Burgerweeshuis, Deventer
Saturday, 17 April 2004
Of course I did not really go bananas I mean - we are talking Before Sleep
Comes promotion tour... Before the concert I admitted to Rena I am not a
quiet songs girl really (have grown to love BSC, but mainly after I had a
bad bad cold a few weeks ago and was so sick for about a week I could not do
a thing. not even read or watch Oprah J All I could deal with was the
soothing melodies and the whispering voice of Luka in my ears and it really
made me appreciate the music). So, I was hoping he'd throw in some wilder
songs. not too many. maybe just one or two Over the moons or a tiny little
Delirious or even a semi-wild Shape of love to come. And when we got into
the room and saw three mics, I said, that's it, he's gonna do a 'Damian
Rice' on us and come up with a really soft and quiet cd and then blow our
head of with all these drums and electric guitars and go mad when he
performs the songs live!
But no such thing. Did not blow our heads of. Just blew our minds...
So I did not go bananas (probably not a surprise to you all. hardly a banana
girl me ;-)). But boy did I love it! Such an unusual Luka concert.
Definitely one of my favourites! (then again, too lazy to go and check in
the archives, but I think I always say that...) He called it an experiment.
Well, a very successful experiment it was!
And wasn't he looking smart in his black suit with a tiny little stripe on
it? (still, also love him in jeans and that mad shirt he wore in the Melkweg
last year or in an old Neneh Cherry t-shirt.
Luka made 1 big mistake though: He invited 2 of his friends onto the stage
for most of the concert: Suzy on violin and Claudia on percussion.
She was sitting on a box
and while her body moved to the music the brushes in her hands just seemed
to happen to hit the box and some things around her producing the music.
amazing stuff!). Anyway, big mistake of Luka to invite them, because: 1)
they were about 20 times as pretty as him and 2) because we will now always
feel there is something missing when they are not there. The three of them
were suuuuuuuuuuuuuuch a perfect match. Ruined every future Luka-solo
concert for all of us present there yesterday I think (Tanks, Mr.)
He/they played good few of BSC songs (not all of them). And LOADS of new
ones. Some written only 2 weeks ago or 3 weeks ago. I loved the song 'Thank
you for bringing me here' about the loving environment this 8 yr old girl is
growing up in. And absolutely LOVED the version of Keeper of the Flame the
trio did!!!! And loved As I waved goodbye. Realised it was exactly 1 year
ago I left Tibet after my incredible trip there.
Luka told us after that he only found out it was a standing concert after he
saw this message on the Lukalist. He kind of panicked but it was too late to
change it because too many tickets had been sold at that stage. (Actually,
after a few songs I got pretty tired, and when the girl at the bar saw my
belly she let me sit on the bar for the rest of the concert. Great spot!
Played for ages and ages. Very chatty him... was clearly enjoying it as much
as we did. (was only scheduled for an hour and a half I think, but played
for nearly 2 hrs. When my sis went to the hall to get a drink she saw a big
queue of impatient partygoers giving out that their Eighties Party was being
delayed.)
All was perfect! Apart from the ridiculously loud air conditioning of
course. Ruins our changes on a 'Deventer' cd as a sequel to 'Amsterdam'.
Ever since this was a promotional tour and ever since people started smoking
inside the room like mad after he finished he went into the courtyard to
sign cds. We walked into the courtyard and he had a big gang of fans around
him.
There, the moral of this story is: the BSC concert in Deventer was great!
And it was really nice to chat with Luka after and to see him in great spirits
and to hear he had loved it loads as well (hope he'll be able to talk Suzy and
Claudia into doing a bit of a world tour with him so you can all experience it!!!).
- Sandra
> setlist & photos
In-Store Performance @ Concerto, Amsterdam
Sunday, 18 April 2004
We had a wonderful time at Concerto this afternoon, so many new songs! And
Luka was so relaxed. Suzy and Claudia, who played in Deventer, played at
Concerto too. Luka played for over an hour, until well after the shop officially closed.
I loved the new songs, all of them. I guess my favourite for the moment is
Love in a Strange Old Place because it is about Amsterdam.
Luka described how he came to be touring at all, he was in Concerto a few
weeks' ago and the owner of the shop asked him why he couldn't sell the new
CD. Luka said he could if he wanted to, and they decided on this little
tour. I think he sold a fair few cds, and signed most of them.
