On Tuesday I got to see two brilliant artists: JP Cooper and Supporting him on his European tour the Irish band Picture This. Back home they are very well known but over here they are Newcomers.
I already started to feel sick when I went out so it was no wonder that by the time JP was one stage I had no voice at all. But first things first. I arrived at Papiersaal and this time it was mandatory to leave your jacket at the wardrobe. Me being sick and feeling cold I still had to give them my jacket. Plus pay 2 francs! So I was super furious but this feeling got stronger when I saw loads of people with jackets inside. Apparently they only started these shenanigans a bit later so the first to arrive were allowed in with jackets. This guaranteed chaos after the concert. I normally don’t add these kinds of things into my review because these things have nothing to do with the artist but is seriously taking the piss and I don’t understand it at all.
At 8 Picture This took the stage and I had kind of a deja vu. A few weeks ago I saw the Irish lads of the Coronas right on this stage and Ryan sounded a bit like Danny. However Picture This do have their own sound and I really really liked it. I also loved how Ryan spoke with us and told us some stories to the songs. For example the song “Jane” was written for a specific girl but he didn’t want to make her feel that special in naming the song after her so he just picked a random name. They started their set with “Let’s be young”, “Everything I need” and “Dream” – A beautiful ballade. Just before “Jane” we enjoyed “Addicted to you”… Well we is a bit much. There were loads of people chit chatting about their day. I seriously don’t understand how you can be so disrespectful to an artist.
The last three songs “Never Change”, “You & I” and “Take my hand” were over way to fast and the lads left the stage after some more stories. I mean they really had to go since Ireland was playing the World Cup qualification game and they had to cheer for them 😉 In case you wonder Ireland unfortunately lost against Denmark and is not going to the World Cup next year.
And I deffo lost my voice by 9pm while JP Cooper stepped on stage with his first song “Under grey skies” which is the title track of his debut record. Me trying to “woohoo” after the song to show my appreciated failed royally. So I enjoyed the concert quietly. The 2nd song “She’s on my mind” is a brilliant track to dance to and I was very glad I came. Next we heard “Change” and “Birthday”. After which someone shouted “happy belated Birthday JP!” and the whole crowd started to sing Happy Birthday. He was very touched and said I think this will be a good night.
It took him quite a long time to be successful with his music. Before his first record “Under Grey Skies” he released a few EP’s of which he will sing the next song called “Satellite”. A beautifully slow song with which he could show off his wonderful voice was this ballade called “Streetlights and the moon”. “Closer” he wrote for his son since he hopes that one day his son will understand why Daddy’s gone quite a few times during the year – A very touching moment. With “September Song” he sang the song literally everyone knew and loved. This song gave him his breakthrough and I am sure will be only the start of a great career.
“Wait” and “Shivers” were next. He then apologised to the people who came here and thought he was a dance artist since he collaborated with Jonas Blue to sing one of my last year’s summer hits “Perfect Strangers”. For the last song before the Encore he told us the story about him loosing his passport while he was in the process of writing his new album. So he thought I have to write a song about this and here it was “Passport Home”. After a quick break he came back on to cover a John Lennon song. However I know “Jealous Guy” by Gavin DeGraw and I did see some similarities. Both guys sang it beautifully and I had goose-bumps. Thank you JP for singing this beautiful song.
After 90 minutes JP said Goodbye with “Good Friend” and I really do hope that he is coming back soon and I can enjoy the concert without being feverish and including my voice. Of course the jacket chaos started and we decided to stay close to the backstage door since we were told that he’s coming out to meet fans. He did quite quickly after the show and I unfortunately couldn’t tell him at all how I loved his gig since I couldn’t utter a word. He understood anyway.. What a lovely guy and amazing musician so it is well worth supporting him.
Were you at one of his gigs? Leave your opinion on twitter, facebook or instagram or down below in the comment section.
Tag: singer songwriter
Herz und Kopf / Heart and Head
Es ist der letzte Abend der diesjährigen Baloise Session und das Motto des Abends ist “Mann singt Deutsch”. Zur Einstimmung ist auf den Leinwänden eine frühere Session mit Silbermond zu sehen, was sehr viel Sinn macht. Silbermond sind unglaublich live! Sie haben so viel Energie auf der Bühne und sie wissen ihren Erfolg zu schätzen, denn sie haben in ihrer eigenen Garage ganz klein angefangen.
