Marina V – Bibliothek Waldmühle, Soltau; October 20th, 2017
After missing Marina V’s Germany tour last year, I made sure I could go this time around and Soltau was one of two gigs I managed to fit into my busy schedule. Except for a few online concerts I had not seen her perform with Nick since Tuscon 2015 and was looking much forward to it. The concert in Soltau was lovely with a small but good audience and a great mixture of songs, including a few surprises. I enjoyed it a lot and was happy I had decided to go.
After work I left for Soltau and got there easily in a few hours. I took a walk, rested a bit and then went looking for the venue since it had been unclear if the concert started at 7 or 8 pm. Easily found it and realized it was still closed so I went walking some more and returned later. The concert took place in a library, which was a nice backdrop for the music. For me personally the seats were a bit far from the small stage, so I sat in front row. Most other people chose not to. Everyone seemed curious though and listened intently once the concert had started.
Just after 8 Marina walked over to the keyboard and greeted us, in German even. Not many in the room had seen her before, but it had not kept people from coming, some even from far away. A few Russians were in the house too so we got to hear a few songs in Russian, including a cover version of a Neil Diamond song and ‘Run’ in two languages. It is always nice to hear Marina sing in her native language. Even though I do not understand a word, I can always feel the music. 🙂 She played songs from each of her albums that night and some that are not on any of them. It was a good mixture.
Last time I had seen her in Germany she was on her own so I was happy to see and her her with Nick this time. She still played some songs on her own, but often had a guitar in the mix too. It was so nice seeing them interact with each other, there were so many gestures of affection, they are really a good team. 🙂 Marina’s singing was great of course, even though she said her voice was a bit tired that night. I sure could not hear it in her singing. She talked a lot too, told us how much they were enjoying Germany and sometimes gave us some background information on the songs she was playing. I loved hearing all the little tidbits about her life, about traveling and being at home in two countries. I could only nod in agreement when she told us how you never see anything positive about Russia on Tv, but how beautiful it is and how nice the people are when you go there. It is very trues, you just have to go and meet people. Just like in any other country you may find friends and things you like despite politics you may not agree with. Marina brought this point across well. 🙂
I found it interesting that both of her parents do not listen to music and there was no music in their home when she was little. It surprised me that this led her to write songs at an early age already to make up for what was missing. Sh told us that she discovered a whole new world of music when she came to the US. I cannot imagine my life without music and especially not without listening to music, but then again I did not really get into it until I was a teenager, even though it was always there at my home. It’s just funny how winded life goes sometimes. 🙂
At one point she asked us if we wanted a song in Russian or English and when nobody answered she said that we were allowed to speak in the library, because it was after hours. 😉 She played ‘Autumn Song’ for us, based on a poem about having two homes. It is a beautiful song and I truly wished I understood the lyrics. It sounds very melancholic. Of course Marina introduced us to her new album, ‘Born to the Stars’, playing many of the songs. For the title track she recruited us to be the background choir, but I felt we were a little bit too weak. We tried hard though. 😉 On the album there are quite a few different musicians supporting them on this track and I had often wondered how they got them to participate. During the break I talked to Nick about the song and he told me how they just asked people they had met over the years to help and many of them made contact to others and recorded videos of themselves singing for them. It never hurts to ask I guess. The result is amazing and fun to watch in the video. 🙂
During the second part we heard that Marina loves writing songs in minor keys, but sometimes she has to let some California sunshine seep into her songs as well and write a few happy ones like ‘Say Hello’. 🙂 During ‘Light up the dark’ we got to sing again and we did it well after some urging to sing louder. I love that song and it’s message about choosing the positive things in life over “the bad shit”. We don’t always have a choice, but when we do it sure helps to choose being happy instead of sad of frustrated. It reminds me of what I learned in studying Psychology that so much of what we see as our lie depends on the stories we tell ourselves and how we tell them. 🙂 The song also made me smile, because I remembered the online concerts I had seen and how we managed to sing the lines “together we can shine a light” even then, by just typing it. It always gave me the feeling of being part of a community.
She dedicated ‘Speak’ to me. It is one of my favorite songs and, as she explained about being proud of who you are. Sometimes I sure need a reminder that I do not owe anyone an apology for the life I lead and the choices I make. After that we got one more song in Russian and a great rendition of ‘Imagine’ to close the set. It fit perfectly.
Of course we were not ready to let her go just yet and cheered for an encore. When Marina asked us what we wanted to hear or rather if we wanted something is Russian or English, someone suggested a German one and after a little bit of thought she played a cover of the Scorpions’ ‘Wind of Change’. I was surprised how well I remembered the words. Ah the songs we learn when we are young….Nick quickly googled the lyrics for her and handed her the phone. It was great and told us it had not been rehearsed and she had not played it in two years. The very last song of the night was ‘I am Iron’, which I find very uplifting. It was a good choice to send us home with. 🙂
After the show I stuck around for a while to chat before I said goodbye. We were all tired and there was another concert waiting for us the next day. This one had already brought some good memories. 🙂
Setlist
Fire in the Sky
“I’ll be alright”
You make me beautiful
Run
Neil Diamond cover in Russian
Together alone
Autumn Song
Born to the Stars
Be my light
Babushka
Say Hello
Light up the dark
Speak
Russian Song
Imagine (John Lennon cover)
Wind of Change (Scorpions cover)
I am Iron