the incredible Anastacia again (Queen of Sprok) and it was well worth it.
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At 8.30 Anastacia took the stage with a huge hit “Left outside Alone”. It became clear that she meant business. 6 musicians and a three story high stage including various light effects supported her amazing voice. As soon as she started I was glad I came and the whole Volkshaus was too. From the first song everyone was singing along and Anastacia loved it. She loves Switzerland and that is no secret.


With her newest single “Caught in the Middle” the set continued. Both songs were very rocky which set the tone for the night. However it wouldn’t be an Anastacia concert if she didn’t have some soul and pop songs. “I can feel you” and “Redlight” were next. As you might know I had slight inflammation in my knee so I couldn’t really dance. But let me tell you already it wasn’t easy! Anastacia’s next song “Sick and Tired” is such a personal song with so much passion. It’s one of my favourite live songs because during the chorus everyone is waving their hands and is enjoying themselves.

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Live Music: You watch me, I watch you 🙂

“Before” sounds like a fighting anthem and if you know Anastacia’s history you know why. She is a strong beautiful woman with a brilliant voice you’ll recognize immediately. For the next one she said:

This is a song from the first album. If any of you guys are under 16 you might not know the song but it’s called “Cowboys and Kisses”

The summer feeling continued with “One Day in Your Life”. This song was one of the summer hits in 2009 and is still an amazing song that makes you want to dance right away. While Anastacia left the stage for a costume change the musicians did a great job doing a funk medley including Bruno Mars. With “Nobody loves Me better” she came back with a super sexy outfit. However Anastacia has not only men in her audience. It is a divers mix. Women and men of all ages, in couples or on a ladies night out. I loved the fact that you really couldn’t describe the typical Anastacia fan. At one point she asked how many of you see me for the first time? Half of the Volkshaus raised their hands. So she said:

Where have you been? 🙂

Seriously where have you been? She comes to Switzerland at least once a year and has been around for well over 10 years. However it is fascinating how she gathers new audience every time she is here. But most people are able to singalong and so we supported her during “Pieces of a Dream”. Lots of people were in awe of her beautiful and strong voice – very understandable.
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“Why” of her latest record Evolution followed. I don’t know why but the next song is special because it will get stuck in your head and I love the dance she and the two dancers are doing for “Stupid Little Things”. When the first chords of “Paid my dues” started I couldn’t believe that she was already playing it since it was one of the biggest hits. I checked my watch and I saw that we were coming to an end. The past hour flew by!
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A few years back Anastacia released an album where she covered all the classic rock songs… Stones, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, The Foo Fighters and many more. Unfortunately she was not able to tour that album because she was diagnosed with breast cancer for the 2nd time. However she wanted to perform those songs live at least once so on her App we were able to choose which song of that album she would perform tonight. And Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On” won.
“I Do” and “Boxer” off the new record were the two songs before the musicians left the stage. After minutes of deafening applause and stomping and wooping Anastacia came back on stage with a slow new song called “My Everything”. She told us that we are her everything. She feels so blessed that we still come to see her and support her doing what she loves to do so that’s why she wrote this song – for her Fanily. Her voice gave me goose bumps and it was a very quiet beautiful moment.
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For her last song she asked everyone to stand up and everyone obliged. I tried my best to dance with only one leg properly working. So the Volkshaus turned into a club where people had a good time including dancing and singing to “I’m Outta Love”. After an hour and 40 minutes of pure Entertainment from the Master of Sprok Anastacia said Goodbye. I already know that I want to see her again but I really do hope that at least 50% of the people who saw her for the first time that night will come back because she deserves it.
Calling on all my Fanily members, please share your experience below.

Check out my latest gigs: Turin Brakes, Isaac Gracie, Seven
Allgemein, Concerts

Say it louder with Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats

kekoaskorner

Two years ago I saw Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats at Kaufleuten and I just loved his set so when they announced that they are coming back I knew I had to go. I was very much looking forward to this gig and to listen to some new songs of his brand new album Tearing at the Seams released March, 9th.


We had to wait a long time for the support to come on. But finally at 8.10 a band called Slim Cessna’s Auto Club took the stage. And for the first time ever I don’t know what to tell you guys. I think they were completely nuts! I mean they were nice. They greeted us in the front row by handshake but the weirdness continued.. They stepped into the crowd and were just dancing weirdly and the songs… It was kinda country but also almost goth, rock and just very disturbing. But I think that’s what they want. They are on a European at the end of this year so if you’re into dark goth country music check them out!
At 9.30 Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats finally took the stage with a whiskey in his hand and his first word to us was:

Proscht!

I was kinda mad at them for letting us wait but that intro just made me laugh and I couldn’t stay mad anymore. In “Shoe Boot” Nathaniel Rateliff showed off his dancing qualities or should I say sliding qualities 🙂 It was a brilliant start and with “Grüezi, I’m Nathaniel Rateliff and we are the Night Sweats” it was enough said. “Be there” from the new record was next before he played “Look it here”  of his self-titled older record. The front row was already dancing and clapping along.


