10-03-2010 Blue October

Supports: Blackmarket; Venue: Batschkapp, Frankfurt (Germany)
By: Nina Mende

I see many many shows all the time, but not very many shows blow me away like tonights show did: Blue October played at Batschkapp tonight.

As I arrived there were already quite many people standing outside the venue. Many of them were Americans. Also could you tell right away that a fan club was present: they all wore Blue October Fan shirts.

The show was not sold out but it was still very crowded, the audience was interesting.

The first band of the night was Blackmarket. Blackmarket is an US rock band from Arizona. This trio warmed up the audience and rocked with them. Their music was catchy, fast and thriving. Many people in the audience danced and sang along, cheering out loud after each song and shouting stuff towards the band. The band replied. As opening act they did a great job in getting the audience into the right mood for Blue October in 30 minutes only. For one song the violinist of Blue October joined on stage and performed with Blackmarket.

After the changeover it was time for the main act Blue October. After knowing the latest album “Approaching Normal” I was definitely curious how they would be live. I was quite sure they would be great live, but being that brilliant? I did not expect that. Blue October is a rock band originally from Houston, Texas. The band was formed in 1995 and currently consists of Justin Furstenfeld (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Jeremy Furstenfeld (drums, percussion), Ryan Delahoussaye (violin/viola, mandolin, piano, backing vocals), C.B. Hudson (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Matt Noveskey (bass guitar, backing vocals).There is many things that make this band interesting: The violin, the morbid and sometimes strange lyrics, the rumors about them, …. The guys entered the stage with dimmed light and lots of smoke. The audience cheered out loud, they all probably knew what would expect them which only made my curiosity rise. They began playing. Catchy songs and melodies with a gorgeous vocalist and violinist is not all they have. The singer… I just could not stop staring at him: He had so many expressions on his face. Sometimes he had this insane killer look that gave me the creeps, sometimes he seemed so vulnerable. From adorable to freaky, anger and aggressions to loving sweetheart: Justin had it all and even more. After only a minute of watching him on stage I already knew this guy is brilliant: A maniac, insane and crazy but a brilliant genius! All the other minutes of the show just strengthened this impression. Justin put so much expression and so many emotions into the words he sang that you could literally feel the pain he must have felt writing it, the luck, the anger, the desperation, everything. Like a rollercoaster ride of emotions whirling all around inside of you with constant fascination of the brilliance of the entire show. Justin walked up and down the stage singing to the people and expressing every word he said with his hands as well, bringing it all even closer to you. From soft vocals to strong shouting, up high and down low this guy definitely knows how to place his voice perfectly right. Amazing! Let me try to pull my mind away from the singer for a while to tell you about the other people on stage: There was a violin player that also played piano and a miniature guitar throughout the songs. A great entertainer as well, having an amazing appearance. He knew well how to use his instruments and so did the others. They all seemed happy on stage and totally in their element. It was amazing to see that. You could feel such an amazingly positive yet strange vibe coming from the stage sucking you right into it. They played mostly songs off their latest album. The audience sang along or even sang for Justin. The fans knew all lyrics by heart and teamed up to a strong choir backing up the band. The light was amazing and you felt as if you were out of time and space for the moment. Blue October’s singles received even more cheering and vocal support by the audience. People were dancing along all the time and having a blast. I was still blown away, speechless and amazed. It is really rare that I see such a mind-blowing performance like this one. I could go on forever bout Justin’s brilliant performance as singer, the way he made you feel what he felt with his songs… How Ryan played the violin, piano and guitar with such an ease… but I think you got the picture of how superb this was. After an hour they left the stage, but the audience demanded encore. Ryan came back for two solos on violin. Brilliant! Then the entire band returned for two last songs before leaving for good. Blue October is like a drug. I am craving for more now. Still blown away and amazed. I must say: this was one of the best if not the best show I have ever seen!