Gleis 22, Münster, Germany17th May 2017
The Red Paintings & Mr. Fandango
Australian band THE RED PAINTINGS is on tour in Europe this summer, going from small club to small club and living the life of a newcomer on the road. Their “Deleted Romantic Tour” also brought them to the Gleis 22 in Münster, Germany, and thus literally just down the street for me.
Mr. Fandango
For their tour THE RED PAINTINGS like to work with local support acts and in Münster it was MR. FANDANGO who got the opening slot. And even though these three guys are from my home town I wasn't familiar with them, I only heard their name here or there. A big mistake, as their gig demonstrated impressively that I should have checked them out earlier! MR. FANDANGO play classic Psychedelic Rock with a heavy dose of Blues, and that drummer Fred Metje is also the lead singer is already a rather unusual thing. But he masters this strenuous double task at ease! However, he leaves presentation and addressing the audience to bass guitar player Hendrik Koers, who masters this with dry wit and true Westphalian down-to-earth charm. The trio is completed by guitarist Kevin König, who is at least half of the spectacle of MR. FANDANGO live as his skills are simply crazy! Seriously, he is probably one of the best guitar players I've seen in the last few years, and seeing that in a local, unsigned band who is happy to get gigs at all was truly unexpected.
The music of MR. FANDANGO has a strong 60s or 70s flavour and when you close your eyes you might think you'd hear old-stagers from those days but in fact the trio plays a sort of classic Blues Rock which had its heyday one or two decades before the band members were even born. MR. FANDANGO is a prime example why you should always check out the support, as well, as you might be pleasantly surprised and discover a great new band. Especially at club shows, too many people apparently turn up late because they are not interested in the first band of the night, which is a shame. In this case, MR. FANDANGO alone was worth the money! And they were so well received that they even had to play an encore. https://www.facebook.com/Mr-Fandango-267146757033711/
Setlist
01. Stomping
02. Church Of A Broken Bell
03. Effigy
04. Moontrip
05. Shoeless Woman Blues
06. Disrooted Tree
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07. Who's to blame
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 10
Sound: 9
Light: 6
Total: 8.5 / 10
The Red Paintings
It was one of the first warm days of the year, the weather was simply beautiful but on the other hand this meant that not too many people were inclined to spent the night at a club to see a show. THE RED PAINTINGS is also a rather new name and not too well-known in Germany, and all these factors made sure that the attendance at the Gleis 22 was unfortunately pretty low. Disturbingly low, to be precise, as there were probably a mere 40 people inside the venue when Trash McSweeney and his band mates entered the stage. It felt a little embarrassing, as THE RED PAINTINGS are one of the few bands which offer an opulent, innovative show by combining various art forms instead of just playing their songs. A while ago I saw THE RED PAINTINGS as special guests of DIE KRUPPS and I was absolutely impressed. Their performance also features live body painting and they also invite local artists to paint on blank canvases during the gig, turning the concert into some sort of live art exhibit.
You would have found a picture of the concert hre. But the band demands to take pics down even though they were done with official press accreditation!
However, THE RED PAINTINGS need volunteers from each city they play to join them on stage, and with the low interest in the Münster gig they simply couldn't find anyone, so we had to do without some essential things of the performance this night. But some details of the stage decoration gave away that this was going to be about art as much as about Rock music and THE RED PAINTINGS are certainly no band who would enter the stage in casual wear. Quite the contrary, of course, as they have lavish stage costumes somewhere between Steam Punk and Japanese Anime. With 'God Save Silence' THE RED PAINTINGS started their performance in front of the handful of people, seemingly not at all intimidated by the low attendance and just happy to do their own thing. The sound in the auditorium was surprisingly not as good as during the support act but MR. FANDANGO had the advantage of having the house engineer to mix their sound, and this guy certainly knows the characteristics of this place as a concert venue. Anyway, THE RED PAINTINGS ran through their first couple of songs under these rather difficult circumstances but it took a while until the band had warmed up with the attendees.
You would have found a picture of the concert hre. But the band demands to take pics down even though they were done with official press accreditation!
Violinist Alix Kol repeatedly asked why people would be so quiet between songs, and broke into laughter when she got the reply "we`re just singing along to John Cage's 4′33" - a nice insider's joke. On this night people were more up for focussed listening than having a wild party but in the end the ice broke, and it proved that such intimate shows can be quite a rewarding experience. http://theredpaintings.com / http://www.facebook.com/TheRedPaintings
Setlist
01. God Save Silence
02. Chinese Whispers
03. It Is As It Was
04. Deleted Romantic
05. They Don't Really Care About
06. Streets Fell Into My Window
07. Surreal Opus
08. Wasps
09. Fall of Rome
10. Mad World
11. Arctic Is Screaming
12. You're Not One Of Them
13. The Revolution Is Never Coming
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14. Two encore songs
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 9
Sound: 8
Light: 7
Total: 7.8 / 10
You would have found a picture of the concert hre. But the band demands to take pics down even though they were done with official press accreditation!
All pictures by Daniela Vorndran (http://www.vorndranphotography.com / http://www.facebook.com/blackcatnet)
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