So tell me, will you stay here with me?

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Marjana Semkina / Gleb Kolyadin / iamathemorning – St. Matthias Church, London; November 1st, 2024

When Marjana Semkina announced an iamthemorning show in London on her Patreon and I realized I could actually make it there, I got very excited. I#ve been her Patron for some time now, but I rarely manage to fit any gigs into my schedule. This was a very special one too, not only taking place at a church, but also featuring her and Gleb’s solo material. Needless to say it was everything I had hoped for any more. What a great night.

Having traveled to London the previous day, I was already there when MArjana invited the Patrons to come and join them for soundcheck. Hell yes, that sounded awesome. It was nice weather on show day so I decided to walk to the church and got there earlier than I expected. Looking around for the entrance, I spotted Marjana and band and they invited me in. There was one other fan, who had already gotten there before me and we sat together at the back of the church chatting. Linda was already there and after talking briefly, she got us the merch we had ordered. Perfect.

Just before the other Patrons arrived, we moved up to the front, securing the best spots in the house. From there on in it was soundcheck with quite a few technical difficulties, so they barely made it through before the doors were supposed to open. Once the tech worked, everything sounded great. Church acoustics for the win.

The doors opened, people found seats, grabbed drinks and settled down. I spent the time chatting with the people around me and getting more excited by the minute. This was going to be so good.

When Marjana’s band walked on stage and started playing, everyone instantly shut up and listened. The mics, the guitar stand, the drums and the piano were adorned with lights and artificial flowers, while electric candles burned in the middle row. It created a great atmosphere and together with the stage lighting, it looked beautiful. Marjana stepped up to the mic and greeted us. We cheered and she launched into ‘We are the Ocean’. Her voice, the guitar, the drums – it all sounded amazing. I was smiling already – happiness is getting to hear great music live.

She told us how special it was to be there and play with her new band. The keyboard introduced ‘Lost but at Peace’ and when Marjana started singing it sent shivers down my spine – so good. 🙂 She spoke about Jim Grey, who had cooperated with her on the next song, but unfortunately was very far away and could not be there that night. ‘Anything but sleep’ was great without him too. 🙂

‘Pygmalion’ followed and gradually we were moving from softer songs to the ones that felt more edgy, i.e. they made me feel a little more unsettled, less calm than I had at the beginning. I embraced the journey the music was taking me on. She spoke about having written this album for three years with a lot of subjects like death, murder and redemption. Everyone laughed, we all know how she loved writing about dark subjects. “Heres’s a happy song,” she said and played ‘The Storm’. It was my favorite so far and indeed made me feel lighter again. <3

“The majority of the setlist today is the new stuff, but there’s a little of the old one too,” Marjana said, but not just yet, because ‘This Silence, This Dreaming’ was next. “Also about death,” she noted. It sounded very much like a dream though, with gorgeous keys and guitar melodies, leading to my thoughts drifting. I love being caught up in music like that. Marjana said that she could not see us very well in the candle light and announced some of the old stuff, only to realized that the next song was on the new album as well. 😀 ‘Gone’ was wonderful.

I loved hearing Marjana sing and watching her move across stage. She tld us that they were really nervous, because they were doing a lot of things for the first time, but now it was OK, because we were the nicest audience. She also reminded us that the show was being filmed, so if she was telling joke we should act as if it was funny. 😉 With ‘Disillusioned’ we got to some older songs after all and got to hear her play guitar too. There was a small hick-up with the sound, but it got fixed soon sounded all the better.

She told us about being really stressed lately, but now that they were at this gorgeous venue, it was not so terrible any more. She ended her set with ‘Turn back time’ – the keys sounded like bells and the drums made it hard to sit still. the perfect song to dance across the stage to. 🙂

Setlist

We Are the Ocean
Lost but at Peace
Anything But Sleep
Pygmalion
The Storm
This Silence, This Dreaming
Gone
Disillusioned
Turn Back Time

After a short break Gleb sat down at the grand piano and started playing. I am not super familiar with his music, but it immediately drew me in with beautiful melodies, flowing like water. It mostly wasn’t quiet or calm, but felt like a very meditative experience, where I got lost in the music. He did not have a mic, so in-between songs he got up to talk to us, mentioning how great it was to be there and telling us that he blended two of his compositions together before he continued. Gleb is an excellent pianist and like Marjana did with her singing, he took me on a journey with him. I thoroughly enjoyed. <3

Another break with time to stretch a bit, before sitting down again on the rather hard benches. As soon as the band started playing I forgot everything about that though. ‘Scotland’ was first, with Gleb’s piano and Marjana’s voice leading us before the drums set in. Once again I was focussed on the stage, watching Marjana move and listening with all of my being.

