Zeche Carl, Essen, Germany2nd April 2008
miLú
To a new album belongs also belongs a tour. As miLú is anything but ordinary, this couldn’t be a concert like any other. The atmosphere is an important part and it was indeed a very intimate atmosphere in the Zeche Carl, where the first concert of the tour took place. And it should become an unforgettable evening…
Music
To describe miLú’s music is a bit difficult as it is different from the music you know and listen to and it’s revoking from the boundaries of a specific genre. There are very calm some with a touch of soul, some with a rather mystical mood, but they all have something in common and that is an absolutely unique voice. We’ll get back to that later. The set began with ‘Tara’ which instantly spread a breath of mystic and for me there could be no better song to start this evening. ‘Warm’ and ‘1000’ also from the new album continued the set. ‘Warm’ with its touch of Jazz and ‘1000’ driven by percussions and piano moved into another direction. ‘Marschmellow’ must be a new song and even though the title might sound a bit strange at first, it was the perfect choice to describe this song, which surprised with a chime and after a literally “mellow” part, March drums sounded. But not just songs from the current album have been played, also some songs out off the first album ‘No Future in Gold’ were presented like the piteous ‘Aus Gold’ or ‘Zeitwaise’ both German-tongued songs.
The main set ended - like the album - with ‘Nacht’ a beautifully melancholic piano ballad. But we all didn’t want to let this special concert end so early, so we clapped and clapped until the band with Anke leading the way were back on stage. The encore contained a little surprise: a cover version of the JOY DIVISION song ‘Atmosphere’ presented as pure acoustic version with piano and vocals. I must admit that I’ve never heard the song before, but I was instantly overwhelmed by it and certain sadness took control of me while listening to the lyrics. We still wanted more and loudly demanded another encore and with ‘Nie Genug’ a show full of wonderful music came to an end…sadly.
Performance
You could already guess this would be no ordinary concert, when you entered the room. Instead of standing like you would do on almost every concert, chairs had been positioned for the audience. The stage decoration was unostentatious yet elegant. Candles on high stick and also the spotlights which were mounted created a contemplative mood. The keyboard was veiled by a kind of curtain to give it a more wealthy appearance. I thought about a word, that would describe the performance best and I think “breathtaking” is the best choice for that. I mentioned the voice before as it was especially this voice casting a spell over everyone in the room and I surely wasn’t the only one in there, who had goose bumps all of the time. Anke’s voice spans four octaves and she definitely knows how to use this bandwidth. Sometimes fragile like glass then again deep and sonorous. Some opera singers would get green with envy. She plays it like an instrument so to say.
I also had the impression of her being deeply sunken into the music, while singing. She feels every note and it’s almost like she’s entering another world. Every song was rewarded with a loud applause and at the end of the show, with (deserved) long standing ovations.
Setlist
01. Tara (Intro
02. Warm
03. 1000
04. Frida
05. Marschmellow
06. Aus Gold
07. Second Voice
08. Swan
09. Windows
10. Goodbye
11. Orchidee
12. Nacht
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13. Zeitwaise
14. Kleiner Wolf
15. Atmosphere (Joy Division Cover)
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16. Nie genug
Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 10
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 9
All pictures by Daniela Vorndran (http://www.vorndranphotography.com / http://www.black-cat-net.de / www.myspace.com/vorndranphotography)
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