Ottmar Liebert's Fanmencos @ OLnet

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra live @ Jazz Center, Istanbul, April 1, 2011

The second concert of Ottmar's 2011 European tour I attended took place on April 1 at Jazz Center in Istanbul. When I learned that OL would perform there I found it a very good opportunity to finally travel that city.

Things were a bit unclear until the very moment I got to the club. I had tried to order tickets online but was confused first about the venue being Jazz Center and not Jazz Cafe, wondering if there was any difference in a city with 17 million inhabitants and a couple of potential locations with similar names. I had found a web site in Turkish and English that offered reserving tickets but differentiated between the first and the second set, charging for both. So I tried to verify if "two sets" meant two times the same set or simply the usual order with an intermission. Since nobody was able to answer that I voted for not reserving tickets but simply going there and then see. Jazz Center is a club a bit like BB King's in NYC where you are sitting at tables and are expected to dine which costs extra, of course. Needless to say that this turned out being my most expensive OL concert. Gent, in comparison, was the cheapest one. I do not regret at all, it was a special experience in various perspectives. And the music was, a bit in contrary to what Ottmar wrote in his blog, probably the best I have witnessed during the meanwhile 8 shows I went to. From a listerner's, a watcher's POV.

Jazz Center is situated in Ortaköy near the first of the big bridges and a beautful mosque at the water with a window view to Bosporus.

Istanbul by Borya

There certainly is an easy way to get there but I missed somehow finding it out in advance. With no direct metro line leading to the hotel complex the club is part of, I took a metro bus that I thought would drop me before that big bridge crossing the Bosporus. But there was no "final" bus stop so all of sudden I found myself leaving the continent and entering another. :-) Since simply taking the return bus would not have been of any real help, we went down to the water and took a waterbus back. It was just about the moment went the lights went on, in the city, at the bridge. Although it was a cloudy evening, it felt kind of mystique going towards Europe again, watching the city's skyline with all those mosques.

It took another walk until we finally found (!) the club. Jazz Center is quite a small venue in comparison with a lot of others Ottmar usually performs. Rather intimate, offering place for probably 50 visitors. No way the drums could be used the usual way! Jon was hanging around near the stage (saying that there was no backstage area that deserved the name) and we chatted a bit. He pointed to the monitors, to Houman's place where only the dumbek waited (and some of those small percussion devices), and to Michael's where the cajon had moved to and some stripped down drums. A towel placed on the hi-hat.

OL + LN live @ Jazz Center, Istanbul, April 1, 2011 by Borya
The very good thing for me was that we had a place directly at the stage, about half a meter next to Michael, one meter away from Jon, oneandahalf from Ottmar. So it turned out to be quite personal, in a sense listening to Ottmar playing live in a way I had always been dreaming of. The guys did a great job! Amazing how natural it sounded that Michael was playing cajon instead of Houman! And Houman playing dumbek in every piece! As if it had always been like this. There were some moments when Houman signalled to Jaren to change the sound a bit but really, nothing an amateur listener would have noticed... Speaking of Houman, he seemed to having had a good time, being quite vivid and smiling a lot. It was a good move to give the dumbek some space regarding that it was a Turkish audience they played for. So even with being forced to cope with a lot of disadvantages, Ottmar, Jon, Michael and Houman (and Jaren) did make the best out of it, performed wonderful music, not too loud not too quite for the listener, well-balanced between the instruments.

OL + LN live @ Jazz Center, Istanbul, April 1, 2011 by Borya
And then there was the episode with the chair that had been changed during the intermission and caused some obviously considerable back pain to Ottmar. A pity, to put it mildly, since performing with a view onto Bosporus could have been special for him and the others under different circumstances.

