Kosheen – Essen 2007

Performance
As soon as KOSHEEN walked on stage welcoming cheers rang out for the much anticipated band. The band started with the mid-tempo gloom of ‘Damage’, the title track of the new album. Vocalist Sian is stunningly fervent in movement, voice and expression, and with the headlining single from ‘Damage’, ‘Overkill’, the band sped up things. To my surprise two of KOSHEEN’s biggest hits, ‘Hide U’ and ‘Catch’, came next. Pretty early in the set! In the end it was a good idea as both tracks got the crowd really going. The sound also improved, the venue was still too echo-y but perhaps KOSHEEN’s low-frequency electronic beats were easier to handle for the technicians in such a venue than guitar-driven sound. The light show was stunning, particularly because of the giant video screen in the back which displayed pastoral imagery, pictures of streets and city skylines in black and white, and much more.



The band was in their best spirits, and this truly transformed to their audience. In fact I have rarely seen a vocalist who spreads so much enthusiasm and passion like Sian Evans, and she really knows how to play with her audience. Still the tracks from KOSHEEN’s debut got the best response, but some tracks from ‘Kokopelli’, like the stormy ‘Avalanche’ and the refreshing ‘All in my Head’, seemingly have become live highlights too. A few years back, when the follow-up to KOSHEEN’s debut was released, the reaction to the rockier sound of it was rather mixed. Although the tour was in support of the new album ‘Damage’ we only got five songs from the new output. KOSHEEN knew what the audience wanted and happily delivered exactly this. But they did it in such a natural way that it never felt like a sell-out but simply like a powerhouse of party.