Martin and James – Hot Jazz Club, Münster; April 10th, 2014

My last concert of the Martin and James spring tour took place at a small club near the harbor in Münster. It was a nice concert with a somewhat mixed audience at a somewhat weird place. Either way, it was a good last show of the tour for me. I thoroughly enjoyed being there, seeing the guys and my friends again before checking out and leaving this tour – too bad the remainder of the gigs are just too far away to do on a workday. I’ll just try being content with what I’ve had and hope for more concerts later that year. According to the guys there is a good chance of that. We will see and until then there are a few more happy memories for me to come back to. 🙂

The day started in Bielefeld from where I went straight to work only to hop on a train to Münster right after. It was late, but when I arrived at the venue only four people were waiting there. No need to have been in a hurry. 🙂 We spent the waiting time chatting and wondered if they would let us take pictures, because the tickets said “no photography” in big, bold letters. I had not bothered asking the guys about it, just left my camera at home and decided to enjoy this one without watching it through the lens of my camera. I had not done this since Glasgow.

N. and S. had seen the soundcheck and told us the stage was small and had tables on one side, so all of us would have to stand on the other side. There was a table there as well, but when we got in and took our spots nobody told us we were not allowed to. We took some of the chairs and sat down for a while, but apparently people had reserved the table and needed the chairs. Thus, we stood up. Suddenly, shortly before the gig was supposed to start someone form the venue came up, telling us we could not stay there, because people at the table could not see. Well excuse me, you could not have told us that an hour ago? When we argued that they would not let us sit down either, she snapped “well you should have reserved a table then!” – sure, if we’d known about it, we might have. *shakes head* Either way, I was not gonna give up my spot and sat down on the floor just like the previous night – everyone happy.

It was pretty crowded by the time the concert started and the guys had to squeeze through the crowd to get to the stage. People made room for them though and cheered when they arrived. The started with ‘Maybe it’s time’ followed by ‘Wheels’ and ‘Tides’. Wheels is one of the songs I tend to forget about when they have not played it in a while, but it has always been one I liked and I enjoyed hearing it. From my seat on the floor it was easy to watch people without being watched so I looked around quite a bit. Some of the people at the tables around stage had looked as if they might be more interested in their food than in Martin and James, but to my surprise most of them were watching closely. Some even sang along to the lesser-known songs. 🙂

It was a good concert overall – Martin and James seemed to be more comfortable with being less exposed (as opposed to Bielefeld) and despite the strange setup of the venue it worked quite well. Personally I felt a lot better than the previous day, even though I was more tired. My oncoming cold was still bothering me, but felt a little less strong now. Singing along didn’t do my throat any good though and resulted in a coughing fit during the second half of the show. I tried hard to cough into my sleeve and not disturb everyone. I loved the concert anyway and knowing it was the last one made me pay even more attention. Since I wasn’t taking pictures either, focusing on the music was easy. I just listened and smiled.

As usual the guys chatted away, telling stories and joking with each other. All the songs worked well that night, some touching me more than they had in a while. :’) Usually I prefer the concerts without a break, but this time I was happy to get up for a while. Sitting on the floor got uncomfortable after some time. The break was just enough to stretch and they were back for more. Even though they asked people to switch off their mobiles there was some interference again. It didn’t matter much though, the music still was amazing. 🙂 Before the encores they left the stage again and when they returned they announced they’d play a request they just got. It was ‘Bloom’ – perfect. In the very end, after the ‘Matilda’ sing-along they played The Everly Brothers’ ‘Dream’. Thus, my last Martin and James show of the tour ended on a high note. 😀

I didn’t stay long after the gig, but long enough to hug everyone goodbye. Hopefully there’ll be another chance to see them this year.

Setlist:

Maybe it’s time
Wheels
Tides
Cold Heart
My dog don’t like the rain
I have to fall
What I’m searching for
Cynical Skin
The Rope

Wrong Directions
Bad Dream
You’re a window
Little bits of light
Crashing into love
My last prayer
You’ll be gone and I’ll be here
Life’s a show

Encore
Bloom
Matilda
Dream