09-08-2017 Shawn James & The Shapeshifters

[schema type=”event” evtype=”MusicEvent” name=”09-08-2017 Shawn James & The Shapeshifters” description=”Support: The Big Swamp” sdate=”2017-08-09″ street=”Ponyhof” city=”Frankfurt” country=”DE” ]

Tonight we went to a very small club in the pub part of Frankfurt. We went to Ponyhof to grab some Mississippi vibes. How? With two amazing bands that played music that you can widely call bluegrass. And that by two bands of which one was German.

Even though it was a Wednesday night, the small club was quite filled with people. People you would not imagine being into this kind of music. But they were. The Big Swamp began playing their music and everyone instantly loved it. You could tell, that The Big Swamp sure knew how to use all these instruments they had on stage. And how to create the “swampy” sound of the American south east. But oh boys they could. The arrangements were perfect and the vocals were telling tales everyone was listening to.
The mood the music sent out was quite serious. But at the same time, you could feel the passion and love coming from the musicians and the fans that knew the band.

The Big Swamp was absolutely focused on their performance and sure made it a special one. One, no one wanted to be over. But eventually, it had to be. The guys thanked everyone for having come out and played a farewell song to the audience.

What a brilliant band. I must admit, I was surprised and speechless by how amazing their performance was. And I am sure, I was not the only one.

After a quick change over it was time for Shawn James & The Shapeshifters. Shawn James & The Shapeshifters is an American band from Fayetteville, Arkansas. They are known for the song “Through the Valley” which was featured in the teaser trailer for “The Last of Us Part II”.

Before they entered the stage, they turned on the fog machine and green laser lights. A combination that would cause the air to sparkle. Then the band entered, with banjo and fiddle at hand. And they began their music.

Fast and thriving rhythms came from the small stage, that got everyone moving and cheering along. It was quickly getting hot in the venue. The stage as so small, that the musicians really had to stick at their places. You could tell they had some troubles doing so, because they just wanted to jump around to their music. But, even standing (almost) still, they did an amazing job performing their thriving music.

Shawn James & The Shapeshifters were spreading positive vibes, making every second count. With jokes and laughter they cheered everyone up. The audience loved it.

The band played for well over one hour, pleasing everyone in the audience. Dedicating some songs to a few people. And making this Wednesday night worth while.

Shawn James
The Big Swamp