Pulp, Duisburg, Germany
9th November 2013
Mesh & Sinestar
The Pulp in Duisburg is also called “The event castle” as the entrance looks like a tower with an old canon in front of it and different halls inside with extraordinary furniture and decoration, every piece of it handmade and unique. “The cave”, where the concerts take place, has a capacity of 850 people. But the Pulp is not only a venue for concerts. Different kinds of parties take place and you can hire some of the rooms/ halls for private parties or other events. Besides having a drink or two there is always a selection of fresh homemade food you can get there for little money. Today, we enjoyed the concert of UK band MESH at this nice location.
Sinestar
Apparently this was the evening to prove that Bristol, UK, is a place where excellent music is coming from. The excitement for many of us was high when we learnt that SINESTAR will be supporting act for MESH in Duisburg. Although they have just formed the band in early 2012, they have already quite good live experiences from their former band JAGGED. SINESTAR is Mark Trueman (keys and synth programming), Iain Brownlie (vocals), James Skuse (bass guitar), Matt Mohangee (drums) and Steve John (guitar). With their love for amazing Synth- Pop music of the 80’s, they melt these influences together with dance grooves and guitar riffs in order to give their sound a fresh and modern touch. Until now they have released the critically acclaimed EP ‘I am the rain’ which was now played live as a MESH remix. The following EP was ‘Hope and Prey’, furthermore the singles ‘Smokescreen’ and ‘Cry like you mean it’. Their first album was just released in October 2013, named ‘Singularis’. At the moment you can buy their music on Amazon only as download version. Physical versions can be ordered in the shop of their homepage. 
When the guys entered the stage the venue was almost packed. Unfortunately the bass was extremely overdriven. The glasses were wandering because of the vibration and even if you left the hall, in order to pay the lavatory a visit, you couldn’t escape it. Thus I was very happy to have my ear plugs with me. This issue was really a pity as their music is actually pretty good and the performance was much appreciated by the audience. As a lot of people in the audience knew already some of their songs they got a big applause when they left the stage. Hopefully they perform soon again in Germany and then hopefully with better sound conditions. http://sinestaruk.wix.com/sinestar / https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sinestar/310216912403126
Setlist
01. Locked from the Inside
02. Subterranean
03. Lived For
04. Hope and Prey
05. Hurricane
06. Undisputed King of the Tragedy
07. I am the Rain (Mesh Remix)
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 5
Light: 7
Total: 7 / 10
Mesh
The second to last MESH concert of this year took place in the very nice location Pulp in Duisburg. Like at their concert in Mannheim, some weeks ago, they presented a long setlist with some nice changes of songs and sequence. Instead of ‘Adjust your set’ after the intro they started with ‘Flawless’. ‘Born to lie’ was presented in a faster version. And instead of ‘Fragile’ they performed the B-side song ‘Walk of shame’ of their EP ‘Adjust your set’, just released the day before. Of course they were a bit nervous to play this song live for the first time as there was not much time to practise it, but it worked great, especially for the singing part of Lord- Richard Broadhead, showing that he really got a nice voice. The venue was almost sold out and the fans made a big party of the concert right from the beginning, showing that they know the lyrics by heart by singing along with the band, dancing, clapping their hands, cheering loudly and showing their deep appreciation for the guys and their music.
Once more it was quite clear, when I looked around in the audience, that the fans love their band so much that they are willing to travel long distances to see them perform and furthermore that many of them try to see them as often as possible. So I was not really surprised to see a nice couple with a sign, which showed that they had fulfilled the three B’s (Bristol, Bochum and Barcelona) and now the D (Duisburg). I saw them already at the concert in Barcelona with their sign. As I found this so remarkable, I took a photo of it again. Later, after the concert, I learnt from the nice lady with the sign that she was happy to be mentioned in my review about the concert in Barcelona. Well, I was very pleased to learn that there are people reading my reviews. Although, if you have seen many concerts in a row of the guys from Bristol, you cannot expect many changes in the performance, they fortunately had a few surprises. This time they had a live camera running at ‘It scares me’ and you suddenly could see the perspective of the band, namely the audience and the more remarkable moment was when Mark let finally the fans sing a whole refrain alone. 
Furthermore he addressed a bit more to the people. Richard Silverthorn worked his socks off - as usually - to get the crowd going. Whether he is dancing wildly behind his keyboard, or in front of the stage, when he is playing guitar, he is always inviting the fans to sing along, dance and clap their hands. And then there is Sean Suleman, the live drummer, who apparently loves every minute to play with MESH. Unfortunately you cannot see very much of Lord- Richard Broadhead, as live keyboarder and backing vocalist, as he is usually hidden behind his notebook. In comparison to his first show with MESH he surely has improved and moves more to the music, but we all hope that he will keep on practising his dancing skills. Of course they had at ‘Friends like these’ the fan video of the ‘International wear a Mesh shirt day’ running on the small flat screens in front of the stage, which is really lovely as it showed once more how devoted the fans are to MESH. 
I don’t think that Mark Hockings did it purposely, but the song lines “I need to start again. Take me far away!” in ‘Taken for granted’ (which was the last song of the list of course) became a no- brainer since the release of their critically acclaimed album ‘Automation Baby’, for they are sung by the fans in order to ask for the encore. And surely this is perfect to pick the chant up, when re-entering the stage before they perform other songs for the encore. Once more it was a solid performance of MESH and according to the happy faces I saw, I am quite sure to see the one or other familiar face in the audience at their next concert again. Proving that the MESH guys still like to be in contact with their fans, they showed up a short time after the concert at the merchandise stand, in order to sign albums, posters, etc., and have a little chat with them. Long may this continue. http://www.mesh.co.uk/ / https://www.facebook.com/meshtheband
Setlist
01. Intro / Flawless
02. Automation Baby
03. You didn’t want me
04. This is the time
05. Crash
06. You want what’s owed to you
07. How long?
08. Never meet your heroes
09. Not prepared
10. Step by step
11. It scares me
12. Just leave us alone
13. Room with a view
14. Adjust your set
15. Walk of shame
16. Everything I made
17. When the city breathes
18. From this height
19. Taken for granted
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19. Born to lie (faster version)
20. Friends like these
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21. You couldn’t see this coming
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 8
Sound: 9
Light: 9
Total: 8.8 / 10
All pictures by Tanja Schilling (www.darkstarphotographics.de)
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