“The Soul of Donny Hathaway the charm of Audrey Hepburn, the fathomless depth of Amy Winehouse and the power of Adele”. Quite a testimony over Miu as presented by a Hamburg newspaper. Somehow, the Dottendorfer Jazznacht seems like an odd venue choice. Cologne’s Lanxess Arena anyone? Or is it all hype? If it is, it seems to have worked to some extent anyway. Shortly before the concerts begin, the little hall in Dottendorf is so busy that a couple of extra rows of seating are being added. Oddly enough the audience looks largely like the regular one for established Jazz acts and not what you would expect for a young singer of ‘Modern Retro-Soul’ and her band. There is no trumpet, saxophone, or Jazzy-looking guitar. Even the grand piano seems tucked away in a corner to make way for electric piano and synths. Would a large chunk of this evening’s audience head for the exit as soon as the show started I wondered?
Certainly, I felt some unease in the hall when the lights dimmed and a droning backing tape played in advance of the band taking to the stage. Not the usual fare for a jazz club. And I noticed too that within minutes of the opening Beatles track ‘Come Together’ the two seats in front of me were vacated. Looking around though bums genuinely remained on seats, and after a short ‘acclimatization’ phase both audience and band seemed to get along fine. To the point that not too long afterwards there were lots of clapped hands perfectly synchronized to the beat on Miu’s tribute to Amy Winehouse ‘Living it Up’ and later on even a couple of rows filled with handy flashlights waving slowly at Miu’s request to the evening’s semi-ballad ‘Ohana’ – which is Hawaiian for ‘Family’ and sung in the context that no-one, living or dead, is ever left out or forgotten. Quite a complex theme, and not what I expected when a young-looking Miu, dressed in a sparkling black mini-dress, picked up her ukelele to introduce it.
The lady had already surprised me by playing a gold-topped Les Paul early in her set, and surprised me even more by closing the first part of the set with a song (‘Geneva’) on the piano which I had thought was left abandoned at the side of the stage. On a side note, I can only imagine that the stage itself was simply too packed with people and gear to squeeze in a saxophone that the set-list noted would accompany her haunting rendition of Springsteen’s ‘Dancing in the Dark’. Miu’s version of Tina Turner’s ‘Simply the Best’ was much truer to the original, and proof that the lady has a strong voice (with the caveat that there seemed to be some use of echo or sustain on her microphone that helped at times – on ‘Geneva’ for instance.)
A lot that was good then, but also some not-so-goods in my book. The fact that some of the lyrics headed too far into Pop/Schläger territory is a matter of individual taste. “We are so much more” and “I’ve learned a lesson, to be a better person, and I grow, I grow, I grow”. The matter of taste brings me to my major gripe of the evening though, which was all the unsubtle ways to sell the music that didn’t involve actually playing any. These included giving your email address in return for which you would get a scratchcard with the possibility of winning a bottle of Miu-endorsed wine or other merchandise. Or you could also win a bottle by joining Miu’s Facebook site during the concert. I guess this is the modern musicians’ way of building an audience, as opposed to the likes of Mr Dylan who actually wants you to put those cellphones away and listen to THE MUSIC. But then again Bob already has all the audience he wants or needs.
To be fair though, this wasn’t really music aimed at my generation and I’m sure that when Miu comes to Bonn Harmonie next year it will be, for the most part, a very different and younger audience used to the multi-tasking involved in entering cellphone competitions without missing a musical beat. There were, I emphasize, plenty of moments to show that Miu is a talented lady. In her opener in part two she sang “You could be the next big thing” which is certainly true. I believe the lady too when she sings (in ‘Easy‘) “I work so hard to make it look so easy”. But ‘Simply the Best’? Those comparisons that I started this review with will take some living up to.
This was Miu’s first-ever show in Bonn. For her next, at Bonn Harmonie on 19 September 2025, tickets are already available at all the usual outlets. It will be interesting to see how many of tonight’s audience will be there. In any case, many of them will now be able to receive an email reminder from the Lady herself so no danger of forgetting the date.
A footnote question to the fans, or Miu herself even – I’m going crazy trying to decipher the tattooed writing on Miu’s forearms. Is it “Be Excited” (right forearm) and Be Gorgeous (left forearm)”? If so, I would love to know the reasons behind them.
