Lissie – Cologne, September 22nd 2010

Another night in Cologne, another club I have never been to before. The “Luxor”, in the south of the city. It’s small (yay!), it allows smoking (yuck!) and the lights are awful for taking pictures even with a DSLR (mostly red light), but the sound was pretty good.

As opposed to many others I had discovered Lissie only a few weeks back. I didn’t seriously consider going to Cologne to see her on a weeknight until I found out that Martin and James were the support act. I had loved them at the Milow concert and the prospect of seeing them again just made me happy. So for the package of Martin and James and Lissie I went to Cologne. As usual I got there early and took a spot in front row.

Time passed quickly until Martin and James walked on stage at 9:00 p.m. They were simply amazing. I love their voices, I love their guitar playing and thoroughly enjoyed their set. They got a bit more than 30 minutes of time. When they announced ‘Crashing into love’ I yelled and James looked at me in surprise “You know that song?” I nodded “Sure”. Of course I do, it’s my favourite.

A short break, then Lissie followed. She is lovely and came across very natural. She chatted, told a few stories, sang beautifully. The guitarist, Eric, stood on stage barefoot, which didn’t keep him from jumping, drummer Stewart and bassist Lewis enjoyed themselves too. They obviously had fun playing and the audience was singing along nicely too. Lissie had a shot of Tequila in-between songs and made a cute face. She was happy to be there and loved that her album was being received so well. Overall it was a bit too short, she played barely 75 minutes, but it was worth the trip.

Afterwards I went and got Martin & James’ second EP, told them how great I thought they were. They were almost embarrassed by so much flattery, but hey: they are amazing! Got autographs from Eric and Stewart. Stewart wanted to hear a joke in exchange for it. A funny ending to a good night.

List of Songs (out of order and incomplete)

Record Collector
Wedding Bells
Loosen the Knot
When I’m alone
In Sleep
Cuckoo
Little Lovin
Oh Mississippi