Halle Münsterland, Münster, Germany 22nd September 2007
Sportfreunde Stiller, Johnossi
On Saturday, 22nd September, we were the lucky ones who could experience SPORTFREUNDE STILLER in our home town Münster. Up to the beginning of the evening, the band and Münster were connected by two facts: the table leading of the local soccer clubs in their particular leagues and the love for music - latter one you could celebrate in the Halle Münsterland during that Saturday evening. The venue is well-known for the good acoustics and when a concert there is well attended this can only mean one thing: Lots of fun! About 4000 visitors did get anything but a raw deal during that evening, just anticipatory mentioned. Münster was the fourth station on the German tour of SPORTFREUNDE STILLER which was just running for six days now.
Johnossi
JOHNOSSI from Stockholm / Sweden is the band of close friends John and Ossi who just combined their first names to form the name of their musical project. The band started playing together a couple of years ago. So far, things have come easy to the band. Just after a handful of gigs they signed the first record deal and afterwards toured Scandinavia with SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES and released the first self-titled album. After a headlining club tour through Sweden the band changed its record company to get their music spread also across Swedish borders. JOHNOSSI are John Engelbert (guitar, vocals) and Ossi Bonde (drums, vocals). http://www.johnossi.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/johnossi
Music
The musical concept of the band is quite simple, but “simplicity is the key” the band says. John sings or screams into the microphone any plays acoustic guitar through some effect boxes and two amps (made for electric guitar) while his mate Ossi hits the drums and sometimes delivers strange second voice. Remarkable for JOHNOSSI’s music is a good melody and catchy tunes with powerful expression. You also find lots of sweet emotion with a kind stroke on your cheek.
Performance
When the two guys from Sweden entered the stage, the crowd already was in party mood. The venue was already very well filled and all those who have seen the gig of JOHNOSSI did not get disappointed. Just during the first chords the front rows jumped up and the band happily recognised it. This gig was the first gig ever when I have seen a drum kit built up at the very front of the stage - diagonal to the audience; quite unusual, but with a certain charm - a charm which was also transported by the band very fast. Both musicians had more fun on stage with every song and very fast the whole venue was rocking. Clapping hands and party addicted teens were warming up for the main act. Even though the first half of the gig, the light show was only consisting of yellow, red and white, this simple mixture was put on very well by the light engineer. Later on, the colours changed. In its monochomacity, the light show developed its own dynamics.
The more the gig if the Swedes was lasting, the more they got infected by the energy of the crowd in front of the stage and were blasting of energy. Fat bass lines and beats made your feet move and the drummer was trashing his instrument to the extremes. I cannot remember during which song it was because I was very excited by the band, but certainly it seemed for a moment that Curt Cobain was back on stage again. Quite a daring comparison, but it had its merit. Anything worked well with this band, sound, light and performance. JOHNOSSI was a support act that could not have been better chosen for this evening. The set of the Swedes was lasting for about 40 minutes and contained about 9 songs. I cannot remember exactly because I was drowning into the music itself.
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 8
Sportfreunde Stiller
The Soccer World Championship in the own country is over and with the hymn ‘54, ‘74, ‘90 2006’ SPORTFREUNDE STILLER built up their won monument at the music and soccer Olympus. The nice thing of this song is that success was never planned, it just happened. While the previous albums ‘So wie einst Real Madrid’ (2000), ‘Die Gute Seite’ (2002) and ‘Burli’ (2004) were shining in its happiness and energy, the recent fourth album ‘La Bum’ goes its own way. It contains an unknown portion of seriousness in the lyrics but anyway it invites one to enjoy and plunge into it. Also, the band puts its own finger prints onto the new record with a high quality on wording and word joke. No other German band is that good with it as SPORTFREUNDE STILLER and they can also transport it to their audience which is responded with standing ovations. The band from Munich consists of Peter S. “Balboa” Brugger (vocals, guitar), Rüdiger “Rüde” Linhof (bass) and Florian “Rakete” Weber (drums). The three guys met in 1997 and their band name is a reminiscence of a football trainer named Hans Stiller. No idea, how those crazy guys got the idea to name the band after him? And to tell it in advance, I am a big fan of the band. http://www.sportfreunde-stiller.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/sportfreundestiller
Music
When the lights went down, the crowd immediately started screaming. A very well chosen intro introduced the appearance of the band but not the stage was illuminated but the crowd in front of it. If the mood was quite on a high level before their show, it was quite clear right now, that a big party was going to start. When the three guys entered the stage it was quite clear, who had whom under control. Again the lights were dimmed, a siren sound was appearing and together with arising lights on the LED wall in the back, the band opened the show with the track ‘Der Titel vom nächsten Kapitel’. Followed by ‘Alles Roger’, even the people on the tribunes could not stay sitting down anymore. The venue was just turning into a football stadium full of emotions. Instead of a known “Hello Münster”, Peter just screams a “Hurra” into the microphone and the crowd was romping.
