who: ahab
where: band on the wall, manchester, uk
when: 21 october 2011
about four months ago, i first stumbled across songs from the shed. the list of bands/musicians jon can show off by now, is more than spectacular. after spending endless hours looking through pretty much all the shed sessions, i came across ahab. they were so impressive that i knew i had to see them live. so once i knew for sure that i´d be leaving germany for good and move to manchester, i got myself a ticket to see ahab at band on the wall.
it was not only the first time i´ve seen ahab live, but also the first time i´ve been to band on the wall. if you´ve ever been to the kesselhaus kulturbrauerei in berlin, just imagine that venue about three or four times smaller and you´ve got band on the wall. it´s a great venue for such small and intimate gigs and the friendly staff sure made it even nicer.
it was a night of firsts – not only for me but also for the band as this was the first gig they´ve played in central manchester. quite a few people in the audience have seen ahab before though which is why i got the impression that this gig was some sort of insider tip.
it was not only the first time i´ve seen ahab live, but also the first time i´ve been to band on the wall. if you´ve ever been to the kesselhaus kulturbrauerei in berlin, just imagine that venue about three or four times smaller and you´ve got band on the wall. it´s a great venue for such small and intimate gigs and the friendly staff sure made it even nicer.
it was a night of firsts – not only for me but also for the band as this was the first gig they´ve played in central manchester. quite a few people in the audience have seen ahab before though which is why i got the impression that this gig was some sort of insider tip.
ahab
ahab delivered a wonderful 14 track long set (+ a one song encore), including “lightning bug”, “like roses”, “joanna”, my personal favourite “run me down” and lots more. in contrast to their shed session where it was basically just two guitars, a mandolin and a bass, they were joined by a fifth gentleman on drums for this gig. a lot of instrument swapping was going on nevertheless which just proved that they certainly are a very talented bunch of musicians with everyone playing several instruments. perhaps even a ben howard could still learn something from these guys.
every time i listen to ahab, i feel like i´m back in america. once you´ve lived there for quite a while, you definitely had to deal with country music at some point. so did i of course but up until today i think you have to find the thin line between folk and country music, because they´re simply not the same (even though a lot of people think that). especially when you think about the difference between those two, it´s hard to place ahab somewhere in there. i would simply put them pretty much right between folk and country, leaning a little more towards folk. why? country only because of the sound, folk because of the sound, the lyrics and the stunning vocals.
because in the end it´s not necessarily just the instruments that make their music special, it´s their voices. their songs are great on record, i´m absolutely in love with their shed session but what they delivered here in manchester was simply beyond amazing. i didn´t expect them to top the stuff i already knew, somehow they managed to do that though. the wonderful two-, three- and four-part harmonies are incredible and no offence to some of other bands i saw live who are doing the same thing (like stornoway or dry the river), but there is no way they can compare to ahab.
you know the feeling when you´re attending a concert and this strong feeling of pure joy is building up inside of you that you just can´t stop smiling and are close to tears, just because you´re so happy right there in this moment? i really have no words to describe this and i don´t remember the last time i felt this way at a concert (except for stornoway in july perhaps). bands like ahab make me leave their gigs with the urge to pick up my guitar and get playing as soon as i´m back home.
lots of swearing was going on during the gig (only in a good way of course), more or less drunk girls were dancing (surprisingly able to stand up on their heels) when everyone else was too shy to dance and i even had to sit down for a moment but there was no way i could deny a nice lady a good picture of dave. she walked up to the side of the room where i was standing and tried to take a picture when dave was playing the keyboard, but i was standing in her way. when she smiled at me and whispered “i have a thing for dave!”, there was simply no way i could say no, so of course i sat down and gave her the chance to take a decent photo (i just hope she really got a good pic).
all in all, i had a perfect night out and i´m sure everyone else who was there would agree. i met some nice people, got to talk to the band afterwards (very nice lads), attended one of the best gigs i´ve been to in the last few years (maybe even the (!) best) and by the end of it, simply enjoyed myself and the incredible live performance by ahab. see you again at the academy next month, guys!
every time i listen to ahab, i feel like i´m back in america. once you´ve lived there for quite a while, you definitely had to deal with country music at some point. so did i of course but up until today i think you have to find the thin line between folk and country music, because they´re simply not the same (even though a lot of people think that). especially when you think about the difference between those two, it´s hard to place ahab somewhere in there. i would simply put them pretty much right between folk and country, leaning a little more towards folk. why? country only because of the sound, folk because of the sound, the lyrics and the stunning vocals.
because in the end it´s not necessarily just the instruments that make their music special, it´s their voices. their songs are great on record, i´m absolutely in love with their shed session but what they delivered here in manchester was simply beyond amazing. i didn´t expect them to top the stuff i already knew, somehow they managed to do that though. the wonderful two-, three- and four-part harmonies are incredible and no offence to some of other bands i saw live who are doing the same thing (like stornoway or dry the river), but there is no way they can compare to ahab.
you know the feeling when you´re attending a concert and this strong feeling of pure joy is building up inside of you that you just can´t stop smiling and are close to tears, just because you´re so happy right there in this moment? i really have no words to describe this and i don´t remember the last time i felt this way at a concert (except for stornoway in july perhaps). bands like ahab make me leave their gigs with the urge to pick up my guitar and get playing as soon as i´m back home.
lots of swearing was going on during the gig (only in a good way of course), more or less drunk girls were dancing (surprisingly able to stand up on their heels) when everyone else was too shy to dance and i even had to sit down for a moment but there was no way i could deny a nice lady a good picture of dave. she walked up to the side of the room where i was standing and tried to take a picture when dave was playing the keyboard, but i was standing in her way. when she smiled at me and whispered “i have a thing for dave!”, there was simply no way i could say no, so of course i sat down and gave her the chance to take a decent photo (i just hope she really got a good pic).
all in all, i had a perfect night out and i´m sure everyone else who was there would agree. i met some nice people, got to talk to the band afterwards (very nice lads), attended one of the best gigs i´ve been to in the last few years (maybe even the (!) best) and by the end of it, simply enjoyed myself and the incredible live performance by ahab. see you again at the academy next month, guys!
luke [left] and dave [right]
callum [left] and steven [right]
ahab
I loved it! :) I'm glad that it seems like you had such a good time! :D I'd love to see them live sometime.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I loved your analysis of country and folk music. It really is such a fine line. I never really wanted to check much folk out before because I really dislike typical country. But once I learned the difference, it's sooo worth it. :D