Aynsley Lister – Cool Britannia

Lister-31-EditIt’s only  9pm and Aynsley Lister is already signing CD’s at the Harmonie.  No it wasn’t the shortest set yet at a live concert – just a broken snare drum that had the show on hold.  After all the Rockpalast video chaos recently I was expecting a more relaxing evening out.  It was a Monday after all.  Trust the genial guitarman from Leicester to keep me on my toes.

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Spin Doctors & Stacie Collins

sd1“When we were selling 50,000 records a week,” remembers Chris Barron, “I’d walk into a mall to buy underwear and 300 kids would surround me!”   A Harp playing blues girl and a powerpop band that a few years ago was all the rage with commercial tunes and witty lyrics.  Stacie Collins was blowing harp and Chris Barrons band  The Spin Doctors were prescribing a good time for all.   The only losers were those who stayed at home.

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Lang Night at the Crossroads

Jonny_Lang-1My only CD of the man, ‘Lie to Me’ ,has a sticker on it saying ‘DM 29.95’ so the latest disc is more than a little overdue.  I almost bought it recently but Mr Music had foolishly put it on headphones and after giving it a listen I didn’t.  So why, you may ask,  am I standing in a packed and sweaty Harmonie waiting for Jonny Lang to hit the stage?  I guess because tickets for the show were sold in days, which made me think that maybe I’m wrong – or maybe the rest of Bonn is?

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Kunst!Garten Woes

13_kunstfarten_080-52-EditWhile investigations continue into a suspected arson attack that left Kunst!Garten a pile of burnt ashes, there is an account for anyone wanting to financially support the promoters.

Because the fire occurred after a final concert on the land had taken place, there was no insurance cover.  Promoters Ernst-Ludwig Hartz and Martin Nötzel now face a crippling bill of around 100.000 Euros.

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Graham Parker – Waiting for the UFO’s in Bonn

parker1The publicity for his present solo concerts is based on recollections of a rocking night at the Grughalle Essen in 1980,  my own decision to visit the Harmonie on Monday was the memory of some great  albums made by the man in the late 1970’s, and most of the audience were of an age that suggested this probably wasn’t their first Graham Parker concert, but also that the last was a long time ago.  Carrying the past on your back is a heavy burden, Chobhams biggest music hero seemed unconcerned about the load.

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Stage free for Beethoven

beethovenWe had Bon Jovi and Beethoven onstage in Bonn on Saturday. Okay, not the real thing – one is a little too expensive for Bonn and the other a little too dead – but their music was free to all listeners as a part of the ‘Bühne Frei für Beethoven’ (Stage free for Beethoven) programme.

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Dana Fuchs – Bliss in Bonn

DF1So where do you want to be when the world ends?  I couldn’t help but think that if the last sound I heard was Dana Fuchs singing ‘Moment Away’ before it  was ,’whammo bammo and lights out’ forever – well I’d be half way to heaven already anyway.   Dana was in town on Monday and behind the unassuming restaurant doors of Bonn’s Harmonie the  Church of Love, Rock, n Roll’ was open for business.  Time to pray…

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