Kulturkirche, Köln
Friday, 16 April 2010
His concert in Düsseldorf yesterday was wonderful!!
I enjoyed it really very, very much, but no words to describe the following night in Köln!!
This church in Cologne has always been a great place for him,
and yesterday was no exception!!
He loves the place, the people love him... I mean they always do.....
but sometimes there is a little difference in the atmosphere...
and yesterday was one of those nights again.
He got already so much applause before he had even started....
and it was open for everything and everything was there.......
So much power and energy, so much participation from the audience...
Tribe, City of Chicago, Rainbow Day, Sunny Sailor Boy,
Don't Be Afraid Of The Light That Shines Within You and the outstanding
encores were As I Waved Goodbye, The Fertile Rock and Black Is The Colour..
and finally a very beautiful a cappella version of I'll Walk Beside You.
It was such a fantastic and brilliant night, really wonderful!!
- Rena
Waldsee, Freiburg
Saturday, 1 May 2010
The German tour is over now with wonderful concerts everywhere....
Finally a short review of the last show in Freiburg, a very beautiful place in
Southern Germany. The Waldsee Cafe was a new venue for him, beautiful
located outside the city centre beside a little lake.
The set was again a great mixture of old and new favourites, and several songs
were again requests from the audience.
It was again a great audience, listening
to the songs till the last tone was gone and singing along so well on songs like
Tribe, Rainbow Day, Sunny Sailor Boy, Don't Be Afraid of the Light.... and The
Fertile Rock. All the songs ended with a lot of applause!
Sunny Sailor Boy was dedicated to one of the youngest fans in the audience,
a boy who celebrated his 10th birthday at his first Luka Bloom concert. It was
probably a moment he will never forget... :-)
The night ended with one of my favourite songs, a really wonderful version
of The Fertile Rock.....
He left the stage when we were still singing......
it was the perfect end of the show, it was the perfect place and end of
this great tour in Germany!!
- Rena
Birnam Arts Centre, Dunkeld
Thursday, 3 June 2010
Yay, an evening with Luka!
... sounding great ... looking relaxed and suntanned with plenty of banter.
These are the songs he treated us to...
I am not at war with anyone
Here and now
Tribe
June
Primavera
Make you feel my love
City of Chicago
No matter where you go, there you are
I'm a bogman
The first time ever I saw your face
Peace on earth
Exploring the blue
Love is a monsoon
Talk to me of Mendocino - Luka's world premier of this song. Originally by Kate
and Anne McGarrigle, Luka learnt it earlier this year following the sad death of Kate.
I'm on your side
May you never
Sunny sailor boy
You couldn't have come at a better time
ENCORE
This is your country
I need love
Joy of living
- Sally
> photo by Sally Vignoli
Òran Mór, Glasgow
Thursday, 10 June 2010
IT'S BUSINESS TIME...HIS NAME IS BLOOM...LUKA BLOOM
Luka started the show on a high and he just kept taking us higher and higher.
I gave a gently woo for Glasgow when he gave The West End a mention in The
Acoustic Motorbike but if you blinked you might have missed it.
He sung not only my favourite but in fact by the volume of the audience The
West End's favourite You Couldn't Have Come At A Better Time as the last
song before coming back on for an encore.
Talk about finishing on a high.
If it hadn't have been a standing gig we most
definitely would have been at that point. For me that was the highlight of the gig.
I could not believe that Luka was singing his song in The West End. The place
I regularly hear the song sung and had I not heard and loved the song I may not
have found out about "The Luka Bloom Magic". I still can't believe Luka came to
The West End and sung the song. I couldn't believe it as he was actually doing it.
It was the best Luka Bloom gig I have been to.
I hope he comes back soon.
Haste Ye Back (again), Luka.
- Stephanie Smith
> setlist
> photo by Jan Winder
Oerol Festival, Terschelling
Monday, 14 June 2010
Last week Luka played at the Oerol Festival on the Isle Terschelling in the Netherlands.
In the late afternoon he played open air at the Groene Strand for a big audience. Incredible
how a Man with a Guitar can make such a large Crowd enthusiastic and singing.
I was lucky to stand right in front of him and made some pictures.