- Jolande
> setlist
> photos
In-Store Performance @ Fnac, Leuven
Saturday, 8 May 2004
It was a small 'living room' size bit at the end of the shop and it was
already full of people when we got there. So we sat on the ground, and then
this sound technician came with a big cart full of amps and speakers,
scratching his head and calling Niall on the phone saying there was no room
anymore for a concert. So Niall rushed in, flew all over the place, got
some people up, violated some security regulations and got everything going
smoothly. Then Luka came in a bit early. Rudy, the nice but overworked
sound technician, was still hooking up all the amps and wedges and speakers
and cables, so Luka kindly tried to help out. The amp didn't work (if Luka
reads this: it had a 'mute stand-by'-button, Rudy found that out
afterwards, it worked fine then) so all sound went straight into the PA and
there was no time for balancing mikes, but everone in the audience was
really relaxed. How would you be, in a living room with these guys trying
to get you a lovely sound? Someone even gave up her chair, so the mixing
board could rest on it.
The gig set in, and Luka was very talkative. Saying how this record came
about (or rather, non-record which he was about to non-promote, he almost
sounded like the singing 'non') but how he kept playing newer songs which
weren't on the record at all. Give the man a mike, and he'll have a good
time. Some very beautiful new tunes, brand new even, balanced by about the
same amount of 'before sleep' songs. My guess was the people loved it. My
sister and Liesbeth did, as did the kids in front. One even tried some shy
dancing on gipsy music. The innocence song is quite special - my guess it's
as much about childhood as it is about catholicism. It's about the smells
and bells and rituals and chants you experience in church as an altar boy,
and only in the second or third verse he says how that innocent way of
looking at catholicism gets lost when you grow up and how you then long for
things to be simple and mysterious again. At least, that's what I got from
it. And 'thank you for bringing me here' is a very beautiful song,
especially if you know where it comes from. But I can imagine that standing
at the entrance of the room would give some noisy disturbance by shoppers
and ruin part of the musical experience. And if anyone ever has problems
with their in-store air conditioning unit, give Niall a call - he's
becoming a real expert at this.
The set 'took off' a number of times. Luka almost floating, levitating on
his chair, sounds twirling around, drones and soft high cries,
instrumentals leading up to songs and back. An (Irish sounding?) lady with
her daughter asked for an older song as an encore ("But this is an old song
I wrote last year!") so after some thought he dove into Sunny Sailor Boy.
While we tried to sing the chorus ('refrain' means 'stop yourself', right?)
in the 'Dutch-speaking-and-Flemish-speaking-kind-of-way', Luka talked about
the first time he played Leuven, just after Iggy Pop who had been doing
Parental Guidance things with amplifiers on stage, and how he truely
panicked before going on stage and asked the sound man turn his guitar up
'really loud' (like in 'up to eleven') and how he got people coming back to
the stage and how he then found out it's about having confidence in
yourself. Anyway, if you play quietly, people will eventually shut up and
come closer and listen. So quiet is the new loud, if you get that.
There's no real sense in ranking or comparing concerts, but this one was
very good. And lovely.
't Was different, 't was gorgeous!
- Karl
> setlist
Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire
Saturday, 29 May 2004
I have just come back from Dublin and I can tell you that Luka's gig on
Saturday night was absolutely georgeous/deadly!! Luka, Claudia and Suzie
received standing ovations at the end - it was just incredible!!!
But let me start with Louise Killeen. She was the support act for the night.
Luka couldn't have chosen a better one! Louise is such a lovely person with
a fantastic guitar play and a lovely natural sounding voice; she couldn't
believe her luck, i.e. the audience who was so happy hearing her...it was
just a very special atmosphere in that theatre! Two lovely guys accompanied
her, one on a guitar (this one very similar looking to Luka, he seemed to be
very shy) and the other one on another instrument who also sang with
Louise - both were great, too!
After a 15-minute break Luka came in, stuck his nose into the flowers that
were standing on a table - very nice to see him cherish the flowers ;) - and
greeted everybody. He started playing on his own and after a couple of songs
Claudia came on stage. Amazing what she is doing. She is so concentrated to
really have the proper/accurate rhythm, to find the right way of
accompanying Luka's guitar play. Just incredible!
