Alanis Morissette / Lùisa - Live 2025.06.17 Zitadelle Spandau, Berlin, Germany

Better late than never. I’ve got a backlog after a few busy weeks.

I’ve oddly never had the opportunity to see Alanis live in the city I was living in since 2005, which is about the time I began to be able to see concerts on my own will and dollar. It’s been a while since she’s been at the peak of her popularity, but she’s clearly picked up some steam again and was able to fill (even if not quite sell out) one of the largest venues in Berlin.

Lùisa opened the night. She performed with a three-piece backing band to flesh out her singer-songwriter material into fuller indie pop arrangements. She played a couple new songs from an upcoming album, for which she put down her guitar and let the band and some backing tracks fill in the space while she sang and danced around the stage. Those songs had a distinctively more electronic dance sound. I found her music rather light but enjoyed it well enough, although few other details remain in my memory.

Before Alanis Morissette actually came on stage, a video played a series of clips from interviews and other promotional material to remind us how great she is. The band eventually appeared and then finally the star herself, just in time to dive right in with “Hand in My Pocket” from Jagged Little Pill (1995). That set the tone right there: the setlist leaned heavily on her first international album, with a good dose from her second-best-selling album, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (1998) and a smattering from her work that has come since. She ignored her first two teenage dance-pop albums as well as her most recent album, the ambient The Storm Before the Calm (2022). The newest song she performed was “Rest”, a non-album single from 2021. It’s hard to complain, as her picks largely overlapped with the songs I know and like best, but I appreciated that there were a few here and there from lesser-known albums that I didn’t recognize.

The classics still go hard, and she can still sing the hell out of them. Her voice is just as strong as ever and you’d barely notice that 30 years have passed since some of those songs came out. I was also impressed with how fluidly she would whip out her harmonica and blast out flawless riffs on it. (Definitely none of that loose and freewheeling Neil Young style!) She also played some rhythm guitar, but mostly let her band do the rest of the instrumental work. They were similarly tight, but that pointed to a problem it took me some time to put my finger on: there was no edge in the music at all. It was rather rote and too smooth and clean. They didn’t take any risks. Of course that level of professionalism makes for a solid performance, and I imagine most people got what they wanted, but I couldn’t help but feel that it was predictable and a little too easy.

The other aspect that bugged me was the visuals. After the embarrassing opening video, several songs featured projections that attempted to convey some sense of progressive, feminist empowerment. The messaging was kinda cringe and felt like pandering. The tone was deliberately inoffensive, middling, typical cishet white feminism rooted in 90s politics, and it was fairly clearly put together around 2022 and not updated since. The boldest messages were brief images of protesters holding signs with “Black lives matter” and “my body, my choice”. The lack of mention of Palestine or even Ukraine was telling. I know she’s Canadian, but the omission of anything about Trump, Merz, or any other demagogues was also odd. She barely spoke between songs, and the dissonance between her presence and the visuals made it seem all the more contrived. At best, it was simply distracting. The show would’ve been better without any of that.

About halfway through the set my enthusiasm was waning, but I liked that Alanis switched things up and switched to an acoustic setup for a few songs before returning to the fuller rock setup for the final three Jagged bangers of the set. “Ironic” felt obligatory, as if she knew that her biggest song has been the butt of plenty of jokes, and she tried to distract from that by inviting three people to sing the first verse. I’m guessing they were VIP ticketholders, which is a whole other beast that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Unfortunately, the fans were barely audible so Alanis had to fill in most of it anyway. However, she changed the lyric of the last verse to “It’s meeting the man of my dreams / and then meeting his beautiful husband”, which was on point and the one antidote to my prior complaints.

The encore was also well-chosen, first with the City of Angels (1998) soundtrack single “Uninvited” to build tension and depth, and then the followup single “Thank U” from Junkie as a sweetly harmonious conclusion. It was perhaps a little on the nose, but inarguably the right choice to close out the evening. And then there was just the mad rush to return the cups and then get through the throttled crush to cross the moat and go home. I guess that’s the downside of seeing a band in a medieval fortress. (No bats this time, either.) Still a beautiful experience regardless!

[Alanis Morissette.]