Strangely, I still managed to take pictures, focussed on capturing moments, while taking in the beautiful music at the same time. ‘Too many years’ was so wonderfully dramatic. It continued straight into ‘To Human Misery’ –  I loved it. Marjana told us they had brought a wide range of songs about death and dying and pain and suffering. “but it’s not the only thing we’re writing about. For example the next one is about Electric shock therapy”. That was ‘Chalk and Coal’ of course, including great drums and Marjana singing/Screaming her heart out “No, not again”.

Beautiful piano lines took us into ‘Sleeping Pills’, followed by the amazing ‘Libretto Horror’, which really rocked the house. I was moving along the whole time.Then ‘Os Lunatum’ had me feeling tempted to close my eyes and just drift with the music. This show was a real treat. The singing, the music, the band – everything was top notch. Whenever I looked around, everyone seemed just as happy to be there as I was.

Marjana mentioned that she wasn’t talking much between songs, which was unusual for them. She asked who had been to one of their gigs before and managed to see a few familiar faces even though it was a bit dark to see much at all. she thanked us for coming and was grateful we chose to spent our time with them because “life is short and we’re all gonna die”. I would not have wanted to be anywhere else at that moment and the cheering from everyone else told me they felt the same way. They continued with ‘Sleeping Beauty’, then ‘Blue Sea’ and finally ‘Freak Show’ –  it was awesome.

She spoke about originally being from Russia and having to leave because of the terrible government. Then she mentioned that in Saint Petersburg they played museums and palaces, but she had always dreamed about playing at a church. Now they were finally there and she thanked everyone who had helped making this possible. Then she introduced the band. 🙂 After this happy talk they wanted to play a happy song- “do you know which one?”-. I didn’t, but everyone else knew it was 5/4. We clapped in rhythm as MArjana walked up and down the aisle and danced across the stage. The song was a lot of fun and our clapping was on point.

At the end, Marjana talked about the terrible state of the music industry and how important it is to get support from fans. She thanked us again and they ended the set with ‘K.O.S.’. What a fantastic song! We clapped and cheered until they came back and gave us ‘Ghost of a Story’ as an encore. It was the perfect song to end the show with. Sure, we would have all wanted more, but they did have to clear out the church soon, so this was it. What a fantastic evening.

I said hello to Marjana and Gleb, thanking them for the great show. Then I said goodbye to Linda and left, catching the bus home. I had to leave early the next morning, but I had  no regrets. This was a concert I would not have wanted to miss.

pictures of this concert

Setlist

Scotland
Too Many Years
To Human Misery
Chalk and Coal
Sleeping Pills
Libretto Horror
Os Lunatum
Sleeping Beauty
Blue Sea
Freak Show
5/4
K.O.S.

Encore:
Ghost of a Story

I’ve been running now so long I’m scared I’ve forgotten how to stand

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Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls – Palladium, Cologne; October 20th, 2024

The ticket for Frank Turner’s show in  Cologne had been with me for months and now it was finally time to go see him again. He is one of those artists that always put on a great show and you can count on a fun evening, no matter how well you know his music. He had two great support acts too and it turned out to be a fantastic evening. 🙂

With delayed trains, I arrived at the venue just a little before surprised and was surprised to only have around 30 people in front of me. Cool! Soon after, the line got much longer. Right behind me were people that had a ticket to sell and refused to sell to a scalper. They were rewarded when a new fan came along, looking for a ticket. He was alone, so they invited him to stay with them and everyone around cheered when he mentioned he had just discovered Frank and it was his first concert. 😀

Waiting went by quickly and once inside I immediately headed upstairs, where I got a great spot side stage. I didn’t know anything about the support acts, nor had I listened to Frank’s latest album much, but I was excited nonetheless.

At about 7:15, earlier than I had expected, Shitney Beers stepped on stage, armed with a guitar. I had expected a band somehow, but was all in for some acoustic music. They played some lovely music for us. I must admit I didn’t pay much attention to the lyrics, but really enjoyed the melodies.