Later Suzie came on stage, too. Such a great and talented violinist! Luka
was nagging her quite a lot on stage - very sweet ;)
You wouldn't believe what Luka did the later the night got. It was like he
was trying to get everything out of everyone. The rhythm was so quick, the
two ladies had to give whatever they could. Luka was just carried
away ... faster and faste r... Luka's whole body was in motion although he was
sitting on a chair - amazing! Nothing like a very quite evening as I had
announced to my friends... it was quite, slow in the beginning and got faster
and louder ;) So everybody had something he liked or everything. I loved
really everything, it was just great.
I went with two friends who had never seen Luka playing live and who really
enjoyed it, too. One of my friends was really excited, bought two cds (BSC
and TAMB), went to get the camomile posters that hung at the window and had
our picture taken with Luka. That was incredible as it was very unlike her
;))) You see what one Luka gig can do to people who haven't seen him before
;))))
I am sure you can feel how excited everything was. It was an outstanding
night, with very fantastic musicians. I am sure everyone was very happy and
full of joy afterwards! I couldn't tell which was my favourite song that
night. Luka played of course new songs but also many old ones. My friend
Wiebke most enjoyed "No matter where you go...". For me it is the same
situation: My friend asked me which cd I'd recommend but I couldn't
recommend a particular one because for me all cds are great. And so was the
night and the songs.
Most impressive was the idea about "forgiving" ...If I remember correctly,
Luka said at the end of that song: I forgive you, please, forgive me. Or
vice versa. That really struck me somehow. I think if everybody forgave the
other one, war would not have any chance, any basis...
Alright, I could go on writing for ever.
Sorry about not giving the complete set list in the correct order...I
remember the following songs: my singing bird, nora, thank you for bringing
me here, love is a place, i'm a bogman, she sings her songs with open eyes,
camomile, jordaan, primavera, in between days, no matter where you go,
forgiveness (or something like that), gypsy song, keeper of the flame.
- Gudrun
Bickford Theater, Morristown
Thursday, 24 June 2004
The concert last night at the Bickford Theater was just lovely. Alyanya is perhaps the most beautiful
talented lovely sincere awesome creature that I have ever witnessed. And no ego about her.
It's like you get enveloped into her pure aura.
I'm hoping Vicky took down the setlist--because I sure didn't! Luka and Alyanya sang a
song that Alyanya had just composed before the show, after a conversation they'd had
at lunch. It was entitled "It's Gonna be Alright". (I think) It was about living and dying and
about keeping the faith. We're all gonna die, but it's going to be alright.
At one point, Luka put down his guitar and sang a song in Irish.
It was so beautiful. It made me want to close my eyes and just concentrate on the words,
the voice (so I did!).
He played lots of new songs, and had his notes on the music stand (on yellow pad paper?)
and would glance at it from time to time. I was very glad for the new material. It makes me
think of the old days (I'm a pre-1970s rock n roller!) when we went to concerts to hear new
material. Our mindset was: you could hear the old stuffis on your already-owned CDs (oops,
it was records back then!!!!!!!!!!!!), and you went to a gig to see the artist doing something
different.
Luka seemed very relaxed and chatted of course between songs and thanked the audience
profusely many times. He kidded himself about his age (49) and spoke about the transformation
that kind of comes upon you at midlife. (although he didn't say it like that) It's the awareness
of needing and wanting to hold on to or to rediscover a childhood innocence, although he
didn't say it like that either. But, any of us who have hit that age milestone in our lives know
exactly what he's talking about.
At one point he was talking about the lovely Inn at which they were staying and mentioned
the innkeeper by name, and she was in the audience and shouted out "I'm here!"
He was kabitzing how there is a picture of "W" (our prez) in the breakfast room and he
had to look at "W's" face while he was eating the homemade granola. He also made
a crack about "W's" remark that the US is not part of Europe... yet. I was laughing
because I had heard the quote, but it did go over the head of my companions.
So, he's definitely up on his politics!
Then he said, I better shut up or she'll kick me out of the Inn" and a lady shouted out,
"You can stay at my place!" And we were all laughing, and even then another cat
call from another lady about staying at HER place.