The setlist was as follows, with some help from here. All the partial songs were segued into or from the following or preceding song, but I don’t recall the details.
01. Hand in My Pocket
02. Right Through You
03. Reasons I Drink
04. A Man [partial]
05. Hands Clean
06. Can’t Not [partial]
07. Lens
08. Sorry to Myself [partial]
09. Head Over Feet
10. Everything [partial]
11. You Learn
12. Would Not Come [partial]
13. Smiling
14. I Remain [partial]
15. Rest [acoustic]
16. Flinch [acoustic]
17. Mary Jane [acoustic]
18. Ironic
19. Are You Still Mad [partial]
20. All I Really Want
21. Sympathetic Character [partial]
22. You Oughta Know

Encore:
23. Uninvited
24. Thank U

Scores:
Lùisa: B
Alanis Morissette: B-

Thanks to Alyssa!

Immergut Festival 2025 Day 3

I slept worse than the night before, but took it easy and relaxed until the performances began. First up was Roller Derby, who I’d seen a few years ago at Synästhesie. I decided to give them another shot, but basically had the same feeling as last time. I liked the hints of dream pop and Cocteau Twins guitar, but they were too light and breezy for me to really dig into. The official schedule listed a surprise for the next slot, which turned out to be Laura Lee & The Jettes. They had a pretty generic sound and I didn’t stick around for more than a few minutes.

I came back for Mary in the Junkyard, whose self-description as an “angry weepy chaos rok trio” was rather exaggerated. (Well, they are a trio.) I didn’t find them chaotic or angry at all. There were a few hints of drama but they were mostly chill. Perhaps too chill. A few too many songs lacked percussion and just featured guitar or bass and violin. I saw a lot of opportunity, and they were a good band to listen to while lazily lying on a blanket, but I guess I craved a bit of the advertised chaos.

They were followed by Drangsal, who I knew only as the main project of Max Gruber, whose side project Die Mausis is a collaboration with Stella Sommer of Die Heiterkeit. With seven synthesizers and six musicians on stage, of which four occupied space somewhere in the mid-range, they summoned a thick, heavy wall of sound. The individual instruments were rather indistinct while Gruber’s melodramatic voice was foregrounded. They initially played a dark sort of post-punk that was right on the line for me, and then they switched to a more standard pop-rock style and totally lost me. I left.

[Drangsal.]

After another break, I came back for Erobique. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a solo musician known best as a soundtrack producer, DJ, and remixer. He appeared behind an array of keyboards, accompanied only by a drummer. I was skeptical, but he won me over immediately. He had a casual, laid-back demeanor but played exceptionally well. He built up layers of beats and synths and maintained a fun, chill, groovy vibe the whole time. The live drummer really helped. The highlights were whenever he grabbed a melodica, came out from behind his rig, and played the instrument better than I’ve ever seen it done while dancing around the stage. This was a performer who was clearly optimized for the festival atmosphere. Some songs’ themes, like “Urlaub in Italien” (“Holiday in Italy”), were maybe just a bit cringe, but it didn’t bother me. I was wholly taken in.

[Erobique. Look, I was too busy grooving in the back where there was space to move freely to be bothered to take a better picture.]

After that came Isolation Berlin. They started with an unexpectedly heavy, dark, angry energy, which was a bit intense and almost too much for me. But after a few songs, they suddenly shifted into their more typical new wave indie rock sound, which I found much more charming and sweet. They played most of their classics, as well as some newer songs that were just as good, like “Verliebt in dieses Lied”. Their trademark seems to be somewhat depressing lyrics over good guitar music with a little synth, buoyed by the expressiveness and curious charm of their vocalist. “Alles grau” was great, but it was a little weird that someone crowdsurfed to it. Not much later, two people with signs asking the band to show solidarity with Palestine were escorted out after they shouted something I couldn’t discern between songs. That wasn’t a great look. Other than that and the few bits of unbridled anger, they were very much up my alley.

I was starting to lose energy, and I wasn’t expecting that I would be into Nilüfer Yanya, but she came with a full band, good grooves, and a little more edge than I had anticipated. I’d put her last record somewhere on the more accessible side of the pop spectrum, but her live set seemed like something else. I couldn’t keep up and headed back to the tent, although I continued to like what I could hear while I was brushing my teeth.

And that was that. The next morning I packed up and came back to Berlin. Not a bad experience for my first European outdoor festival! I had a great time, even if I still struggle to deal with people that don’t seem to know how to share space respectfully. I liked that the festival was on the relatively smaller size (I believe around 5000 people), that all the food was vegetarian and every vendor had vegan options, and that prices were reasonable. It shows that it’s organized by an e.V., a nonprofit association.

Scores:
Roller Derby: C+
Mary in the Junkyard: B-
Drangsal: C
Erobique: A-
Isolation Berlin: B+

Thanks to my fellow festival crew!

