“Isaac Anderson” and “The Academic” attracted mostly Louis Tomlinson fans to the Flex Cafe that evening and almost treated us to a little too much music.
I was a tiny bit shocked when I arrived at the Flex just before the entrance and found a really long line. Until now I had only very rarely experienced such a crowd and I lost a bit of hope of getting a good seat, let alone taking in anything of the concert. Shortly after I arrived, two friends joined me in the queue and then I was finally informed about the excessive rush. Because the support artist that evening, Isaac Anderson, is the guitarist of ex-One Direction member Louis Tomlinson and the main band of the evening, The Academic, was Louis Tomlinson’s opening act at some point. So in reality the evening was about Louis Tomlinson or, in the broadest sense, actually about One Direction. and of course their fans, who not only supported the ex-members, but whose love also extended to the support bands that evening.
The love for the artists performing that evening was also evident when we finally entered the Flex Cafe: the front rows were already occupied, but fortunately the audience consisted mostly of small ladies and seeing over their heads was no problem. and so we looked for a good place and waited until it finally arrived with “isaac anderson“went off. Anderson stood on stage with his fellow musicians, had his name projected hugely in the background and started his reduced set with the song “Don’t Go”. I was a bit skeptical at first, but I soon realized that he was a very good stage personality. This was evident in his interaction with the audience, it was evident in his performance and of course in his catchy songs. In addition, my personal indicator was also wrong: if I have the feeling that I have to film every song because it is a hit, then that is usually a very good sign for the artist. I finally accepted that I couldn’t diss the support artist in this case. and I accepted that I even liked the Coldplay cover of “Yellow”. However, I couldn’t accept the “fan project” – I personally find something like that really unnecessary, I’d rather buy merchandise instead of holding a piece of paper up in the air.
After this positive support artist experience, my expectations for the main band of the evening were of course very high. than then “the academicWhen they stormed the tiny stage in the Flex Cafe and started with the hit “Why Can’t We Be Friends”, I was immediately a bit overwhelmed and delighted. Starting with a banger is always a good idea! The audience literally went crazy – signs were held up and they sang along, more like shouted along, as if there was no tomorrow. and that was very impressive because it continued like that at first. The crowd of fans clapped, sang and were completely captivated by the band, and I tried to hear more bangers. “Don’t Take It Personally” was another song that stuck in my head. But my real highlight actually came after this hit: “the academic” performed a cover version of the song “reptilia” by the strokes. Vocally it fit very well! and once again I realized how incredibly good songs by the Strokes actually are. I enjoyed the song endlessly, while all the younger people around us looked rather puzzled. Tastes can be so similar and yet so far apart.
The songs “Acting My Age”, “Television” and finally “Chasers” – including kneeling on the floor and then jumping up – were really nice, catchy indie hits, but after that the concert became incredibly long-winded. Actually, the band could have ended their performance really well with “Chasers”, but instead they added another eight songs to their setlist. The motivation in the audience disappeared more and more, only a few people sang along and even the cell phone filmmakers gave up. the air was outside. no one had any more energy. I looked at the setlist and with every song I whispered to my concert accompanists that we were almost there. During the very last song “Bear Claws” the crowd in attendance tried to join in a bit, but this attempt was not comparable to the euphoria at the start of the concert. Well, what’s left at the end? the realization that sometimes less is more. The Academic are a good band, but they still have to find themselves a bit, form a bit and work on a crisp setlist with a tension-filled arc. Then no one will run out of breath and the very last skeptics will also be convinced!