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whitelies D4S2743 kleinZeche, Bochum, Germany
14th April 2022
White Lies & special guest: Charming Liars

In February 2022, WHITE LIES release their new album ‘As I Try Not To Fall Apart’ and now, in April and May, the post-run rockers are coming to Germany for eight concerts and will also be performing their new music live as part of this. They are supported by CHARMING LIARS from London. The concert was held as a so-called “3G” event, means you had to be tested, vaccinated or recovered from Covid.


Charming Liars

CHARMING LIARS came together in London’s West End when guitarist Karnig Manoukian and bassist Mike Kruger were still in their teens and started making music together in various bands. After moving to LA in 2013, the two connected with vocalist Kiliyan Maguire through a mutual friend what led to songwriting and then recording sessions where the three realized that they had an organic musical chemistry that would lead to interesting possibilities. The debit album ‘Thought, Flesh and Bone’ was out in 2019 followed by an acoustic EP and various singles and touring. They ended the year 2020 with their ‘Live Sounds Of 2020’ video series, which captured the energy of live shows that fans had been missing. Charming Liars is Kiliyan Maguire (Vocals), Karnig Manoukian (Guitar, Production) and Mike Kruger (Bass). https://www.charmingliars.com / https://www.facebook.com/CharmingLiars

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Music & Performance
CHARMING LIARS started very much in time in front of a good crowd. The stage was very packed since the lighting installations and the drum set of WHITE LIES covered a big part of the stage. The live drummer’s set was placed right in one corner of the stage so the drummer was barely visible. You could see how happy the band was being on stage again and singer Kiliyan welcomed the audience. After ‘The Haunting’, he asked the people to come closer to stage and they happily followed his call. Since the stage was so packed and there was so little space, Kiliyan could barely move, however this didn’t damp the energy during the whole show. After ‘Impact’ there was this well-known game “Which side of the audience is louder”, but there was no clear winner. Five more songs followed, warming the audience up very well for what’s to come. With each song, people got more into the show and cheered up and clapped loudly. In fact, a great start into the evening. CHARMING LIARS are definitely a band to keep your eye on.

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Setlists
01. The Haunting
02. Impact
03. Time To Start
04. Left Behind
05. White Leather
06. Wreck It All
07. High

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 7
Light: 6
Total: 7.3 / 10

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White Lies

WHITE LIES are a band always looking ahead - always intent on advancing their career as a band in London’s post-punk scene. Two years ago, Jack Brown (drums), Charles Cave (bass) and Harry McVeigh (vocals / guitar) took a look back at their band history and celebrated the 10th anniversary of their debut ‘To Lose My Life’. With their debut album, the band catapulted to number one in the UK charts in 2009 and secured status as the most successful newcomer of the year. Since then, they have been working tirelessly on their existence as a band of the post-punk revival, presenting classic post-punk songs as well as 80s new wave sounds and always being experimental. They recently released their new and meanwhile sixth studio album ‘As I Try Not To Fall Apart’. The new work represents WHITE LIES in the usual manner with razor-sharp hooks, dark lyrical wit, defiant sing-along anthems and the typical dynamics, which also create a turbulent mood on the new record. https://www.whitelies.com / https://www.facebook.com/WhiteLies

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Music & Performance
It is kind of unusual to start a show with one of your biggest songs. But WHITE LIES did and opened the night in Bochum with ‘Farewell to the Fairground’, welcomed with loud cheers from the audience. After the band already played some shows of their massive European tour, people in the hall probably knew the setlist already and what to expect. For others, this song might have come as a surprise. I loved it from the very start. Speaking of the setlist… when the band played in Cologne a few days before, they had two different songs in their list. So there was at least a little surprise for people visiting both show taking place not far away. The set contained several of the much loves older gems like ‘To Lose My Life’, ‘Big TV’ or the band’s very first single ‘Unfinished Business’. On the other hand, there were of course the songs from the new album, very much bass driven and danceable, and firring very well into the show.

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When it comes to the show, I really need to mention the fabulous light show. There were big light installations in the back of the band, lots of turning heads, strobe lights and of course direct lights on each band member. It really worked perfectly together and created an amazing mood on stage. Even though I had to admit that the strobes were nearly blinding, at least they must have been for people in the first rows. Besides hits like ‘Unfinished Business’, ‘Tokyo’ was surprisingly another highlight. Not only because of the song itself, but also because of the rainbow lighting, which I found really amazing. But not only the light show was brilliant, also the band and its musical abilities were. There were wild guitar solos, the dirty bass of Charles and on-the-point drumming. The band on stage was in very good mood and the audience was as well. They even sang the new songs along loudly. People were screaming, clapping and jumping. You really could feel that they all were so hungry for live shows. They celebrated the band and themselves.

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After about 80 minutes, the main set ended with the new Song ‘I Don’t Want to Go to Mars’. But of course, the band was not allowed to go by now. There was still time for a three-song encore, starting with amazing ‘Death’ from the first album, followed by the title song of the current album, ‘As I Try Not to Fall Apart’. Anthemic ‘Bigger Than Us’ was closing a fantastic show. I really must say that I love WHITE LIES’ live shows. Sometimes I really feel they even sound better and more energetic live than on CD. I definitely need more of this!

Setlist
01. Farewell to the Fairground
02. There Goes Our Love Again
03. Am I Really Going to Die
04. To Lose My Life
05. Time To Give
06. Hurt My Heart
07. Is My Love Enough
08. Step Outside
09. Getting Even
10. Big TV
11. There Is No Cure for It
12. Unfinished Business
13. Tokyo
14. I Don’t Want to Go to Mars
---
15. Death
16. As I Try Not to Fall Apart
17. Bigger Than Us

Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Sound: 8
Light: 10
Total: 9 / 10

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All pictures by Daniela Vorndran (http://www.vorndranphotography.com / http://www.facebook.com/blackcatnet)

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