Allgemein, Concerts

Walking on Cars @ Blue Balls Festival 25.07.17

It is the fourth time (Within a year – I know I’m crazy) that I saw these 5 Irish musicians. I was very much looking forward to this gig since I know how awesome they are. I remember when the gig was announced it was just a little over a month since their last gig in Switzerland and of course I couldn’t wait for the next one πŸ™‚

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“Meet the Artists” with Walking on Cars

As I mentioned in my earlier blog post about the Strumbellas gig I was lucky enough to score a ticket to this pre talk show “Meet the Artists”. If you live in Lucerne you really have to check this out. At 6 o’clock they are giving away free tix in front of the KKL. Walking on Cars had also only 15mins but I remember that I was laughing throughout. They revealed that they’ve been working on new music and that they will go to a new house again to write their 2nd album. Sorcha said:

People say that you have 6 years to write your first album and only 6 months for your 2nd!

The host also asked what they usually do on a day off and that made me laugh. I know Irish so I knew what they would say and so Paul said go to the pub. πŸ™‚ and yes in Ireland there are still pubs with sticky floors and pool tables. When it rains all the time what else can you do? There are not only pubs in Ireland but also a dolphin called Fungie close to their hometown Dingle. Finally, they gave away what they were eating every day for 6 months in their cottage where they wrote Everything this Way: Spaghetti Carbonara cooked by Evan.


At 10 Walking on Cars hit the stage. Sorcha came on with a long glitter kimono and she looked like a disco ball but in a good way. She looked beautiful yesterday and dressed for the stage not like the lads in their normal clothes πŸ˜‰ Unfortunately they were struggling with technical problems throughout the gig. First we couldn’t hear Paul’s bass and then Pat’s mic stopped working.
Nevertheless I can tell you that the gig was awesome! Their energy is just incredible. It is felt much more in a smaller venue but even yesterday with a wide gap between the front row and the stage the audience was captured. I expected it to last only an hour as usual but it turned out that they had new songs to present!

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Pat alone on stage

With the first song “Ship goes Down” and the intense rhythm they had us going. My favourite song “Love backs Down” was already the 5th song and I enjoyed every minute of MY song πŸ™‚ 3 songs later we heard the first new song: “Coldest Water” and let me tell it is beautiful and you can easily sing a long to which I already did. It has the potential to be my 2nd favourite song. Way too fast they left the stage before the encore and what an encore it was!
5 songs, two new ones and one cover. Walking on Cars started with “Scared to be lonely” by Martin Garrix and Dua Lipa in a wonderful own version and it fit perfectly into their set. The two new songs “Find my Love” and “One Last Dance” followed which made really excited to listen to their 2nd album released early next year. They still have their “Walking on Cars sound” but added new different twists which makes each song unique in their own way.

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Rocking out

I started to get nervous because my last train was due 11.35 and it was 11.20ish. But I couldn’t leave the concert early first of all I would never do that and 2nd of all I was front row.. How would I be able to do that? With a t-shirt, a jumper and my jacket on I felt like I was in a sauna but still enjoyed “Catch me if you Can” and their so far biggest hit “Speeding Cars”. I knew I couldn’t stay to get the set list so I had to catch a pick or a drum stick and when Evan stepped forward to bow I signalled him please throw me one of your drum sticks and he did! πŸ™‚ I am super happy about this! Now Glen’s (The Script) drum stick has finally another Irish companion.
This is were my luck ended that night. I caught the 11.35 but even at this time of night it was delayed so I missed my connection. So I had to walk to my car and thanks to the bloody rain I slipped and now I am wrecked. But oh well it will take a lot more to stop me from going to concerts.
I want to hear your opinion! Have you seen a Walking on Cars gig and want to share your memories then let me know in the comments below.
 
 
 

Allgemein, Concerts

The Strumbellas @Blue Balls Festival 25.07.17

I’ve heard many good things about this Blue Balls festival and this week I finally got to attend not one but two concerts at KKL Luzern. I arrived in a hurry because I thought there were already loads of people since the door opened 30 mins earlier. But I walked in and it was basically empty. FRONT ROW was safe πŸ™‚

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Meet the Artists

The lovely girl at the ticket desk told me that there was a guy walking around with tickets to this special show called “Meet the Artists”. The good thing about this is that it is completely free. I was amazed. Here in Switzerland nothing is for free. I had no clue what I was getting myself into but apparently this show is every day and introduces the artists of the night. From 6 o’clock you can get tickets in front of the building! Watch out for the video on Blue Balls facebook page.
So first up was the Canadian Group The Strumbellas. I had a hunch that I would like them but I didn’t know how amazing they were. The 6 group members wore all the same jackets with flowers embroidered. Isabel said that they wanted to look cool and so decided to make them in factory in the US. The interview continued with questions like “Do you guys see each other when you are not on tour? (No, we don’t. We need distance but we miss each other)” or “Have you got a special ritual before you go on stage? (Do you mean like ohhhhhh the strumbellas? No we don’t but maybe we do it tonight.)” 15mins later the interview was over.

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I caught only 5 of them on camera.. my panorama function stopped there.  Sorry!

At 8.30 the group took the stage and the energetic show lasted for an hour and I think they even had to cut the set short because they had so much fun with the audience. Their music is a mix of country, bluegrass, folk and pop. I personally loved every song of the set but my concert buddies felt mixed about it. What we all agreed on was that they were really funny not just what they said but also how they moved.
Our highlight of the performance was the acoustic song with just one guitar and one violin plus their feet as drums. It was unbelievable good and very impressive. During the middle of the set Simon, the lead singer, enlarged his mic stand and the front row was already scared that we had to sing and then during the song he asked the audience if they were ready – First the balcony, then left, then right and then he looked at me are you ready? I thought oh Geez no! πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ and he had to laugh. Very funny moment for me.

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Simon up close

Their last song was of course their biggest hit “Spirits” which you’ve heard a million times on the radio and then it got stuck in your head for the whole day so that you were basically singing the whole day:

I got guns in my head and they won’t go
Spirits in my head and they won’t go

As you’ve probably realised by now I became a huge fan of the strumbellas that night and I would love for them to come back to Switzerland quickly so I can see them again. At the moment they have some shows left in Germany then they head back to Canada and the US. Please visit strumbellas.ca for more info.
Were you at the concert of the Strumbellas? Let me know what you thought of it?