Immergut Festival 2025 Day 2

Somehow I managed to get some sleep after my first day at Immergut. It was still sprinkling here and there for a bit, but the day turned increasingly pleasant. In the meantime, I walked to the nearby grocery store and soaked in the atmosphere.

At the start of day’s formal activities, I listened to Charlotte Brandi of Me and My Drummer read from her new book, Fischtage, while I sat on a blanket and ate a wrap. The parts she read dealt with coming to terms with the frustrating, difficult, and bizarre aspects of her childhood, which gave me gender feelings but didn’t interest me much. But as a surprise ending, she played a haunting, mesmerizing rendition of a Björk song solo on keyboard. She was quickly followed by Beharie from Norway, who seemed friendly, but played rather tame singer-songwriter pop. I wasn’t inspired to stick around.

I took a break and came back for Sophia Kennedy. I couldn’t really see the band at all, but it seemed she was using samples or backing tracks to augment the drummer, bassist/synth player, and her own keyboard. Instead of being distracting or taking away from the intensity or dynamics of the show, it instead felt like a proper production. The band’s sound was huge and immersive, but neither heavy nor dark. I was totally lost in it, or at least until there was some sort of incident that led to a person getting led away by medics. Not long later, someone in the band missed a cue and they had to start a song over, although they recovered quickly and barely seemed thrown off. Despite the distractions, I was thoroughly impressed. The live set somehow totally eclipsed her studio recordings.

Next up was Dog Race. I was anticipating darkwave, but they were sparser and more foreboding than I’d expected. The singer had a strong, deep voice, but her style was serious and anachronistic, and her band seemed incongruously young and bored. I found their unforgiving darkness unsettling, so I left.

[Dog Race.]

Back outside was Porridge Radio, who are apparently on a farewell tour. They started strong with a lot of energy and reminded me of the early 90s alternative rock heyday. They had that same magic sense of looseness that comes off as raw authenticity, charm, and unbridled emotion. I wanted more of their harmonies and dynamics, but relaxed into their familiar vibe regardless. They gradually slowed down and took things down a notch, and thus I got bored and restless. Sure enough, right as I left to take a break, it sounded like they were picking up again. I wish they’d been able to find a better balance, or that they’d adapted their set better to the festival atmosphere.

[Porridge Radio.]

I came back for Bilderbuch, who seemed to draw the largest crowd of the weekend. My crew wanted a space up near the front, which was hard for me to handle, so I basically squeezed in the middle of them to have a bit of a protective buffer, and that helped. The band came out in full force with walls of video screens and a loud, thick, highly produced sound. They played tight and strong like a well-oiled, efficient engine. Their singer and lead guitarist were showy and played to the crowd. I was fairly well engaged by the experience, but increasingly distracted by their apparently cocaine-fueled cishet masculinity. It occurred to me that that was the same energy that I was getting from the oblivious, obnoxious partiers at the campsite, and once I had that realization, I couldn’t enjoy it any further. I left, although I could still see and hear part of their last songs while brushing my teeth. A setlist has been posted online, but I cannot vouch for it.

Scores:
Sophia Kennedy: A
Dog Race: C-
Porridge Radio: B
Bilderbuch: B-

Immergut Festival 2025 Day 1

At long last, I’m finally through the worst of my health needs that limited my time, energy, and patience for going to shows. Festivals have been entirely out of the equation for a while. I missed the 2023 iteration of Synästhesie and it now appears to be defunct or at least dormant. However, after my partner went to Immergut last year with friends, she encouraged me to join her this year. This was my first outdoor festival in Europe (well, not counting Melodica), and my first ever where I camped on site.

After taking the train to Neustrelitz, catching a short festival shuttle ride on a restored older train, and setting up the campsite, I started my musical experience with Sofie Royer. I was curious about her alleged blend of disco, rock, and synthpop, but the result wasn’t as exciting as I’d hoped. Her voice was good, and I admired her violin skills, but she relied on backing tracks to fill out most of her sound, including even guitar solos. Her bassist was funky and the drummer put down some decent grooves, but it was weird to have a lead guitar part and her own harmonies played from tape. It felt too much like karaoke.

[Sofie Royer.]

Immediately following was Mel D of Mischgewebe. I was initially again disappointed, as I was expecting something of a spooky, mysterious vibe based on what I’d heard beforehand. Instead, she played a pretty standard form of indie rock that highlighted her strong voice. I liked her shy bassist and in particular her harmonies. The drummer also added some extra touches on keyboard and chimes and occasionally sang a backing part as well. Mel’s guitar leads were rather simple, but the general vibe was pleasant.

[Mel D.]

