Concert Review: Vienna Teng (15/08/2010)

My friends :) Today was a very exciting day, because I got to see Vienna Teng perform in Burg Wilhelmstein (in Würselen, Germany). Last year I went to Amsterdam and Groningen for her, and those concerts were so amazing that I had to see her again this year. One last time (at least for now), because Vienna is going back to school! She won't be touring as much as she used to.

The evening didn't have a very good start, because the concert was outside and it was raining.. We heard the rain in the background during the entire show, but luckily it didn't ruin the music. Here is a picture of Vienna playing Augustine. Unfortunately the combination of flashy lights and darkness made it hard to take good pictures with my amateur camera, but I tried...

Vienna Teng and her piano.

The second song she performed was The Tower. This is actually my favorite Vienna Teng song, so I was happy to hear it. However, they had a special live version of the song, and I've grown so accustomed to the album version that I couldn't really appreciate this version. It's just like the song Gravity: when Vienna plays it live, she plays a special version (the Lake Version) and I don't like it nearly as much as the album version.

But she made up for this with the song Antebellum. I think it's my favorite live-song by Vienna, because the way she performs it with her band is very creative. They use a lot of instruments to perform this song. At one point it turns into some sort of a duet between Vienna and Alex Wong (member of her band). And what I love most about the song, is the moment when she sings "How I couldn't be what you need, but oh how I could make you bleed", the way she sings it is very powerful.

The band (Ward Williams and Alex Wong).

Alex also got the chance to perform one of his own songs named In The Creases, with Vienna singing in the background. It's a lovely song, and I think Alex Wong is a very talented man. This song was followed by her attempt at a country song, Homecoming. I never liked this song very much, but the live version blew me away! Very impressive.

On Blue Caravan, Vienna asked the crowd for some help. We all had to jingle our keys, which created a sound that turned out to fit the song very well. The songs No Gringo and Radio are both very touching, if you never listened to the words then you really should. I never experienced Radio as a spooky song, but Vienna did a great job at performing it that way. After we all clapped our hands during Grandmother Song, the band left the stage. But, of course, after a while they returned for an encore. They played a Randy Newman cover, named I Think It's Going To Rain Today, and the song Harbor. Both very appropriate, with the rain and all... Then they left the stage again. And, after the crowd gave them a standing ovation for several minutes, they returned again! I expected this, because Vienna always ends her concerts with a sing-along song named Soon Love Soon. This is one of the reasons I love her concerts so much: she really interacts with her fans, she makes them sing, clap, stamp their feets and jingle their keys with her! She talks to her crowd and she actually adjusts her setlist to the circumstances (with all the rain songs!). She never disappoints, and I can say with full conviction that (if it's in my power) this won't be the last time I went to a Vienna Teng concert.

Vienna, Ward and Alex performing Soon Love Soon.

Finally, I have the complete setlist for you guys, in case anyone wonders what songs she usually performs.. You'll hear the majority of these at every Vienna concert, so it'll give you a good impression of what to expect.

Setlist:

1. Augustine

2. The Tower (live-version)

3. Whatever You Want

4. Antebellum

5. I Don't Feel So Well

6. 1BR/1BA

7. In The Creases (Alex Wong song)

8. Homecoming

9. Blue Caravan

10. No Gringo

11. Stray Italian Greyhound

12. Radio

13. St. Stephen's Cross

14. Grandmother Song

Encore

15. I Think It's Going To Rain Today (Randy Newman cover)

16. Harbor

Second encore

17. Soon Love Soon