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Eric Paslay (13th December 2023, Cologne)

Florian Buechting Concerts No Comments

His show in Aschaffenburg 2019, the main stage appearance at the C2C Berlin 2020 and now Cologne 2023: Eric Paslay is indeed one of the most frequently appearing artist in my concert coverage section. The show on 13th December 2023 was a show full of “reuinions”: apart from having Eric back on stage on his European tour, it had also been quite a while since I had covered a show at the Blue Shell in my home town. Last but not least, it was the first contact since ages (means: Covid) I would have with Lauren Jenkins. The most unfortunate part of the show was likely its kick-off: starting the action on stage at 21:00 is quite messy if you have to work the next day.

This posting comes with 164 major size pictures as part of the concert gallery.

 

Blue Shell – About The Venue

The Blue Shell is a club and venue at the Luxemburger Straße in Cologne. It is quite ideally located. First of all, it is in the typical party area of Cologne, secondly the traffic connections are rather good. For example Köln-Süd (Cologne South) station is just a few steps away and offers regional connections. On the other side of the venue, there is the Barbarossaplatz, which offers tram/Underground connections with four lines, including direct links to Cologne Main Station. The capacity of the venue is roughly 180. I always loved the staff and the atmosphere there when I had shows – even though there are places in the city which offer better conditions to take snaps of shows.

Eric Paslay & Lauren Jenkins – About The Artists

The main act of the evening was Eric Paslay. Not only with airplay hits like Song About a Girl or Friday Night, the Texas-origin artist boosted his career. However, the frequency of his releases decreased during the last years. The most recent album Nice Guy is dated as of August 2020. However, Paslay is very popular as an on-stage artist, including songwriter rounds. For his 2015 duet with Charles Kelley, The Driver, Paslay has been nominated at the Grammy Awards for the Best Country Duo/Group Performance. Paslay is also a writer and co-wrter of several great country songs.

While Remember Monday supported Paslay on the United Kingdom section of the European tour, Lauren Jenkins traveled in for the four German shows. This was a bit of remarkable, as the day after the last show of the tour in Berlin, Jenkins was already announced for a gig in California. After releasing her amazing album No Saint and having the EP Miles On Me, Part 1 in 2021 (which was expected to be followed by more parts…), the country singer-songwriter from Arlington, Texas, did not feel to be too present in regards of new releases. However, rather frequently being on stage with her husband Patrick Davis, she became very popular in the US-American vineyard concert scene – an exclusive kind of gig, which typically comes with unbelievably high ticket prices.

 

Eric Paslay – The Show

There were initially some rumors that the show would start a bit earlier, due to the late kick-off of this evening. However, also due to the fact that Lauren Jenkins was in urgent need of a power outlet adapter, the show started right in time. The female artist underlined her skills from the very first second: good songs, a great, warm voice and the incredible talent to connect to the audience – with some being pushed maybe a bit too far by that. However, her interacting with a fan who told her the lyrics of her very own song during a Covid-19 livestream felt very charming as well (during her third song, You’ll Never Know). .

Jenkins played some of her “classics” like Running Out of Road (where one of the fans sang the finale with her, like in Hamburg the day before). However, there was also some space for Bruce Springsteen’s I’m on Fire during the 31 minute set, which closed with My Bar and “the unofficial quarantine song”, Dancing in the Kitchen.

 

Eric Paslay

Especially regarding that it was an acoustic set evening and the Blue Shell has a rather strict curfew, I was quite surprised that the intermission between the songs was over fifteen minutes. Eric Paslay played his set safe, catching the fans with one of his greatest songs at the very beginning, Friday Night. He also played quite some songs, which he influenced as a songwriter or co-write. Has amazing songbook, including songs which you might not connect to the Texas artist at first are his key strength. Even in weaker parts of the concert, the song material was striking.

Paslay also covered the whole range of this career, even though he stated that he wondered that people rather want to hear old songs than new, unreleased material. He also had a nice touch to the audience – for example when he discussed whether Cologne is a taxi and Uber city. Lauren Jenkins was at the merch booth and when she did not connect to fans, you could see her enjoying the music as well. When she joined Paslay back for a duet, you felt that time is ticking down now. Paslay wondered about the audience You’re drunk, but you are listening” and identified it as a key difference oif the fans in North America. When he combined Barefoot Blue Jean Night with U2’s Still haven’t found what I’m Looking for, the show has already been “in the overtime” and closed with some15 minutes after the curfew, at 23:15.

 

Eric Paslay – The Gallery

Here are 164 major size pictures of the show. They are located in the concert gallery:

 

Eric Paslay – My View

This evening in Cologne has definitely been a very interesting one. Once more, Lauren Jenkins showed an outstanding stage presence, while Eric Paslay is just too talented in storytelling and songwriting to have a boring show. Bad luck that in the rear of the Blue Shell, people have not been disciplined – and that some people had to comment loudly on almost anything. Nonetheless, great to have both gals back in my home town – please come back 🙂

 

Flyctory.com about Eric Paslay

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More About Lauren Jenkins

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