La Botanique
Brussels, Belgium (05.11.03)
   
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here's a review from Ferdinand (thanks a lot!):

Saw martina yesterday. Great show. In a small club (approx 250-300 people). She started with a short new track. Human beatbox and Martina singing. The tracks was immediatly followed by the album's intro.
 
Then she started the regular tracks, like Ragga, Too tough to die, Soul Food... A couple of times she complained to the lights guy to make it a bit darker. He didn't listen... One time, i remember, she asked it and the next tracks over 30 spots extra were used... And the track after that he used two glitter balls...
 
It made Martina tense. But the voice was still fenomenal. The audience wasn't really "wild". More than one reason for that. I think a great deal of them, didn't know the album yet. Also the lights were sometimes blinding (i remember turning my head 3 or 4 times away...). But most disturbing was the fact that the "vestiaire" was closed (you know, the place to leave jackets and bags). And it wasn't that warm in Brussels. So everyone was standing there with bags, hats, winter jackets... in a hot room... Not ideal and it made the audience less responsive, i think. And a small downside was the fact that the backing vocal-girl was sitting on a chair. Soon i noticed she used a chruch to walk. probably a broken foot. So it made that one side of the podium wasn't moving that much.
 
And so it happened Martina said: "you must one the most cold and frigid audiences I've ever seen. you should use some more alcohol..." Quite funny i thought because most of the people were sweating like hell... cold people?
 
Anyway, she played another new track. a very slow track, the rhythm based on a record locked in a silent groove (like the very first or last groove of a vynil) [Music Box]. Great great track, but not everyone agreed. Once she started Need One, the audience started grooving more. And Martina still complained about the light...
 
She played some more tracks (Sandpaper kisses, Lying, I Still Feel, Stevie's - not the order they played) and announced I wanna be there as the last track. Short heavy, and not really great played to be honest. I had a small glimpse at the playlist before the concert and saw that Anything should be the last track. And indeed she came back. She wanted to play Anything, but the guy with harmonica played another note. Martina reacted: "O, are we gonna play that tune, or the other? wait i let them choose. Hey, everyone, what do you wanna hear a rock'n'roll tune, or a smoothing, slow, ballad kinda tune." The cheers of the audience decided rock'n'roll. Another new track!!! A bit of a rock'n'roll chorus, but it was more slow blues rock [Four On The Floor]. Great track, she said afterwards: "What no rock'n'roll? Come on, this is Rolling Stones kinda rock'n'roll. haha. By the way, I foolled ya all. We're going to play another, no two other tracks." She asked to dimm down the lights (again). The light guy listened!!! For 30 seconds, that is... And so followed Lullaby and finally Anything. She asked all the couples to start doind "smootchy smootchy" at the last track. "You'd better be doing it, i'll be looking". 
 
So, great concert. Eight great musicians on a stage (Martine, backing-girl, drums, DJ, guitar, keyboard & 2nd guitar guy, bass guitar, mouth harmonica & 2nd vocals guy. That last one was really cool). She played the whole cd and 3 new tracks. Martina was less tense than in the beginning. She was probably laughing at us sometimes, but who cares. Played for about 1.30h (nice, isn't it). What more can you wish??? Less light and a vestiaire and the night would have been perfect. For us and Martina!
 

read a review with photos on Cutting Edge.
 
 

 


 
 
 

 
 


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