Allgemein, Concerts

Getting my Country on with Brett Young, Midland and Maddie & Tae

For years I wanted to visit the Country Night Gstaad and this year I finally found another Country Music Fan to join me! We started our little road trip at noon so that I could join the Line Dance workshop at 4. Of course the we couldn’t start without the right music: The hottest Country songs atm 🙂

When we arrived at the venue I kinda felt transported into a convention centre in the US. Obviously country music was playing, some people were eating and some were already line dancing. Let me tell you the work shop was a lot of fun and I never thought that line dancing is so exhausting! LOL

Krüger Brothers

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They are Swiss but living in the US and they managed to get the most people into the actual concert venue! I quite liked their music and their performance however I was waiting for the other artists as my highlights unlike the majority of the audience. I think since the crowd is mainly middle-aged they prefer the good ol’ country music. And the Kruger Brothers perfect their unique style.

Maddie & Tae

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If you google Maddie & Tae you quickly realize that they are two gorgeous girls but believe me they are even better looking in real life. But they are just good looking they are super cute and very talented too. God must have had a good day when Maddie & Tae were born. With big smiles on their faces they started with “Ain’t There Yet”, “No Place Like You” and “Friends Don’t”. Maddie & Tae’s harmonies were just perfect and together they played the guitar as well. I was super impressed and loved their set already. The girls continued with “Tourist”, “Fly” and “Waiting on a Plane”.


My absolute fav tune was “Your Side of Town”. It’s a super fast song including some clapping and it just has so much energy! I really really loved it. It doesn’t get more country than “Shut up and Fish”. For you country rookies let me show you what I mean with the following lyrics:

Oh I was fishing he was wishing
We were kissing I was getting
Madder than a hornet in an old coke can
Getting closer sliding over
Crowding up my casting shoulder
Reaching out and tryna hold my reeling hand
Saying I’m pretty saying he’s in love
And how it don’t get any better than this
I say yeah it could
Boy if you would
Shut up and fish

Just perfect! haha “Trying on Rings” was next before we got to hear a beautiful ballade with on point harmonies again: “Everywhere I’m Going”. I could listen to Maddie & Tae all evening. They deffo made a new fan 🙂 “I Don’t need to know” and “New Dog” followed. But of course the girls couldn’t leave without singing their biggest hit “Girl in a Country Song”. Such a cool song and the video is sooo funny so have a look below:

I think they loved it so much they added another lovely ballade “One Heart” to the set list. But what I really appreciated most was that they properly took time to sign the booklets of their fans and were just super sweet!

Midland

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Midland looks like a band from the 80’s with their long hair and moustaches which one of the lads shaved off the day before and he got a lot of grief for it 😀 In any case I really really loved their set. You could feel that they love what they are doing and they were super grateful to be in Switzerland and play for us. They mentioned more than once that this was a once in a life trip and they enjoyed the beautiful views including a super dangerous hiking trip. I loved Mark’s storytelling skills. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a set list of all their songs since I was already crammed in to get a good spot for Brett Young’s first song.


They played a lot of folky country songs almost leaning into blue grass and what I really liked was when they covered “Stand by Me”. Their harmonies were absolutely on point in all the songs and they tried to get the crowd going a few times! And of course at the end they played “Drinking Problem” 😀 So you just read that fishing is big in Country Music now I can tell you that drinking is almost as big and this song is just the perfect example. Have a look at the video:

