Arts & Entertainment
Friday,
March 18, 2005
Volume 33,
Issue 11
Sat, Nov 21, 2009
IN THE SGN
SECTION ONE
Front Page
MORE/ALL
SECTION ONE
STORIES
SECTION TW0
Arts & Entertainment
Nina Hagen |
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| Nina Hagen brings a celebration to Neumos | ||
| by Richard Kennedy
- SGN Music Writer
Nina Hagen and Dina Martina March 10th @ Neumos This was my first time to see Nina Hagen live. I have heard before that her performances are very unpredictable. She may sing some of her classic hits, she may sing all of the songs in German, she may sit down with a guitar and perform jazz standards .I had heard it all and had no idea of what to expect. What I did know was that a performance at Neumos by the mother of punk could NOT be missed. Id spent years listening to her albums, and hearing that powerful voice performing operatic style punk wails, and Indian chants. It appeared to me that most of the audience consisted of long-time fans as well, which made the night even more special. I have to say the show proved to be one of the best live performances so far of this year. Surprise opening act Dina Martina enlivened the audience before Hagen came on stage, performing many of the numbers from her last stint at the Rendezvous. If you havent seen her performance of Janet Jacksons Control, complete with projected visuals of Dina with braids, backed by singing puppets then you really havent experienced Dina at all. Martina also performed a pop medley for her Gay following that actually had some technical difficulties in the middle of it. Like a true professional Martina started over and ad-libbed some jokes about hearing the same opening twice. Be sure to catch Dina Martina at one of her brunch shows this month at Thumpers. The floor was packed by the time Nina Hagen was set to take over the stage. Early in the show Hagen performed Let Me Entertain You which basically set the mood for the entire evening as she crooned, belted, growled and screamed her way through every genre of music. The most impressive thing about seeing her live is that she not only covers her classic post-punk/pop alternative hits, but she tosses in a smattering of covers ranging from the folk-y Horse With No Name to the classical Ave Maria. Many of the songs highlighted her unique vocals that can go from a deep moaning to a high pitched yell at a moments notice. At times her voice can even sound seductive and kitten-y, kind of like a punk rock Eartha Kitt. At one point Hagen shoved the entire microphone in her mouth while she continued with the note that she was singing. Now if that isnt entertainment I dont know what is. Hagen wore her trademark flowers in her hair, complete with Jack Skellington faces tying them all together. Her jet black hair was tossed from side to side as she rocked out and made her distinct facial gestures, contorting her expressions, making raspberry sounds and of course sticking her tongue out. The audience ranged in diversity just as much as her musical selections did that night. I stood next to a few punk rockers, right behind me were a couple gay boys in Abercrombie shirts and further back from them were a group of bears. The energy was high through the entire performance as we stood in awe of slower numbers like her Nirvana cover All Apologies and then danced with the diva through numbers like the classic New York, New York, which she gave a hot hip-hop arrangement to. The audience even broke into an impromptu Happy Birthday after the third song showing their love for the mother of punk. For her encore Hagen took to the stage with her guitar and performed Young People followed by James Taylors Horse With No Name. The band joined her for the final number, her unique interpretation of Sinatras My Way. The night ended with her band bringing out her birthday cake during her bows. After the audience sang another rendition of Happy Birthday Hagen dug into the cake with her bare hands and started passing out sections of chocolate cake to the audience. Fuck Sinatra! If anyone ever did it their own way, it was truly Nina Hagen. |
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