Als erster betritt Max Giesinger die Bühne. Er hat in einer Casting-Show angefangen und wurde erst später berühmt. Ich weiss nicht warum, aber irgendwie hatte ich das Gefühl, dass ich seinen Auftritt nicht mögen würde. Ich dachte, dass er nur langsame Lieder spielt und die Nähe zum Publikum nicht sucht. Es ist unglaublich, wie falsch ich lag! Max hatte vier Musiker auf der Bühne, die ihn unterstützten. Sie haben mit “Roulette” und “Barfuss und Allein” angefangen. Ich war super fokussiert am Fotografieren, aber ich merkte schon jetzt, dass ich mochte, was ich sah und hörte. Während des dritten Songs wurde ich fast überrannt von den Fans, die in die erste Reihe stürmten. Da ich noch nicht fertig war mit Fotografieren, stellte ich mich neben die Bühnentreppe in der Mitte. Nach dem dritten Lied merkte ich, dass ich da bleiben und das Konzert von Nahem verfolgen wollte.
Gegen Ende von “Kalifornien” ging Max ins Publikum. Er schüttelte viele Hände und irgendwie schuf er eine tolle familiäre Atmosphäre. Er sprach viel mit dem Publikum und erzählte viele kleine Geschichten. Es fühlte sich an, als ob er nur für 10 Leute spielte – jedoch waren es 100 Mal mehr. Er schaffte es, alle Leute zu berühren, sodass sogar die Leute mit Sitzplätzen aufstanden. Eine seiner Hit-Singles “Wenn Sie Tanzt” kam als nächstes und alle sangen, tanzen und sprangen mit. “Für Dich, Für Mich” ist ein wunderschönes Lied bei dem wir im Chor “Ohh ohh” sangen :-).
Die Backstage-Crew brachte drei Stühle auf die Bühne und wir durften ein tolles Akustik-Set geniessen. Bevor sie anfingen, erzählte Max eine kleine Geschichte über seinen ersten Besuch in Basel. Damals, als er noch Strassenmusiker war, traf er ein Pärchen aus Basel, welches ihn zum Musik machen in ihre Stadt einluden. Er nahm die Einladung an und spielte die ersten zwei Minuten des nächsten Songs “Alles auf Anfang” – dann stoppte ihn die Polizei. Lars und Paul kamen zurück auf die Bühne, um mit Max, Steffen und Klaus “Der Junge, der rennt” mit einem Country-Musik-Touch zu spielen.
Wir haben nicht nur sehr familiäre Momente mit Max Giesinger erlebt, sondern bekamen auch Reisetipps für Mannheim und Minnesota. Max hat mich als Fan gewonnen und ich weiss nun, dass ich sein Album kaufen und zu seinem nächsten Konzert gehen werde. Ich konnte echt nicht glauben, wie falsch ich lag! Nach dem Akustik-Set wechselten sie wieder zu den normalen Instrumenten mit “Vielleicht im nächsten Leben”. Die Jungs rockten die Bühne und fingen an für “In Balance” synchron zu tanzen. Max holte sogar eine Glückliche auf die Bühne und tanzte mit ihr. Nachher sagte er uns, dass er das schon immer mal machen wollte. Sehr sympathisch! Max setzte sich hinters Piano und für das Intro von “Nicht so schnell” war nur er und sein Piano im Mittelpunkt. Einfach nur wunderschön!
Natürlich konnte Max nicht gehen, ohne seinen Hit 80 Millionen zu singen. Die Leute hatten Riesenspass! Als Zugabe nahm Max drei Girls aus dem Publikum und bat sie, seine Background-Sängerinnen zu sein. Die Jungs und die Mädels sangen eine wunderschöne Ballade “Für immer”. Es war ein wundervoller Moment und ein perfektes Ende für ein tolles Set! Für mich konnte der Abend nicht besser werden. Tim Bendzko wird’s nicht leicht haben…
Ums Vorauszunehmen der Abend wurde nicht besser. Tim Bendzko hatte sehr strenge Regeln für die Fotografen und normalerweise ist das ein Zeichen, dass das Konzert schlecht wird. Er kam auf die Bühne und sang ganz alleine das erste Lied “Das wissen wir beide” – nur er und seine Gitarre – sogar ohne Mikrofon. Dies fand ich toll und es war sehr anders. Die Band kam auf die Bühne, die wie ein Wohnzimmer dekoriert war, um etwas Familiäres zu kreieren, so als ob er in seinem oder deinem Haus spielte. Während “Leichtsinn”, “Ohne zurück zu sehen” und “Hinter dem Meer” konnten wir Bilder schiessen. Und wieder rannten viele weibliche Fans vor die Bühne.
