Live Music Hall, Cologne, Germany 28th February 2024
Nothing More - “Spirits European Tour” - Special guest: Vukovi
Rock audiences appreciate NOTHING MORE as a band that masters the delicate balancing act between populism and intimacy with every performance. Hailing from San Antonio, Texas, the quartet builds massive anthems out of catchy hooks, paving the way for intoxicating, thought-provoking emotionality that draws their listeners in. This obviously convinced many people to spend their Wednesday night at the Live Music Hall
Vukovi
The task of opening up the evening went to Scottish band VUKOVI, a trio from Glasgow. The band was founded in 2010, and so far, they have released three albums, with the latest from 2022 being called ‘Nula’, which won the award for “Best Production” at the “Heavy Music Awards 2023”. http://www.vukovi.co.uk
Music & Performance
Arriving early paid off that night, as VUKOVI entered the stage to the sound of flight alarms at 7:50 pm. The band won over the hearts of the Live Music Hall in a heartbeat, as it became clear right away that VUKOVI were definitely high on energy. Singer Janine Shilstone, with her penchant for spaghetti tops, addressed the crowd in a charmingly thick Scottish accent, and pretty soon the mosh pit starting cooking, and the band did everything right to lift the temperature. Their brand of “Modern Rock” spiced up with dance elements, did not fail to catch the audience, and - judging by the number of people wearing the band’s merchandise - VUKOVI managed to gain a lot of followers that night.
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 8
Sound: 8
Light: 7
Total: 7.5 / 10
Nothing More
The band goes way back to 2003, when back in middle school, then drummer Jonny Hawkins and two of his friends bonded over campfires and decided to start a band. However, things got off to a slow start, and the band had difficulties finding a record label deal, amongst other hardships in their personal lives. Deciding that things needed to change, Jonny switched from drums to vocals, and the band started a Kickstarter campaign to self-fund the recording of a new album, which they released independently in 2013. From there, things took a whole different direction. Radio stations started to pick up their extremely catchy and poignant songs (check out ‘Jenny’), and two appearances on the 2013 Aftershock festival in California gave them the strongly coveted record deal, plus the chance to tour with the likes of CHEVELLE, SHINEDOWN, and FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH in the subsequent years. https://nothingmore.net
Music & Performance
Shortly after 9pm the lights were dimmed and John Denver’s ‘Country Roads’ started blaring from the speakers. This faded into some kind of spoken word intro, during which the band entered the stage, and which faded into the opener ‘Let ‘em burn’ from their 2017 album ‘The Stories We Tell Ourselves’. Singer Jonny Hawkins emerged in his signature “no shirt no socks” look, and had everyone immediately rethink their diet plan due to his extremely chiselled physique. All jokes aside, this man was radiating pure energy on the microphone, as he seemingly never stood still and engaged the crowd. Things took a different turn halfway through the set, when the band celebrated the birthday of their tour guide Jennifer, by bringing out lots of balloons, and cake, and having the crowd sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to her. After this they went full throttle again and performed the intense uber hit ‘Jenny’, sending the packed place into full frenzy.
For the final song ‘This is the Time (Ballast)’ the band brought two additional drums on stage and put them into the hands of the people in the front row. Johnny climbed onto the stage fence, and started hitting the drums like crazy, while guitarist Mark and bass player Daniel also climbed the fence and rocked out with the crowd, marking the culmination of an energetic evening. Although the playtime was a mere 75 minutes, it felt like a worthwhile experience. It certainly featured an impressive display of musical creativity as well as the ingenious use of technology to create a lasting impression. So be sure to catch them next time on tour here in Europe, which hopefully will be the case during summer.
Setlist
01. Let ‘em Burn
02. Do You Really Want It?
03. Don’t Stop
04. If It Doesn’t Hurt
05. Go to War
06. FACE IT
07. Angel Song
08. Tired of Winning
09. Ships in the Night
10. Jenny
11. I’ll Be OK
12. SPIRITS
13. Fadein/Fadeout
14. Ocean Floor
15. This Is the Time (Ballast)
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 8.5 / 10
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