Life’s a show

Martin and James – FZW, Dortmund; February 6th, 2012

Running on barely two hours of sleep, working all day and having to keep it together is not the easiest thing to do, but I made it through somehow. By the time I finally got home I was craving a shower and felt tired to the bone. There was just enough time to freshen up a little and I was on my way to the FZW for the next gig. The weather didn’t feel so cold when I walked to the venue, but after standing there for a while I thought I would never get warm again. There were so many people already and getting to the front was really difficult this time. If not for A., who saved me a spot, I would not have made it there.

Jim was fun to watch again. The more often I see him, the more I can sing along and the better I like it. Of course Jonas Lieber adds a lot to the songs with his guitar and harmony singing.

Setlist
If I’m born too late
The Great Doomsday Story
Faling Apart
Memoires from the Afterlife
Ulysses
The Jailer
Guess that’s what the Gods said
Loser Street
Birthrights
Canary in the Coalmine

The audience was such a letdown after Darmstadt – very slow to respond. The guys reframed the situation and thanked us for being so quiet and attentive, but it must have been hard for them after such a great reception the previous night. They played a solid show for us and I loved it, even though I was tired enough to forget the lyrics at times.

It felt weird to be there without R. this time. She had flown home from Frankfurt earlier that day. sure, many of the other regulars were there, but I did miss having her by my side, singing along, smiling, exchanging glances and jokes all the time.

I’m getting to know the new songs better, but still find it difficult to understand ‘Hard to cry’ – I just can’t grasp the lyrics. Still love the song though. It differs every night, but overall, I think ‘The Rope’ is my favorite among the four very new ones and right next to ‘Love’s not a fight’ from last fall. They write such great stuff!

There were a lot of funny stories, but I don’t think I can remember them all – or any for that matter. It was pretty much the usual “we are nervous, because you are not responding, so we chat more to get a reaction” that I’ve seen them do many times. It’s not that the audience wasn’t interested, they were clearly enjoying the show, but they were quiet and that, in turn, made all of us “regulars” react less as well. Wish I could have shown them more support, but I was exhausted and clapping along on my own felt a bit awkward. All of us were rather subdued this time, listening. Not even ‘Crashing into Love’ had everyone go crazy. Made me wonder if it was the same the previous year.

‘With you’ (Waltz) seems to be off the setlist for good now. I’m just happy I got to hear it. Despite the quiet audience and my own tiredness I enjoyed being there. I would not have wanted to miss the one show in my city and I loved listening to the guys. Even at the 6th show in a row without a break they are still amazing. <3 ‘I have to Fall’ brought funny moments, because everyone seemed tangled up in guitar cables and Jim managed to plug his electric guitar into James’ acoustic. 😀

After the gig we were treated to a small performance by Jim Kroft. K. had asked him in Cologne to play ‘Cracked Polaroids’ in Dortmund and he forgot. Since she isn’t coming to any more shows, he got a guitar and did an impromptu acoustic performance just for her. It was awesome! He is really such a sweet guy. <3

Talked to him for a bit and gave him a ‘Carnival of Rust’ single to introduce him to some great Finnish music, since he is ging to tour with Sunrise Avenue next (who I really do not like). I wonder if he’ll listen to it. I’ll ask next time I see him.

I chatted with Martin and James for quite a while too. Sadly, I cannot remember much of it. What I do know is that I thanked them and said how I really wanted to go to Berlin and would try to be there. We laughed quite a lot though and had a group picture taken with all of us M&J fans forumers.

5 concerts down, 2 (or 3) to go. Next stop: Göttingen (or Berlin?)

Setlist
She’s light guiding
Turn it up
Maybe it’s time

Wheels
Wrong directions
One way forward
You’re a window
I was blind
Bad Dream
Live Wires
Love’s not a Fight
Cynical Skin
Hard to cry
Little bits of Light
Life’s a Show
The Rope
Allover the News
Crashing into Love

Encore:
Somebody
I have to fall/Twist and Shout/ You shook me all night long

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