Vor der Treppe von Max platzierte Tim eine schwarze Kiste, damit kein Fan ihm zu Nahe kommen kann. Er hat uns in den ersten Reihen nie richtig angeschaut – nicht wie Max. Tim Bendzko sprach mit uns und erzählte viele lustige Sachen, aber es schien mir alles sehr durchdacht und es fühlte sich nicht an, wie wenn es von Herzen kam. Er spielte weitere langsame Lieder “Am seidenen Faden” und “Ich steh nicht mehr still”. Endlich kam ein Lied, das ich kannte: “Keine Maschine” – Ich mag den Text sehr, aber das nächste ist mein Lieblingslied von Bendzko: “Nur noch kurz die Welt retten”. Das ist bis jetzt sein grösster Hit und man merkte es auch. Es war der längste Song und das Publikum musste natürlich mitsingen.
Das letzte Lied vor der Zugabe war “Keine Zeit”. Viele der Frauen um mich herum kannten den Text und es war sehr süss anzusehen. Er kam zurück mit “Wenn Worte meine Sprache wären” und Leute, das ist eine wunderschöne Ballade! Schön, konnte ich dieses Lied mal live sehen. “So fühlt es sich an” und “Sag einfach ja” folgten. Die Band ging wieder Backstage, um wieder nach vorne zu kommen und 2 weitere Lieder zu singen. Tim suchte eine Person, die alle seine Lieder kannte und fand auch eine. Ein Mann namens Chris, der seinen Lieblingssong wünschte. Tim und Fabian am Piano sangen dieses Lied ohne Probe! Dies war recht beeindruckend – vor allem der Klavier-Part! Mit dem Lied “Warum ich Lieder singe” endete das Konzert.
Die zwei deutschen Jungs beendeten die diesjährige Baloise Session. Ich kann es kaum erwarten bis die Acts des nächsten Jahres verkündet werden und freue mich jetzt schon riesig auf die nächste Ausgabe der Baloise Session. Ich möchte euch nochmals sagen, wie toll dieses Festival ist und wie freundlich alle Helfer sind. Ich kann es euch nur empfehlen 🙂 Wie ihr wisst, durfte ich vier tolle Abende hier verbringen und jeder einzelne war wunderbar. Seid ihr neugierig geworden, dann lest es doch nach: Clean bandit/Goldfrapp, Kaleo/Asgeir und Dabu Fantastic/Kool & the Gang oder das lustige Interview mit Dabu Fantastic.
Wart ihr an der diesjährigen Baloise Session? Lasst es mich in den Kommentaren wissen 🙂
Tonight’s the last night of this year’s Baloise Session and the motto is “Mann sings Deutsch” which means “Man sings German”. And tonight they show an old Session with Silbermond which makes so much sense. Silbermond is German band and they are seriously incredible live. They’ve got so much energy on stage and they don’t take their success for granted. And just FYI they started out as a band playing in their garage.
First up we got Max Giesinger. He started out with The Voice and turned big after a few years. I don’t know why but I felt like I wouldn’t like his set. I thought he’d be distant and played only slow songs. Unbelievable how wrong I was! Max got 4 musicians to support him on stage. They started with “Roulette” and “Barfuss und Allein”. I was taking pictures and was super focused however I already liked what I was seeing and hearing. During the 3rd song I nearly got run over by fans who wanted to get front row. I took my spot next to the stairs in the middle to finish taking pics and then I realised that I actually wanted to stay here.
At the end of “Kalifornien” Max headed into the audience and shook hands and just created a very nice atmosphere. He also talked a lot and had a lot of stories to tell. It felt like we were just 10 people he was singing to – so intimate – but it actually was a 100 times more. He managed to touch everyone’s hearts and to get even the seated people standing. His hit single “Wenn Sie Tanzt” was next and everyone was singing and dancing and jumping. “Für Dich, Für Mich” is a beautiful song where we were the back up choir singing “ohhh ohhh” :-).
The stage hands came on and brought some chairs. We were about to enjoy a lovely acoustic set. Max explained that he met a nice couple from Basel years and years ago when has busking on the street. They invited him to busk in Basel. He said he took their invite and so he tried to play in the streets of Basel. Two minutes of “Alles auf Anfang” was all he could manage before the police stopped him. Max, Steffen and Klaus were joined by Lars and Paul to sing and play “Der Junge, der rennt” with a country touch.