Brett Young

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He was the headliner but only started playing at 11.40 so I was already super exhausted however he managed to get me up dancing from the start! For the first song “Here Tonight” I was front row again and hoped to get some good close up shots. “Used to missing you” was next and then I couldn’t believe it one of my fav Brett Young songs was already up: “Like I loved you” was on and I was singing and swaying along. So my concert buddy and I decided we couldn’t watch it from the back so we joined others who were dancing on the side.
One of his biggest hits was up in 5 4 3 2 1 “You Ain’t Here to Kiss Me” 😉 Brett then started talking. He said that he grew up in California and that one of his biggest inspirations is Gavin DeGraw and I looked over to Shirley from Loads of Music completely gobsmacked. I didn’t expect this at all. I was over the moon and I loved him even more so when he started playing “Not over you” I could barely contain myself haha I absolutely looove surprises at gigs!
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After that we had to catch a breath and calm down to “Making me Say”, “Crazy Love” and “Ain’t too proud”. I knew that the slow part was coming now so we sat back down and enjoyed the next few cover songs where you could hear his very beautiful voice. Brett Young started off with “Walking in Memphis”. I love the song even in a slow version. “Bartender Blues” and “Garth” was next. He then asked Maddie & Tae back on stage to sing with him “Whiskey Lullaby”. Let me tell you those harmonies were on point! And to finish the slow cover songs set he sang “Hallelujah”. Such a beautiful moment and I enjoyed the quiet part very much.


“Close Enough” and “Catch” got us up and dancing again. For “In Case you didn’t know” Brett Young said that if you are here with your partner this is the song to dance to. At first no-one stood up but then finally a couple started dancing and it was just the cutest! This guy earned some major husband points that night lol “Left Side of Leaving” I usually turn up the volume real loud so I was screaming it back at him haha thank God the music was loud enough so that no-one heard me 😉
His hour was over waaay to quick since we were already in the first song of the encore with “Mercy/Silence”. For the last song “Sleep without you” we were allowed back in front of the stage and some even got selfies with him! After a short thank you and good night Brett Young left the stage and lots of people were left without his signature in their programme booklet.

Who’s excited for the Country Night Gstaad 2019?

It was such an amazing day filled with good country music, nice people and loooots of fun! I hope I can come back next year – maybe we get to see Sam Hunt? 😉 The date is already out so mark your calendars on the 20th/21st September!
Want to share your Country Night Memories? Just comment below.

My latest gigs: Selah Sue, Max Giesinger, Walking Papers

 
 
 

Allgemein, Concerts

Kekoas Korner's lowdown on all the Summer festivals

Temperatures are rising and the first festival of the summer is around the corner. So it’s time for me to give you all the deets of this year’s festival season.
First up we got the

Caribana Festival 5-9 June

Motto: Can you feel the rhythm?
Deets: Caribana Festival was established in 1990 and is based on the shoreline of Lake Geneva. As the name suggests it is all about Caribbean music but the range of artists and genres variies. This year will be my first time there and I am super excited to see/feel the atmosphere of a festival near a lake and in the French part of Switzerland.
Highlight: This year will be my first time at the Caribana Festival because my highlight The Script are playing there. After cancelling their show this is one of two performances left in Switzerland. From busking at a London station to playing the big stages Passenger is always worth to listen to. For the lovers of DJ music we got the French duo Ofenbach. Follow @Kekoaskorner on Instagram to check out the festival via her stories.
Dress code: Colourful big patterns with a little bit of leather.
Continue reading “Kekoas Korner's lowdown on all the Summer festivals”

Allgemein, Concerts

Say it louder with Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats

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 & 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

Finland's finest Sunrise Avenue rocked Zurich

A sold out Hallenstadion. Not many artists manage this but the 5 lads from Finland did. I gotta say I’m very happy for them. Years back I got to see them in a much smaller venue and I still remember it today that it was an amazing gig and one that I fondly think of. So let’s see how last night’s gig went down.
Tim Kamrad
The support Tim Kamrad is a German singer songwriter. The songs are very mainstream and sound like I’ve heard them before. Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes will be happy to see that they inspired this young lad. I missed his personal signature but I am sure that it will work well on the radios. I do clapped a long and it made me want to dance.
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Nearly at 9 on the dot the lights went off and an amazing stage with an incredible light show supported Sunrise Avenue. Normally I would go right into the review but this time I want to make something clear. Sunrise Avenue are a band. It’s not just Samu Haber. Yes, he is the lead singer and more famous then the others but I cannot stand it if radio hosts introduce the next song and say Hollywood Hills by Samu Haber. It is wrong that’s why I want to introduce to you the band members first Raul, Sami, Riku, Osmo and yes Samu too.


