DROWNERS: 3 DAYS, 3 CITIES, 3 GIGS

The smell of cigarettes is rising from my clothes, every muscle aching and my eyes are tired. Every sign of exhaustion that my body somehow manages to send me is entirely due to no one else but New York's fourpiece DROWNERS who have been touring three major cities of Germany a few weeks ago and knowing me, I had to attend not only one, not only two, but all three dates.

And when you see a band live three times in a row, then I believe you get a great impression of their live performances, their energy and stage presence, as well as a bit of their personalities. I for my part believe travelling not less than 4 hours every day in order to make it to the next show in time has not only been a dream come true considering DROWNERS have been one of my favorite bands for years, but it has also been a great opportunity for me to find out what it is really like to live a life "on the road"and how confusing it might get when you don't remember what city you are in right now.

24.10.2016 - Hamburg - Nochtspeicher

My roadtrip started out on Monday in Hamburg, and once we showed up at the venue we already
spotted a tall and thin welsh someone standing outside who turned out to be no one else than frontsinger Matt Hitt himself. After we had a chat or two (or three, or four, or five) with him and the other band members that week that are Jack Ridley on the guitar, Erik Lee Snyder on bass and Daniel Jacobs on the drums, I must say that everyone of them is absolutely polite, friendly and loves his job the way the job of a musician has to be loved: which is that they basically live for it.

Their live performances don't tell anything different either. There are, of course, some crowds that are more fun than others, but DROWNERS make really sure that they turn it into the best gig they possibly can. They live for small, intimate gigs with a crowd thats willing to have a great time with them.

Hamburg tried that, and was a good warm-up for this week, but compared to gig number 2 coming up on Tuesday in Berlin, the capital seemed to have already decided who's battle that is to win. Even more intimate and rather gloomy lit was the Maze club that second night, and counting the cigarettes DROWNERS took from strangers in the crowd that night they did have a fantastic time. But so did the crowd and everyone who took several pictures with the band after the show, or at least with model Matt Hitt who seemed to be even more of a popular photo object here than in Hamburg just the night before.

25.10.2016 - Berlin - Maze

There was a mosh-pit throughout the set, fans singing the lyrics back at them, Matt Hitt and Erik Snyder interacting on stage and Hitt having everyone go crazy for the bassist, and of course Matt Hitt telling the crowd they were 'as beautiful as a flower' in german. So yes, it was a fantastic gig. But it was well deserved. And I totally didn't already get the cities mixed up on day two of my trip (note the sarcasm).

It was hard for Cologne on Day 3 to somehow keep up with the night before, but of course that was something professionals like DROWNERS were used to - and they seemed to look forward to yet another german gig. DROWNERS had known my name by now, and casually standing outside with them had started to become my everyday life, so it hurt even more to know that it was coming to an end that day.

Feeling the previous night still in my body, DROWNERS did not somehow lack of quality that night, they sounded as good as ever. And when I say they sounded "good" then I mean they are one of the best live bands I have ever seen.

26.10.2016 - Cologne - MTC

All the tracks are slightly more upbeat and edgier than on their records, especially tracks off their latest album entitled "On Desire" which was released through Frenchkiss recoords in June and has a lot more poppier-vibe to it. The setlist includes some of their "classics" like "Long Hair" or "Luv, Hold Me Down" off their debut album which were great to have the entire crowd sing along. Surprisingly good did "Let Me Finish", also off the debut, and "Conversations With Myself" off their new album, sound, and "Unzip Your Harrington" and "Human Remains" sounded as beautiful as ever.

- I could continue listing every single song they played, as there were simply no weaknesses throughout their entire set. It is unbelievable to me that this was their first headline European Tour ever when they sound like they've never been doing anything other than touring in their entire life.

What I might mention at this point is the fact that I had told DROWNERS that they should play one of my favorite songs called "Dont Be Like That" live and on the last and final night... They did that! They did that! They really did that! And it sounded huuuge live, eventhough they told me later that they hadn't played it since their album release show in June (when in reality everyone in Cologne who didn't follow DROWNERS on tour like I did didn't even realize it isn't actually part of the current setlist).

So yes, they are incredibly good live performers and an incredibly good and talented band that you should definitely check out if they're coming to a city near you in the future. Or listen to one of their albums, if you haven't done that yet. To me, seeing DROWNERS three times in three days in three different cities was one of the best experiences of my life, and I am down for doing it again if I get the chance.

A band to watch, and a band that pours everything into their music and live performances, a band that doesn't put out music to please anyone other than themselves. Which is what a lot of other and very successful bands are far from...