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Christuskirche, Bochum, Germany
25th February 2008
Letzte Instanz, Anna-Katharina

It was to be something very special. The band LETZTE INSTANZ invited to a very special kind of concert, where songs were presented in a purely acoustic guise. And which venue could be more applicable for such an occasion than a church? Masses of people were already gathering in front of the entrance, but when we finally entered the church we saw that the venue was packed with so many people that it was astonishing.


Anna-Katharina

But before the main act entered the stage it was time for Anna-Katharina to present her solo debut ion stage. You might know her as part of the band SCHANDMAUL, where she is also playing the violin. http://www.annakatharina-neuland.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/akneuland

Music
First of all it’s classic, but not that kind of music you might think of if you hear that word. The melodies are wonderfully played on a violin, a viola or even a symphonia. These wonderful melodies are accompanied just by drums and a bass guitar adding the rhythmical aspect to the music and giving the songs a touch of Jazz, Rock or Folk.



Performance
Supported by Michael Ende (Bass) and Specki T (Drums, Percussions) - both members of the LETZTE INSTANZ - Anna entered the stage to start her performance right away. No sign of nervousness. You could see that there was an absolute professional at work. As the music that was presented was overall instrumental you could focus your attention to the wonderful interaction of violin, bass guitar and drums. It was fascinating to see and hear how she generated multifarious sounds out of the instrument and even though there wasn’t that much movement on stage, there was always rhythm in play.



And while we are speaking of rhythm: At some point during the performance Specki T left his place at the to take a position at the front where he was playing a percussive instrument he was sitting on while Anna was playing on an old symphonia Anna casually grabbed the microphone to thank the audience for the thunderous applause following every time a track was finished or to talk a little bit to the audience.

Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Sound: 9
Light: 9
Total: 9




Letzte Instanz

LETZTE INSTANZ arose from the band RESISTANCE and was founded in 1996 in Dresden. After they approached some labels under the name RESISTANCE they signed a record deal with the label Costbar and recorded their first songs which are included on the first album. Later the band then changed their name to LETRZTE INSTANT to distinguish themselves from other bands that got the name RESISTANCE. Before they even released their second album, the singer Hörbi and bas player Kaspar left the band. Sebastian Lohse aka Robin Sohn and Rasta F. took over as singer and Bass player. After the release of their fourth album ‘Götter auf Abruf’ three members of the band (incl. the singer) left the band. After a long search they found a new singer with Holly and meanwhile recorded two other albums with ‘Wir sind Gold’ as the latest regular studio album. In December 2007 the acoustic album ‘Das Weisse Lied’ was released presenting newer and older songs in a different instrumentation. http://www.letzte-instanz.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/letzteinstanz



Music
As you might or might not know, we’re in Lenten season right now (At least I wasn’t aware of that until yesterday) and also the guys of LETZTE INSTANZ thought about something they could abandon. As the guys were unable to bring themselves to abandon the beer, they thought it would be a good idea to leave out the e-Guitars in their sound to reveal what is mostly hidden underneath and this was a perfect idea in my opinion and so the usual sound made way for the fragility of a totally acoustic instrumentation this time. And it started right away with ‘Kalter Glanz’ and although I was a little bit sceptic about how it would sound in an acoustic version and with another voice I was positively surprised and with the next track ‘Tanz’ it was time to sing along for everyone and some took the call literally and started to dance and the mood doesn’t tail away with ‘Ohne Dich’ and ‘Unerreicht’ and at the risk of repeating myself it was again he audience singing along as soon as the chorus started.



But now something followed I was really curious to hear. A cover version of David Bowie’s sole German song ‘Helden’ and what can I say. I liked it and it had a certain dramatic feeling to it. Couple of more songs followed and then the band headed towards the backstage area while Holly remained to announce the second solo debut for tonight. This time it was Leandra’s turn, who is usually a member of the band JESUS ON ECSTASY and recently released her first solo album ‘Metamorphine’. The track she presented was a beautiful piano driven ballad and she’s a real good piano player by the way. After her solo performance the whole band returned to the stage and the show went on. When it was time for ‘Wir sind allein’ there was no holding back anymore for the audience. A stream of emotions was floating through the church and it was pretty to see everyone singing that song



The audience didn’t want to let the band get away so easily, so they appeared on stage again to play a few encores one of them with a quite funny introduction. Holly told the audience “I know what you think, you think now we gonna play ‘Das Stimmlein’ but you’re wrong. This is gonna be a whole new song with a simple text which hasn’t got a name yet”. For some time it looked like he forgot the lyrics but it turned out to be a joke and ‘Das Stimmlein’ was played anyway. But this still wasn’t the end of the line. Another encore followed including an impressive performance of ‘Rapunzel’ to end the show.



Performance
If you think an acoustic concert has to be pensive and calm by now to unfold its beauty then visit an acoustic gig of LETZTE INSTANZ and you’ll be put right. As I already noticed on another performance of the band last December, there seems to be a hypnotic vibrancy in the air as soon as the band enters the stage. What else could you explain the peoples reaction on a sometimes single gesture of Holly. The audience followed every call. Stood up, sang together, when they were asked to a gospel together with him. It was a very special kind of atmosphere that unfolded between the walls of this church and it’s almost impossible to describe it properly but I’ll try it anyway.



Other than on many concerts, there’s obviously a deep connection between the fans and the band. You could see happy faces all around, when something funny happened or just, when the people were able to sing the songs together with the band. But all good things must comes to an end and after the band played several encores it was time to say goodbye and under frenetic applause the band left the stage to leave a drove of excited people behind, who now visited the merchandize stall or were setting out for home.

Setlist
01. Kalter Glanz
02. Tanz
03. Unerreicht
04. Jeden Morgen
05. Ohne Dich
06. Du und ich
07. Helden
08. Das weiße Lied
09. Für immer und ewig
10. Morgenrot
11. Angeldaemon (LEANDRA)
12. Winter
13. Eros
14. Silber im Stein
15. Komm nie zurück
16. Todestag
17. Wir sind allein
---
18. Mutter
19. Bittere Nacht
20. Das Stimmlein
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21. Rapunzel
22. Sandmann

Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Sound: 10
Light: 9
Total: 9.3



All pictures by Daniela Vorndran (http://www.vorndranphotography.com/ / http://www.black-cat-net.de/ / www.myspace.com/vorndranphotography)
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