On the whole, the audience was very quiet, just revelling in the magic. Luka was
VERY pleased when the audience recognized the opening strums of a few old
tunes (Sunny Sailor Boy, Make You Feel My Love).
This is only the second Luka concert I have ever seen, but, thanks to Vicky and
Jeannie and Rena (who is visiting here!!!), they've persuaded me to be present
at a couple of other gigs....
- Deborah Sandford
> setlist & photos
Bickford Theater, Morristown
Thursday, 24 June 2004
I'm knackered but smiling! Quite the drive and worth every mile though
crossing the George Washington Bridge still breaks the heart because
the sky is just sooo dark (normally you'd be greeted by a beautifully
lit sky as the towers would stand lighting the downtown area and all
the sky around it. You think of all that's lost. But I kept holding
onto the thought 'It's gonna be alright' in my head. So thanks Alyanya.
And on the curve off the bridge we saw a BEAUTIFUL orange harvest-like
moon. Could it be that it's a musical harvest time? Or just the warm
energy sent skyward from a lovely theater in New Jersey by several
talented people? Hope everyone there last night saw it, including Luka
and Alyanya!!!
The setlist was of course kept track of by able hands, Deb. I get too
into the songs and forget to write 'em down so I always have pen and
paper for able hands. But able hands were at the ready!!!
I can remember some of the songs Luka sang so not in order:
1) She Moved Through the Fair - First Light of Spring - She Moved Through
the Fair
Great segue way and GORGEOUS song!
2) Venus - very cool song...I love the feel of it...like a bit of a
edgy and sexy tone during the chorus about the movements in the sky.
It feels like it ends too fast but that's likely because I don't
want it to end at all! I'm not demanding MOI?? Noooo! :-))
Luka's playing a LOAD of gorgeous new songs and with each one it like
like: "Wooowwww...don't be over...don't be over!!!" ;-)
3) June - I'm madly in love with this song and so is everyone who
seems to hear it!! They CAN NOT keep still hearing it.
Even in those gorgeous REALLY comfy seats at the Bickford,
there was definite wiggling and tapping! ;-)
4) Gypsy Music - looking forward to all the mad gypsy sounds in the new
Europe! Wooohoooo!
5) Old Jordaan - sorry I always mess up the name of this song...but it
makes me want to go and visit the 'off the beaten (tourist) path' of
Amsterdam for sure!
Remember to sing along during the
'ahhh-ahhh-ahhh-ahh-ahhhhh-ahhhh-ahhh....
ahhhh-ahhhh-ahhhh-ahhh-ahhh-ahhh-ahhhhh' part.
It sounds even more lovely when people do that!! :-)
6) Innocence - so important to hold onto as the days turn into years
and decades. I love this song sooo much. It's hard to pick a favorite
from the new songs, but at the moment, this has to be it.
Just because it's as if it's getting inside my head about a little boy
and saying exactly what it is about childhood that he and WE all need
to never give up on, EVER!!! It's really lovely.
7) Miracle Cure - forgiveness and love, doesn't get much better! I
LOVE the image of a closed fist turning to an open hand turning to
healing, which Luka so beautifully phrases in this song. And he can
walk the walk because he asks and offers forgiveness in it too.
A great song for the world now. But I was thinking it's a great song for
humanity anywhere, anytime. For someone mentioning age and time often, :-)
he sure is writing a lot of songs with a timeless quality about them.
8) Nora - he must go to a lovely place or just enjoy the sound (WHICH
WAS GORGEOUS!!!) because he plays with so much expression; lost in closed
eyed dreaming. It's so neat to watch the expressions on his face
matching the notes. There's something about really gifted musicians
that even when not singing, it's like the music is flowing from this amazing
well they've tapped into, and every fiber of them moves with each note.
It also makes me think that's how he must have looked recording it...
knackered...wind blowing...boards creaking at the Old Mill...amazing...
9) Camomile - warm warm warmmmmmmmmm....and I was chilly so it was like
being handed a warm cuppa and a place by the turf fire! Brilliant and
thanks!
10) The Irish Song/Sean Nos (old style) "Caoineadh na dTrí Mhuire"
("Lament at Calvary" or "Tears of the three Marys")
[he mentioned the collection it's on "The Seven Steps to Mercy" by
Iarla Ó Lionáird]
11) Summer and Friends - 'are forever' and please God may that be so
because I've been blessed with so many people these past years that I
can call 'friend' both in the U.S. and abroad, so many of which
I've met during or very near to summer time!!
