Leaving Spirit – “Spirit World” Tour 2024
Location: Cotton Club Hamburg
Date: 19.09.2024
Southern Rock is a style of music from the southern states of the USA. And it could hardly be more diverse. The spectrum ranges from the Allman Brothers Band to Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top. What they all have in common is the combination of Hard Rock music with Blues, Country and Folk. But Southern Rock is not limited to the south of the United States. There are bands all over the world who love this style and of course also play it. Leaving Spirit from Würzburg, for example. In February, the band released their third studio album ‘Guide To The Spirit World’. And they are now presenting it on a Europe-wide tour. Forty concerts, twenty-eight of them in Germany alone. In September, the musicians also made a stopover in Hamburg. You can see all the pictures of the evening on Flickr.
Unfortunately, there were very few guests in the historic Cotton Club. But Leaving Spirit were hardly impressed by this. ‘Freak Show’ – one of the best songs from the current album – formed the atmospheric prelude to the first part of the evening. Followed by ‘Holy Mountain Man’ from the same album. In addition to original compositions, several cover versions were also played that evening. Firstly ‘Come Together’ by the Beatles. Naturally lifted into the Southern Rock universe. The stage was decorated with two wooden cacti. What fits better than ‘Cactus Ranch’? It’s interesting where the band gets its inspiration for new songs. In ‘Refrigerator Blues’, the musicians sing about an old fridge in their rehearsal room. Unfortunately, this excellent Blues number has not yet made it onto a regular album. You can only enjoy this song on ‘Live Sessions’ and ‘Acoustic Garden Sessions’. The first part of the evening ended with ‘The Girl On The Train’ from the debut album ‘Things Change’.
During the break, you could chat to the musicians. Or expand your CD collection at the merch stand. Vinyl lovers were also catered for. The second part of the evening started with the Rolling Stones cover ‘Paint It Black’. The country element was increased with ‘Golden’ and ‘Old Austin’. Singer Paula Frecot picked up an acoustic guitar for these two songs. There was a little story about ‘Old Austin’. Guitarist Florian Eppel lived for a while in the capital of the US state of Texas. The last regular song of the second part (‘Myth Of The Delta Blues’) cannot be found on any of the regular albums either. For this you have to go to ‘Live Sessions’ or the single. Afterwards, the few guests vehemently called for an encore. And Leaving Spirit didn’t have to be asked for long. After the two cover songs ‘Hip To Be Square’ (Huey Lewis & The News) and ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’ (Neil Young), it was finally over shortly before 11.00 pm.
I’m a big fan of all types of Southern Rock. And Leaving Spirit were able to convince me completely on this evening. Even though the band’s second guitarist was unfortunately unable to make the journey. The sound was very good. Well, you don’t need a big sound system in such a small venue. I would like to thank everyone involved, the musicians from Leaving Spirit and the staff at the Cotton Club.
Lineup:
Paula Frecot – Vocals
Florian Eppel – Guitars, Vocals
Maik Wiezorreck – Keys
Amelie Platzöder – Bass
Fabian Schäfauer – Drums
Title list:
Set 1:
- Freak Show
- Holy Mountain Man
- Come Together
- Cactus Ranch
- I Wonder
- Refrigerator Blues
- Ol’ Frina
- Going Down
- Mississippi Bridge
- (Like An) Easy Rider
- The Girl On The Train
Set 2:
- Paint It Black
- Where I Belong
- Golden
- Old Austin
- Bad Dream
- I Don’t Care
- Tear It Down
- Stranger On The Road
- Night Of Justice
- Ride A Wild Horse
- Myth Of The Delta Blues
Encore:
- Hip To Be Square
- Rockin’ In The Free World
