I attended a concert in Germany at the Olympiahalle in the capital city of Bavaria, Munich. The venue is huge and can take approximately 15500 people. The venue was about 3/5 full with approximately 9000 people in attendance.
I had a great view from the stand where one could witness crowd interaction and musical performance well.
Johannes Oerding is a fantastic German pop-rock artist, that also specialises in hosting the popular German TV program called ‘Das Tauschkonzert: Sing Meinen Song’, which takes place in South Africa along with 5 other German-speaking musicians. Truly a unique concept.
The Opening Band
The opening band was a German-American rock band called Jesse Tellem. They delivered a quality opening performance with a decent balance between their singles and hyping the crowd up for the main event.
If you were wondering why a concert has an opening act, don’t miss the post I wrote about it right here.
The performance time for an opening artist is usually 30 minutes, where the artist can plan in 5 to 6 songs. This gives the main act chance to change the stage and give the crowd a quick break.
It is crucial for an opening act to not tire the audience out, but to focus on adding the extra spice to make the evening unforgettable for the audience.
The opening band started at 19:30 and played until 20:00 punctually.
This post was written and posted by De Wet from startingmyband.com on 11.04.2023. The content was stolen from me if this blog post is seen anywhere else.
If you are a musician or band and you would like to step up your career and open for a successful artist, the how-to guide I published would help you to reach your goal. Don’t miss Landing an Opening Gig for a Successful Artist, right here.
The Transition Between Artists
There was a curtain between the opening bands’ setup and the main acts’ setup. Therefore it went quickly changed the stage for the different musicians.
After 20 minutes of work behind the scenes, the side screen show began:
Johannes Oerding made it very personal for his audience and shared funny videos where he and one of his bandmates were dancing to different songs in the backseat of a car. This made the audience look forward to his arrival and sometimes laughed uncontrollably at the presentation.
There was also a short countdown to add structure and security to the audience’s waiting time.
The Main Concert
The concert started at exactly 20:33 with an impressive 5-piece band.
Johannes Oerding’s concerts are always personal and impressive. His charm and skill to lure the crowd in with his brilliant music skills, especially with the guitar and vocal, is the reason he keeps growing as an entertainer.
I’ve been to 4 of his concerts now, including his home town, Hamburg, where he is absolutely adored.
The main concert carried on until 23:00, including an encore of 2 songs.
He always manages to bring the crowd down after a big high so that the people leave the venue in a calm and peaceful state.
Here’s the Johannes Oerding concert set list for 29.03.2023 in Munich Olimpiahalle:
- Kaleidoskope
- Plan A
- So Schön
- Was wäre wenn
- Porzellan
- Diese Stadt ist einsam ohne Dich
- Morgen
- Traurig aber wahr
- Liebe wird verboten (Guest artist Peter Maffay)
- Über sieben Brücken musst du geh’n (Guest artist Peter Maffay)
- Hundert Leben
- Piano solo – Artist took a 2-minute break
- Eins-zu-eins-Gespräch
- Wenn ich träum
- General medley
- Drum solo
- All In
- Schnee von Gestern (& band introduction)
- Ecke Schmilinsky
- Thanking the band and crew
- Heimat (acoustic)
- Alles brennt
- An guten Tagen
- Kreisen (encore)
- Ich will noch nicht nach hause (encore)
Summary of the Program
- Doors opened at 19:00
- Opening artist 19:30 – 20:00
- Stage transition 20:00 – 20:30
- The Main artist 20:30-23:00
- Merch sales until 23:45
- Venue empty at 24:00
To those interested to know more about Why Concerts are Held at Night, I wrote a post that will potentially answer your question.
Interview with a Johannes Oerding Fan
Since my girlfriend, Sandra, attended the concert with me as a die-hard fan, I decided to ask her a few questions about her experience of the evening:
Q: How did you hear about Johannes Oerding?
A: I was listening to another German artist called Tim Benzko, where I learned how well one can express themself in the German language. Then I came across the song ‘Magneten’ by Johannes Oerding and felt connected to the lyrics and his songwriting style.
Q: What are your 5 favourite songs from him?
A: This is a tough one since he has so many songs that once feel attached to. The first song will always be unforgettable. so here’s my current top 5:
- Magneten
- Schlaflos
- Reparieren
- Dann ist alles perfekt
- All in
Q: What do you like about his music?
A: In the past, it was popular to listen mainly to English music (also here in Germany), but artists like Johannes Oerding made it possible to also fall in love with German music.
He expresses feeling deeply and symbolises moments in the German language very accurately that make one immediately feel connected and attached to his music.
I also like the instrumental style that he offers and the variety between acoustic, higher-tempo music with the band.
He is simply an icon that stayed down to earth through all his success.
Q: How many concerts have you attended of his?
- The first concert was in the Muffathall in Munich around 2013
- Hamburg Open-Air 2016
- Munich Tonhalle 2017
- Rosenheim Strandkorb 2021
- Munich Olympiahalle 2023
Q: What was the highlight of the concert tonight?
A: I have 2 specific highlights of tonight:
The first was that even though the Olympiahalle is a huge venue, he performed a part of the concert where he runs through the audience, greeting them, bringing the stage closer to the audience.
The next moment he was standing here next to us taking a breather and having a quick chat with us over the microphone.
This made my night. You never go to a concert thinking that you will get so close to the artist himself while sitting across the hall.
The second thing that I loved about the performance was the atmosphere in the venue. His stage presence is extraordinary and he can light up the crowd, making them laugh, become homesick and entertain without anyone getting tired or bored.
If stage presence is something that interests you, I wrote a blog post about What makes a good Stage Presence that you can read right here.
Q: What could have been better about the show or concert?
A: It is sad that the venue was not full. Even though the evening was amazing, it doesn’t always have to be the biggest venue where there are also smaller more intimate venues to host such concerts to great success.
I also missed a few of his old hits. Perhaps a suggestion could be to include a medley from all the older songs that made him famous.
Q: What is your opinion about the ticket price?
A: He performed for 2:30 hours, and I feel that in comparison with the prices that went up for everyone, the 50€ ticket price was completely in order.
What I like about Johannes Oerding is that he is so humble and down to earth.
He touches his audience with his music and especially his texts. Every concert is unique and personal.
He has a wide variety of music that he performs. In almost every song he performs, you can connect someone in your life to that song.
I would also recommend attending a concert of his in Hamburg. It is extra special to attend a concert of an artist when they are performing in their home city. The atmosphere is electric and passionate.
If you have any suggestions about concerts and artists that you would like me to write a review about, name them in the comment section and I will try to get there!
Rock and Roll!!