Never gonna stop

Milow – Bochum, Zeltfestival Ruhr; September 1st 2011

My description of the gig in Hannover ended with saying “Had the audience been more into it, it would have been amazing.” After the concert in Bochum last night I can only say that it was amazing indeed.

Being there 2 hours before the doors open guaranteed me a spot in front row. Right on time at 8:30 p.m. the lights went out and Milow came on stage. From the very first moment on it was so different from Hannover. The audience screamed loudly to greet him, then immideately quieted down to listen to ‘I ain’t scared’. What a beautiful beginning.

The band came out for ‘Rambo’ adding a whole new layer of sound. The audience had fun, people were singing along and I realized that I know more of the lyrics than I thought I did. With the third song, ‘Dreamers and Renegades’ Milow and the band had won everyone over. Especially keyboarder and backup singer Nina received much applause and during band introduction there were many cheers for guitarist and backing singer Tom as well.

‘The Kingdom’ was so heartfelt, it brought a few tears to my eyes, but the smile came back on my face for ‘She might she might’. Somewhere in-between Milow told us that his first concert in Germany had been two years ago at the very same festival, just in the smaller tent. He aso mentioned that he was trying to learn German and always picked a word of the day. The day before it had been “Klingeltöne”. He mentioned a few more and made us laugh.  The one that came to him just before walking on stage was “Fingerspitzengefühl”. He pronounced it flawlessly too.

The show continued with ‘Never gonna stop’ and then the crowd went nuts for ‘Ayo Technology’. Milow had moved around a lot before, but for this song he jumped off stage and walked along the barrier on both sides. When he was right next to me, he climbed up on the railing and jumped into the audience, singing from there. It was lots of fun and by the time he made his way back to the stage everyone was jumping. He climbed the railing again and stood there for a bit before going back on stage.

The beautiful ‘Move to Town’ followed and this time I didn’t miss Martin and James as much while hearing it. ‘Canada’ kept us all going, before we got time to breathe and listen quietly to ‘The Priest’. Last year’s single ‘You don’t know’ and this year’s ‘You and me’ where the last two songs before the encores.

I swear, I have not heard people yelling ZUGABE (encore) this loudly since the POTF gig on May 23rd 2010 in Berlin. It was wild! I love it when the audience is really into it and clearly, the band enjoyed it too.

Milow and Nina came out to sing ‘Out of my hands’ and were joined by the others for ‘Building Bridges’. Before the show ended, Milow took a picture of us for his Facebook page and said he’d show this to many people because we were amazing.

Due to the curfew they only had one more song and left us with ‘LIttle in the middle’. They thanked us again and left to great cheers. When it was over, I could feel all the singing and screaming I did in my throat. What a great night! This was everything a good concert has to be.

Setlist:

I ain’t scared (solo)
Rambo
Dreamers and Renegades
The Kingdom
She might, she might
Never gonna stop
Ayo Technology
Move to Town
Canada
The Priest
You don’t know
You and me

Encore:
Out of my hands (duo)
Building Bridges (4)
Little in the middle

 

The silent rain will set us free and wash away the pain

Suburban Tribe – Tavastia, Helsinki; July 30th, 2011

All the way to Helsinki to see Suburban Tribe’s last show ever and what a great show it was! I discovered them last fall when my friend I. dragged me to a concert and had hoped I would see them again. When I heard they announced that after 20 yars they felt they had nothing more to say and wanted to split, I knew this was my last chance so I went for it.

Rather than sharing the stairs with my friends I opted for a spot in front row. It was crowded and hot, but the occasional cool breezed from the doors kept me alive.

When the music started the place instantly went nuts. The atmosphere was charged with expectations and they were more than fulfilled. Ville Tuomi is one great showman and watching him at work is pure joy. He came out with his sunglasses on and his hair piled high on his head, pretending to be blind. The huge smile on his face showed how much he enjoyed being there and he gave all he got all night.

The man is bouncing across stage like a rubber ball with rasta hair flying all over the place and yet he never misses a note. An incredible voice and a great talent to entertain. Guitarists Roope Sirén and Euge Valovirta played their hearts out too, keeping the show going and Janne Joutsenniemi on bass as well as Alec Hirst-Gee on drums kept the beat, driving it forward.

Former singer Jouni Markkanen and former keyboarder Janne  Puurtinen (Emerson Burton) were guesting and made the show even more colorful.

They gave us two hours of energy, fun and music, rocking the house down. everytime I looked around I saw nothing but happy faces. People screamed, jumped and danced, enjoying the moment, getting lost in the music.

I don’t know their songs well enough to sing along and I cannot remember the setlist other than that it ended with “Silent Rain”, but I know greatness when I see it and this was one hell of a show. When they were gone and the lights went back on I blinked, shook my head and exclaimed “Oh boy was that awesome!” I’m so happy I was part of this.