Almost exactly two years ago I was in Norway, seeing a couple of Kaizers Orchestra concerts. Support: Pétur Ben. I liked him! Not so much that I would have bought the CD, but the songs stuck in my head and he managed to get the crowd going.

Now I read he would play in Tübingen, and yes, of course I decided at once to go there! Just to find out whether I still remember any of the songs and whether I still enjoy his show – even without Kaizers coming on afterwards.

I didn’t bother to get a ticket beforehand, because I was certain he wouldn’t sell out the big hall where he was booked. And yes: The parking lot was basically empty. And no: They didn’t have him play the big hall, but a smaller room – good idea! The surprising part for me was all the chairs there… oh, a sitting concert. Not quite what I’m used to… *cough*

The support, Kenneth Minor, was okay – but the songs didn’t stick at all, and I found it hard to understand what he was singing. A short break, and then Pétur Ben came on. And wow: He caught me from the first second. He’s just got some kind of “presence”, his voice is amazing, he doesn’t need a mike at all.

And yes, I did remember several of the songs, and it was great to hear them again. But there wasn’t a single song I didn’t like. The concert and the atmosphere was perfect, even though I couldn’t explain why.

And of course it was funny as well, in a weird but very nice kinda way. The way he was talking about the tour, about his job, about his family… At some point in time, his mobile rang, and what else would you do other than pick it up and answer the call right in front of the mike? *lol* And then crowding everyone together for the (next to) last song, making everybody sing along… Just amazing. 🙂

Of course I did get the CD this time. Mentioning that I had seen him before, on the Kaizers tour… “Oh, the Kaizer audience, that was difficult… with everybody loud and drunk…” Yep, difficult, different, but it planted the seed. “But it was fun with the Kaizer boys!” Yeah, I bet. 😉
And it was great fun with just this one guy as the main act. Thank you for the great show!