This past Friday the 17th, some lucky New Yorkers got to experience Milky Chance’s beautiful new album, “Blossom” sung by the band itself live!
Living in New York really is a blessing, especially if you love music as much as I do. It is a city where artists want to come to release their new music, and often times will schedule a release show for the public. It just so happens that after what has been a couple of years since Milky Chance paid NY a visit, they chose our city to express their heart and soul in what was a series of beautiful performances of their new album Blossom and some from their first album Sadnecessary. Of course, they did not want to exclude their fans around the world from this experience, which is why they professionally live streamed the concert around the world.
While the audience impatiently waited for this talented group of guys to come on stage, Noah Kahan delighted the audience with his jaw-opening vocals. Watching this fantastic singer play his tunes on just his guitar not only made time fly by until Milky Chance’s arrival, but really created an electric atmosphere.
After 30 minutes of wait since Noah’s last song, the red light shined brighter. There was a moment of silence from the audience, realizing the show was about to begin, when suddenly everyone began to chant “Milky Chance! Milky Chance!”. The band came on, all four with smiles on their faces, one could tell they were really happy to be there. They began as soon as they all were quickly settled on stage with “Ego,” a song that had been released earlier as a teaser for the album. The night consisted of tunes such as “Blossom,” “Cocoon” and “Doing Good” from their new album and “Feathery,” “Flashed Junk Mind,” “Fairytale,” “Sadnecessary”, amongst others from their first album.
The new album this unique Berlin duo has created, has an added touch of the harmonica in many songs, making this album distinct from the last without, of course, losing the Milky Chance sound. Some might argue that Milky Chance’s tunes tend to sound a little repetitive, but in every song there is so much beauty that come from the lyrics, Clemens Rehbein’s raspy yet soothing vocals, and Philipp Dausch’s on-point productions. The songs may speak to similar tones, have the same instruments, and have similar vibes, but I do believe every song put out by this duo is precious and unique in their own way.
The two songs that stood out for me were “Firebird” and “Clouds.”
Clemens actually introduced the song as being the ‘weirdest’ or most different sounding one on the album. The vintage feeling beginning of the song, along with Clemens’ soulful voice and the purely red lights dimming on the shadows of the artists created a magical scenery when the song was being performed…
Clouds, I believe is one of their most upbeat, feel-good songs not only from this album, but counting the last as well. The energy with which Clemens sang this (and by that matter every song) and the joy beaming out of his smile just elevated the song and got the audience swaying from side to side.
In contrast, “Cold Blue Rain” (also a gorgeous song) gave out a nostalgic mid-western feeling. Starting with the harmonica, then blending with guitar and Clemens’ voice, this slow-moving song also made the audience sway but in a more intimate way.
The passion behind every member performing, Clemens, Philipp, and Antonio Greger, who joins the band in their live shows, allowed us watchers to really connect with the music and feel it. Antonio, who had some incredible harmonica solos, gained the hearts of all of us. My favorite part was when my friend turned to me and said “I never knew the harmonica could be so sexy.”
I had been wanting to see Milky Chance for a long while now. There are many artists who have a few great songs that I like, but with Milky Chance I love everything they create across the board. Seeing them in particular was just so much more fun than I had anticipated. Clemens danced like no one was watching, always with a smile on his face, Antonio was also getting in there with the harmonica and guitar solos, and Phillip (even though he was behind the instruments), was also completely engaged with the audience and the music. I always admire artists who are not only incredibly talented and passionate about their craft, like Milky Chance is, but the way they connected and they really captivated the crowd in an incredible way. Seeing them at a venue the size of Le Poisson Rouge (which is not that big), located in the West Village, and being allowed to have such an intimate interaction with the band as an audience member and a fan was truly an incredible experience and one that brought tears to many around me. With their most famous “Stolen Dance” and their sweet “Sweet Sun” as their encore, Milky Chance parted the stage and us with a memory we will always cherish.
Give this incredible album a listen!