We did a tour in Germany, you were there, I saw you!

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Martin and James – Luxor Live, Arnhem; March 8th, 2012

So the original plan for the night had been to see Melissa Etheridge in Cologne, but then Martin and James announced gigs in the Netherlands for the same day and on the one weekend I had a family visit planned. So what’s was I to do?  I thought about it for some time and then knew that while I would enjoy Melissa I would miss the guys terribly, so I changed plans and made the track to Arnhem. Since there was an Anouk gig on the same date, there was no affordable hotel in Arnhem, but I was lucky enough to have A. pick me up and drive me back to Nijmegen. 🙂

We got there after the doors opened, but had no problems getting to front row. The venue was nice and small and quite well filled with people. I had feared only few people would come, but I didn’t need to worry. They were many and a good audience too. Attentive, knowing the songs and apparently enjoying the music.

Martin and James were a little late but that was just fine, because they played a full set anyway. This time Lucas didn’t support them on bass. After the gig they asked us if we had been missing him – I have to admit I hadn’t even realized that someone wasn’t there. 😉

The setlist was the same as for the February tour, but they mixed up the order of songs a little bit. ‘Maybe it’s time’ was the opener and I must say it worked quite well. The response from the audience was polite if a bit quiet. With ‘Turn it up’ it got better and they were more into it. Still, they never got really wild and loud like at some other concerts. Yet they were listening attentively and that fit well with the atmosphere of the club.

They continued with ‘She’s light guiding’ and ‘Wrong Directions’ which was sung along by many,  then played ‘One Way forward’. Here A. and I seemed to be the only people who knew the new songs, but everyone else was listening and they liked them too. For ‘You’re a Window’ James asked everyone to participate and it worked. I just love this arrangement of the song.

Martin was unusually talkative that night, telling us all sorts of stuff and they both seemed very relaxed. The break after the tour seemed to have done them good. It was very funny when a woman from the audience randomly asked them who their musical influences were. She mentioned a few and Martin just responded “All of them, then said he’d get back to her after the concert, because he was trying to remember lyrics”. James mentioned his dad being a musician “So I’m gonna be real cheesy and just say my dad.” “My dad’s an accountant”, Martin deadpanned, “definitely an idol though.” 😀

‘Bad Dream’ also got a good reaction and ‘I was blind’ and ‘Live Wires’ brought two more tracks from their first album that most of the audience knew. Then came the block with all the new songs. In-between all this, Martin told a story how they were stopped by boarder patrol and asked if they had ever taken any drugs. They also mentioned how they didn’t remember being in Arnhem before until they recognized the Subway where they’d had dinner the last time. I’m not sure how much that says about the city. 😉 For the new songs they mentioned again how they wrote in Nashville and James explained that ‘Life’s a Show’ is about life as a musician. It would be interesting to hear some more about the inspiration for some of the other songs, but so far they’ve kept quiet about that. They did tell us they’ve been writing more songs though and mentioned they new album they are working on. Happy news.

After the new songs ‘Little bits of Light’ and ‘All over the News’ brought us back to familiar territory and they ended the main set with a great ‘Crashing into Love’. Some time during the gig, James talked about just having toured in Germany and pointing at us said “You were there, I saw you!” with a big smile. A. and I just looked at each other, shaking our heads, smiling as well.

We clapped them back to the stage for encores and got ‘I have to fall’ and finally ‘Somebody’. I had been hoping to hear ‘Broken Sword’ for once that had been on the setlist as an alternative to ‘Somebody’ for the entire February tour, but was never played. It didn’t matter, it was a beautiful gig just as it was.

Afterwards we waited until everyone was gone and had a nice chat with the guys. They took their time with everyone and since we were last they spoke to us until we were kicked out. Especially James talked a lot, it was really nice. When we had to leave, we both got hugs from him. A nice ending to a nice night. Absolutely worth the trip.