 

They started with “Prisoner in Paradise” and a wonderful ballade called “Beautiful”. The atmosphere was amazing right away. Even the people seating were clapping and having a good time! The title track of their 2013 album “Unholy Ground” was next. Samu said that the band always feels a lot of love from the Swiss crowds and obviously everyone needs a “Little bit of Love”. The first chords of the newest single “I help you hate me” were played and everyone started to clap and sing a long again. It is one of the best songs to sing with large crowds and it made for a great moment.
Samu’s voice is so special and so incredible and in “Hurtsville” we could enjoy it in a slow ballade. “Heartbreak Century” the title track of their current record can’t be left out in this 20 songs strong setlist. “Never Let Go” and “Room” were next. Another great rock ballade is “Lifesaver”. The Hallenstadion was lit up with phone lights and everyone waved it in the right rhythm. Just beautiful. Each song had a brilliant rhythm where people could clap along too and that automatically creates a good atmosphere. In “Question Mark” I wasn’t sure if they spoke finish for a sec but it turned out that they just quickly speak English in their cute accent.
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The band thanked his long-time friend Anna who had the great idea to put the flag onto the album cover. The huge flag of the Swiss Sunrise Avenue Crew hung at the back of the venue. A lot of Swiss and Finish flags were in the audience so the next song “Flag” fitted perfectly. I enjoyed another very old song “I don’t dance” before the Hallenstadion was turned into a sea of lights again for “Afterglow”. Last time they played this song in this venue they were at the Energy Star Night and Samu tripped over the moving camera on the floor. Again he mentioned how much he hurt himself but like a pro he finished the set.
This next song was my highlight of the evening! Sunrise Avenue changed up “Forever Yours” to a complete new song. So intense, so dark and so good. Imagine this song is 9 years old! Sunrise Avenue already played two hours and they weren’t looking tired so we got see and listen to even more songs such as “Let Me Go” and “Point of No Return”. Riku and Raul always made sure to include the people on their side even out on the stands. I honestly love to see so much interaction with the audience. Sunrise Avenue seemed to be the same rock band from way back when just on a bigger stage with a huge production.
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The production is amazing. The lights and the 3 screens are part of this great rock show. But what makes them so likable is their charm. Samu addressed the audience quite a few times and joked with us. When he didn’t manage to open his water bottle he just ripped it only to realise that it was already open. Boys will be boys so he squeezed the bottle and water came out. 😀 Obviously Sunrise Avenue couldn’t leave the stage without playing one of their biggest hits “Fairytale Gone Bad”.
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Unfortunately the two hours fly by and the lads had to leave the stage only to come back for 2 more songs. A slow song called “Home” and their uber hit “Hollywood Hills”. Finally everyone was standing and partied and sang along to. It was the perfect ending to a great gig.
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Are you party of the Sunrise Avenue Crew? How did you like the gig? Leave a reply below.

Check out my latest gigs: Franz Ferdinand, Liam Gallagher, The Script
Allgemein, Concerts