12) Sunny Sailor Boy - oooo-ahhh-oooo-ahhh! (-:
13) Make you feel my Love - yeesh if all this new beautiful music isn't
doing that, I don't know what could!!! (((-:
14) With Alyanya...'Arise' is a GREAT SONG and I feel like they
NAILED it last night!!! LOVELY!!!!
15) Always lovely to hear a beautiful voice and soul with Luka's
enhancing the song written for Cristina Noble...yeesh I'm singing it as
sit here and can't remember the name...okay better hurry before the
last brain cell goes! GOT IT! 'Love is a place I dream of'...
16) The new song by Alyanya with a very touching and then funny
intro!!!! Luka's a kook! LOL!!! Alyanya had a giggle so she
certainly can take a joke and I loved the way she smiles during her OWN
opening set. The only flaw in them is that they are not longer!!!
:-))) "It's going to be alright" is a tough one to get through without
a tissue because of how warmly it treats some often serious topics!
But I had goose bumps because I kept thinking how much comfort this song
will bring to so many people facing tough, tough times! Really amazing
thoughts set to beautiful music. And Luka doing backing for her with
both ARISE and IT'S GOING TO BE ALRIGHT. Wowww...they sound VERY
good together!!! Hope they record some of these and songs yet to be
born, perhaps, as a duo! They really work well on stage together with
really warm energy and smiles going back and forth.
17) Left this song for last: THANK YOU FOR BRINGING ME HERE which
Luka dedicated to Deb and it was GREAT to see how touched she was by
that warm gesture!!! She was still very touched after the show, and I
know how much she cared and how hard she worked promoting the show
and so it was well earned! Hope it'll keep her smiling for a long
time!!
I agree with what Deb expressed about Alyanya, she's pure joy!
Lots of light coming from inside her and she offers it up without
reservation or an ounce of worry or fear. Amazing!!!
I woke up with 'First light of Spring' ('first light of spring my
love...first light of spring...first light of spring my love is sweeter
than anything') in me head today and then Venus ('Veeenus passes by the
sunnnn, Venus passes by the sunnnn') followed then by 'June'.
I thought I had my iPod on and then realized 'wait' these are new songs!
So it looks like my head was re-playing the songs for me as I slept!
Really cool!!!!!!!
There was so much smiling going on after the gig and it's SO great to
see!!!!
Okay it's not just because I'm already a fan or maybe predisposed to
enjoy Luka tunes that I think the new show is so good. I heard one man
who was there last year say 'that was GREAT...definitely more quiet but
GREAT!!!' And there was a LOT OF ENERGY in that superlative.
This is a 'quieter' show but not less energetic or joyous or moving.
There are times when at the MOST quiet moments you can sense all
the life and it's energy around you better; you're more in tune with
it. And that's where the new show takes you...or me....
To all listers, friends and to Deb, Luka, Alyanya and Niall especially:
I thank *YOU* for bringing me here!
- Vicky
Knitting Factory, New York City
Saturday, 26 June 2004
Just a quick note about last night about the NYC gig. I met Rena and Erwin there, and
Vicky got there, too. It was a standup show (I'd never been to one of these). The show
was absolutely terrific. The setlist was basically the same as at the Bickford, but the
songs were more polished - there was less looking at the "notes" and a
beautiful fluidity, coherence and depth to his voice. I want to say more 'polished'
or practiced, but whatever it was, Rena agreed with me.
The crowd was warm (emotionally, and yeh, it was hot in there, too!) full of admiration,
and yes, adoration. All eyes on Luka, everyone smiling, couples being lovey-dovey,
etc.
Earlier on, someone asked, "Where's Rudy and Judy?" I got the idea that
the audience was not familiar with the 'new' Luka, but they were truly accepting of it,
nonetheless. Toward the end, someone shouted out, Can ya speed it up? Or something
to that effect. He sort of gave his half-laugh and picked up Alyanya's guitar (she had
already accompanied him on stage for 'Arise' and 'Love is a Place I Dream Of'.