As for the music, the audience had a lot of fun especially during the two new yet unnamed pieces and the songs from NF and Borrasca. "The Road to Shiraz" and "Backwards Firefly" with their percussion parts fitted nicely the place. "Turkish Night", although despite a minor interruption ahead of the song was wonderful to hear - admitting that I might have been the only one noticing the song, its title, and its story knowing where the inspiration came from. One encore that day, and it was Ottmar coming back alone on stage playing "Silence". The audience was thankful for this, and some part of the audience probably more than the others. :-)

OL + LN live @ Jazz Center, Istanbul, April 1, 2011 by Borya
Some quick chats with Jon and Jaren after the show and then we took a taxi to Sirkeci to the hotel. We had been cheated a bit on arrival day so we knew what to do when taking a taxi in Istanbul: make sure that the taxameter is on, check that it is starting new and truely "command" the driver your destination. But well, Istanbul is a city that never sleeps and people try to bargain and fool you everywhere. It's kind of fun once you are used to it.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Luna Negra in concert in Gent, Belgium - March 23, 2011

Probably I should start my short review of Ottmar's concert in Gent last Friday by saying how happy I was when I learned last year that he will finally tour Europe with Luna Negra. The times I attended a concert, Ottmar performed either with a string quartet or solo. Needless to say that those concert were great to witness nonetheless! So this spring 2011 Ottmar came to Europe accompanied by Jon Gagan on bass, Michael Chavez on drums and Houman Orei on percussion. I went to Gent late Friday afternoon (I am currently working in Brussels), in fact the first time ever that I visited Gent. I had heard a lot of positive things about the city, especially that it was more dynamic and more full of life than other cities in Flanders. From the tram I could see a lot of pubs but in general there is only one thing I noticed on first view: that the city was tidy (but probably I am biased since Brussels cannot be described as being so). Anyway, tidy, huge, renovated, that was what the venue looked like as well. The venue being the Handelsbeurs at a place called Kouter. There is a nice little restaurant part of the venue and, probably not surprisingly, when I stepped in there, the whole group of Ottmar's company sat there having dinner ...
The actual concert room was like a cinema or theatre with seats going down, looking down on the stage. Quite big the room, actually, which might be a reason why it was not completely full. One also must acknowledge that it must have been the first time ever for Ottmar performing in Belgium so it was really like a starter, good for advertising. And that it was indeed. The architecture of the room had another effect, a very positive one, since it made for an excellent acustics.


Ottmar Liebert and Luna Negra live in Gent, Belgium, on 25 March 2011 by Borya

I sat in the first row but I heard that the music and the arrangement of the instruments were heard very good in the back as well. The musicians had left some space between the instruments, a bit removed in a sense but added to the impression of Ottmar' music being laid back, even when it heatens up.
When the concert started (in time!), the very first moment I thought, "oh my god, the drums are really loud!". But that was only a moment and even in the first row the harmony of the four instruments was wonderful to listen to. As for Michael and Houman playing together I had the impressions that it worked very well. In fact, one of the parts I enjoyed the most was the beginning of "Turkish Night", which was extremely groovy ... It is amazing how soft Michael can treat his instrument, take his playing during "La Luna" or at the end of "Dancing Alone" as an example where at times the drums sound as if fading out. If I am not mistaken, Ottmar had to broadly grin about this at one point ... As for Houman, cool percussion playing, funny how he followed the others constantly with his eyes, good harmony between him and Ottmar at the beginning of the second set, I would say ... It was good to finally see Jon play again - the last two times he took care of the sound when Ottmar played solo in Europe. I dig his bass playing, especially the parts in "Dancing Alone". I dare say that I also would have loved to hear the bass whale of "Garden at Dusk" live! :-) As for Ottmar, what can I say, his guitar playing and the sound of his guitar is unique, no? I heard people around me saying so and I had company who mentioned that as well. I am lost for words to describe that better ...
The guys played an amazing lot of old songs, five or six from the first two albums, if I counted right. Well, five from "Nouveau Flamenco" and one from "Borrasca" it should have been. "Passing Storm" sounded great in this combination. Three songs from "Petals on the Path" and I swear that it sent cold shivers up and down my pine when I heard the first notes of "On the road to Shiraz". What a fantastic song! "The Scent of Light" did not appear on the setlist, unfortunately, especially since this album was sold during the intermission. But hey, at least they offered something to acquire this time and I had the impression that quite a lot of people bought it. Speaking of the audience, I am not sure how many had heard some of Ottmar's music before. In the beginning it appeared to me as if they were visitors in a museum, regarding a painted masterpiece with the respectful distance. But when you looked around during the concert, you could see the feet teete and the heads nod rythmically. Those who were there will come back for sure ...
And then, yes, there was one thing where it became evident that the audience did know some of the tunes, the encore it was, when you could hear the people grunt affirmatively, you know what I mean, the first two notes of "Barcelona Nights" ... :-) After that, I nearly wanted to beg them to continue clapping since I knew that Ottmar might come out again to play "Silence", but they did not, they did not believe, not yet ...
A quick chat with Michael when it was over and then I had to catch the train back to Brussels. But it was okay, those guys were really tired after days of travelling. Off to Istanbul on Wednesday and hopefully (I do not have tickets yet) see you again on Friday
night ...

