Xavier Naidoo, Amy Macdonald & Haindling – Sommernachtstraum

The “Sommernachtstraum” in Munich is primarily known for its choreographed fireworks. But due to its success over the last ten years, the supporting program has become an event of its own. This year, the Olympic stadium hosted the Bavarian band “Haindling”, Scottish singer-songwriter Amy Macdonald and German soul singer Xavier Naidoo.

Starting at half past five, “Haindling” played some of their biggest hits like “Du Depp“, “Spinn I”, “Lang scho nimmer g’sehn” and of course “Bayern”. They also brought a Bavarian folk dance group on stage who did the “Schuhplattler”.

Amy Macdonald was second. She had a hard time. It seemed there were not too many people who knew her songs (maybe except “This is the life”) and only a few people who were willing to at least clap along. So instead of being a second headliner, she was degraded to a supporting act for Xavier. You could tell she was not satisfied with the audience’s reaction – and she said so as well. I have to admit that I enjoyed her cover of Jackie Wilson’s “Higher and higher” most. There is no doubt she’s a great singer, but hers is simply not my kind of music.

And then… it started to rain. Right on time for Xavier! – and it only stopped exactly after he left the stage. Luckily, the atmosphere did not suffer and the audience was with him from the first song “Bei meiner Seele” to the last “Ich kenne nichts”. His choice of songs was a great mixture of some of his new songs from his latest album “Bei meiner Seele” as well as his dubstep album “Mordsmusik” and some of his greatest hits. His unique voice was able to capture every emotion and even make songs like “Danke sagen” or the Andreas Gabalier cover “Amoi seg ma uns wieder” come alive on an evening like this. But most of all, it was so much fun dancing in the rain and singing “Wo willst du hin?” or “Dieser Weg”. We were soaking wet – and I mean SOAKING like jumping into a pool fully dressed! But that didn’t matter! Xavier promised to sign all of our sick certificates and wished us a heartfelt “Get well soon” at the end of the show.

The awesome 35-minutes fireworks after the concert was a perfect ending to a wonderful day!

Max Herre & Friends – Kahedi Radio Show Tour

This was definitely one of the hottest concerts I’ve ever been to. With temperatures outside of almost 40 degrees, the “Musik Arena” of the summer festival “Tollwood”, which is basically a tent, was heated up – and it didn’t get better with people pouring in and spotlights being turned on. The air was stuffy and no ventilation relieved the audience.

I sometimes felt a little sorry during the show because due to these conditions it got more and more exhausting to show the kind of passion and appreciation for the performers on stage that would have been appropriate, because they were nothing short of brilliant.

There was “Fetsum”, the supporting act, with some remarkable Soul songs. There was the “Kahedi Radio Orchestra” complete with a string sections, brass section, double bass, keyboards, background singers and more. There were special guests like Afrob, Megaloh and Samy Deluxe, who brought their special flow on stage. There was Joy Denalane, who never ceases to amaze me! She’s one of the top German artists, definitely one of the best voices and unfortunately highly underrated IMHO. And of course there was Max Herre himself – rapper, producer, singer-songwriter and husband of Joy Denalane.

Although I do like quite a few rappers like Jay-Z, Snoop, P.Diddy (or whatever he calls himself right now), 2Pac or Missy Elliott, I never really got into German HipHop. Most of it is “too chavvy” – although that’s probably not a very exact explanation of why I don’t like it. There are only very few artists I like to listen to, and Max is on top of the list because he provides thoughtful lyrics and innovative HipHop beats mixed with Soul elements.

And this mixture is also what makes the “Kahedi Radio Show” so appealing and what makes her able to also speak to an audience that may have nothing to do with HipHop music and still hit home. If you never listen to rap music, try listening to the following personal highlights of the show:

“1ste Liebe” (with Joy Denalane) – Song about Herre’s hometown Stuttgart but very cleverly worded so you first think it’s about a woman. One of my favorite songs to have a look at with my pupils at school.

“DuDuDu” – Max sings about relationships here, using German sayings to philosophize about love. There is a version using Lenny Kravitz’ “It ain’t over til it’s over” in the chorus on the album, which I even prefer to the live version.

“So wundervoll” – Definitely a “wonderful” song, so uplifting with the chorus based on Billy Preston’s “You are so beautiful”.

Oh yes, and not to forget: Another personal highlight of this evening was the coconut water after the show. Boy, liquids are awesome! 😉