The Jackson Singers – Gospel Emotions Tour

I’ve always loved gospel music. So I was very happy that I got a ticket from the Easter bunny for the concert of “The Jackson Singers” , which was on the same day.

I don’t think I’ve ever been to a concert with that many obvious mishaps. When the concert started we were immediately informed that two singers were stuck in traffic and would be 5-10 minutes late. So the band and three of the singers tried to kill the time until the rest arrived. They started a very impromptu session of some of the most famous gospel songs like “Amazing grace” or “Precious Lord“. It quickly became obvious that the sound engineering was horrible! The mike’s sounded like they were set for speech. I still enjoyed “His eye is on the sparrow“, which is simply a beautiful song and was performed with all the emotions and energy it takes.

Well, the “5-10 minutes”-delay of the two missing members became longer and longer. I assume it was 40 minutes into the show when finally they appeared. With an acapella song and “Every praise” it felt like the show finally really started. Everyone was ready to get into it – when suddenly there was no sound at all anymore! PA failure! The bandleader suggested they’d take a break to give the technicians time to fix it.

20 minutes later… and yes, the PA was working again and, lo and behold, the sound was at least a liiiittle bit better! Thank God! – and that’s exactly what they finally could do! The second set was a very enjoyable, very uplifting, very entertaining one without problems. In their very own way they interpreted many traditional gospel songs like “Amen“, “This little light of mine” or “Oh happy day“. My favourite was their rendition of “Jesus promised” with a little rap part in-between.

The musicians on stage radiated the pure joy of singing and making music. That’s one of the things I always enjoy so much about gospel music. The singers as well as the music itself convey a feeling of being at ease with oneself, satisfaction and love for life. I guess that’s what makes it so joyful to listen to, even though I cannot identify with the religious aspect. Although, when I see these people – I sometimes wish I could.

Beyoncé – The Mrs. Carter Show 2014

I can’t believe it’s already been a month since I’ve seen Beyoncé! I’ve been meaning to write this report for so long already, but I’ve kept putting it off because I didn’t seem to find the time to do it. Isn’t it terrible if your life gets so hectic that you cannot even find the time to do the things you love anymore? This situation has been going on for much too long now and it only got worse during the last months. I’m so looking forward to May, when things will finally slow down!

Anyway, I need to stop whining! Let’s talk about Beyoncé!

I was a little surprised when I realized that this was the very first concert I have ever specifically taken a plane to. I’ve been to concerts in other countries, but that was either connected to some kind of holiday or I took a train or drove by car. So this show had better be good! But I had no doubt about that, come on, I mean… it was Beyoncé!

Cologne being the only German city for the 2014 “Mrs. Carter Show” meant a huge, eager crowd already queuing from very early in the morning. As my friend and I had those Early Entry Tickets again, we just did a short check on the venue and then left for a little shopping spree and a nice lunch at “Mongo’s”. Thanx to our special tickets, we still ended up at the front.

What can I tell you about the show? Considering that it was still the “Mrs. Carter Tour” from last year (see report), it had changed a lot. There were a whole lot of tracks from the new Visual Album included. Already after the opening song “Run the world“, Beyoncé sang “Flawless”. Have you noticed: This is one hell of a catchy tune! We sang it after the concerts for hours…or more like: days! “I woke up like this….” And we joked, that SHE probably really woke up flawless like this, whereas for US it was more like “Sorry! But *cough* I woke up like this…*blush*” the next morning after only four hours of sleep.

Next up was “Yoncé”. I love that song, the beat it amazing! I can listen to it 30 times in a row and it doesn’t get boring, so I was happy that she had included it on her setlist. Afterwards we got some good ol’ Bey with stuff like “Baby Boy” and “Naughty girl“, before another section of new song was introduced with “Blow”, “Haunted” and “Drunk in love”. As “Irreplaceable” is one of my favorites, I was thankful that this time she sang most of it on the main stage and only walked to the B-Stage at the end, shaking hands in the first rows on her way. “Love on top“, also one of my favorites, was then performed on the B-Stage. As nice as a B-Stage may be for those in the back, it’s always a bit frustrating when you’re at the front. Honestly, I prefer front stage only setups! It doesn’t make it so complicated as to where to stand best. I mean, with Beyoncé it was quite ok because she didn’t use the B-stage that much, but there are bands and artists that use it a lot and you’re kinda screwed no matter where you stand.

Of course there was “Crazy in love” and “Single ladies” (she is one hell of a dancer, too!) – but with a repertoire of this size it’s impossible to squeeze in all of her hits into one concert. I have to admit that I always enjoyed her little “Destiny’s child“-Medleys. I understand that she threw it out in favor of her own songs, but DC really had some awesome hits as well! On the other hand, I can’t say I haven’t enjoyed seeing “Heaven” and “XO” live for the first time. Both are just beautiful songs! And fit perfectly together with the closing song “Halo“, which is also one of my fav… do I repeat myself? Yes, I admit, there are way too many favorites among Beyoncé’s songs. Sooo… can we make the show three hours next time, Bey? Please???