Friday, March 25, 2011

Fan comment on "Petals on the Path" for amazon.de

Luna Negra diesmal als Trio in Cream-Besetzung ...
The Cream, meine ich, denn der überwiegende Teil dieses 2010er Albums von Ottmar Liebert wurde von ihm selbst an der (Flamenco-)Gitarre, Jon Gagan am Bass und Michael Chavez am Schlagzeug eingespielt. Zu hören ist an einigen Stellen auch die Percussion von Robby Rothschild. "Petals on the Path" hat einige wunderschöne Stücke, bei denen man immer wieder aufs Neue verwundert ist ob der Lautmalerei aus dem Hause Liebert/Gagan. Die "Road to Shiraz" klingt wie ein Tanz die Straße hinunter, gutgelaunt und verträumt bis man an Shiraz tatsächlich vorbeigetanzt ist, und "Garden at Dusk" hat gegen Ende eine Basssequenz wie ein Walgesang, die den Ohren einfach nur guttut. Einige Lieder haben ein erhebliches Livepotential (Dancing Alone, Backwards Firefly, Road to Shiraz), da sie gut mit Schlagzeug/Percussion unterlegt sind und noch vertieft werden können ... Mit dem Anfang des Albums ("Jump") tue ich mich etwas schwer im Vergleich zu Ottmar's früherer Musik, komme aber trotzdem nicht umhin, dem Album fünf Sterne zu geben, weil die zweite Hälfte spätestens ab "Cedar Smoke" richtig schön ist in der bekannten zurückgelehnten Liebert-Manier. Die Hörqualität lässt wie üblich nichts zu wünschen übrig. Ottmar komprimiert ja so gut wie gar nicht, weshalb manchem das Album möglicherweise zu leise vorkommt. Tatsächlich ist der Klang besser, genauer, tiefer - einfach mal (gute) Kopfhörer aufsetzen und hineinhorchen!
Anspieltipps: "Shiraz" und "Backwards Firefly".

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Ottmar Liebert and Luna Negra on tour in Europe in March and April

Mar 22 Riga, Latvia, The Great Guild Hall


Mar 24 Freiburg, Germany, Jazzhaus


Mar 25 Ghent, Belgium, Handelsbeurs


Mar 27 Munich, Gremany, Carl-Orff-Saal


Mar 28 Hannover, Germany, Pavillon


Mar 29 Cologne, Germany, Kulturkirche


Mar 30 Mainz, Germany, Frankfurter Hof


Apr 01 Istanbul, Turkey, Jazz Cafe


Apr 02 Istanbul, Turkey, Jazz Cafe


Apr 04 Athens, Greece, Badminton Theater


Apr 06 Trento, Italy, Teatro Sociale


Apr 07 Trescore Balneario, Italy, Teatro Nuovo


Apr 08 Piangipane, Italy, Teatro Sociale

Monday, October 26, 2009

Ottmar tours Japan in November

The upcoming Japan dates:

Ottmar Liebert – Tour Schedule: Fall 2009 – Luna Negra

Nov 14 – Yokohama, Japan – Motion Blue – Tickets / Info

Nov 16 – Tokyo, Japan – Blue Note – Tickets / Info

Nov 17 – Tokyo, Japan – Blue Note – Tickets / Info

Nov 18 – Tokyo, Japan – Blue Note – Tickets / Info

Sunday, October 18, 2009

OL @ Kulturkirche, Köln, 9 Oct 2009

The timing couldn't have been more unfortunate for me. Just 4 days before Ottmar's Munich show I had moved to Brussels. So I thought about it, including that Ottmar might be distracted by many other things that day, and finally decided to try and make it to the Cologne show. And I did it! Yippie! Finished work a bit earlier, jumped on a train, changed trains 2 times (in Liège and Aachen), headed straight up to Ebertplatz in Cologne to catch the earliest metro possible (Google Maps help a lot) and arrived right 1 hour before the show in Kulturkirche started. Bought a ticket and found a tiny free seat right in the first row.

