Sophie Hunger Live. Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam, Saturday 25 June 2022 with Géonne Hartman

Photo: Wout de Natris

Another postponed show finally taking place. The surprise of seeing a very pregnant artist in the spotlight, starting to sing an a capella Swiss German song, without the microphone and you could hear a pin drop in Paradiso's Tolhuistuin. The surprise of seeing a totally different Sophie Hunger than ever before. A very confident woman, open, smiling, at ease with the world and herself. The surprise that every time she smiled it was like seeing the younger version of the wife of one of my best friends on stage. This just the beginning of telling you how perfect Sophie Hunger's show was.

Although she opened with the title song of her 2015, fantastic album 'Supermoon', in a radically different version, the backbone of the show was her August 2020 released album 'Halluzinationen'. An album that hangs somewhere between modern beats, electronics and great songs. An album released in the height of the pandemic and falling somewhat flat because no support was possible at all. Even the November 2021 show had to be postponed because of round 3 or 4 of the pandemic. With numbers surging once again in June 2022, this time there is no lockdown.

On stage just three players. The omnipresent keyboardist and flügelhorn player Alexis Anérilles filled up the whole space, so that drummer and percussionist Julian Sartorius could do his amazing rhythms. Just imagine an already complex rhythm to get extra accents within the fourth measure each time, and these accents are usually weird sounds for a drummer. It is as if Sartorius stops time as it were to deliver these two weird accents, before falling back into the rhythm for three measures once again. Rhythms can come from anything attached to or surrounding the drums.

Photo: Wout de Natris

Against this background Sophie Hunger can deliver her songs and play her guitars as little or much as she likes. She is the exact centre of the show and the music. If ever a singer shone on stage, it was Sophie Hunger during this show. She commanded attention. Conversing in a relaxed way with the audience in between, showing big smiles and sing the songs, no matter how complex they are, with an ease that shows how good she is.

Nearly all her albums go to number one in her home country Switzerland, although she lives in Berlin these days. The mystery for me remains, why doesn't she grow a little bigger each album here? She has the songs, the quality, the live performance. The upside is of course that I can see her perform from fairly up close, but I'll forgo this privilege, because Sophie Hunger deserves more, like the Paradiso or Melkweg proper and not the side venue.

We were prepared by her for the end. She announced that with the word "hope" things would be over. Except for three encore songs, of which one was a true punkrocker no less. Her baby will be a rockstar as it has heard so much good music from up close already.

I have seen Sophie Hunger perform five or six times now and all shows were great experiences. Somehow, I have the impression to have seen the best one yet. True or not, there's no way a comparison is possible, it shows how good Sophie Hunger is live. I was mesmerised for the whole time and looking around me, so was everybody else.

Photo: Wout de Natris

The evening was opened by Utrecht based singer Géonne Hartman. One girl, one guitar and singer-songwriter songs from her debut album. A new name to me, she made an impression with her pleasant voice and nice songs. Songs to listen to and the audience allowed for listening. There was no one talking and that is amazing to notice. in a larger venue usually someone always starts and that is the sign for most other people to start doing the same. Not in Tolhuistuin this Saturday. Geónne captured Sophie Hunger's audience and held it. Although I concluded at the end that the songs were a bit the same and the show could use a little more variation, I also noticed the half hour Géonne Hartman played was a time well-spent. She also plays with her band, so it might be worthwhile to check out her songs in another setting as well. All in all a very nice introduction to her music. I have the album on now, and it is quite different and interesting, I can share with you. Check it out sometime.

Wout de Natris

You can order Sophie Hunger's albums on her website:

https://store.sophiehunger.com/store/

and Géonne Hartman's album 'He Went To The See' here:

https://www.platomania.nl/article/11008051/he_went_to_the_sea/hartman_geonne