Kesselhaus/ Kulturbrauerei, Berlin, Germany3rd November 2014
Radical Face + Stu Larsen
It’s the 3rd November and normally at this time we have a typical autumn evening with cold temperatures, rain, wind and leaves falling off the trees, perfect for a concert like this from RADICAL FACE. But the weather countered all our habits. It was warm and dry. The venue opened at 7pm; but most of the people still waited outside far a warming up beer or a cigarette. With a capacity of about 1,000 people, the Kesselhaus, situated in the heart of the Kulturbrauerei, was almost sold out. At 8pm on time the opening act started to perform.
Stu Larsen
STU LARSEN is an Australian musician with Danish roots. He sings about love, the live, the people he meet at his journeys and shows us how to forget the everyday life. He creates music which make it possible to get lost in daydreams. Its relaxed music which touches hearts. He is always on the run and accompanying musicians he know. So he tours around Australia, Europe or Japan. He is a kind of a gypsy. You have the chance to see him again in February and march 2015 in Europe with his current album ‘Vagabond’. http://stularsen.com / https://www.facebook.com/stularsen
Music & Performance
Getting into the right mood the supporting act STU LARSEN opened this concert with classic folk music. Just making music with his guitar, harmonica and smooth vocals the Australian guy entertained the audience discreetly and introduced the main act perfectly. The audience where relatively quiet. Was a feeling of a living room concert you won't disturb. But it was romantic with a nice and warm mood.
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 8
Light: 7
Total: 7.25 / 10
Radical Face
RADICAL FACE is the name of the independent singer-songwriter solo project of Ben Cooper (1982) from Jacksonville, Florida. He is also a member of ELECTRIC PRESIDENT. The music of RADICAL FACE was recorded in Ben’s house in Florida from 2006 on. His Song ‘Welcome Home’, taken from the debut album ‘Ghost’, was used for the TV commercial “I Am Nikon“ (Company Nikon). He did some other music for TV-Shows like Private Practice, Skins, Eddie Izzard or Weeds. The album ‘The Roots’ was released in 2012 and is part of a trilogy called ‘The Family Tree’. The instruments and melodies of this series will represent different family members of his fictive story around a family from the 19th century. The second part, ‘The branches’, was finished now, too. A good reason to go on tour. http://www.radicalface.com / https://www.facebook.com/RadicalFace
Music & Performance
After a short set rebuild the main act, Radical Face, entered the stage together with friends at 9 pm on time. Positioned in one row right in front of the stage Ben Cooper began to introduce all musicians. There was the bass, the cello, the keys, the guitar and the drums in the back. Right after he was trying to explain why he sits on a chair it came up that it was a funny story. Anyway it turned out that he is a very amusing guy always trying to tell a good story about the next song. He even responded to the audience so that there was almost created a dialog between the people and himself. It took a while until the first tones where played, but the visitors shouldn't get disappointed. The band started to play very softly but the longer the concert lasted the more lively it became. They played many songs from the last album ‘Family Tree - The Branches’, but also classics like ‘Welcome Home’ were not skipped.
The drums sounds very acoustic. This was good but sometimes a little bit too loud. Josh (on the cello) has a few songs nothing to do and played with his phone. Took some pictures of his colleagues and the audience. The music was mostly slower but some songs were also fast and the band jump around at the stage with different instruments. The atmosphere in this old industrial charming Kesselhaus got very cosy with the music and the pyrotechnic which was restrained. The music definitely was supposed to be in the main focus. Too bad there were a few visitors who thought they have to talk in a loud voice, disturbing the listening experience by times. Generally speaking it was a great concert, recommendable and worth to go there again.
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 8
Sound: 8
Light: 7
Total: 7.5 / 10
All pictures by Nadine Ginzel (www.ginzel-photography.com)
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