Back to the 80's with Franz Ferdinand & Crimer

Thanks to Gadget I was able to attend my first Franz Ferdinand concert. They’ve worked together with Just Because to bring the legendary Scottish band to Zurich. What I love about Just Because concerts is that they publish the times late afternoon. This means you can actually plan your evening and know when to be there and how long you need to wait.
Crimer
When it was announced that Crimer was the support of FF I was so looking forward to see him too. I’ve heard so much about him and I gotta say he didn’t disappoint. The three lads on stage put on a great show of a mixture between Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode and maybe David Bowie. I really liked their 30 mins performance and honestly he gave his best. The dance moves were crazy and people warmed up perfectly for the main act.
Crimer
I am completely honest with you guys now. I knew Franz Ferdinand but I don’t think I have ever listened to a song… I thought they’d be rock – rock like Foo Fighters, Kaiser Chiefs or The Killers. But they were so different to what I was expecting. They had this kind of 80’s vibe going. Yes, they were rock but not too hard core. At 9 o’clock the perfect party could start when the band took the stage. I was shocked I didn’t expect them to be this old haha But hey they were famous when I was little so what did I expect?! 😀
Franz Ferdinand
With the title track to their newest record „Always Ascending“ they opened the 90 mins show. I really couldn’t get my head around the fact that I was expecting something completely different. The people loved it and were already dancing and singing. „Walk Away“ and „Lucid Dreams“ were next and I really loved the atmosphere. Plus you could sense that the lead singer Alex Kapranos knew what he was doing. The kind of energy and presence he was presenting cannot be taught. You just have it or you don’t.
Franz Ferdinand
I really liked the song „Lazy Boy“ which was followed by „Glimpse of love“ and „No you girls“. I went to the venue Halle 622 without preparation and to be honest I started to like this. I used to listen to every song and get as much info on the band as possible beforehand but I learned that sometimes you need to surprise yourself. What I love is to check out the songs after the gig. Memories of the concert will flood in and you have an automatic connection to the song.


Franz Ferdinand continued with „The Dark of the Matinee“, „Lois Lane“ and „Do You Want to“. I felt like I knew the latter but I couldn’t singalong to so it must have been a distant memory 🙂 Before the crowd went wild for „Take me Out“ the band played „Slow Don’t Kill Me Slow“. Lots of hands and people jumping around and singing along which made for a great party and an amazing atmosphere. After witnessing two DJ gigs at this venue I was so glad to see a rock band play.
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Their newest single „feel the love go“ (which you can also find on my Spotify playlist: Kekoas Korners Favourites) was another one that sounded familiar. This made for the perfect time to introduce the band members to everyone. Alex Kapranos asked the Zurich audience:

Do you feel the love?

And of course we felt the love. We felt the love for Boyb Hardy, Paul Thomson, Julian Corrie and Dino Bardot! „Love Illumination“ and „Ulysses“ completed their great 80’s rock set. A few mins after 10 Franz Ferdinand left the stage for their long encore. I was really tired but I enjoyed the whole concert so they deserved to come back to a huge applause/roar from the crowd. The people partied even more for „Paper Cages“, „Jacqueline“ and „Huck and Jim“. The cherry on top was „This Fire“. Eeeeveryone knew the song and was dancing like crazy. Almost at the end Franz Ferdinand asked us to kneel down and everyone did it only to jump up for the chorus! The atmosphere is hard to describe but you can have a look at the highlight in my instagram profile. Let me tell you this. If you weren’t there you missed out on a great party!
Have you been to the Franz Ferdinand gig? Let me know your experience in the comments below.

See my latest gigs: Liam Gallagher, The Script Dublin, The Script Zurich
Allgemein, Concerts