We not only got very intimate moments but also travel tipps for Mannheim and Minnesota. Max Giesinger won me over by then and I knew that I will buy his record and will come back to a full gig. I really couldn’t believe how wrong I was. After the acoustic set they went back to normal with “Vielleicht im nächsten Leben”. The guys were absolutely rocking the stage too and now they got their dance moves out for “In Balance”. Max even took a lucky lady on stage to dance with her. At the end he said I always wanted to try this. So cute! Max now sat down behind a piano and the intro of “Nicht so schnell” was just him and his piano. Just beautiful!
Obviously he couldn’t leave without singing this hit “80 Millionen”. Everyone went crazy! As an encore Max asked three girls on stage to help them out as a backing choir. All the lads and the girls sang a beautiful ballade called “Für immer”. It was a wonderful moment and very brilliant end to an amazing set! To me the evening couldn’t get any better so Tim Bendzko had big shoes to fill.
Let me tell you this already he didn’t fill them. Tim Bendzko had some very strict photographers rules and usually that’s an indication of bad performances. So he came on stage alone and sang the first song “Das wissen wir beide” with his guitar and no microphone. This I quite liked and I thought it was quite different. The band came on stage which was decorated like a living room since he tried to make it as intimate as if he would play in his or your living room. “Leichtsinn”, “Ohne zurück zu sehen” and “Hinter dem Meer” were the songs we could capture in pictures. Again lots of mainly female fans were running towards the stage.
Where Max had his stairs Tim put a small black box there so that no fan will be able to get close to him. He never looked at us properly – not like Max. Tim did talk to us and also told a lot of jokes but it felt like it was well thought out and it didn’t feel like it came from his heart. He continued with mainly slow songs “Am seidenen Faden” and “Ich steh nicht mehr still”. Finally a song I knew “Keine Maschine” – I quite like the lyrics of that song but my favourite came now: “Nur noch kurz die Welt retten. It’s his biggest hit so far and you could deffo see it. It was the longest song and the audience had to sing along to.
The last song before his first encore was “Keine Zeit”. A lot of the ladies around me knew the lyrics and it was quite lovely to see. He came back with “Wenn Worte meine Sprache wären” and let me tell you that this is one beautiful ballade! I enjoyed seeing it live. “So fühlt es sich an” and “Sag einfach ja” followed. The band went backstage again only to come back to sing another 2. Tim was looking for the one person who knows all his songs and he found one. A guy called Chris who wished for his favourite song and Tim and his band mate Fabian on the keys were singing it without any rehearsal. This was quite impressive – Especially the piano part! The final song “Warum ich Lieder singe” finished this quiet set.
The two German lads finished this years Baloise Session in style and I cannot wait to see who the organisers get to perform next year! Again I want to tell you how amazing this festival is and the staff is just super friendly. I can deffo recommend it. As you know I enjoyed 4 evenings here and I loved each and everyone of them. Have a read of Clean bandit/Goldfrapp, Kaleo/Asgeir and Dabu Fantastic/Kool & the Gang or the funny interview with Dabu Fantastic.
Have you been at this years Baloise Session? Leave a comment below 🙂
Artist2Watch: Cary Balsano
Cary Balsano brings the Italian summer to Merseyside. He’s been busking the streets of Liverpool for a while and released videos on YouTube. So you maybe already listened to him but you didn’t even realize it. So let me bring him to your attention. He’s originally from Biella, Italy but now lives in the beautiful city of Liverpool. We all know that Liverpool is a music city with very famous musicians coming out of it.
He names Ed Sheeran, Bryan Adams and Coldplay as his musical influences. Very fine artists and absolutely brilliant live. Like Ed Sheeran busking helped growing his following over the years. I was contacted on Twitter and sent the link to a new song called “Horizon”.
I always love to listen to links that new artists are sending me and this one did not disappoint. Listen to it! You won’t regret it. It has a summery positive feeling to it. I instantly loved it and check out Cary’s voice! It carries out the singer songwriter feel and I cannot wait to hear more music. I am able to announce that Cary Balsano’s debut album comes out on 18th October. If the album is anything like his first single “Horizon” then we are in for a treat. So mark your calendars and check him out. His 2nd single will be out on 15th November.
Support this wonderful emerging artists on his social media accounts:
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
Let me know what you think of his fist single “Horizon” in the comment section below.
Justin Nozuka brought the summer back
I discovered Justin Nozuka 10 years ago and I’ve been a fan of his soft voice and singer songwriter style ever since. Yesterday evening he kicked off his European tour with an intimitate show at Eldorado in Zurich and let me tell you it was one of the hottest gigs I’ve ever been to. It was already very warm when he started but after a little over an hour of dancing and jamming the bar temperature felt like 60 degrees.