In-between songs told us they had been in Cologne with a band last time and asked who our favorite football club is, confessing they  liked for VFB Stuttgart. They also talked about their love for the other two bands of the evening. One song was a sad one about their ex-girlfriend that I liked a lot. The material was really varied, even without a band and it was a good warm up for the evening. In the end they thanked us for everything and mentioned how much fun it had been to be on tour.

After a 15 minute break, it was time for Skinny Lister. I had no clue what to expect and was very happily surprised by their great energy. What a fun band. Their folky music made me want to dance and watching them move across stage just put a big smile on my face. Already during the first song, everyone was clapping along. 😀

There was dancing on stage, a double bass and an accordion too. It all sounded great. The audience downstairs was moving along with the music and I loved watching it all. There were some sing-alongs too and everything was they played was feel-good music. A few songs in they introduced themselves and asked us to make some noise for Shitney Beers and Frank Turner. Of course we did.

I enjoyed the softer songs like ‘Colours’ just as much as the faster ones like ‘Foourty Pound Wedding’. At one point the singer went into the audience to dance and on the way back she arm-wrestled one of the security guys, who was smiling all the way through. It was so much fun to watch the band in action. She also kept drinking liquor from a gigantic jug, which she eventually passed to the audience saying “Take a sip, pass it on, don’t be a dick, give it back when it’s done.” – it made the rounds and came back to the stage in the end. They were so much fun overall and a perfect fit for Frank.

Setlist

Wanted
George’s Glass
Tragedy in A Minor
Unto the Breach
Colours
Cathy
Forty Pound Wedding
Arm Wrestling in Dresden
Bold as Brass
John Kanaka ([traditional] cover)
Rollin’ Over
Hamburg Drunk
Company of the Bar
Trouble on Oxford Street

One more change of stage and at a quarter past 9, Frank and the Sleeping Souls walked on stage. He greeted us in German and they launched directly into  ‘No Thank You for the Music’. Downstairs, everyone was singing along. Without a break, ‘Girl from the Record Shop’ was next and after a brief “Thank you”, ‘1933’. This was the first one that felt familiar to me and I realized I had not listened to enough of Frank’s music lately. “And I don’t know whats going on any more” I sang along wit everyone else, feeling I had finally arrived at the show.

“Guten Abend Köln, wie gehts!” he yelled and continued in German, telling us it was show 2958, his German was perfect, but he wanted to practice his english. 😀 We learned the two rules of the nigh: 1. Don’t be a dickhead, i.e. let’s take care of each other so everyone can enjoy the evening. 2. If you know the words you gotta fucking song along. We got to try it with ‘Recovery’. Did I remember the song? Sure, but not all of the words. I had fun nonetheless and a big smile on my face.

Without taking a breath the show continued with ‘Never Mind the Back Problems’ and afterwards we were told it was time to dance for ‘Photosynthesis’. – “I won’t back down, I won’t shut up and most of all I will not grow up”. There was a great mosh pit going and I was quite happy not to be downstairs. Singing along worked just as well with the people on the balcony.

Frank told us how great it was to be in Cologne and at that venue, saying that they missed us, but they also had a new album out. The next song was about a pen pal he had as a teenager and met on a camping holiday. He was wearing a Korn hoodie, she was wearing Pennywise hoodie and told him she was cooler than him. The wrote each other for three years and sent each other mixed tapes, but then the letters ended. “and then I never heard from her again” – our “awww”  was not loud enough, so we had to try again. Once he wrote a song about it, she sent him an email, asking if the song was about her. 😀 ‘Letters’ is a great song and the story makes it even better.

With ‘Non Serviam’ we had reached the FTHC album – I had forgotten just how loud and punk that one is. Not one of my favorites, but great fun live, because Frank and the band bring so much energy to the stage ad the audience goes nuts. ‘Plain Sailing Weather’ was more up my alley and I was moving with the music and clapping along. It was the perfect concert to forget all my worries and get lost in the music.

I loved how the show had song from so many different albums, lots of new stuff, but just as many classics. In between, he introduced the band and we learned that he and Matt had gotten hair cuts in Germany. Frank also told us that his first ever show in Germany was in Cologne, supporting The Gaslight Anthem. Wish I had been at that show. ‘If Ever I Stray’ was next and a great sing-along for most. For a moment I wanted to be 20 again with endless time to listen to music and a better memory for lyrics. 😉 Nah, it’s a great pleasure to go to concerts in my 50s and I would not want to miss any of them.

