04-04-2015 Chuck Ragan

Supports: Tim Vantol, Skinny Lister; Venue: Gibson, Frankfurt (Germany)
By: Nina Mende

Tonights place to be for punk and country fans was Gibson in Frankfurt. Three acts were rocking the house for three hours. A nice way to end the week, and here is why:

The Dutch singer-songwriter Tim Vantol was opening the night at Gibson. Standing in front of a sold out house that sure was intimidating but Tim did a brilliant job. He was absolutely overwhelmed and thanked the audience between his songs, inviting them to his solo show nearby in September. Tim Vantol was standing alone, only with his acoustic guitar and sang his songs to the fans. Great music, only with an acoustic guitar. Somewhere between country and punk but definitely strong and personal, coming straight from the heart. Tim Vantol was playing for about thirty minutes. Each song was absolutely catchy and pure. Sometimes he stood next to the microphone and sang, he was still being heard perfectly fine. A beautiful set by a humble guy. Tim Vantol was definitely worth getting there early. The audience agreed on that.

Skinny Lister was up next. Skinny Lister is a six piece British folk band, based in London performing mostly original compositions. Started in 2009, The band were a five piece until October 2013 when they added a drummer. The female fronted singer reminded a little bit of Audrey Hepburn with her looks. The band included a stand up bass and an accordion. All the sudden the stage was crammed with instruments and band members. They had a party on stage and included the audience. With their catchy folk music, sometimes slow to sway along to the music, sometimes fast to jump and dance along, Skinny Lister was getting quite some motion into the audience. Talking a little less between each song than Tim Vantol did, Skinny Lister was thanking the audience after the songs to then continue with the next. Playing for about half an hour they had the violinist of Chuck Ragan join them for a song. Sharing their alcohol with the audience Skinny Lister had fun with the audience and the audience with them.

Skinny Lister

Chuck Ragan and Camaraderie were taking over the stage last and pleased the audience for about ninety minutes. Chuck Ragan is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The Camaraderie is Joe Ginsberg on bass, Jon Gaunt on the violin, Christopher Thorn on guitar, Todd Beene on pedal steel and Rick Steff on piano. All were musicians that have been playing in different bands for quite some times. All amazing musicians that got together for a great time and even better music. Most of the time Joe Ginsberg was singing the back up vocals. For some songs Todd was helping out with the backing vocals though. The music they played was strong and pure. Handmade music coming from the heart. The audience was amazed and sang along to the songs, cheering out loud after, and paying the guys on stage their fullest attention.
Again, somewhere between awesome country music and punk rock Chuck Ragan and Camaraderie amazed the audience with a grand sound. Smooth music was taking turns with faster parts that caused motion not only amongst fans. Even though the venue was medium sized and packed, it still felt as if it was a small show in a living room. A very personal and familiar show. And that was only one of the many things the audience loved about it. Catchy tunes and great songs sung with the amazingly strong voice of Chuck Ragan. They guys played for about ninety minutes including an encore of two songs. Thanking everyone for coming out, telling stories about some songs in-between Chuck Ragan included the audience in their show. Everyone in the room appreciated that with wild applauses and cheering. It was definitely an amazing night for everyone. So keep your eyes open to be part of it next time.