Gig Review… The Kooks @ Tonhalle, Munich, 3rd Feburary 2015

It has been nine years since their first record “Inside In/Inside out” was published. Now, after quadruple platinum status in the UK, The Kooks are back in Germany to introduce us to their new album “Listen”. In June 2014 The Kooks came over to Germany for three concerts which were sold out within seconds.
Now – on their European Tour - The Kooks returned to play at Munich’s Tonhalle. The concert was again sold out and about 2000 people packed the hall. British lads The Amazons supported The Kooks and nailed it with rocking uncensored sounds, really heating up the audience.

The Kooks started their gig with “Around town”, the opening track from their latest album. It took just seconds to get the crowd into those new catchy soul-beats. You could not only hear but also see the change from an indie-rock band to a more R&B and dance-sound band. Still, the four Brits carried an infectious energy with their new material. You couldn’t help but dance your ass off with the new tracks from the record forming the heart of their show and delighting the audience.

Some of the changes can be attributed to the new drummer Alexis Nunez from the “Golden Silvers”, who adds some edgy drums and rhythm. But The Kooks owe most of their new R&B-sound on the record to their hip-hop producer Inflo.

Jumping between new and old songs, the band was supported by a beautiful light show superimposing their shadows or running foxes. I'm not sure why a fox was chosen. Possibly because a fox stands for ingenuity and wisdom? Or because of his superiority to the wolf and his remarkable growth process? In any event, the colourful lightshow suited their mixed set-list. From the track „Down“, with Luke Pritchard displaying his talent for heavy guitar-riffs, to „She moves in her own way“ where Pritchard dance-moves infected the whole audience - the show had it all. The band found a perfect mix of new and old tracks, promoting their new sound and their growth, but also celebrating their old hits. Not even their funny song “Eddie's gun” was missing - a fun song, in which a young Luke deals with his erection problems. They also insisted on playing a brilliant acoustic version of their new track ”Dreams”.

With the pronouncement “We’re going funky now”, Pritchard rung in “Tick of time”, “Westside” and “Always where I need to be” to finish the main set.

After a minute's pause Luke sat down at the piano and played a beautifully calm version of “See me now”. The band closed their concert with “Happy” and the all time favourite “Naïve”, leaving a happy, wired and dancing crowd behind. The Kooks managed to carry us back into teenage-times but also showed what they have learned and how they have grown over the years.

All in all it was another great show and the four lads proved themselves as lifeblood musicians. After ten years The Kooks are still a band that can blow you away! Undergoing various changes, the band’s success is well deserved. There is a reason why their shows are always sold out. And they demonstrate this time and time again.

Gig review by Judith Müller

Gig Review… Chet Faker @ The Coronet, London, 20th November 2014

The sold out concert took place at London’s Coronet, one of the most beautiful event halls in London. The old theatre was packed with more than 2900 people, all waiting for one man: Chet Faker.
The man of the hour showed once again that he is a lifeblood musician through and through.
Starting the concert on his own, with no band no backvocals and no producers, it was just the Australian singer behind his arrangement of keyboards and mixing desks. He seems to have no need for any audiovisual distractions, simply using plain lights, changing colours.
It was a show, concentrated on just one man, immediately enthralling the whole audience. Faker's passion for pure electronic soul was in the air and defined the atmosphere in the room. After some five songs Chet Faker was accompanied by his band. A classic lineup: a guitar-player, a bass-player and a drummer. They shared with us an unreleased track and a cover of Jeff Buckley’s “I want someone badly”. Calming the audience down a bit with this track, Chet Faker again caused big cheers with the all time favourite: Blackstreet’s “No Diggity”, another track which showcases his talent for covers. The room was dipped in red light and people absorbed the electronic beats while singing along.
Celebrating his third year of success as a musician, Chet Faker played “Love & Feeling”, which not only shows his precision for beat dropping and loops, but also his remarkable voice, which got under the listeners skin.

He continued with his track “Blush”, from his first record “Built on Glass”. I couldn’t hide my goosebumps and dived completely into the sphere of soulbeats and vocals.
The artist -signed to Downtown Records- finished his impressive concert with “Talk is Cheap”. On his own, just playing the keyboard and filling the hall with his voice: Pure and clean.
His hugely striking performance can only be described as intense with the only complaint being the rather short duration of the concert.
Chet Faker gets under your skin. You can feel his passion for music, his hard work and how he loses himself in the music. A simple one man show, which blows more than 2900 people away. Real, pure and passionate. Chet Faker is a credit to his icon, jazz musician Chet Baker.


by Judith Müller

Gig Review... Tycho @ The Forum, London, 3rd October 2014

Promoting his record "Awake", Scott Hansen - better known as Tycho - made a stop at London’s Forum as part of his world tour. It was one of the last warm Friday nights in London when me and my photographer Ludwig headed to The Forum on October 3rd to see Tycho live.

Both photos by Ludwig Bauer

Arriving a little late we were welcomed by Ulrich Schnauss, already playing as a special guest of the night. Do you know that feeling when you come into a room and the first sounds you hear, immediately catch you? That’s the feeling Schnauss' beats gave me. Tycho is actually often compared to Ulrich Schnauss and he sees him as a major influence in his music. His set put the audience just in the right mood for the upcoming concert. I was caught from the first second and the night looked promising.

As Tycho and his band entered the stage and started playing, the whole room awoke. Tycho immediately created a dreamy mood, everybody could feel. The band lead us to a timeless sphere and made sure we got entirely lost in the music. You could compare it to a journey through the seasons: Beginning in spring with blossoming beats of the latest record "Awake", proceeding to a summer-like feeling created by "Dive"’s songs. (Dive was Tycho's third album.)

Especially the stunning visuals aspects supported this dreamy atmosphere: Hansen’s passion for photography features in his video artwork broadcast on screens. The pictures were as eclectic as the music, changing the themes as the music did, driving our fellow gig-goers away from reality for a while.

The good vibes between the members showed that Tycho is not just a producer , but also a live-band: many songs sounded more urgent live than on the record and the instrumentation fitted in the electronic beats.

Tycho created an evening where you could totally get lost in music and visuals and showed how arty music can be and how musical art can be. Seeing them live makes you understand their music and message easily: Get lost in music and yourself. A dreamy, catchy and a positive energy spread over the whole evening.

Judith Müller