“This is for our friends here who came all the way from Germany, New Jersey”

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Jesse Malin and the St. Mark’s Social – Zeche Carl, Essen; November 18th, 2010

My friend N. and I had gotten there early as usual, but we would not have needed to. All in all there were around 30 people who made it to Zeche Carl in Essen to see Jesse Malin & the St.Marks Social. Even the band arrived after we did and we watched them setting up stage and soundchecking. They were not bothered by us being tere at all, they even said hello to us when they arrived, but the staff asked us to step out until they officially opened.

We got back in and took our spots in front row – all alone. Everyone else kept a respectful distance to the stage. It’s a strange phenomenon, especially at small gigs that people seem to be somehow afraid of getting close. Me, I’m loving it and I alos think it’s nicer for the people on stage to actually be sble to see their audience instead of looking at an empty space.

So far  I had seen Jesse only as a solo artists so I was looking forward to seeing him with a band. First up was Richard Bacchus though for support and warm-up.  He made very listenable music just with his voice and guitar. I quite liked it and I liked his stories too. He assured us he was not as bad as his songs might suggest, but actually a nice guy and I believed him. 🙂 He tried hard to get everyone interested, but nobody came closer and the reactions of the audience were anything but enthusiastic. I guess there’s not much to be expected from an audience of about 30 people. It was still fun.

Setlist

Adios
Long lost derby
Perfect example
Twisted
Age of confusion
Terrible love
How you gonna ball
Capital offender
Bank Robber

Then Jesse and the guys came on and if they were disappointed by such a small audience they did not show it. Jesse kept begging us to come closer to the stage, but all except for the two of us kept their distance. Still they sang and played their hearts out. I didn’t kow all of the songs, but I enjoyed them. He played everything from punky to quiet stuff and told so many stories in-between.

It was entertaining and intimate, especially when he jumped of stage and asked us to sit down with him on the floor for one song. I wonder if he’d done that woth a bigger audience as well. It felt like such a special treat. I loved all the songs I knew and enjoyed the ones I had not heard before. The band was great and the stories were everything from toughtful to funny.

At one point Jesse went over to the bar, asking for a shot of tequila, but somehow the barkeeper seemed to have trouble understanding what he wanted. Thanks to a caring fan, he got some Tequila anyway and continued the show after he had downed it.

The first encore, ‘Broken Radio’ was dedicated to N. and me with the words quoted above. It meant a lot to me, being one of my favorite songs. One more song after and the concert was over. All the guys were out for a chat and autographs afterwards and we took the time taking to thema little before we left. We certainly had an enjoyable evening and all those who didn’t go there missed a great show.

Setlist
(it was written down like this, I have no clue if the songs were all played)

TKO
Burning the Bowery
Hotel Columbia
Prisoners of Paradise
Disco Ghetto
Burn the Bridge
Wendy
Queen of the Underworld
Mona Lisa
Bastards of Young
Aftermath
Instant Karma
The Archer
Black Boombox
All the way from Moscow
Black Haired Girl
Brooklyn
Paylum
Solitaire
Almost grown
Broken Radio
Revelations
In the Modern World

Somewhere out there there’s a dream that’s not forgotten

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Amy MacDonald – Düsseldorf; November 15th 2010

“Many people will come and go
Many faces long lost you know
Many fights many makeups
Many kisses, too many breakups”

As Amy MacDonald sung those lines, I started crying. It was such a beautiful and moving concert on that November night.

Having just returned from Finland I was dead tired already when I arrived in Düsseldorf that evening. I didn’t know much about Amy MacDonald, but I knew I wanted to see and hear Martin and James again and since they were supporting Amy I figured “Why not?” I was not disappointed.

It was surprisingly easy to get to front row and we didn’t have to wait long for Martin and James to start playing. I was a little worried that their sound might not be big enough for such a large hall and that the few people who were there already would be indifferent to them. I should not have had any doubts. They walked on stage, grabbed their guitars and took the audience by storm. It was a wonderful set and the audience loved them. It made me happy to see everyone grooving along, smiling and nodding in agreement.

The second support act, Fyfe Dangerfield, was nowhere near as interesting. He brought keyboards and two violinists, but his music left me cold. At least it was something to pass the time it took waiting for Amy.

Around 9:00 p.m. the screens went on, the band came out and there she was, the woman with the big voice, strumming her guitar, starting off with ‘An Ordinary Life’. I didn’t know any songs but the hit singles, yet I hung on to her lips all night. She introduced the songs, sometimes just saying a little, sometimes telling a whole story behind it. There was a lot of passion there and some anger too, when she talked about people who think they are special, even though they have not accomplished anything in their lives (‘The Footballer’s Wife’) or those who care about nothing but looks (‘This Pretty Face’). She sang with such power and passion that she moved me to tears, she mentioned how inspirational other people’s music can be, saying how she wrote ‘Run’ after a concert of The Killers. At the same time she was very modest and would not hear a thing of people putting her on the same level with the Beatles.

The biggest surprise for me was ‘Born to run’ being played in the encores. I hadn’t thought of her as a Springsteen fan. The band was amazing too, each of  them mastering their instruments well and the light show and screens fittingly complimented her songs. I loved the show and was happy I had decided to go. She will certainly be put on my list of people to see again.

Setlist

An ordinary life
Poison Prince
LA
Youth of today
Love love
Mr. Rock & Roll
Footballer’s wife
Spark
This pretty face
Don’t tell me that it’s over
Troubled soul
Give it all up
Next big thing
No roots
Run
This is the life
What happiness means to me

Encores
Born to run (Bruce Springsteen Cover)
Let’s start a band