I took a break but ended up catching most of strongboi’s set anyway while waiting in an unusually slow-moving line for a burrito. I found their R&B to be much too smooth and clean, and the lyrics were upsettingly clichéd. Thankfully I received and consumed my burrito in time to catch most of Paula Dalla Corte’s set. She was full of energy and drama as befits a TV pop star of her standing. Her voice was even stronger than the preceding women I’d seen, but the instrumentation was rote and absent of surprises. At least she didn’t seem to be relying on backing tracks, or they were subtle enough to not be distracting. Her band offered a tiny hint of harmony that left me wanting more.

My real hope for the day (if not the festival!) was International Music, and they didn’t disappoint. The trio was tight, upbeat, and in a good mood. Their wry, absurd humor was at the fore, and they used their limited instruments, effects, and voices to full effect. I felt like there was still a touch of something missing from the records, but one of my crew said it sounded to him like there was more going on than he could see. The set was fun and I was glad their playful psychedelia still translated to the stage. Their set was a mix from their three albums, with a slight bias against the second (Ententraum, 2021), which was after all their least successful. I was near the front and realized much of the crowd was singing along. I was too when I remembered the words. This was the sort of experience that made me feel like a properly acclimated German (for better or worse).

[International Music.]

The sets were running late by that point, and I was tired from a full day and week. I made it a relatively early night and went to bed, or at least tried to. The nearby bros did their best to piss off the entire campsite with a loud boombox and terrible music. Somehow I eventually drifted off, probably thanks to the rain.

Scores:
Sofie Royer: C
Mel D: B
strongboi: D
Paula Dalla Corte: B-
International Music: A

Dummy / Lawn Chair - Live 2025.05.20 Badehaus, Berlin, Germany

Dummy put out one of my favorite albums of 2024, Free Energy. It draws heavily from the playbook of Stereolab and My Bloody Valentine (I mean, there’s a song titled “Soonish”!) yet remains experimental and playful enough to stand on its own merits. I was thrilled that the LA band was coming to Europe on tour.

Lawn Chair of Köln played first. They played an energetic take on punk with a bit of keyboard thrown in. The bassist played some spiky rhythms while the guitarists mostly filled the space with power chords but occasionally added some spice with a brief riff or effect pedal flair. The lead singer and frontwoman stole the show. Her lyrics were often plain and direct, but her presence was strong, almost confrontational, but like she wanted to make sure we were having a good time with her. She jumped in the audience to sing from the floor a few times for the hell of it.

Dummy’s stage presence was rather more reserved, and they had surrounded themselves with synthesizers and other instruments. Of the five members, all but the bassist played synth and percussion at some point. One of the guitarists even started the show shaking a maraca in the audience before climbing up and picking up his main instrument. They were shy and mostly let the music speak for itself, but technical difficulties encouraged them to talk to us more than they might’ve otherwise. They played most of Free Energy and a smattering of older songs, and while they generally set about reproducing the recorded sound on stage, it breathed and felt more alive than I feared it might. I was impressed by how well they’d arranged what sounded like complex studio compositions for live performance. There were a few samples and some of the work was done by sequencers, but that never overwhelmed the feeling of, well, free energy.

The vocals were surprisingly clear, which is something I rarely experience at smaller venues, and especially not with bands that tend towards shoegaze. I wish the two singers did more harmonization or simultaneous vocalization; they mostly just traded parts. Regardless, they sang well and carried the melodies effectively. The rest of the instrumentation stood up just as well. The band’s rhythms were particularly highlighted, which meant that I danced through the entire set. It was captivating. They speak my language.

I didn’t even try to capture the setlist, and I haven’t seen one online yet, but it was probably similar to the night before, except that technical problems prevented them from playing “Dip in the Lake” and “Sudden Flutes” until the encore. Whatever. I enjoyed this from start to finish.

[Dummy.]

Scores:
Lawn Chair: B
Dummy: A

Thanks to Jochen and Tim!

Soltero @ Junction Bar on May 8

New year, new album, new show! Soltero is coming to you at Junction Bar on Gneisenaustraße in Berlin on May 8 at 20:30. I'm thrilled that we'll be sharing the stage with our friends Lutzilla. We've got new songs and new arrangements and we're excited to back in concert!

Soltero - Staying Alive (2025)

 

Staying Alive is out now! I'm incredibly proud to be a part of this album. Playing with Tim and Ludwig is a joy, and recording with Matt Johnson was great fun. The album is on Bandcamp, Spotify, and everywhere else you might want it. I'm looking forward to bringing these songs to you on stage!