Valentine’s Day at the Gasometer with the indie sensation “Giant Rooks” – what could be better?!
For me there is hardly anything more beautiful than concerts. So it made sense that I would also spend Valentine’s Day at a concert. Encouraged by love and cheerful spirits, I expected to find an excellent atmosphere that evening. It was with great anticipation that I arrived on time at the sold-out Gasometer, where “Giant Rooks” was on the program.
The opening act was the German group “room90“. I remember them as being young, charismatic and agile. They didn’t seem to be completely unknown either, because some of the audience sang along to the lyrics quite confidently. I didn’t know the band myself. But their music was a pleasant mood for the rest of the evening.
There was a lot of tension in the air when “giant rooks“ entered the stage on time. But the first thought that came to my mind was “Harry Styles”. I was amazed by the similarity in appearance between Harry Styles and the Giant Rooks singer Fred Rabe. I also found agreement in the stage presence, the charisma and the movement across the stage. The only difference? No one in the Giant Rooks audience wore a feather boa. But I spotted bright headbands, signs and gifts for the band. The most common gift that evening was flowers, but a self-knitted scarf also ended up perfectly draped on Fred Rabe’s microphone stand.
Because of all the events on stage, I hardly knew where to look. The individual band members were constantly on the move. Fred Rabe also liked climbing. Conveniently, there were several raised platforms on the stage from which he could jump down. And in the middle of the highest platform there was even a piano, which Rabe repeatedly converted into a jump. All of this was already captivating me. But what overwhelmed me most was Fred Rabe’s voice. I was aware that it had a wide range. but hearing them live was something completely different. No matter whether the highs or the lows – Fred Rabe’s voice gave me goosebumps. But he also showed other talents: Rabe alternately played the guitar, piano and the drums. a true all-rounder!
During the show I felt a sense of security. It also helped that the band clearly had fun together on stage. In addition, a large part of the audience was already able to sing along to the new songs like “Flashlights” or “Under Your Wings”, even though the new album had only been released shortly before. Of course, “Giant Rooks” also performed older hits like “What I know is all quicksand” and “New Estate”. Several of these songs were modified so that Rabe could exploit the full potential of his singing power. I go to concerts for exactly this experience! But the show was almost stolen by the biggest disco ball I’ve ever seen in my life. It was so huge that it didn’t hang from the ceiling, but rather radiated from the side of the stage. There was also confetti and I felt like I was at a party.
During the penultimate song “Wild Stare” Rabe finally went into the middle of the crowd. He sang and jumped and when he finally got back on stage he didn’t even seem out of breath. At the end the hall literally exploded to the sounds of “Watershed”. After the show ended, I would have liked to go to another concert straight away. Unfortunately, I couldn’t travel to any other city. So I can only hope that “giant rooks” will come back to Vienna soon.