Justin Nozuka took the stage at 8.30 accompanied by 3 musicians and started with “Down” and “Be Back Soon” which I really loved because they were up-tempo, had a summer feeling to them and I was already dancing. “Be Back Soon” was my favourite song of the night because it was so surprising and it had a nice country vibe. I adore this track especially played live.
He then announced new music and that the next one is the first single. “All I need” continued to be in the country music genre. By then it was clear that this would turn out to be an amazing concerts which will bring back the summer – even if it’s just for the duration of the concert. The tempo slowed down for the next three songs “No Place in Mind”, “Unwoken Dream”, “Swan in the water” and we got to hear those amazing ballades. The drums were played very innovatively and you could see that the four musicians harmonised perfectly on stage.
The set continued with “Gray” – a very rocky song – and you could literally see the passion for music on stage. I loved “Golden train” too because it has such a catch melody. One of the crowd’s favourite was next “After tonight” got everyone singing and dancing even more. “Woman put your weapon down” is a very intense song and is the complete opposite to the next two songs “Carried you” and “right by you” which were an easy breeze compared to the other song 🙂
With only one encore “Heartless” Justin Nozuka finished a beautifully performed set. During the last song the whole bar was singing together with Justin and his guitar. It was wonderful. After last week’s massive Rolling Stones gig at Letzigrund I enjoyed this intimate set in a small bar a lot. I only have one small thing which I was disappointed in he didn’t play my two favourite songs “Criminal” and “Mr. Therapy Man” but I get it they are 10 years old and you cannot always catch everyones favourite 🙂
As mentioned above Justin Nozuka and his band are on European tour right now. Make sure to check him out if he comes to a town near you. Click here for dates. Say hello too he is a really nice guy.
KARAVANN @ Stadtfest Rapperswil-Jona 19.08.17
A few weeks ago I had the honour to interview KARAVANN for my blog. Please click here to read the full interview. Luckily I was able to attend yesterday’s concert at the Stadtfest Rapperswil-Jona which was very special to everyone since they grew up around there and locals came to support their very own.
When I arrived there I started to check out the 3 stages and I could not believe it. The organisers assigned the smallest stage to their best act. Throughout the night I had a look/listen to the other acts on stage 1 and 2 and believe me they were nowhere near KARAVANN. I think stage 3 was kind of a secret jewel. The hard rock band and also a newcomer common habits who played before KARAVANN were actually quite good!
But as a band who is only just growing to be famous I guess you have to take what you are given and make the best out of it – AND THEY DID! They had by far the most audience and the people were dancing, clapping and singing! Overall it was a brilliant atmosphere and a superb one hour gig.
They started off with “Carry your Universe” their biggest single so far and everyone was singing along. I love that they sang it at the beginning and not as an encore. It shows that they want to get the crowd going at the beginning and they are confident that the other songs are just as good. With “Feel free” and “All we need is us” they backed the first song up. What a start!
Their remix of Lilly Ahlbergs Coop single “Love is like” was next before my highlight song “Gimme Love”. And by now they have proven everyone why they don’t belong on the small stage! They covered “Mad World” by REM and I have to give credit to Ryan Sanders’ voice. I liked it just as much as the original! However I like the original of their 2nd cover “Human” by Rag’N’Bone Man better since I have already seen him three times this year and you just cannot compete with the intensity of his voice no matter how good you can sing. Don’t get me wrong it was still very good and loads of singers would have failed to sing this as good as Ryan did.
KARAVANN treated us to a sneak peek of their new music coming later this year which is called “2083”. “Angels in the Sky”, “Funk with you” and “Yes We Can” turned the first few rows into a dance floor. I would have loved to hear even more of their own songs of their latest album “Desert Tunes” but the 5 musicians left the stage only to come back to a frenetic applause to sing two beautiful covers. First up was a slower version of “Habits” by Tove Lo and their final song “Brother” by Matt Corby who is also one of their musical influences.
Unfortunately they had to stop after an hour so the gig finished just a little before 1 o’clock and the venue was still packed at that time of night! Well done KARAVANN and I think you added not just me to your KARAFANNS! 🙂 If you want to see them live you have the chance on 2nd Sept in Uster at the SLM Musik und Sport Festival. Please follow their social media accounts for more upcoming info on their newest music and on their fall gigs.
Homepage: www.karavann.com
Instagram: @karavannmusic
Facebook: @karavannmusic
Twitter: @KaravannMusic
YouTube: KARAVANN
Tickets SLM: slm-festival.ch/ticket
If you missed out to buy their album yesterday click here to download their music from all the common music platforms.
Were you at their gig? Let me know what you thought in the comments below!