Irrepressible delight in playing was written on the guys’ faces from the very beginning. Until the last sound they were giving everything and thanked after every songs with little stories. There was not much time for the audience to take a breath. With songs like ‘7 Tage, 7 Nächte’ and ‘Komm schon’, Peter, Flo and Rüde were storming the field. Lost motion is non-existent during that evening. It was hard to concentrate just on one thing, the show was a happening itself. There were the songs, the guys and the unbelievable light show that impressed a lot. Just not paying attention for a single moment and the curtain had fallen down and some light chains were unveiled to do their job. Just the ballads proved how well this combination of light effects and music worked. Romantic LED trailer of sun sets and dawns, flowers and green trees give time for a short breath.
There was perfect interaction between the band and the audience. During ‘Wie lange sollen wir noch warten’ and ‘Ein Kompliment’ anyone was screaming his soul out and danced. Over and over again the band proved with their special charm that they are not the stars but the fans. Rüde threw a plastic bottle into the audience and that lucky one who kept it was rewarded with lots of applause by the musicians. Basically this was “only” a concert, but I could not escape the special feeling in the hall. The championship is over for 15 months now but on that evening we were thrown back in time and you could think of being in a football stadium. “Hello tribune! You are just away one step from the boiling pot, just come over!” Who could take Rüde wrong who just had a lot of fun with such statements? The band constantly was looking for contact to the audience and Flo’s acrobatic requests to clap were just a performance on its own. Very cool! Too bad that the security pit was too big - you never know what else could have happened. ‘Ich Roque’ got a new intro wit DRAFI DEUTSCHER’s biggest hit and then it was time for the first break.
Before the next part of the show started, the stage was rebuilt and after loud chants ‘54, ‘74, ’90, 2006’ the band came back onto stage and all were sitting down on chairs placed on a podium. Quite far away from the music of SPORTFREUNDE STILLER, the crowd was starting to sing ‘7 Nation Army’ what was quite amusing for the band and so, they played some acoustic parts of that song. With ‘Redemption Sing’, a cover version of BOB MARLEY, ‘Wellenreiter’ and ‘Auf der guten Seite’ an acoustic set with goose-bump feeling followed. And then, the song which the whole crowd was waiting for, followed: the Soccer song. But not the band was singing it but just the fans while the band just played the music and enjoyed. After ‘Siehst Du das genau so’ and ‘Frühling’ the band left the stage again and it was sure for anyone that the end came closer.
That the music of SPORTFREUNDE STILLER is not only fan was proved by the song ‘Anti-Nazi-Bund’ which was showing the serious side of the band. At the end of the song, a big amount of fans was yelling “Nazis out!” what was commented by Peter just with “Exactly”. The second last song ‘1. Wahl’ was played by the band this time with the melody of ‘7 Nation Army’. Seemed they had liked the challenge by the fans. And because the show was too much fun, they just asked the fans in the middle of the song to all sit down what they all did just to jump all up into the ait in the next moment. The band thanked for the good time and with the last song ‘Legenden’ they left the stage under thunderous applause.
Performance
Before the concert started sharp on 9:00, just the stage design rose up first curiosity. While Peter and Rüde was playing standing on their podiums, Flo and his drum set were placed in the middle on the floor forming the golden storm. Everywhere on stage, cameras were mounted to project the stage activities onto the big LED screen in the back of stage. In front of it, a transparent curtain was mounted with several vertical light strings behind it. Behind that all, there was a huge backdrop showing a fan crowd. The light show was perfectly adjusted to the songs and of high quality. Also the sounds found enough room to spread in the venue. Even though the movement radium of the band is limited by the podiums, they do not come over motionless in any single moment of the show. And as always they let the crowd know who was standing in the middle - the audience! The whole show lasted over two hours and contained a really good choice of all the bands releases so far. Thank you very much for this experience!
Setlist
INTRO
01. Der Titel vom nächsten Kapitel
02. Alles Roger!
03. Ein kleiner Schritt (?Kleiner Schlitz?)
04. Tu nur das was dein Herz dir sagt
05. 7 Tage, 7 Nächte
06. Komm schon
07. Sodom
08. Wie lange sollen wir noch warten
09. 995er Tief über Island
10. Ungewöhnlich
11. Fast wie von selbst
12. Mo(nu)ment
13. Wunderbaren Jahren
14. Anders als auf Ansichtskarten
15. Ein Kompliment
16. Ich, Roque
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17. Redemption Sing (Cover Version ‘Bob Marley’) (acoustic)
18. Wellenreiten `54 (acoustic)
19. Auf der guten Seite (slowly) (acoustic)
20. ‘54, ‘74, ‘90 2006/2010 (acoustic)
21. Siehst du das genauso?
22. Frühling
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23. Anti-Nazi-Bund
24. 1.Wahl
25. Legenden
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Sound: 9
Light: 9
Total: 9.0
All pictures by Daniela Vorndran (http://www.vorndranphotography.com/ / http://www.black-cat-net.de/ / www.myspace.com/vorndranphotography)
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