Kulturkirche is a nice venue. As Ottmar already mentioned in his blog, old Lutheran church with cultural events taking place there now, built in small bar where they sell Kölsch (famous local beer), Brezen (really!), and wine ...

I had the impression that the church was filled up to the last row in the end, so the atmosphere was good and it was rather cozy warm inside the (normally cold) hall.

I happen to stumble into Jon before the show started and yes, he did remember me from last year and we had a nice little chat that we continued after the show. I must say that I hardly saw Ottmar, briefly after the show, a quick hello, but there were quite a lot of fans around him demanding taking pictures, signing stuff or simply chatting a bit. He talked good about Carl-Orff- Saal in Munich and I was glad that he liked it there after last year's icy cold mirror tent.

The stage was interesting. As it was a church, on the left and right side of the normal altar area you found bible quotations engraved into the walls - and in the middle the slide show screen were later passed the pictures, little videos and some words and expressions Ottmar himself chose ("Zittern wie Espenlaub", and I suppose some Eliot Pattison?). Nice, really nice.

Ottmar appeared a bit more tense to me than the last times I saw him on stage but I might be mistaken here - not the best to read people's minds. After all, it was the 8th concert in 9 days! The Q&A did not really flow but in the end it is the music the visitors came for. And the playing went wonderful, as we are used to it for many years now. Only at one point he had to stop playing and retune a stubborn string but did that with a remarkable quickness.

I will not post a playing list anymore like I did in the past. If somebody who passes by likes to ask, don't hesitate to do! Just some glimpses:

Ottmar started playing some songs of "The Scent of Light" in a row until he switched over to earlier stuff like "Santa Fe" or "Snakecharmer". (Btw, after the show one guy asked him if he ever played tunes like "Summantra". Obviously in Germany for a long time what you could get in the stores were mostly "The Hours between Night + Day" and "Nouveau Flamenco", of course.) I was surprised and did enjoy it very much to hear "The Winding Road" (from "Leaning into the Night"), and for a brief moment I wondered if "Prelude No. 3" would follow (which did not). A very big thank you for the second encore, which were the "Night Travelling Raindrops" (from "One Guitar") in a totally improvised way. I would LOVE to have a recording of such an improvisation, no matter in which quality!!

The slideshow was fun. Beautiful how Ottmar grouped photos to colours. In the beginning "yellow" was the dominant tone, for example. The photos and the music combined for some fantastic imaginations. Impressive how he started the second set with "The Longest Night" (from "Winter Rose") while the dominant colour of the sliding pictures was red, a darker, warmer tone that fitted perfectly for deep night thoughts. During the encore the slideshow started right from the beginning. I did not know that it was more or less explicitly timed but maybe I was the only one noticing this at that very moment.

After the show I headed to my small hotel in "südliche Innenstadt" (southern city centre), a bit groggy but happy as can be, and fell sound asleep soon.

Many happy returns!

P. S. Seems that the guys are very much looking forward to the Japan shows in November ... :)

Sunday, October 04, 2009

Ottmar 2009 - Solo

Ottmar touring Europe again! Solo acoustic guitar with slideshow. (Pssst! The sound engineer is Jon Gagan :)) If you havet the chance the grab a ticket, go and get one (but leave me ONE for the Cologne show, I ask you ...)

Oct 01
Milano, Italy
Blue Note Tickets / Info

Oct 02
Vienna, Austria
Porgy & Bess Tickets / Info

Oct 03
München, Germany
Carl Orff Saal Tickets / Info

Oct 04
Leipzig, Germany
Spiegelpalast Tickets / Info

Oct 06
Berlin, Germany
Kleine Arena Tempodrom Tickets / Info

Oct 07
Hamburg, GermanyStage Club Tickets / Info

Oct 08
Hanover, Germany
Markuskirche Tickets / Info

Oct 09
Köln, Germany
Kulturkirche Tickets / Info

Oct 11
Riga, Latvia
The Great Guild Hall Tickets / Info