Live Review: In Extremo - Hamburg 2022

Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany
18th May 2022
In Extremo - “Kompass zur Sonne Tour 2022 - Special Guests: The O’Reillys And The Paddyhats

Finally, in 2022, IN EXTREMO went on a planned tour in support of the album ‘Kompass Zur Sonne’, now two years old. The band had also experienced cases of Covid infection, but thankfully all is now behind them. The concert in Hamburg wasn’t all smooth sailing, though. Changing the club to Sporthalle instead of Docks and Große Freiheit 36, postponing the date, and also changing the guests, band RUSSKAJA couldn’t play on the new date, so Irish band THE O'REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS were the new guests.

The Sporthalle was another new venue for me to report on, this venue in Hamburg can usually hold up to 7,000 people. Today the capacity has been reduced and the stage has been moved far forward, towards the entrance. But despite all the difficulties due to pandemics and postponements, we had a great IN EXTREMO performance on this lovely evening and even wished Michael Robert Rhein a Happy Birthday. On a warm and sunny Wednesday, around 1,600 people gathered in the Sporthalle.




The O’Reillys And The Paddyhats

As I’ve already written above, the guests of the evening were Irish folk-punk band THE O'REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS. However, in my opinion, the band doesn’t fit IN EXTREMO playing middle-aged Rock, but the musicians created a great mood for the audience, everybody danced, drank beer, and repeated the movements of the musicians from the stage. I was impressed by the violin playing of one of the band members. It was very organic and at the same time unusual in unison with the hard guitar parts.



‘Yesterday’s Rebel’, ‘Irish Way’ and ‘Green Blood’ kept the audience entertained as THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS performed for almost 40 minutes. The band also presented classics that can be found in a different interpretation of ‘In Strange Waters’. ‘Dogs On The Leash’, ‘Beautiful Fear’ or ‘Barrels Of Whiskey’ are now available in their original versions. Near the end of the set, THE O'REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS sang "Happy Birthday To You" from the stage, because today is a special IN EXTREMO concert. And a special day for Michael Robert Rhein.

Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 7.5 / 10

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In Extremo

Today, 18 May, IN EXTREMO vocalist Michael Robert Rhein celebrates his Birthday. The band started with ‘Winterärchen’. Then ‘Troja’, the first track from the still current work ‘Kompass Zur Sonne’ followed, accompanied by a lot of pyrotechnics. Due to this, we could only take photos between the 3rd and 5th songs and we were afraid to become grilled photographers. It’s always like that with these guys though - something on stage burns, or explodes. After ‘Himmel Und Hölle’ Dr. Pymonte gave a short festive speech in honour of today’s Birthday boy. Everyone on stage got a glass of champagne. Mischa empties the glass, kicks the empty glass, and hits guitarist Sebastian Lange in the arm with it, causing surprise and laughter. Dr. Pymonte then starts playing the classic ‘Full Moon’.



In terms of the program, IN EXTREMO presented the best they had on stage - ‘Spielmannsfluch’, ‘Liam’, ‘Frei zu Sein’ or ‘Sängerkrieg’ was on the setlist. So, tracks from the new album alternate with classics. Misha also repeated several times on the stage that they are out of politics, but in the songs ‘Lieb Vaterland’ and ‘Saigon und Bagdad’ he directly hinted at the city of Kyiv and the whole awful situation in Ukraine. Performance is always of high quality and full of feelings and emotions. Two hours of beautiful music from the masters of Folk-Rock IN EXTREMO and concluding the evening with 20 years of ‘Ai Vis Lo Lop’ and ‘Pikse Palve’. See you soon again and don’t forget to turn your compass to the sun.



Setlist
01. Intro Wintermärchen
02. Troja
03. Himmel Und Hölle
04. Vollmond
05. Spielmannsfluch
06. Feuertaufe
07. Herr Mannelig
08. Kompass Zur Sonne
09. Liam
10. Lieb Vaterland
11. Rasend Herz
12. Saigon Und Bagdad
13. Unsichtbar
14. Gaukler
15. Quid Pro Quo
16. Schenk Nochmal Ein
17. Frei Zu Sein
18. Störtebeker
19. Reiht Euch Ein Ihr Lumpen
20. Sängerkrieg
21. Sternhagelvoll
22. Moonshiner
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23. Nur Ihr Allein
24. Ai Vis Lo Lop
25. Pikse Palve

Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 9
Sound: 9
Light: 8
Total: 9 / 10

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All pictures by Iryna Kalenska