Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Venue: Orpheum, Graz, Austria
Concert date: 15.01.2009
Attendance: 1000
Ticket price: €32
When Irishman Rea Garvey moved to Germany in 1997 with his head in the “clouds” and a demo version of an album in his pocket, hoping to make it as a musician, it was surely the “checkmate” of his life. Reamonn, formed a year later, caught everyone’s attention at the turn of the millennium with their very first single, which later became the multinational hit “Supergirl” from the debut album “Tuesday”. A move that doesn’t work out for everybody. Last November the guys released their fifth studio album, simply titled “Reamonn”. On the sixteenth of January the five-piece kicked off the “The Million Miles Tour 2009” with a gig at the Orpheum in Graz, Austria.
Warming up the crowd was the Vienna pop rock trio Josh Mars. In a good half hour the guys presented their debut record “Rewind Yourself”, released last fall, plus a few other songs. From the album, a few of the better ones are worth a mention: “Fishing for Compliments”, “Superman”, “Safe Again” and “What Are You Waiting For”. The crowd’s reaction during their set was surprisingly good too, rewarding every single song with thunderous applause.
But all the attention was focused on one thing only. On the daddies of that “supergirl”, Reamonn. They kicked off their set at exactly nine o’clock sharp with the opener “Faith” from the latest record. The little hall, bursting at the seams from the crush, sang along with Rea. Even though it was clear during “Set of Keys” that the newest tracks aren’t well known yet, the crowd didn’t settle for just listening. One of the first highlights of the night was definitely the song everybody knows, “Josephine” from their first studio record. From the first riff to the last, the crowd “screamed” along at the top of their lungs. And why wouldn’t they, it’s one of their biggest hits. Well on its way to becoming one of those is also the second, “first real” single from the new album – “Through the Eyes of a Child”. A song with a really good lyric and an even better chorus: “Why did we make it so hard, this life is so complicated, until we see it through the eyes of a child“. And why is it the “first real” single? Because the first one, “Open Skies”, was only released in electronic form for listening online. “Aeroplane” is yet another of the newer, rather unknown tracks. After two such big songs it felt kind of weird when the crowd suddenly went almost completely quiet. The only song Reamonn played from the third album “Beautiful Sky” (2003) that night was “Star”. The crowd was back on its old track. The second highlight of the night. “Broken Stone” brought another hush. Which maybe isn’t even surprising, since the Graz show was the first on their European promo tour. Garvey then picked up the guitar for the first time that night and confidently launched into “Tonight”. But after the first two verses he messed up the singing and stopped the whole thing. A few smart alecks in the crowd gave him a bit of a booing, but Rea didn’t let it get to him. He addressed the packed crowd and started the song again. The second go was better and the crowd was already singing along with him. Next came one of the gentler tracks from the album “Tuesday” – “If I Go”. Couples cuddled up closer to their partners, singles lit up their lighters … The perfect romantic mood. The guys broke up the run of their own songs with a medley of covers. After “The Island”, which they played as a full band, bassist Philipp carried on with a piano solo of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by Israel Kamakawiwa. The initially instrumental song continued with the crowd humming along, even though they didn’t quite nail the chorus. The rest of the band soon joined Philipp on stage, and not even the most clueless layman could have missed the next riffs. “Clocks” is of course a “signature piece” of Britain’s Coldplay. The pleasant revelry continued with three new tracks. “Open Skies” was the first “not-quite” single, with a very catchy chorus. “Free Like a Bird” followed solidly, though the crowd didn’t react all that fervently. The hidden gem from the latest album is “Million Miles”, which could well be their next single. Although “Swim” is one of their oldest songs and, as you’d expect, should have gotten surprisingly strong backing from the crowd, sadly that wasn’t the case. Only a handful of people sang with Garvey, but they made an effort for everyone else too. Two newer ones, “Moments Like This” and “It`s Over Now”, were interrupted by “Serpentine” from the album “Wish”, released in 2005. After a short break Reamonn came back on stage and played two more songs. The newer “Serenade Me” and the song they can’t end an evening without. That was the one and only “Supergirl”. A megalomaniac hit for the perfect finish to a pleasant get-together, played a little differently. Garvey grabbed the guitar again, and Sebastian swapped the keyboards for a saxophone. The third and final highlight of the night.
At the first show of the European tour, Reamonn once again wowed the crowd. Besides the old, indispensable hits and a few covers, they played almost every song from the latest album (except “Goodbyes” and “Broken”). They’ve clearly set up the promo just the way it should be done. The guys never fail to impress!
Photos: Miha Mally
Setlist
Reamonn: 1. Faith 2. Set of Keys 3. Josephine 4. Through the Eyes of a Child 5. Aeroplane 6. Star 7. Broken Stone 8. Tonight 9. If I Go 10. The Island 11. Somewhere Over the Rainbow 12. Clocks 13. Open Skies 14. Free Like a Bird 15. Million Miles 16. Swim 17. Moments Like This 18. Serpentine 19. It`s Over Now —– encore —– 20. Serenade Me 21. Supergirl
Photo gallery
