Janine & Vincent - Café Potyka, Vienna. April 10, 2015
I am frank! I am a big fan of those little, relaxed and uncomplicated acoustic gigs that are held in also little and laid back cafés. They always provide a wonderfully nice and warm feel-good atmosphere.
Another one of those concerts could be experienced last Friday, at Café Potyka in the heart of Vienna’s second district Leopoldstadt. The venue was perfect for this show. A cozy coffee house that perfectly manages to bridge the gap between a modern and hip scenery and the traditional Viennese coffee house culture. A piano in one corner, paintings of modern art on the wall for sale and a few small tables invite the customers to spend a placid evening there, while enjoying good live music.
Janine and Vincent were the musicians called that played an acoustic session there on this specific Friday night. Being partners not only on stage but also in their private lives, they are a very experienced and well-coordinated duo. Vincent played the guitar and Janine took over the vocals accompanying her with shakers and other small varieties of percussion instruments. Both of them have been doing music for years – he, for example, is the former frontman of the Austrian indie ska-punk band “Six Tin Jonesy” – and this was one of the first things that was noticeable. It was very obvious that they loved what they were doing.
This evening, they did not play any own compositions, but tied the show down to cover versions of both current and older hits, which they interpreted in their very own and extremely charming way. They performed songs such as James Morrisson’s “I Won’t Let You Go”, George Ezra’s “Budapest”, Avicii’s “Wake Me Up” or the runner up song from last year’s Eurovision Song Contest – “Calm After The Storm” by the Dutch band The Common Linnets. Janine and Vincent altered the songs significantly to the orginals. Her soft and lovely, yet powerful voice paired with his talented guitar play made the songs sometimes sound as if they had written them and in the beginning I actually thought they did, until I realized halfway through the first tune that it was a cover. One of the highlights of the show was David Guetta’s “What I Did For Love”. Don’t get me wrong, I have never liked David Guetta’s music, but how they altered that song in such a personal way made me really enjoy listening to it.
The café was quite crowded. People were even standing in the back and it was a very living room-like atmosphere. Some people enjoyed their food, everyone had a drink in their hands and the audience was mumbling along and moving their lips to the lyrics. It is situations like this that I love and that are also a huge part of the magic that music can do. After almost two hours and two or three encores Janine and Vincent ended the gig by playing a medley of some classic Disney songs.
It was a very relaxed and enjoyable show at a comfortable and cool venue, with good friends and, most importantly, great music. The perfect way of how to spend a Friday evening!
Another one of those concerts could be experienced last Friday, at Café Potyka in the heart of Vienna’s second district Leopoldstadt. The venue was perfect for this show. A cozy coffee house that perfectly manages to bridge the gap between a modern and hip scenery and the traditional Viennese coffee house culture. A piano in one corner, paintings of modern art on the wall for sale and a few small tables invite the customers to spend a placid evening there, while enjoying good live music.
Janine and Vincent were the musicians called that played an acoustic session there on this specific Friday night. Being partners not only on stage but also in their private lives, they are a very experienced and well-coordinated duo. Vincent played the guitar and Janine took over the vocals accompanying her with shakers and other small varieties of percussion instruments. Both of them have been doing music for years – he, for example, is the former frontman of the Austrian indie ska-punk band “Six Tin Jonesy” – and this was one of the first things that was noticeable. It was very obvious that they loved what they were doing.
This evening, they did not play any own compositions, but tied the show down to cover versions of both current and older hits, which they interpreted in their very own and extremely charming way. They performed songs such as James Morrisson’s “I Won’t Let You Go”, George Ezra’s “Budapest”, Avicii’s “Wake Me Up” or the runner up song from last year’s Eurovision Song Contest – “Calm After The Storm” by the Dutch band The Common Linnets. Janine and Vincent altered the songs significantly to the orginals. Her soft and lovely, yet powerful voice paired with his talented guitar play made the songs sometimes sound as if they had written them and in the beginning I actually thought they did, until I realized halfway through the first tune that it was a cover. One of the highlights of the show was David Guetta’s “What I Did For Love”. Don’t get me wrong, I have never liked David Guetta’s music, but how they altered that song in such a personal way made me really enjoy listening to it.
The café was quite crowded. People were even standing in the back and it was a very living room-like atmosphere. Some people enjoyed their food, everyone had a drink in their hands and the audience was mumbling along and moving their lips to the lyrics. It is situations like this that I love and that are also a huge part of the magic that music can do. After almost two hours and two or three encores Janine and Vincent ended the gig by playing a medley of some classic Disney songs.
It was a very relaxed and enjoyable show at a comfortable and cool venue, with good friends and, most importantly, great music. The perfect way of how to spend a Friday evening!