Then we heard he would give another concert that day, very intimidate in an restaurant
somewhere in the middle of the Island. Only a few tickets were available. We decided to
try to get two tickets. So we went on bicycle to the restaurant and...we were the first.
We got our tickets, and the best places thinkable. Luka stood playing and singing only
two meters in front of us. Incredible, a dream. He played nearly two hours, asked
what he should play, unbelievable. What an evening...
Greetz from the Netherlands,
- Henk
Photo by Henk
Higher Ground, Burlington, VT
Tuesday, 28 September 2010
We just got home from a wonderful evening in Burlington, Vermont seeing
Luka perform at the Higher Ground Music Hall.
I've seen Luka many many times now over the past 16 or 17 years and I'm always
grateful for the opportunity. At times getting to a show has included some very long
drives and late nights, but this time around it was a short trip, since Luka happened
to be playing only an hour or so away from our home.
The crowd in the hall was small, but nonetheless people showed up. Luka warmed
to the setting quickly, encouraging everyone to move to the front. As soon as he started
playing we could have been anywhere. He gave no less f then he would have anywhere
else despite the small crowd, and by the end of the evening I think maybe even just
the opposite was true. There was something powerful happening and the songs
just kept flowing on the shared musical journey he took us on.
I was struck by just how much of himself Luka puts into every facet of the song;
his strumming arm is a machine that can stop on a dime or hammer without fail
and dance between the lightest touch to the most driving rhythm. He doesn't hold
back and is a master of his craft; that he works hard is an understatement. What
he does is impressive and inspiring on every level, from songwriter to guitar player,
from performer to musician, he creates something really beautiful and fulfilling.
A few tunes I recall from the evening:
Water Ballerina
Primavera
Sunny Sailor Boy
Make You Feel My Love
Tribe
True Blue
Exploring the Blue
City of Chicago
Monsoon
Wherever you go there you are
Bogman
Ciara
Don't be so hard on yourself
I'm on your side
Gone to Pablo
Encore
Acoustic Motorbike
The Man is Alive
It was a great night!
- Dave Cain
Ramapo College, Mahwah, NJ
Saturday, 2 October 2010
What a GORGEOUS night of music. Many new faces - definitely quite a few 'newbies'
to Luka's music which is always a good thing to see. :) We met up with friends who had
to drive in from the city and they got caught in traffic. Though we had a lovely and funny
time at dinner with them we unexpectedly had some difficulties getting to the Berrie Center.
So we missed the first couple of songs. But it was great to have heard all the songs
we did in a theater where the acoustics were AMAZING!!! WOW.
Here's a setlist though not in any particular order and I know he sang Tribe before we
arrived but I'm not sure which other song he sang.
Thank you for bringing me here (can't remember if it was just that I was thinking this
often last night or he sang it!) : D
Tribe
Primavera
No Matter Where you Go, There You Are
Make you feel my love
Here And Now
First TIme Ever I Saw Your Face
Love Is A Monsoon
City of Chicago
Perfect Groove
Bogman
Peace On Earth
Don't Be So Hard On Yourself
Lord Franklin
Ciara
Exploring the Blue
Gone To Pablo
Sunny Sailor Boy
Acoustic Motorbike
Couldn't Have Come At A Better Time
-
I'm On Your Side
Man is Alive - Hill of Allen - Man is Alive
He got a standing ovation and so launched straight into more songs - I don't
remember all the encores but I'm sure he finished with man is alive and that
I'm on your side was one of them as well. The audience wasn't as involved
in singing along but they made respectable attempts. ;)
They were all very good listeners to the gorgeous sound that only Luka can
draw from those lovely Alvarez guitars (DANKE WOLFGANG!!!) and the
gorgeous acoustics of this venue!!! Which was heard at it's BEST with
Paul (Scully) handling sound, of course! :)
Everyone left in great spirits. Lots of happy smiling people! As I was
waiting to see if I could find Jennifer, I was seeing people filing out and
it was great stuff to hear all the positive comments and see all the
musically well steeped Luka listeners after having been brewed to
perfection in gorgeous night of music! Luka and the guitar trio are
looking and sounding AMAZING. Woohooo!
Our friends who were hearing Luka for the first time really enjoyed
the concert as well and were impressed with Luka's guitar playing
and his vocals on the slow songs especially, as well.
- Vicky Romani
