Stadtgarten went Pop on Saturday in the best possible sense. A double bill spearheaded by Cologne songstress Lucie Licht followed up by songwriter Fabian Kuhn who came to us with that most modern and also most debatable measure of musical prowess – over a million YouTube clicks. Can a million people be wrong? Well whichever way it goes – it’s a beautiful evening again down by the Alten Zoll, and many a picnic blanket is already laid on the grassy embankment from which a svelt young lady in loose fitting trousers that flare wide even from the waist is already winning over the audience with her smile, and she hasn’t even sung a note yet.
‘Lively sounds and deep thoughts’ are how this year’s Stadtgarten brochure describes the music of Lucie Licht. Her music is most definitely very often of a bubbly commercial nature. ‘Danceable beats’ it says. Check. ‘Good vibes’. Check. All systems go for an enjoyable set of pop tunes that suggest Lucie might easily be capable of coming up with a Eurovision winner, as on numbers like ‘Immer wenn mein Herz’.
The girl can also write slower, thoughtful texts of the described ‘deep thought’ nature too, such as the as yet unrecorded ‘Wild Blumen’ inspired she reveals by the loss of someone close to her. The mark of a good ballad played live is that there isn’t a babble of conversation going on in pockets of the audience further back to spoil the atmosphere, and she gets a definite ‘Check’ on that front too. Lots of ticks in the right boxes for Lucie Licht then, and her band too, who, despite missing a bass player were always present but never got in the way of the songs. Hopefully not the last time that this talented young lady will pop down the motorway from Kölle to entertain us.
Back to the epithets for tonight’s second musician. ‘Authentic’ and ‘Hardworking’ are offered in the brochure for Fabian Kuhn and he ticks those two boxes with ease. The jean jacket and denims say ‘authentic’ even before Kuhn plugs in his acoustic guitar. By the evening’s end, he has certainly also earned that ‘Hardworking’ epithet too through a strong set delivered with energy throughout. Dipping the headstock of that acoustic up and down, making short runs across the stage, always smiling, always connecting with the audience.
I’d write a superlative review of Fabian Kuhn for all of that alone, but he also has strong songs of a Country Pop nature and a punchy-sounding band to back them up. Is the song ‘Unsaid’ really so extraordinary that it merits 1.1 million YouTube clicks? Possibly not, but you can quickly decide for yourself HERE if you wish. It’s certainly a good commercial number. Astonishing that it gets so many hits from a little-known German singer with English lyrics which puts him up against – well, Taylor Swift et al. It’s obviously a staple of Fabian Kuhn’s live set, also lends itself to a sing-along that Kuhn orchestrates perfectly, and when the time comes for an encore it even gets a second run out.
It’s past 9 pm and with the sun gradually dropping, Kuhn shields his eyes with his hand to survey the scene before him. “It’s beautiful to be here with all of you” he enthuses in German. “The green surrounded by trees. The beautiful view behind me” (that gets some laughs as he turns to find he’s facing not the Rhine, but his guitarist ). “This is really a wonderful place to be!”. You know what? He’s right.