Then he began strumming something I didn't recognize until he started singing:
It was City of Chicago, and Rena and I were elbowing each other, and laughing out
loud and hugging each other at our great luck to be at a gig where he bestows this
gift upon the crowd. He followed that up with Bogman, and needless to say we
were crazy all over again.
Afterwards, some fans gathered in the barroom (small and dark) where there
were a few small tables and seating. It was a pleasant crowd, and Luka came
by, and I didn't even recognize him until he spoke. (well, it was dark!) He had
on a cap, and long shorts like the teenage boys wear, sneakers without
socks... He looked so darn cute!
- Cheers! Deb
> setlist & photos
United Methodist Church, Nantucket
Tuesday, 29 June 2004
The Nantucket show was gorgeous. It took place in a big, brilliant old Methodist Church right
in the centre of town, and the 'stage' was actually the altar. Good sound and a good crowd -
a large turnout despite it being a Tuesday night on Nantucket! There were posters hung up
all over town, in shop windows and the like, and Himself was on local television for a couple
of days before so that obviously helped spread the word.
Alyanya opened and was her usual stellar self (if just a little bit nervous!), singing her songs
which are as lovely as she is. She did a fantastic job, am so glad to know of her now! Thank
you for bringing her here, Luka. ;-)
The man did all his new songs, and I didn't think to write down the setlist but perhaps someone
else did? It was pretty much the same sort of thing as the other shows - Innocence, June,
Salvadore (which got a giggle out of the audience), and Caoineadh Na Dtrí Muire,
which he sang without the sound system at all. That was, I think, *the* moment for a lot of people
in the pews because it was just him standing there, singing these gorgeous words that none
of us understood, but we didn't have to because we could *feel* them. Brilliant.
Sunny Sailor Boy was wonderful, with the whole place singing and the moon shining
outside the church windows. Lovely!
Then Alyanya came back and after Arise and Love Is a Place, they did The Big Dig again.
I am really coming to love this song, though I think it's rather dependent on whether or not
you've ever been to the North End and Friend Street, if only because you can picture it in
your head and then the song makes that much more sense. What I like about the song
though - besides the down-and-dirty guitar, which sounds like someone digging - is that it
begins with the intent to make you laugh, then goes quite serious and the result is that you
feel guilty about laughing in the first place! Sneaky and underhanded, that!
There was a reception after but for the most part our little group
stuck to a table outside and away from the main party, because it was a
lovely cool night and we just wanted to relax a bit. It was great fun
seeing everyone again, and meeting new faces, and seeing an island I've
never been to before. It's one thing to travel to hear new music,
that's always good fun, but to also experience a new place at the same
time is even better. I loved Nantucket - though, I loved it more when I
got out of town and away from the twin sets, pearls and hatboxes. ;-)
- Anna
> setlist
Rivierenhof, Deurne (Antwerp)
Thursday, 12 August 2004
I never thought that a concert that was completely in the rain could be
that good. Luka pulled it of once more. 1300 people, sitting in the rain for
almost 2 hours and quiet as mice. And this only with one voice and guitar.
Apart from the rain upon the umbrellas you could hear a pin drop. What a
great crowd we have here in Belgium.
The least you can say is that Luka is in a very creative state of mind at
the moment. New songs stream out of his body practically daily I think. When
Before Sleep Comes came out I wasn't all that convinced this would work
during a complete concert but I know better now. How magical can a gig be?
Out of an annoying injury came beauty and change. The complete setlist will
follow shortly but it was completely different than let say 2 years ago.
This was no. 10 for me but it will definitely not be my last.
If I had to pick one song out of all that beauty I would choose his new
version of the 20 year old song "City of Chicago". Tears to my eyes.
- Dirk
Rivierenhof, Deurne (Antwerp)
Thursday, 12 August 2004
"When the rain is blowing in your face...
there is nothing that I wouldn't do, go to the ends of the earth for you..."
Well, we didn't go to the ends of the earth, just a 2-hour-drive, but for sure
yesterday night we didn't have the best weather for an open-air concert!
While it was dry during the performance of the opening act it began to rain just
after Luka came on stage and it didn't stop anymore for the rest of the night!
Sitting close together under an umbrella, listening to the wonderful songs...
only hearing the raindrops falling/pouring down... for me that was a very new
and unique concert experience!!!
