The Subways Live In Dresden

Dresden isn’t a small sized city, with 500,000 inhabitants, but it’s close enough to Berlin that we barely ever get any bands here. So when tickets to the Subways show became available, they were sold out in no time.

They played in a venue called the Alter Schlachthof- literally the “old slaughterhouse”. It’s a really huge, high ceiling building close to the river Elbe. My friends and I got there at around 8, and the place was packed even though the actual gig started at 8:30. We quickly put our jackets away, bought some drinks, and squeezed through to the front of the stage. The supporting band, One Fine Day, was relatively unknown, and the audience wasn’t very supportive. Most of the people just watched the band lazily, and hardly anyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. My friends and I tried to start a mosh pit a few times, but the people around us got annoyed. After a while we went to the middle where the people were more cooperative and seemed more intent on having a good time. I was worried that the audience would be like this for the rest of the show and completely ruin the mood. Luckily, I was wrong.

As soon as One Fine Day left the stage, everyone in the room started crowding toward the front. While I watched the former mosh pit slowly fill up with people, I remarked to my friend that as soon as the first note would be played, it was going to start up again and it was way too crowded for that. I couldn’t have been more right. Billy came on stage, opening with Rock ‘n’ Roll Queen, and the crowd went berserk. I was separated from my friends in an instant and was pushed around the whole room. The rest of the show was just as great. The trio played all of their songs energetically and played many of them without even stopping. At one point, Billy, the guitarist, climbed up a giant metal pole and stage dived into the crowd from a couple of meters up. I got to hold him up both times he did it, but it seemed like the others just wanted to take his clothes. Towards the end the Subways rated us a 9.3 out of 10 for craziness, a score that deeply disappointed the crowd. We all decided to prove them wrong and by the end of the next song they agreed that we were a perfect 10.

Some of the highlights of the night were the very first song, Rock ‘n’ Roll Queen, which they sang in German, I Want To Hear What You Have Got To Say, and Oh Yeah. They played Oh Yeah as an encore, a cappella, letting the crowd sing, and then finishing it as an extended version full of breakdowns.

You could tell it was a great show just by watching the people leaving the venue at the end of the show, everyone was exhausted, drenched, but still smiling and looking very satisfied. Even if you don’t really know the Subways or their music, their live shows are amazing. I saw them once before, which was a great show, but this time they were even better. I would definitely recommend anyone to go see one of their shows.

Oh Yeah, I Want To Hear What You Have Got To Say

Myspace, Official

Philip Budney

Blood Red Shoes Live

This is Philip, my friend from north Germany, and he is hear to explain about the Blood Red Shoes gig he recently went to:

Living in Dresden, a pretty small city in former East Germany, I don’t really get to see very many good bands. So, one day I was sleepily cruising the web, when lo and behold, Blood Red Shoes were coming to Dresden! I obviously gathered a few friends and had the tickets bought in less than an hour.
Blood Red Shoes were playing Beatpol, a really awesome venue that I’d never been to before. It’s this really old house that has been renovated and it has a really great feel to it. My friends and I made sure to arrive early and get places right in front of the stage. The venue filled up quickly, and by the time the support act, 1984, started playing, the place was packed. 1984 played quite well, better than when I saw them at Frequency Festival, and got the crowd going a little bit. However, when Blood Red Shoes came on at 9 o’clock, everyone went wild straight away. As soon as they played the first note, people started dancing and having a good time. I didn’t see anyone bored, just standing there, and not having a good time.
All of the Blood Red Shoes songs are perfect for shows. They are all super, simple punk songs, usually with a slowdown and a really wilder part. They played their whole album “Box of Secrets” and played a couple new songs as well. These new songs were great, and sounded just like the classic Blood Red Shoes songs: lots of energy and fast paced. Steve and Laura Mary didn’t really say much, but they made up for that by playing with a truckload of energy and passion. After the concert I only managed to get half of the set list, as some girls standing next to me ripped off the other half, but the last five songs were:
You Bring Me Down
Forgive Nothing
Count Me Out
This Is Not For You
I Wish I Was Someone Better
‘Count Me Out’ was one of the new songs they played, which was great: I can’t wait for the new album. Everybody enjoyed every single song, with almost everybody singing along and rocking out as best they could. But the crowd really went wild for ‘I Wish I Was Someone Better’. The whole venue simply turned into one giant mosh pit within a few seconds of the song and there was no escaping it. Blood Red Shoes left the stage right after, but the crowd was just screaming for an encore, so they played another new song and then ADHD.
I left Beatpol half deaf, soaked with other people’s sweat and my own, with a Blood Red Shoes t-shirt in my hand and a huge smile on my face. I hadn’t listened to much Blood Red Shoes for a while, but after seeing the amazing way they played their songs, with all the energy and emotion, it seems like all the songs are stuck in my head again. After talking to lots of people after the show I heard the same thing – Great gig, and it was super fun.

It’s Getting Boring By The Sea

I Wish I Was Someone Better

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Thanks for the picture, Nicozz