A Very Special Encounter Of The Third Kind
Last time I have seen RPWL playing live was in 2012. Wow, that is was a long time ago. They played, of course, at :: Zentrum Altenberg :: Oberhausen, Germany. Now I was just tempted to say that they always play there when on tour in this state of Germany. But, stop, I remember that they also played my hometown, Muenster, back in the days, even if it was a decade ago.
Nonetheless, Kalle Wallner and Yogi Lang of RPWL (and their label Gentle Art Of Music) have a close connection to this venue and to Wolfgang of Impuls Promotion, because every label band sooner or later makes its stop at Zentrum Altenberg and returns from that day on.
Meanwhile, RPWL have started a collaboration with extraterrestrial entities to tell us Tales From Outer Space, bringing them to 10 cities on German soil. As you can imagine, all those unknown flight objects sightings the last couple of weeks caused quite a stir ;)
However, the welcome of all kind of aliens at Zentrum Altenberg was phenomenal, because the club was sold out.
The good news: being sold out did NOT mean that every millimeter was stuffed with fans. No way! The club was surely crowded but with enough space left to breathe and to move easily. Well done!
The audience was, more than I commonly sense when going to Prog/Art Rock shows, of a higher average age. I was tempted to feel young again ;) Well, I never attended a Genesis show so far for example... ;). Anyways, the ladies and gentlemen were of a proper knowledge about the scene, history and bands and shared a lot of details. Walking (Prog) libraries so to say…
:: pics :: AARON BROOKS ::
Due to all the anticipation, I totally forgot that there was a support act announced. I might have looked a bit puzzled, when a Canadian trapper-like looking guy entered the stage with a guitar.
:: AARON BROOKS :: is, better said was the singer and songwriter of American psychedelic rockers Simeon Soul Charger, who disbanded in 2016. Now, AARON BROOKS continues his musical journey as a solo artist, of course under the roof of Gentle Art Of Music (which was also the label for his former band), and has released his solo debut, Homunculus (with the collaboration of Kalle Wallner and Yogi Lang) last year. On stage, AARON BROOKS stood all alone and presented his songs in best singer/songwriter manner: with his acoustic guitar. While the expat (now living in Germany) is richly influenced on his debut album, his live performance tonight was rather unagitated and one-dimensional. I sensed a slight Country/Americana tendency in his play, but that is just a tiny part of all those stylistics, technics and elements that can be actually found on his record. Hmm. Solid show and… nice. The response from the audience was benevolent but reserved.
:: pics :: RPWL ::
Yes, the musical/stylistic gap towards the headliner is quite big. And the crowd made clear right from the beginning for whom they were here for tonight.
During the change-over stars were flickering on the back-screen, while almost every theme song from (old) Sci-Fi TV series was sparkling out of the speakers. I saw many raised eyebrows while the fans tried to recognize from which TV series the one or the other song was from. Since the average age was high, I also saw many smiling faces once they got it.
:: RPWL :: seem to have a weakness for especially old TV series, most preferably from the 60s like Raumpatrouille Orion (Space Patrol Orion), Star Trek of course, Lost In Space, Dr. Who and other ones. At the end of the change-over I also heard the X-Files theme song.
At the beginning of the show, a special trailer kept records of the UFO landing at Zentrum Oberhausen. That was rpretty cool to watch and must have been a hell of work to produce such trailer for every single show on the tour.
With the first tones of A New World RPWL hit the stage, all armed with dark sunglasses, turning towards the crowd and… WTF?... What did singer Yogi Lang drew out of his jacket pocket? Ah… “flashed” (by a neurolyser)… What happened? What was I talking about? *confused*… Hahahaha… yes that was fun!
RPWL fully kicked off their set and started to tell us their Tales From Outer Space. The band played all seven stories the new record has to offer. An excursus in Prog and Art Rock with many guitar solos, long instrumental passages, wonderful melodies, driving rhythm patterns, consonance and harmony, and of course a bow towards Pink Floyd and Marillion.
This part of the live journey went on for around 50 minutes, but is not enough for a RPWL show. The aliens were friendly ejected through a Hole In The Sky, while the band remained on earth to please the audience with very old material, from their debut album God Has Failed for example, and the still frighteningly hot topic Bob Dylan cover Masters Of War.
Yet, it was not the end either. The crowd applauded enthusiastically and demanded more and an encore was given. Because the band feels so welcome and connected to this club, they appeared after the show at the merch for chats, photos and autographs. What a likeable band, close to their fans and without any airs and graces.
Since the show was sold out, RPWL announced an extra concert and will return in fall. On November 24, to be exactly. Same place, same time ;)
Band: Yogi Lang - vox & keys, Kalle Wallner - git, Markus Jehle - keys, Marc Turiaux - drums, Sebastian Harnack - bass
Setlist: A New World, Welcome To The Freak Show, Light Of The World, Not Our Place To Be, What I Really Need, Give Birth To The Sun, Far Away From Home, Hole In The Sky, Sleep, Masters Of War (Bob Dylan cover), Roses // Cymbaline (Pink Floyd cover), Unchain The Earth (The Scientist)
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