For ‘The Next Storm’ he asked us all to jump and I’m sure the floor must have been shaking downstairs. It definitely looked great from above. ‘The Road’ followed, always a crowd favorite and a great sing-along. It’s one of the songs I really feel, even though my touring perspective is not that of a musician.

Frank mentioned how amazing his crew is and asked us all to cheer for them and everyone working at the show that evening. Absolutely. They all deserve it. The next song was an old one, that had not been played for a while and someone asked for it nicely. “It’s about love and about endings and I hope you like it.” It was ‘Redemption’ and brought my close to tears.

The band left stage and he asked us if we enjoyed our evening before he got on stage, then asked us to make some noise for “a new friend” Shitney Beers and “some old friends” Skinny Lister. “I didn’t use to play this song live very much for a while, but recently it started making more sense again in my head and in my heart. It’s called ‘The Way I Tend to be'” – that did it, now I was crying.

“I’m not very good at politics. I don’t  know very much, I especially don’t know much about politics, but I have a lot of German friends, who tell me there’s some dark and dangerous shit coming up in German politics…. that makes me sad. I wrote this song in 2016 … I decided to change the course of history through the power of song… 8 years later I’m here to tell you it didn’t change anything at all…. Tonight I give it to you… I hope you find the people to fight and I hope you win.” Yes, I hope so too. ‘Be more kind’ was wonderful, it always is <3 and I could not get through that one without crying either. Mid song, he asked us all to take out our phone lights and we lit up the entire hall. :`)

Driving away the sadness, he dedicated ‘Tae Ballad of Me and My Friends’ to all of us. “I’m definitely going to hell, but I’ll have all the best stories to tell” – that sums it up pretty much. 😀 Frank said he’d been playing songs for 26 years and used to live on a sofa in a hallway above a pub in North London, dreaming about one day playing a show in South London and now he has played all over the world. He thanked us for coming to the show. What song could be more fitting than ‘I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous’? He started on his own, then the band joined in.

The brilliant ‘Ceasefire’ brought us back to the latest album and we got one more from there, a “Mitsinglied”, ‘Do one’ – we tried the “Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do (do)” sing along and were told it was shit and they were louder than us in Berlin, Munich and Oberhausen. So we tried again, managed much better and as promised, Frank sang the first verse in German.

The ended the set with ‘Try this at home’ and the classic ‘I still believe’, which both brought great sing alongs. I can still remember the first time I heard ‘I still believe’ live and how it immediately made me feel at home. It hasn’t lost any of its power since.

They all left stage and let us cheer for some time before coming back out. He told us they’d be back for festivals in summer and they had a few more songs if we wanted to hear them. “One more new songs and then we’re gonna blow the roof of this fucking building!” ‘Somewhere Inbetween’ was announced as a song about the hard stuff, anxiety, imposter syndrome and the stuff that keeps me from sleeping at night” – it was fantastic. <3

‘Polaroid Pictures’ is always great, had us all clapping along and moving with the music. We were ordered to jump up and down at the end of the song and learned which excuses count and which do not. Hell yeah I jumped! 😀 There was more jumping, dancing and singing for ‘Get Better’ and for the grand finale, ‘Four Simple Words’, Frank went on an epic crowd-surfing journey, rolling over the heads of the audience and still continuing to sing. It was totally fucking mad and brilliant. Back on stage he raised his hands and asked us all to twirl along with him, so we did, before one last loud sing along. It was the perfect way to end the show. One final thank you and they were gone.

That was fun! Hope to see you again soon.

pictures of this concert

Setlist

No Thank You for the Music
Girl From the Record Shop
1933
Recovery
Never Mind the Back Problems
Photosynthesis
Letters
Non Serviam
Plain Sailing Weather
If Ever I Stray
The Next Storm
The Road
Redemption

Frank solo
The Way I Tend to Be
Be More Kind
The Ballad of Me and My Friends

I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous
Ceasefire
Do One (first verse in German)
Try This at Home
I Still Believe

Encore:
Somewhere Inbetween
Polaroid Picture
Get Better
Four Simple Words