The Openluchttheater in Deurne is a wonderful open-air theatre located in
a beautiful surrounding. There is a water basin between the audience and
the stage, using water fontaines as curtains!
And the concert itself... it was magic pure!! apart from the rain or maybe
especially because of all this rain!!
Luka was in brilliant form! The sound was great - special thanks to Paul! -
and the audience was really wonderful! probably only a little bit handicapped
with clapping because of holding the umbrellas!!
I always have huge problems with choosing any favourites...
ALL the songs he played were simply wonderful!! I LOVED the new
version of his 20-year-old song 'The City of Chicago'!! Already one
of my favourite songs before, it sounded very new and unique!
Also very special once again the Irish song 'Coaineadh Na Dtri Mhuire'
(Luka used to translate it with "Tears of the three Marys").
My Singing Bird, Summer and Friends, Salvador, Miracle Cure,
Gypsy Music, Primavera, June, No matter where you go, there you are...
and 'Doing The Best I Can' is such a BRILLIANT song!!
All together it was a really great set, so at the end we can only say
"Thank you for bringing me (us) here"!!!
The first encore songs were 'In Between Days' and 'Make You Feel My Love',
and finally he finished the show with his brilliant 'Bogman' song
and an outstanding a cappella version of 'I'll Walk Beside You'!!!
Once again walking home on clouds... :-)
- Rena
> setlist & photos
Handelsbeurs, Gent
Saturday, 11 December 2004
We just came home from this lovely weekend trip to the Belgian town
Ghent. Unfortunately I am coming down with a hefty flu, therefore I gave
the gettogether a miss and coughed and sneezed on my own together with
my friend Sandra before the concert started.
The venue was the Ghentian stock exchange, an old building done over by
people knowing what renovation is about - showing the old traits of a
building but adapting it to the needs of today. And they have mastered
that job. It was one of the nicest places I have ever been to see a show.
Sharpish at 9 o'clock we were let into the auditorium and 20 minutes
later our man made his appearance, starting with
I AM NOT AT WAR WITH ANYONE
to continue with an adapted
BLACKBERRY TIMES
followed by
PRIMAVERA
then some furniture had to be moved :-))
SALVADOR had a great entree story (no, I am not going to tell)
VENUS PASSES BY THE SUN
was followed by
DOING THE BEST I CAN (had me breaking out in tears for the first, but
not the last time that night). The guitar picking was so brilliant, it was a
completely new Barry for me.
A MIRACLE CURE - I do not remember that well but hope it will be on
the new record we all can expect pretty soon we have been told..
PEACE ON EARTH was a LOVELY and breathtaking instrumental, played with
such virtitude, that I was only staring on your man's right hand and
couldn't take my eyes away.
INNOCENCE and GYPSY MUSIC - which held him barely on the stool, and me barely in
my very comfy seat
IN BETWEEN DAYS
and NOW figure this:
DIAMOND MOUNTAIN - in a very new but nevertheless intense and lovely
version. I wouldn't have thought to hear THIS song ever again from the
NEW Luka.
Then the hanky had to come out again for THANK YOU FOR BRINGING ME HERE.
A long misplaced CITY OF CHICAGO was nicer, than I have ever heard it
from anybody else (maybe that's due to the fact, that it was now back at
his maker)
We could all join it at the singalong SUNNY SAILOR BOY,
which could have ended the show but the sold out house demanded more:
WHEREVER YOU GO THERE YOU ARE - which ALWAYS has me in tears, no matter
how joyful I am, but it is just so nice...
YOU COULDN'T HAVE COME AT A BETTER TIME wiped them off and replaced the
melancholy with a BIIIIIG Smile! The BOGMAN played his song and ended the night with SINGING BIRD
I know, I have said that upteen times before, but I have to say it again:
This was the best concert I have ever listened to.
And I asure you this statement is not triggered by my feverish mind or
the fact that the last concert is always the best, no:
there was a person in full unity with himself letting me have a bit of
insight to what he thinks about and the way to express that was a very
"grown-up" and maybe even "classical" concert.
I truely adore his new way of playing and
thanks to my friend Sandra who drove my feverish and sneezing self all
the 1300km, I could witness this lovely performance
Sandra, thank you for bringing me (t)here!
Grateful for both the drive and the concert
- Sabine
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