concert #63: gregory alan isakov @ arena

2023-08-28 18:13:53

cosiness to go: gregory alan isakov almost conjured up an overdose of cosiness in the vienna arena with his concert.

Admittedly, I knew next to nothing about the musical work of “gregory alan isakov“Not even the Mcdonalds ad that used a song of his. but since my partner really wanted to go, we met that evening in the arena in vienna. acted as support act “blanco white“ – we got to hear beautiful, melodic singer/songwriter music, but as is so often the case, in the end it was rather unspectacular or, to put it better: I can’t remember much about this performance. sorry

when “gregory alan isakov” entered the stage a little later, i didn’t really know in which direction this evening would develop. with his cap and his worn-out jacket he looked more like a street musician and the setting on stage was more like a living room than a concert stage. but he probably wanted to achieve exactly that, and bring a bit of cosiness into the bare hall with the attributes mentioned. because when the first tones swept through the arena, it was immediately clear: this is going to be a homely folk evening.

but i didn’t just feel street musician and living room vibes during the first songs, no, somehow there was also an association with the band “mumford & sons” and with the act of traveling by train. actually i had associations with the mumford & sons film “big easy express”. and also to the local train band “nowhere train” and their documentary of the same name. anyway, i felt a strong connection between folk and trains.

“gregory alan isakov” and his colorful group presented us with a soundtrack for traveling – i often closed my eyes to imagine sitting on the train because the songs he performed went so well with this idea. i imagined beautiful landscapes and the jerking of the train. I probably closed my eyes because not much was happening on stage, there weren’t any wild movements or anything like that, there was only warm light and harmonious folk songs.

the highlight came much later, actually at the end, when all the musicians shared a microphone and performed two songs in a reduced but very hymnic form. there was even some movement to be seen and almost even euphoria to be felt. That was nice and rounded off the evening perfectly.

I didn’t find the craziest concert experience with “gregory alan isakov”, but I did find the desire to travel by train and listen to his music. I think that can be counted as a success.