DJ, Rockband? Theatre? Cinema? Parov Stelar is all of this. It’s a DJ sampling the music, a theatre piece of trumpets and saxophones, a cinemascreen of flashy video clips, It’s also the pseudonym of the man sitting high up on the Kunst!rasen stage and creating the samples for the band to bring to life.
I couldn’t help thinking of him as some electronic puppeteer pulling the strings of the musicians below him. From the photo-pit to the high stage it was almost impossible to take a shot of the bandleader, but Marcus Fuereder, aka Parov Stelar was certainly weaving magic from his console in the Gods as Guest Reviewer Melo Mistura reports…
A rare shot containing (at least the head of) Marcus Fuereder on programming duties
There were only perhaps 2000 people at Kunstrasen for Sundays concert by the Parov Stelar Band, but it must rank as one of the craziest, most energetic shows there ever. On offer was a unique e-swing concert that seemingly had 4000 feet tapping and arms waving throughout.
The start was officially 7.30pm, but in line with the style and VIP sunglasses of the musicians it started only at 8.20pm without any regrets or complaints because they made the crowd warm and active from the very first song. After two tracks of the last album: The Art of Sampling, they opened the PSB “archive” and started to play songs from the past. It was great to hear live performances of: Charleston Butterfly, Homesick, Catgroove, Booty Swing and many other hits. Later they came back to the last couple of albums, but always with the main aim of keeping the crowd dancing. Invitations to the crowd to clap their hands were infinite, especially in the DJ bridges-part managed by Fuereder (aka Parov Stelar)who was hard to see due to the huge console he was mounted on, but easy to hear as he ran synth, drum machines and guitar samplers seamlessly to create the Bands rhythmic backdrop.
Max the Sax aka Markus Ecklmayr
In front of this the wind instruments were blowing up a perfect storm thanks to Max and Jerry in pure Charleston suites. They were able to delight people with their instruments and movements upon the stage, and the energy pulsed through to lighten even the darkest of hearts on the grass before them and give them the power to jump, dance and enjoy the evening.
The rhythm section directed by Michael and Willie, gave an excellent and unforgettable performance , with a particular thumbs up to the Bass-Guitar which was simply grooving hard and perfectly, making us jump in time to each note of the instrument. Willie Larsson was performing great drum solos that made hand-clapping almost obligatory, and he certainly deserved a special hand-clap of applause for his efforts.
Last but certainly not least, Cleo Panther, aka Daniela Hrene, with a time-less dress code, making all the music surrounding her (and us) somehow Angelic simultaneously blowing-up our minds and our hands to the heavens.
Ninety minutes later, and with a three song encore ‘The End’ appeared on a stage backdrop and the credits literally began to roll. It was a full five minutes of applause before the crowd started to leave though. The mood was summed up by one person who enthused: “It was the first time I’ve seen an entire crowd dancing and enjoying the music so much here in Bonn”.
Well I fully agree, wishing that Bonn and Kunst!Raisen will propose more crazy, funky music from big, technical and fun bands like Parov Stelar Band.
– Reviewed by Melo Mistura