Freedom Child Tour Diary: Zurich – Six Degrees of Emotions

The Swiss The Script Family has been waiting for this for three years and finally on March 8th we were blessed with a gig or so we thought. Unfortunately the flu made the rounds and Danny caught a chest and a viral infection so the gig was cancelled. However the outcome I had an amazing day with lots of good friends. Let me share some emotions with you.
I woke up feeling very excited which is very unlike me before a The Script gig. I couldn’t wait to get to Hallenstadion and meet everyone. So at 2.30 I walked to the venue and met already people I know on the way. I felt really happy and excited. It was like a big family reunion. Two of us stood at the other end of the venue and tried to catch a glimpse of the band. The majority gathered in front of the entry. So what to do for the next 3 hours? Two of us found 2 Lime Bike’s laying around so they circled the venue.
The 2nd time they came around they brought bad news. The gig is cancelled. Our first thought: Yeah right. I don’t believe it. Then I got a text from the 2 on the other end. Security went home. Gig cancelled. No way?! Let me call the venue. Yes, gig cancelled. Seriously? This can’t be happening?! We decided to stay and wait for the lads to tell us or tweet us. Again people started circling the venue to get more info. We don’t believe it. Finally we found Matt – one of the roadies – Yes, gig is cancelled. Unbelievable…
We all started getting texts from people at home. We heard rumours that the gig is cancelled is it true? Do you know more? It was 3, 3.30 and more and more sources started to confirm it. However Good News the organiser still told people they don’t know anything while the venue confirmed it right away. I think they were already trying to reschedule the gig. I’ve heard they tried to do it on Saturday but I am glad that they didn’t do it. People forget that performers are still human. Yes, they get most likely super great care but still a chest infection hurts and takes weeks to heal. We love them and we want them to be healthy and happy to perform. A cancelled gig is never fun but we understand.
I completely understand if people are upset about having paid accommodation and travel fees but then again would you really want someone sick performing? Put yourself in their shoes and then ask yourself would you be able to perform a two hour gig? No. I read a few comments when Lady Gaga and Helene Fischer cancelled their gigs of people saying they should pay for their travel expenses. They were angry and didn’t even consider another persons health! That’s why I am glad they The Script didn’t reschedule to Saturday! In fact I would have understood if they cancelled Milano and Vienna too. This would have given them a week of rest and they’d be ready to rock out the two sold out shows in Amsterdam and Paddy’s day in Brussels.
But you know them they don’t cancel gigs lightly. So I’m actually sitting on the train to Milano not knowing if the gig tonight is going ahead or not. But you know what?? I am not even the slightest bit worried. If it doesn’t go ahead I still had a nice day out and I’m meeting another member of our The Script family! How great is that?!
Back to yesterday’s events. Like I said we all had messaged floating in from people at home and we all told them to stay at home and wait for the announcement at 4! At 4 The organiser finally announced that the gig was cancelled. So it was finally official plus the lads posted a video which got deleted shortly after for whatever reasons and got replaced by an official message. So if people traveling from far away didn’t have someone at the venue who told them to stay home by the time the cancellation was official they would have been already on their way. That’s why we saw lots of people with sad faces later that night.
All 18 of us stayed at the venue because we wanted to quickly speak to Glen and Mark. Me personally I wanted to know about Milano and what they were planning about tomorrow’s gig. So a little while later someone managed to see Glen and he was quite positive about Milano so let’s see! I will keep you posted. At 7 Mark came out and spoke the ones left however I was too cold and too hungry so we left right before. But seriously can I just say how cool it is that they come out at this huge venue and talk to us? How many artists do this? Not many…
And what did Ella Eyre do? She went to the zoo and enjoyed her day off like the other guys from the crew. They finally had some time to get a drink in Zurich. So to some it was a blessing, to some it was devastation and to others it was a fun day out. To finish this article with words of the Script: All we heard is nothing… but at least we got a poster! 😉
Want to share your experience? Leave a reply below.

Allgemein, New Music

New Music: Tearing at the seams by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats

Kekoas Korner is a huge fan of Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats. After hearing “S.O.B” their first single on the radio I knew I had to get their self-titled debut record which turned me into an even bigger fan. Being lucky again I won two tickets to their show at Kaufleuten in 2016.
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Kekoas Korner proudly announced that Nathaniel Ratliff & The Night Sweats are back! Their lead single “You Worry Me” is already out and the album Tearing at the seams will follow on March, 9th. But the best news is that they are coming to town on March, 22! Tickets are still available here. Have a listen to their first single “You Worry Me”:

Sounds great, doesn’t it? I just love their sound. It reminds of a nice summer day driving with open windows just enjoying the sun. Their debut record is one of 5 records I always keep in my car. So for me buying the new record is a done deal. If you feel the same you can pre-order the record by clicking here.
To create this record Nathaniel Rateliff felt like the Night Sweats need to be part of it since he did the first album by himself. The initial writing session were based in Rodeo, New Mexico were they had to figure out how to write a record as a band. This makes me wonder how the sound of this 2nd album is different to the first. Here’s the song list:

