LIV KRISTINE: ACOUSTIC SHOW
22.12.2017, Alte Seminarturnhalle, Nagold
Liv Kristine’s annual Christmas concert has become a real tradition for herself and her fans. This year’s special acoustic show took place in Nagold on December 22nd. Nagold is a picturesque small town located 50 kilometers south of Stuttgart and is well known for its castle ruins and the historic town center with its many traditional timbered houses. As in the previous years, Liv chose the “Alte Seminarturnhalle“, actually an old gym used by the former teachers’ seminar in town as venue for her show. The former gym was built in the same way as the other historic houses in the city center, which contributed to the special atmosphere at the concert.
Liv and her band arrived in proper style in a huge nightliner that was parked outside the venue. As in the years before, it was a seated concert with chairs around small tables, which created a very intimate and cozy atmosphere among the audience. The lovely staff of the “Alte Seminarturnhalle” treated the audience with snacks and drinks before and during the concert.
As Liv had already announced a couple of days ahead of the show, the setlist included many cover versions, some Leaves’ Eyes songs and of course also songs from her solo albums but this time not a single Theatre of Tragedy song.
What made the concert that special were – on the one hand – the five cover versions sung by her that night. Besides her well-known and well-loved cover versions of Mike Oldfield’s To France and Scarborough Fair by Simon & Garfunkel, Liv performed her personal interpretation of the Black Sabbath classic Changes, that had already aroused a lot of interest among her fans after the two festivals in Lisbon and Madrid three weeks ago and can be considered also one of the many highlights of this very special evening. Her other two covers were also extremely well-received by the audience. Since Liv claims herself to be a huge Loreena McKennitt fan, she did a cover of The Bonny Swans which moved some people in the audience to tears. Liv’s highly emotional version of London Grammar’s Rooting for you also contributed to making the evening a once-in-a-lifetime experience for her fans.
On the other hand Liv and her band played many of her “old” songs in completely new versions. For example Liv had her guitarist Micki Richter as support for her interpretation of Pie Jesu and not a piano or cello as the years before. Other familiar tracks were played much faster than usual and therefore appeared in a completely different light than before.
One of my personal highlights was definitely being able to listen to the Leaves’ Eyes Track Nightshade from Symphonies of the Night live for the first time ever. Liv explained that being free from her former band also gives her the possibility to choose her setlist for the concerts according to her own wishes. For the first time ever Liv also sang Wonders from Skintight live on stage. Liv explained that the lyrics were about her childhood in Norway and about her gratitude towards her parents. She recalled an episode of her childhood, when a rose pearl accidently disappeared in her ear and showed up only four days later and she talked about her childhood fear of black panthers with yellow eyes under her bed.
Another all time favorite was Love Decay which Liv took as an occasion to state that love and freedom were the two most important things in her life at the moment.
Attentive fans might have recognized that there were some major changes in Liv’s acoustic band in comparison to the official posters that could be seen everywhere in Nagold. Micki Richter, who has also been part of Liv’s regular band for some time now, did an excellent job on his guitars and played an impressive intro for The Bonny Swans and contributed a lot to the special atmosphere during an instrumental performance of an Irish folk song. Since Elvya, who was supposed to support Liv on hammered dulcimer, had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances, Micki’s bandmate Markus Engel from Krayenzeit, a German medieval/folk band, stepped in at short notice and showed his impressive talent by easily switching from his cittern to pipes and keyboards and pianos during the whole concert. Mike da Silva on drums supported Liv and her band during two songs only, Heiko Gläser from the local medieval band Tinnitus Brachialis was hired only four days before the show and managed to learn all her songs on percussions at short notice and had his first rehearsals with the other musicians just hours before the concert.
Liv’s concerts in Nagold have always had a very special atmosphere and have also become a fixed date for all her fans and friends. Among those 140 visitors there were many familiar faces from other concerts and from various fan clubs from (almost) all over the world. Two fans from Chile had undisputedly the longest journey and there were also many fans from all across Europe, from Italy, Denmark, Greece, the Netherland, Belgium, France and all parts of Germany.
Liv’s stage outfit consisted of a red blouse (a last minute buy) and red high heels. The only thing people might criticize about the concert is the fact that due to the last minute changes regarding the guest musicians and the setlist the actual concert only took a bit longer than one hour. Liv compensated for this short concert by joining the audience for more that three (!) hours to chat with her fans, sign posters and booklets and to pose for pictures with fans. Many “new” fans were visibly moved by her sweet and amiable nature and the way she talks to and cares for them.
Since the concert seems to have been a big success, chances are good that we can return to Nagold next December for another very special and unique concert in this amazing venue.
Writer: Anna Finke
Setlist:
Intro/ Amhrán
To France (Mike Oldfield cover)
Changes (Black Sabbath cover)
Scarborough Fair (Simon & Garfunkel cover)
Vervain
Wonders
Nightshade
Fast Irish Song 1
The Bonny Swans (Loreena McKennitt cover)
Love Decay
Irish Rain
———–
Rooting for You (London Grammar cover)
For Amelie
Pie Jesu
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