Reflections of Darkness - Music Magazine - Fiddlers Green

Details: Written by: Katrin Renner; Published: 20 January 2009

Batschkapp, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
18th January 2009
Fiddlers Green & Kellner

On 9th January 2009, FIDDLERS GREEN released their latest album ‘Sports Day at Killaloe’. According to the new long-player, the band will be on tour through Germany from January to August. The six musicians brought their Irish “Speedfolk” to the probably most famous music club of Frankfurt am Main, the Batschkapp, on 18th January.

Since its opening in 1976, the Batschkapp has turned into a real crowd-puller for all friends of alternative live music. Nowadays, the club has an excellent reputation and is not only famous for its calendar of events in Frankfurt. Located in the district Eschersheim and close to the suburban railway station “Eschersheim Bahnhof”, it can be reached by train or by car. On the inside, the building consists mainly of one single hall that is used for dance events and concerts. I arrived at the venue at 7.30 pm. Although it was cold and rainy, about 50 persons were waiting outside for admission that should start at 8 pm. It was a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere, the audience seemed to be a variegated one concerning age and appearance.

Kellner

Before FIDDLERS GREEN started their show, their support act KELLNER had entered the stage. Mathias Kellner (vocals, guitar) and Sprenge (guitar) welcomed the audience in a very likeable way speaking a broad Bavarian dialect. Although their acoustic set was dominated by calm sounds that were similar to the music of the Counting Crows, Simon & Garfunkel or Staind, the band raised some laughs due to their humorous way to introduce the songs. When KELLNER wanted the crowd to grunt like zombies accompanying the song ‘Zombie Attack’, they succeeded quickly. Other songs, for example ‘Rich Man’ and ‘Ballad of a Poor Man’, also raised a cheer and I guess the guys were able to convince many people of their music. At the end of the performance after about 40 minutes, the satisfied audience acknowledged KELLNER with hearty applause.

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 7
Sound: 8
Light: 5
Total: 7.5 / 10

Fiddlers Green

After KELLNER had finished, the roadies made some preparations for FIDDLERS GREEN’s appearance. According to the album ‘Sports Day at Killaloe’, some rounded green carpets looking like a pitch and a decorative plastic sheep (obviously referring to a flock of sheep on Irish meadows) were put onto the small stage.

Music & Performance
Just in time, the lights went off and the audience started to scream in an ear-busting way. The six guys of FIDDLERS GREEN appeared on stage forming a line which reminded me of the situation at the beginning of a football match. They opened up the show with ‘Life full of Pain’, a fast and catchy song from the recent album, and made the crowd jumping for joy. The fans sang along, they seemed to know every single word. The band was visibly impressed by this reception and enjoyed the jolly atmosphere. Equipped with a range of different instruments, for example a violin, an accordion, guitars, percussions, drums and a mandolin, FIDDLERS GREEN asked their audience to dance and radiated the great atmosphere of an Irish pub right out of a picture postcard. Before performing ‘The Night Pat Murphy died’, the musicians ordered jocularly to have a minute’s silence for the passed away Pat Murphy, but the crowd decided to count down the 60 seconds.

The lively ‘Folk´s not dead’ conjured an unbelievably high energy at the venue and seemed to be one of the most demanded songs, as many fans were wearing shirts with the identical slogan. Although the musicians jumped and danced wildly on stage (that was a bit too small for so many persons), they knew how to play their instruments inside out. Of course the songs from the recent album were in the spotlight of the show, but the audience had memorized them very fast and was able to sing each and every line. Some calm songs, such as ‘Down by the Hillside’ and ‘Highland Road’, offered the possibility to have a short breather. However, especially the fast pieces were well received among the fans. The band interacted with the audience in a very likeable way and involved some people into the show.

Before performing ‘Rocky Road to Dublin’, Albi ordered a guy to bring the band a bottle of beer. However, a simple walk to the bar wouldn’t be enough action, so the guy had to surf on the crowd´s hands to get to the bar. He made it and was rewarded with a bottle of beer. Furthermore, FIDDLERS GREEN sent a roadie to abduct two female fans who should dance on stage to the sound of ‘Shut up and dance’. The same roadie took a fling at eating fire - a funny situation! Stefan, who usually plays the accordion, showed a spectacular interlude by drumming on a bucket. Thus, it was a really surprising show. To sum up, FIDDLERS GREEN combines outstanding and extraordinary music with an entertaining programme. In my opinion, the whole package is absolutely recommendable and I’m sure that it will not be my last experience concerning FIDDLERS GREEN.

Setlist
01. Life full of Pain
02. Sporting Day
03. Marie´s Wedding
04. Empty Pockets
05. Highland Road
06. Bold O’Donahue
07. Weavers Reel
08. Change
09. Drive me mad
10. Eimer Solo
11. Bottom of our Glass
12. Captain Song
13. Down by the Hillside
14. Rose in the Heather
15. The Night Pat Murphy died
16. This old Man
17. Folk´s not dead
18. Once in a while
19. Rocky Road to Dublin
20. Bretonix
21. Mrs. McGrath
22. Bugger off
23. The Creel
24. Shut up and dance
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23. Albi’s Solo
24. Rollin
25. Irish Air
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26. Ship the Diamond
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27. Blarney Roses

Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 10
Sound: 8
Light: 6
Total: 9 / 10