  1. Shoe Boot
  2. Be There
  3. A Little Honey
  4. Say It Louder
  5. Hey Mama
  6. Babe I Know
  7. Intro
  8. Coolin’ Out
  9. Baby I Lost My Way, (But I’m Going Home)
  10. You Worry Me
  11. Still Out There Running
  12. Tearing at the Seams

Which immediately strikes my eye is that the Intro song is No. 7 and not No. 1 on the record. I guess we gotta wait and see what this is all about.
Let me leave you with my favourite song by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats:

Allgemein, Concerts

Huge party with Hoodie Allen

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
Allgemein, Concerts

Jake Isaac and his garage gig at Papiersaal

Just Because brought the brilliant Jake Isaac back to Papiersaal on Sunday night. Around 200 people mostly female spent their evening with this talented musician and his band. To be honest with you I didn’t know many songs but it turned out to be an energetic gig nevertheless.


At 8 o’clock the support called These Your Children took the stage. The duo Joe and Beka were supported by a young drummer. The trio started their set with “Get up & go” and “Sing for you”. The next song “David” is a very sad ballade with an emotional topic. And then they asked us if it was okay if they covered a song. They came down to the audience and played a lovely acoustic version of Whitney Houston’s “Dance with Somebody”. “Set a fire” and “Real Love” are two very cool uptempo tracks and they made everyone dance and even sing! So all in all this was one of the best support acts I’ve seen this year!
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Around 9 Jake Isaac came on stage with a huge smile and played “Lonely are the brave”. He was supported by three other musicians who had a good time as well. The four of them immediately transported a very welcoming good vibe. After the song Jake said that he had four rules and everyone got serious. He laughed and said don’t worry it’s not that serious. So here are Jake’s four rules for his audience:

  1. Have fun
  2. Dance even if you can’t dance!
  3. Sing even if you don’t know the lyrics
  4. Most importantly: HAVE FUN! 🙂

After a huge laugh he started “Fool for you” and everyone clapped along. “One and Only” made me want to dance and if I didn’t have super sore muscles from the Marteria gig the day before I would have danced way more. I also looked around the audience and everyone really seemed to have fun which was wonderful to see. Next it was time to sing! During “Home” we were the backing choir and it sounded brilliantly. When he finished he had his thinking cap on and then suddenly decided to skip a song and go straight to “Still”. He told the musicians and they easily adapted. It really was lovely to see how much fun they had playing their musicians and performing for us. It felt like we were in their garage listening to friends playing music.
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And now the slow part began. “Waiting Here” and “You and I always” are two beautiful ballades where his amazing velvety voice came out in full force. A little bit more uptempo was the next song “Will you be” again. The slow part was over. During “War is our name” we were back singing “Ohhhhh” 🙂 He asked us then:

Do you remember rule No 2?

Someone shouted: Dance! And he said exactly! 🙂 So please feel free to let loose during the next song “I got you” and the people really let loose and danced even more. During the last song “Long Road” Jake Isaac asked his assistant to walk around the audience and the people who were dancing the best got a free record! How cool is that?! But obviously this was done because of the customs restrictions in Switzerland. Bring Merchandising in is impossible for small artists. The costs are just too high so they just don’t take any with them which is a pity! I hope that there will be a solution soon.
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Jake Isaac left the stage at 10 o’clock. When he came back he said that there was a 10pm curfew but if he doesn’t get really bad looks from the people in charge he will do one more song. Someone in the audience shouted 5! And he said well let’s do “Lose my Mind” and we’ll see. He sang the song without any microphone and just with his acoustic guitar. It really was a special moment and a wonderful finish to a beautiful gig on a Sunday Night.


What I love about those small gigs is that you get to talk to the artists afterwards and let me tell you he was super lovely. He gave everyone a hug and apologized for being sweaty. 🙂 He even complimented the three girls in the front row who sang every song. So so nice! TCY was also there to talk to everyone and gave out free hugs 😉 So guys if you haven’t listened to Jake Isaac or These Your Children please do so now. They are great musicians, lovely people and well worth supporting!
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Check out my latest gigs: Marteria, Xavier Naidoo, Mando Diao