It's not an American story. It's an Irish one
It was in my favorite Irish pub in Vienna when I heard about a gig that was taking place in Vienna the next day. An Irish singer songwriter called Mick Flannery was to be in town. I had never heard of him before, but I thought I would give it a shot. I did not have time to listen to some of his songs before the gig, so I went to the show completely unbiased and to get straight to the point, I should not be disappointed. I experienced a great evening with absolutely fantastic live music…the perfect way to end the weekend and to get freshly motivated for the week to come.
Mick Flannery was supported by the wonderful local singer songwriter Anja Chiara. A very beautiful young woman with an even more beautiful voice and fantastic and deeply touching songs about love, friendship, loneliness and dreaming. Her calm guitar play accompanies her songs in a very intimate, yet expressive way. Together with her violinist Magda – they in fact played for the first time on stage the two of them – she is another great example of the flourishing, high quality Indie music scene that exists in Austria. Her cover of Cat Power’s version of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” had goose bumps potential. My personal highlight of her performance was the song “Auf Wiedersehen”. A ballad about broken love written in both English and German and that she performed on the piano.
Not even 15 minutes after her concert, Mick Flannery himself entered the stage together with his band. The show started with some slow, folk songs. What immediately stood out was that Mick seemed to be almost shy – in an extremely likeable way. He lets his music talk for him. Mick Flannery is simply in his songs when on stage. He is his music. It feels completely real and he makes people get lost in his music and in his songs. Not a single note would be without passion and love for what he is doing.
The longer the concert lasted the more rock n roll songs were played, such as the rough “Get That Gold” in which similarities to the early Tom Waits could not be denied. Tom Waits being a big influence on his music is very obvious. His under the skin getting “Boston Town” reminded me a lot of Waits’ “Heart of A Saturday Night”. Another musician that I found resemblance with in his songs is the fantastic, but unfortunately way too early gone fellow Irishman Mic Christopher. In “No Way to Love” or “I’m On Your Side” I thought Mic resurrected from his grave.
The Irish mentality of suffering, being challenged and constantly having to fight is very present in his songs. Mick sings about broken love, hopelessness, missing home and grumpy old men.
What I really enjoyed during this concert was the variety of different tunes that Mick Flannery played. Folk songs were paired with rock songs, elements of Americana and slow piano ballads. Backed by a great and fantastically attuned band that knows how to roll Mick enchanted the audience.
After the gig, Mick Flannery even went through a marathon of ripping the plastic off the CDs at the merchandising stand and signing every single piece that he sold.
It was a very spontaneous show that I went to, but it was completely worth it. I left the venue with the feeling that I just participated in something great. In my opinion those unexpected concerts very often make the longest lasting and deepest impressions. Thanks to Mick and Anja for a hella experience.
anjachiara.bandcamp.com
soundcloud.com/anja-chiara
anjachiaramusic.tumblr.com
facebook.com/anjachiaramusic
mickflannery.com
facebook.com/mick.flannery.musician
It was in my favorite Irish pub in Vienna when I heard about a gig that was taking place in Vienna the next day. An Irish singer songwriter called Mick Flannery was to be in town. I had never heard of him before, but I thought I would give it a shot. I did not have time to listen to some of his songs before the gig, so I went to the show completely unbiased and to get straight to the point, I should not be disappointed. I experienced a great evening with absolutely fantastic live music…the perfect way to end the weekend and to get freshly motivated for the week to come.
Mick Flannery was supported by the wonderful local singer songwriter Anja Chiara. A very beautiful young woman with an even more beautiful voice and fantastic and deeply touching songs about love, friendship, loneliness and dreaming. Her calm guitar play accompanies her songs in a very intimate, yet expressive way. Together with her violinist Magda – they in fact played for the first time on stage the two of them – she is another great example of the flourishing, high quality Indie music scene that exists in Austria. Her cover of Cat Power’s version of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” had goose bumps potential. My personal highlight of her performance was the song “Auf Wiedersehen”. A ballad about broken love written in both English and German and that she performed on the piano.
Not even 15 minutes after her concert, Mick Flannery himself entered the stage together with his band. The show started with some slow, folk songs. What immediately stood out was that Mick seemed to be almost shy – in an extremely likeable way. He lets his music talk for him. Mick Flannery is simply in his songs when on stage. He is his music. It feels completely real and he makes people get lost in his music and in his songs. Not a single note would be without passion and love for what he is doing.
The longer the concert lasted the more rock n roll songs were played, such as the rough “Get That Gold” in which similarities to the early Tom Waits could not be denied. Tom Waits being a big influence on his music is very obvious. His under the skin getting “Boston Town” reminded me a lot of Waits’ “Heart of A Saturday Night”. Another musician that I found resemblance with in his songs is the fantastic, but unfortunately way too early gone fellow Irishman Mic Christopher. In “No Way to Love” or “I’m On Your Side” I thought Mic resurrected from his grave.
The Irish mentality of suffering, being challenged and constantly having to fight is very present in his songs. Mick sings about broken love, hopelessness, missing home and grumpy old men.
What I really enjoyed during this concert was the variety of different tunes that Mick Flannery played. Folk songs were paired with rock songs, elements of Americana and slow piano ballads. Backed by a great and fantastically attuned band that knows how to roll Mick enchanted the audience.
After the gig, Mick Flannery even went through a marathon of ripping the plastic off the CDs at the merchandising stand and signing every single piece that he sold.
It was a very spontaneous show that I went to, but it was completely worth it. I left the venue with the feeling that I just participated in something great. In my opinion those unexpected concerts very often make the longest lasting and deepest impressions. Thanks to Mick and Anja for a hella experience.
anjachiara.bandcamp.com
soundcloud.com/anja-chiara
anjachiaramusic.tumblr.com
facebook.com/anjachiaramusic
mickflannery.com
facebook.com/mick.flannery.musician