Adam Lambert – Palladium, Cologne; June 10th, 2023
Some time last week I accidentally stumbled across an ad for Adam Lambert playing in Cologne and was like “that could be fun!” Since there were tickets left, I bought one and it turned out to be a good decision. What a great night.
As it happens so often, when going to Cologne, trains were fucked up and I got there an hour later than I had planned. It was hot and the lines were long so I stayed in the shade until the doors opened and joined the line then. Once inside I went straight upstairs, because I didn’t feel like standing in the crowd, even though that would have been closer to the stage. Chatted with the nice people around me and enjoyed the unhindered view.
The women to my right had been to Adam’s very first show in Germany in 2010 and were super happy he was playing his only German concert in their area. They also said he would not start on time so I was surprised when the lights went off at 8 pm. Turns out he had a support act I didn’t know about.
It was the lovely Anica Russo. After her first song in English I was surprised that she spoke German. She played her own stuff and one or two covers, told us how happy she was to be opening for Adam, having been a fan since she was a child and brought generally good vibes. Her music was really nice and a good warm up for the show.
Setlist
Mirror on the Wall
Took my Love
Sunday Service
BangBang /Set you on Fire
Antisocial
Flame
Once upon a Dream
Trust Issue
We expected a 30 minute break, so it surprised us when the lights went out again at 5 minutes before 9 – everyone erupted into cheers when the music started and the band walked on stage, followed by Adam, who was wearing cool sunglasses. Not to mention the awesome outfit.
The show started with ‘For Your Entertainment’ and all the fans singing along. The band was great and the cheers grew louder when the sunglasses came off. I already had a big smile on my face. Not knowing his songs very well, I could not sing along much, but that doesn’t mean I could not enjoy the show! Just watching Adam move across stage was pure joy. Of course his singing was spot-on!
‘The Original High’ followed and I watched people in the audience move with the music. Before the show, the fans had told me his latest album is one of covers and now we got the first one, King of Leon’s ‘Sex on Fire’. It was awesome and whoever wasn’t moving already, started then. I had been hoping for a fun night and Adam delivered!
‘If I had you’ and ‘Superpower’ were really great, especially Adam’s dancing on the latter. Everyone on stage looked like they were having a blast and the fans certainly did. 😀 We got a section of covers next, starting with Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Holding out for a Hero’. I loved it so much and sang along as loudly as I could. Nine Inch Nails’ ‘Closer’ was just sexy and Lana DelRey’s ‘West Coast’ was amazing too.
Adam decided to talk to the audience for a bit and spoke about how he started, asking who had been at his first concert in Cologne. Many people cheered so he announced he wanted to play a song for them. It was an amazing performance of ‘Whataya want from me’. I had expected that one on the encores and was happy to get it early. One of the few songs of his I can sing along to. The beautiful ‘Overglow’ followed before ‘Ghost Town’ invited us to clap and dance along. The women to my right had long started dancing and soon I joined in.
We got more covers with the amazing ‘I can’t stand the rain’ and the surprising (to me) ‘Do you really want to hurt me’. He talked about how he loved Germany, thanked us for all the support through the years and gave us a killer version of Cheer’s ‘Believe’, mixed with the children’s song ‘Muffin Man’, sung Cher style. It was awesome. After ‘You Make Me Feel’ he left stage and I was thinking- already? It felt like no time had passed at all.
We cheered and clapped them back to stage. “What about Queen?” Adam asked and we cheered even louder so we got the encores filled with Queen songs. It made me so happy, because I have wanted to see him perform with them for a long time and this way I got an idea of how that could be. He asked us to sing to him and he’d sing to us, starting with ‘Don’t stop me now’. I was dancing, singing ans smiling at everyone around me. What a great show.
We got a wonderful sing-along going for ‘Another one bites the dust’ too and I enjoyed watching Adam dance all across stage. The fantastic ‘Stone Cold Crazy’ followed and his band outdid themselves playing. When he announced his final song, M. next to me shouted “NOOOOOO!” I felt the same. The finale was superb though. We got ‘We are the Champions’ and I don’t think there was anyone who didn’t sing. Powerful finale to a powerful show. It may have been a tad on the short side, but still left me satisfied. Can recommend!
Setlist
For Your Entertainment
The Original High
Sex on Fire (Kings of Leon)
If I Had You
Superpower
Holding Out for a Hero (Bonnie Tyler)
Closer (Nine Inch Nails)
West Coast (Lana Del Rey)
Whataya Want From Me
Overglow
Ghost Town
I Can’t Stand the Rain (Ann Peebles)
Do You Really Want to Hurt Me (Culture Club)
Believe (Cher) /The Muffin Man
You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) (Sylvester)
Encore:
Don’t Stop Me Now (Queen)
Another One Bites the Dust (Queen)
Stone Cold Crazy (Queen)
We Are the Champions (Queen)