Setlist

Maybe it’s time
Turn it up
She’s light guiding
Wrong Directions
One Way forward
You’re a Window
Bad Dream
I was blind
Live Wires
Love’s not a Fight
Hard to cry
Cynical Skin
The Rope
Life’s a Show
Little bits of Light
All over the News
Crashing into Love

Encores:
I have to fall
Somebody

Deep in your garden where the nettle met the rose is where we hide ourselves…

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Snow Patrol – Mitsubischi Electric Hall, Düsseldorf; February 26th, 2012

It’s always a bit strange for me to go and see a band that doesn’t mean anything to me, yet I make it a point to go and see at least one band or artist every year that I have never seen live before. This year my somewhat spontaneous choice was Snow Patrol. I own and like two of their albums, but I have not paid much attention to them in the past two or three years and as far as I recall, their older albums didn’t do much for me. Either way, I like the songs I know, I like Gary’s voice, the show was sold out and I was ready to be surprised.

Arrived about an hour before the doors opened and got in line. Admission was painless and I ended up about 5 rows back in front of center stage. There was conflicting information as to when the show was supposed to start, but we were in for a long wait. At 8 p.m. finally the lights went down and support act “Rams Pocket Radio” walked on stage. They were OK and had some interesting use of drums in their songs, but they didn’t really appeal to me. Listenable, but a bit boring. They only played for 30 minutes then the stage setup was changed.

Finally, a little after 9 p.m. the lights went down and the show started with some pretty images on the screens in the background before the band walked on stage one by one. I watched as the fans greeted them enthusiastically and waited for the concert feeling to come. It didn’t. The show wasn’t bad and I enjoyed the music, but all the time I stayed a spectator, I was not into it at all. I sang along to a few songs and that got me closer to feeling like being there but the final ingredient was missing, even with the most touching songs.

Still, I had fun and there were a few really nice highlights such as Gary going into the crowd, shaking hands and just seeing the happy smile on his face. Also it was drummer Johnny’s birthday and some fans had prepared signs and balloons for him. Gary took the opportunity to dedicate ‘The Garden Rules’ to him, mentioning that this was not on the setlist and he would make him work harder on his birthday. He also said he considered him a brother.

The musicians were all wonderful and I really loved the sound. Gary was in the center of attention at all times, moving about a lot, but bassist Paul and guitarist Nathan had some nice moments in he spotlight too and Johnny was supported by two other drummers with smaller drum, all together providing a great sound foundation.

‘Chasing Cars’ led to a beautiful sing-along by the entire audience and was dedicated to the band’s promoters Sascha and Christian. This is still my favorite Snow Patrol song, but I enjoyed many of the others too. Naturally the songs from the ‘Eyes Open’ album had the strongest appeal to me, because it is the album I know best but I also enjoyed the tracks from ‘A Hundred Million Suns’ and their latest album ‘Fallen Empires’

One of the best parts was when Gary called bassist Shauna from Rams Pocket Radio on stage to sing a duet with her on ‘Set the Fire to the Third Bar’. They both sang beautifully. It really moved me.  The audience loved it and she got to stay for ‘The Garden Rules’ as well. That song was my favorite of the ones I didn’t know before.

With ‘You’re all that I have’ they ended the main set and came back soon for three more songs. With ‘just say yes’ they finally left us. Their set was energetic, the sound was great and the screens were used to nicely underline the songs. Gary made good contact with the audience and did a nice job introducing the songs, while the other band members were mostly inn the background, but still got their chance to shine. Definitely a band worth watching. I enjoyed it.

Setlist 

Berlin
I’ll Never Let Go
Take Back The City
Hands Open
This Isn’t Everything You Are
Run
Crack the Shutters
In the End
Set the Fire to the Third Bar
The Garden Rules
Make this go on forever
Shut Your Eyes
Chasing Cars
Chocolate
Called Out in the Dark
Fallen Empires
You’re All I Have

Encore:
Lifening
Open Your Eyes
Just Say Yes