Milow – fzw, Dortmund; April 29th, 2017
Less than a year after the last concert it was time to see Milow again. He was playing in Dortmund on as Saturday, I was at home that weekend, I had no excuse. Didn’t want one either. Milow is always fun! It turned out to be a relaxed, enjoyable concert that brought me lots of smiles and even a few tears. There was nothing more I could have asked for. 😀
I arrived early enough to be rewarded with a front row spot – almost at the center too. It was quite surprising considering it was a Saturday gig – lucky me. During most of the waiting tie inside I sat on the floor and only got up about ten minutes before show start.
American Authors were the support act. I had never hear of them before and enjoyed their set a lot. It was nice, listenable pop rock with some lines that were easy to pick up and sing along to. They proved to be a good warm up and got the audience going. They asked us to clap, they even asked us to sing and the singer jumped off the stage to get closer to us too. I had fun watching them and liked what I heard. They even played a new song for us and did one in an acoustic setup. In-between the singer told us a little bit about the band and their history. They were fun and made the time pass quickly.
Setlist
Go big or go home
Luck // What we live for
Right here, right now
Trouble
I’m born to run
Believer (MGMT cover)
Best Day of my Life
Shortly after 9 pm Milow walked on stage, alone with his guitar in hand, greeted us with “HalloDortmund” and started playing ‘She might, she might’. It is such a lovely song and immediately drew me in. I started smiling and did not stop for most of the night. 🙂 From the second song on the band joined him. ‘Just Smile’ the Gamper & Dadoni single he sings on was next and I really liked it. ‘Summer Days’, another new song, followed. He told us he wanted to test those songs and after a few seconds he asked us how we liked it with a big grin. It sure made me feel the summer that still seems far away this year. Maybe it can be used to make the sun come out and the air warm up. 🙂
I was surprised how much the setlist had changed since the last time around and how little of the songs I seemed to remember. It was a good mix of familiar and unfamiliar though. Knowing he often plays stuff he has not released yet, I have no way of knowing which of the songs that felt new to me actually where, but it didn’t matter. I enjoyed all of them and did my best singing along to the ones I knew. 🙂 Milow has many great songs to sing along, clap and dance to, but I have always loved the quiet, thoughtful ones. ‘Way up high’, played only with Remko and Bart was a highlight for me. He said it was a personal song about his family and it felt as if everyone was listening intently.
The song that made me shed tears though, was not even one of his own. With Tom and Nina he covered Neil Diamond’s ‘Don’t turn around’ and the words hit home for me. it wasn’t exactly the situation that is described in the song, but the feelings that came with it. Just perfect. soon I had reasons to smile again though, because when he chose to hop off the stage, stand on the barrier and sing to the audience, he stood right in front of me for a while. For a split second I considered giving him a hug, but it did not feel appropriate, so I just smiled and enjoyed.
Earlier that evening Milow had told us he liked the sound of “Nordrhein-Westfalen” and when it was time for ‘Ayo Technology’ he made up an intro asking if there had ever been a song about Nordrhein.Westfalen or the Ruhrgebiet. 😀 The song was fun as always and whoever had not been dancing before was doing so now. As usual it was the perfect mix of softer and more powerful songs, those to dance to and those to listen to quietly. Everyone in the audience seemed to enjoy the night just as much as I did. It was fun turning around and taking a look once in a while.
The band looked like they were having fun as well and played wonderfully. It was Tom’s birthday so they brought him a cake on stage and Milow asked us to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ for him. We gladly obliged and seeing the smile on Tom’s face made the night even better. He claimed he was turning 24 (let me guess: 34?) and when we later heard that Milow met him and Nina ten years ago he joked about keeping the numbers straight and how young he had been then. All this created a feeling that this band really gets along well and has a good time together. 🙂
After ‘Little in the middle’ and ‘You don’t know’, two songs I always love to hear, the main set ended with ‘Howling at the Moon’ and I was surprised that time had gone so quickly. It felt like only a few minutes. we waved, we cheered, we sang along loudly and as the band walked off stage we were yelling for more. Somewhere along the way they took a short movie of us doing the wave, but I can’t remember when that happened exactle. It must have looke dgood though.
Soon Milow and Tom were back with Tom carrying his birthday cake and having a taste too before they started. ‘famous Singer’ is a song that always makes me smile and this time I hade the feeling Tom added a few extra lines too. 😀 Milow asked us to make room for him right where the micstand stood, climbed down, crossed the barrier and walked into the audience to a second microphone. After telling us that it was not so strong and we’d have to be quiet, he performed ‘Out of my hands’ right there in the middle of the room. It was beautiful. <3
He called the band out to join him and they played ‘Learning how to disappear’ in the audience as well. I could not see much from the front, but I heard them just fine and was happy for the people who stood back there. What a great idea. 🙂 after that they walked back to the stage and said they would play one more for us. It was a reprised of ‘Summer Days’ with everyone jumping on stage and off. They even instructed us how. I still do not get why he has to play the same song twice, but so be it. It was a fun show and when it ended they literally danced off stage. The smile stayed on my face for a long time after it was over.
Setlist
She might, she might (solo)
Just smile (Gamper & Dadoni)
Summer Days
No no no
Northern Lights
Against the Tide
You and me
Way up high (with Remko and Bart)
Don’t turn around (with Tom and Nina) (Neil Diamond cover)
Ayo Technology
Tourist
Little in the middle
You don’t know
Howling at the Moon
Famous Singer (with Tom)
Out of my hands (solo, in the audience)
Learning how to disappear (in the audience)
Summer Days