Palladium, Cologne, Germany9th December 2023
Mando Diao & Support: Kill Strings
MANDO DIAO, one of the hottest bands from Sweden at the moment, visited Cologne as the last date of their tour. The fact that the band is celebrating its greatest successes in Germany alongside Sweden and has a large fan base was evident on this evening at the sold-out Palladium. Even the last corner of the hall was filled. The Swedes were joined by the German band KILL STRINGS as the musical support programme.
Kill Strings
The area in front of the stage and the balconies in the Cologne Palladium were not yet completely full, but there was already a pleasant atmosphere. A large banner with the inscription KILL STRINGS could be seen on the stage. KILL STRINGS is the name of an Alternative Rock band from Hamburg / Germany and was allowed to open the evening. The duo seemed a little lost on stage at first. Equipped only with a guitar and drums, the two nevertheless set the mood and delighted the audience. So, nobody noticed that the bass guitar could not be heard on the first song ‘Let Me Dream’. However, the mistake was quickly found and Lee on guitar and David on drums were able to continue their set.
White spotlights swept across the stage, occasionally illuminating the two musicians for longer periods of time. Unfortunately, it was already over after seven songs. https://killstrings.com / https://www.facebook.com/killstrings
Setlist
01. Let Me Dream
02. Drag Me
03. Monster
04. Shining Star
05. Black Gold
06. Navigation
07. Fever
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 7
Light: 9
Sound: 9
Total: 8.5 / 10
Mando Diao
After the usual stage changeover phase for MANDO DIAO, the stage darkened again and was brightened up at least a little by blue light. The fans then got a lot louder as the first shadows of the musicians could be recognised. Singer Björn Dixgård stood in the centre at the front of the stage with his back to the audience. The other band members then spread out to his right and left. When the first notes of ‘Frustration’ were played, the fans’ screams grew louder. From this point on, Björn was just running around, standing at the front of the stage and flirting with the fans.
The entire concert was divided into three parts. While the first songs were typically upbeat and rocky, MANDO DIAO took a different musical path in the second part. After ‘Money Doesn’t Make You a Man’, the last song of the first act, the stage optics were briefly rebuilt by moving parts of the stage. They moved two large screens in front of the drums and a piano onto the stage. Singer Björn, Patrik Heikinpieti on drums, keyboardist Daniel Haglund and Carl-Johan Fogelklou with a double bass came to the front. The boys performed the songs ‘Ochrasy’, ‘Long Before Rock’n’Roll’ and ‘The Band’ in a Jazz style.
After the second act had finished, the stage was rearranged again in record time and MANDO DIAO also played classics like ‘Down In The Past’ or ‘Gloria’. When the song ‘Gloria’ was played, the entire hall roared the name ‘Gloria’ during the chorus. Singer Björn always held the microphone towards the audience during the chorus. MANDO DIAO closed the main concert with ‘Black Saturday’, but the fans refused to accept this and joined in with the usual “encore chorus”. After a short time, the band returned and delighted the fans with four more songs. The really last song was ‘Love Last Forever’ and the fans went home happy. https://mandodiao.com / https://www.facebook.com/mandodiaomusic
Setlist
ACT I
01. Frustration
02. One Last Fire
03. Fire in the Hall
04. Stop the Train
05. Primal Call
06. Long Long Way
07. All the Things
08. Money Doesn't Make You a Man
ACT II
09. Ochrasy
10. Long Before Rock’n’Roll
11. The Band
ACT III
12. Rabadam Ching
13. Down in the Past
14. Gloria
15. Get Down
16. Scream for You
17. One Two Three
20. Black Saturday
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23. Wake Up
24. Get It On
25. Dance With Somebody
26. Love Last Forever
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Light: 9
Sound: 9
Total: 9 / 10
All pictures by Andreas Klüppelberg
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