Amy MacDonald – Düsseldorf; November 15th 2010

“Many people will come and go
Many faces long lost you know
Many fights many makeups
Many kisses, too many breakups”

As Amy MacDonald sung those lines, I started crying. It was such a beautiful and moving concert on that November night.

Having just returned from Finland I was dead tired already when I arrived in Düsseldorf that evening. I didn’t know much about Amy MacDonald, but I knew I wanted to see and hear Martin and James again and since they were supporting Amy I figured “Why not?” I was not disappointed.

It was surprisingly easy to get to front row and we didn’t have to wait long for Martin and James to start playing. I was a little worried that their sound might not be big enough for such a large hall and that the few people who were there already would be indifferent to them. I should not have had any doubts. They walked on stage, grabbed their guitars and took the audience by storm. It was a wonderful set and the audience loved them. It made me happy to see everyone grooving along, smiling and nodding in agreement.

The second support act, Fyfe Dangerfield, was nowhere near as interesting. He brought keyboards and two violinists, but his music left me cold. At least it was something to pass the time it took waiting for Amy.

Around 9:00 p.m. the screens went on, the band came out and there she was, the woman with the big voice, strumming her guitar, starting off with ‘An Ordinary Life’. I didn’t know any songs but the hit singles, yet I hung on to her lips all night. She introduced the songs, sometimes just saying a little, sometimes telling a whole story behind it. There was a lot of passion there and some anger too, when she talked about people who think they are special, even though they have not accomplished anything in their lives (‘The Footballer’s Wife’) or those who care about nothing but looks (‘This Pretty Face’). She sang with such power and passion that she moved me to tears, she mentioned how inspirational other people’s music can be, saying how she wrote ‘Run’ after a concert of The Killers. At the same time she was very modest and would not hear a thing of people putting her on the same level with the Beatles.

The biggest surprise for me was ‘Born to run’ being played in the encores. I hadn’t thought of her as a Springsteen fan. The band was amazing too, each of  them mastering their instruments well and the light show and screens fittingly complimented her songs. I loved the show and was happy I had decided to go. She will certainly be put on my list of people to see again.

Setlist

An ordinary life
Poison Prince
LA
Youth of today
Love love
Mr. Rock & Roll
Footballer’s wife
Spark
This pretty face
Don’t tell me that it’s over
Troubled soul
Give it all up
Next big thing
No roots
Run
This is the life
What happiness means to me

Encores
Born to run (Bruce Springsteen Cover)
Let’s start a band