Del Amitri – Gretchen, Berlin; September 17th, 2022
Del Amitri are one of those bands that I have loved 25 years ago, when I was still studying and never forgot about, but also haven’t really followed for 10 or so years and had never seen live. Well, until I saw a friend posting about their gig in Hamburg, did some research and saw they were playing in Berlin while I was there. Theoretically I had a Lost Evenings concert to attend, but I regarded this as a sign from the universe that it wanted me to see this band, so I spontaneously changed plans and went to their show. It was totally worth it.
I walked over from Columbiahalle and arrived at the venue a little before 6 pm. soon after I was joined by N. and her mom, who had already seen them a few times this tour and told me all about it. I was getting excited already. The band came out to go and grab some food so N. went over to meet them when they came back. 🙂 Eventually they let us in and we all ended up at the front of a small stage.
We passed the time chatting as the venue slowly filled up. Support were The Whitmore sisters, playing country-ish tunes for us. It was nice music, I liked it and thought it was a good fit for the main band. For the final song they got a clap-along going, which was more than your usual clap on the beat of clap off-beat. All in all a warm up I enjoyed.
Finally, it was time for Del Amitri and we cheered as they walked on stage. By now, the venue had filled nicely. I could not remember many of their songs, but never doubted it would be fun to listen to. The setlist was right in front of s, so I could check how many of the song titles I recognized and came up with nine. The first three were not among them and so I listened closely. Especially ‘When you were young’ I really liked.
They all played well and sowed off their skills from time to time, so we got to see some nice guitar solos and duels during the evening. The keyboarder, who was hidden at the back most of the time, came to the front when an accordion was needed and played hide and seek behind a column that inexplicably was in the middle of the stage. It made me laugh.
It looked like the whole band enjoyed being on stage and they played to the people they knew – N. got a lot of fan service and smiled hugely all night. 🙂 ‘Always the last to know’ was the first song I remembered and could even sing along to a little bit. It did not matter, I enjoyed everything they played and was smiling the whole time, glad to have made it to the show.
I was moving a lot, because the music just made me want to dance, while at the same time offering lyrics that wormed their way straight into my ear. Everything about this gig was really enjoyable and being up so close only made it better. THis was very much music from my youth and we all have grown older since, but it hasn’t lost any of the magic.
‘Move away, Jimmy Blue’, I snag, ‘Roll to me’ and ‘Stone Cold Sober’ and I listened to all the songs that were new to me and found something to love in each of them. It occurred to me that they were short songs, or at least they felt short and they fit a lot of them into the setlist. Maybe it was because there was not all that much talk in-between.
Still, it was way too soon when they left the stage and we clapped and cheered for an encore. Finally I got the song I did not want to miss – ‘Nothing ever happens’. I don’t know if it is their greatest hit, but it is the one that means most to me. I sang along at the top of my lungs and remembered the times i have played this on the ukulele.
The night ended with ‘Be my downfall’ and it was absolutely perfect to end the show on. It had been a great show and I as happy I had come. Outside, after waiting for the band to come out and not talking to them, but leaving that to the true fans, I said goodbye to everyone and left. That was a lovely trip down memory lane!
Setlist
When You Were Young
Musicians and Beer
All Hail Blind Love
Always the Last to Know
Not Where It’s At
Kiss This Thing Goodbye
Close Your Eyes and Think of England
Mockingbird
Copy Me Now
Driving With the Brakes On
Move Away Jimmy Blue
You Can’t Go Back
Roll to Me
Here and Now
Tell Her This
Lonely
Spit in the Rain
Stone Cold Sober
Encore:
Missing Person
Nothing Ever Happens
I’m So Scared of Dying
Be My Downfall