“I did it” came before “Howling at Nothing” which definitely got the crowd going and is an old one I really liked. What I really love about this band is that we have three horn/saxophone players, a drummer, a key/piano player, a bass and a guitar player so this fills up the stage quite nicely and transports the music right into your soul. It’s raw live music. Nothing can beat this! They are all so very talented and know their instruments inside out. Plus what I really loved to see that they had sooo much fun on stage making good music. I think this good vibe feeling is so easily transported over to the crowd. That’s why the Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats gigs are always good fun!
Nathaniel Rateliff &amp; The Night Sweats
“A little honey” is just a good feeling song and I can already picture myself driving down the road with the windows open in summer and having a good time listening to amazing music. For the next one the band put together a new and and old song “Cooling Out” and “Shake”. “Out on the Weekend” followed before Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats played their first single of the new record called “You Worry Me”. I must have listened to it so much that I actually thought it was one of the old songs 🙂 But hey, that’s a good sign! An actual old song “Wasting Time” was performed next. I really really enjoyed the good atmosphere and the brilliant live music with an incredible voice.
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That beautiful voice of Nathaniel Rateliff was shown off even more in “Babe I know”. After a short solo and a song called “Intro” we got to enjoy “I need Never get Old” and the party definitely started and the crazy continued. After a little dance on stage Nathaniel decided to walk down the stairs in front of me and actually lean over the barrier. I quickly moved out of his way. It was hilarious! Check out the video on my Instagram account by clicking here.  It’s one of my favourite tracks on the last record next to “Mellow Out” which I was hoping he would play. Unfortunately because he came on so late there was no time for more than 2 encore’s. And from what I gather is that this song would have been an option for an encore. Well I guess I just need to go see them again and hope for the best 🙂
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Nathaniel Rateliff asked us now to join in and sing-along to “Say it louder”. He said it’s really easy just “Say it louder, say it clearer” and the whole X-Tra joined in. Again what an atmosphere! “Baby I lost my Way” and “Hey Mama” rounded off the brilliant set. However Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats couldn’t leave without playing S.O.B. The Party was on and we all kneeled down just to jump up during the chorus. We were also turned into a huge choir and it was just a lot of fun!

The lads left the stage to the audience’s “ohhh ohhh ohhh” which didn’t fade until they started the first chords of “Trying so hard”. Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats finished the set with a beautiful slow song and the title track “Tearing at the Seams”. His last words were:

Ich liebe dich

Adorable! He thanked us for our support more than once and you could really feel that it was appreciated. We – the audience – allow them to do what they love. It has to be an incredible feeling and I hope that they can continue to live their dream.
Have you been to one of their gigs? Leave a reply below and share your experience 🙂

Check out my latest gigs: Sunrise Avenue, Franz Ferdinand, Liam Gallagher
Allgemein, Concerts

Huge party with Hoodie Allen

kekoaskorner

Hoodie Allen partied hard with his Swiss fans on a Tuesday night. It was the first time the American rapper came to Europe and he was blown away by the reception of his European/Swiss fans. Before the gig Hoodie himself stood by the merch table and sold his own T-shirts. Of course I had to say hi and got his signature onto my ticket.
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Goody Grace warmed up the crowd for Hoodie and he did quite a good job. However I was super annoyed by the people constantly chatting and disrespecting the artist. Seriously it was so loud I could barely hear him sing. From what I’ve heard though I can tell you guys that he is quite talented. He did two acoustic songs and a few party songs. Unfortunately I didn’t get his set list but please check this lovely lad out.


A little later Hoodie Allen took the stage with “Believe” and the people already went crazy. I gotta say that I was among the oldest people in the crowd. Hoodie attracted lots of teenies. With “Sushi” the Swiss audience could prove that they knew the lyrics inside out. “Fun” and “Fakin” were next and I was seriously amazed how good the crowd was.. I think Hoodie Allen was too. You could see how much fun he and his four musicians had on stage. He spoke a lot and told us how much he appreciated us coming out to see him since without us he’d still be in the garage at home.
oznor
“Something Dangerous”, “Robot” and “Act my Age” followed. It was good fun and I wish I would have know a bit more songs but unfortunately I couldn’t really listen to the songs since I had so many gigs this week. “Small Town” seemed to be a crowd’s favourite and I get why. I loved the song as well. The fun continued with “Surprise Party” where balloons where thrown around and for the crew it really was a special day. It was the official tour photographers Birthday and of course we sang “Happy Birthday” to him. Hoodie Allen was really happy with the audience and asked us to choose between 3 songs. “Cake boy” and “Two Lips” got around the same amount of noise so he just played both.
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During “Cake Boy” they threw two cakes into the audience! I was like “Wait what?!” but the crowd seemed to love it. “Two Lips” was done acoustically and all the cell phone lights went up. It looked great! Hoodie addressed the people who were just dragged along and said you just need to know three words for the next song “Champagne and pools”. The gig continued with a brilliant drum solo and the song “Fame”. For “Heartbreak” Goody Grace came back on stage to sing/rap with Hoodie. “Know it all” and “No Faith” were next and I was still amazed how everyone seemed to know all the lyrics to every song! It made for a great atmosphere and I was so glad I came to witness this gig.
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Hoodie Allen said then you might know of a very talented musician called Ed Sheeran and we did a song together! Yesss! I finally was able to singalong to “All About It”. Back when it came out I played it constantly and it’s the reason why I came to this gig. “Ain’t Ready (for love)” was the last song before the encore. When Hoodie left the stage the audience started to shout “Hoodie, Hoodie, Hoodie” and after a minute he came back on. He asked the crowd to form a circle in the middle and I was like wait a minute I’ve heard that before… Oh right Marteria on Saturday. This was the baby version of Saturday’s mosh pit. It still was great fun and it looked like we were celebrating a huge party with Hoodie in the middle. The final song of the night was “No Interruption” and people started jumping and singing. It was a great finish to a brill gig!
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Check out my latest gigs: Jake Isaac, Marteria, Xavier Naidoo