2016-11-06 - Blue Shell, Cologne

On Stage :

Solo concert

Reuben Hollebon  opened the show

Setlist : 

toxic angel
can't exist
september baby
travel as equals
echo park
i miss the zoo
a smile that explodes
you keep hanging on
walk on the wild side
gypsy faded
the campaign song
crying like a man
even if yer blue
in the sun
honey and the moon

Recording :

The concert was officialy recorded, and sold on usb stick after the show.

Review of this concert by Marco :

"Weird night, but turned out to be the good kind of weird. Joe started off with some hard transitions and loop mistakes and almost didn't remember the chords for Can't Exist. Might have been new loop machines, might have been some distractions he had before the gig, maybe both. Some crazy antics between songs, like coming up with stand up comedy character Gramps who, obviously, ranted about everything having been better back in the day (loop machines, for example).

I remember him not getting his head around why the audience was weird/quiet the last time he played in Cologne (during the only other solo tour he did in Germany, 2011), and something like that might have been the case here, too. He almost didn't play Travel As Equals, I guess because the audience appeared too detached, and offered/"threatened" to move to acoustic stuff like Echo Park, but one guy convinced him to play Travel As Equals anyway. Echo Park came next.

I Miss The Zoo saw him painting, obviously, then a short break, and back on stage another impromptu stand-up moment - Joe singing "That's Entertainment" with lyrics referring to people who must be freaked out since they only expected stuff like Honey And The Moon and got a crazy guy. And after that a much more focused set. Joe eventually asked for requests, one guy (the same as above?) requested Saint Of Impossible Causes but then asked whether Joe would play The Campaign Song, which he did. The set ended with Crying Like A Man and a second round of painting, Joe then went to the merch table and asked for his acoustic guitar for three (two and half) songs, including the "crowd pleasers".

Only thing that's regrettable about the night is that he only played one piano song; I had hoped for a bigger focus on this since it would both fit The Family and showcase a very different sound. I know there was more piano in other cities, but still, it's not as different as when he switches his solo gear for a band.

I've got video of the painting sessions and the merch table encore, I hope I'll get around to uploading that eventually.


By the way, support act Reuben Hollebon is a nice guy, check out his music if you find the time."