Tonhalle, Munich, Germany
8th November 2011
Elbow & Howling Bells
ELBOW were in town and that was reason enough to have another look at the band after I had seen them three years ago. This time, the location was bigger. But anyway, the Tonhalle was not sold-out completely.
Howling Bells
The Indie Rock band HOWLING BELLS was founded in 2004 in Australia. However, meanwhile all band members live in England. Since their foundation they already supported bands as for example THE KILLERS, SNOW PARTOL or also PLACEBO. In 2009, they were even in the interlude of some COLDPLAY concerts. Their first album ‘Howling Bells' was released in 2006 and was sold up to now more than 25,000 units. www.myspace.com/howlingbells
Music & Performance
Just in time at 20:30, singer Juanita Stein, her brother Joel Stein (guitar), Brendan Picchio (bass) and Glenn Moule (drums) appeared on the stage. Their programme offered a diverse mixture of Rock, Pop and Blues music. The acoustic in the Tonhalle was extremely good and the crystal-clear voice of the singer was turning out exceedingly well. The audience was obviously very much excited by the band and the mood was already very good. The band played songs of their three albums up to now, among them also 'Into The Sky‘ from their recently appeared album 'The Loudest Engine‘. Unfortunately, everything was already over after good half an hour and they left under blustering applause.
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 7
Sound: 8
Light: 7
Total: 7.5 / 10
Elbow
ELBOW is a British Rock band which was founded in 1990. Their first album 'Asleep In The Back‘ the band, which already played as support of R.E.M., U2 and COLDPLAY, released in 2001. They had their breakthrough in 2008 with the album 'The Seldom Seen Kid‘. As a result they received honouring as for example the Mercury Music Prize or in 2009 a BRIT Award for “Best British group”. This year, their current album 'Build A Rocket Boys!' was released. www.elbow.co.uk
Music & Performance
After the rebuilding break it was time for singer Guy Garvey, guitarist Mark Potter, his brother Craig Potter (keyboards), Pete Turner (bass) and Richard Jupp (drums) to enter the stage. The band from Manchester was supported in this evening by four additional musicians with their strings. Guy Garvey was in a very good mood in this evening (also according to own information), made jokes, told small stories and interacted extensively with the audience which was infected by the good mood. The listeners sang and banged often in the course of the show. Furthermore, ELBOW offered a very diverse show to the audience: From rousing songs up to some quiet ballads as for example 'The Night Will Always Win‘ everything was present. The atmosphere was extremely good. The occasional company of violins and background singers fitted very well to Guy Garvey’s incredibly voice.
With 'Weather To Fly‘ there would be a small unplugged session and a slug for the band. Spontaneously and without any help of the band the audience started to sing 'Happy Birthday' to their 20th anniversary. The evening ended after some additions with 'One Day Like This' which could not be missed of course and raised the mood within the audience once more.
Setlist
01. The Birds
02. The Bones Of You
03. Mirrorball
04. Neat Little Rows
05. Grounds For Divorce
06. The Loneliness Of A Tower Crane Driver
07. The Night Will Always Win
08. The River
09. Some Riot
10. Dear Friends
11. Lippy Kids
12. Weather To Fly (with little Unplugged Session)
13. Open Arms
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14. Starlings
15. Station Approach
16. One Day Like This
Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 9
Sound: 9
Light: 8
Total: 9 / 10
This evening was really dreamlike! A fine mixture of blues and rock, great voices, very good acoustics, a fantastic audience and of course of two excellent bands. Everybody who has the opportunity should take the chance to experience them live. The only drop of bitterness in this evening was that I might not take photos…
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