LIVE AT SO36

NENA Live at SO36 It was a dream come true for NENA! One only had to go through a door and everything came rushing back. The smell, the patina, the ambience that the thousands of concerts left on its walls, on its floor and in the air. Beer, sweat, tears of joy or tears of disappointment. Sounds like the quiet clapping of cables, the clicks of toggling switches, the hissing of turned-up amplifiers and the faint crackle the moment before NENA first strikes the strings of her Telecaster. Anticipation, high tension. Soundcheck. And the question that all bands, from newcomers to seasoned veterans, have now: Will anyone come?

They came to NENA’s exclusive club tour in the spring of 2015: to 15 concerts in intimate venues like the Pelmke Cultural Center (which used to be NENA’s elementary school!) in her birthplace Hagen, the legendary Mojo Club in NENA’s hometown Hamburg, Batschkapp in Frankfurt, Modernes Bremen in Bremen and the Meier Music Hall in Braunschweig. Places with no room for razzle-dazzle, routine churn-outs and anonymous entertainment. Sight, sound and experience is right there, with band and fan on equal footing. The bottles at the bar clink and the wood vibrates when the beat starts, metal fogs up with a thin film of sweat, and the sound pierces all the way back onto the streets.

Pedestrians walking by SO36 in Berlin’s Kreuzberg on March 4, 2015 must have wondered if there was damn good NENA cover band playing in the legendary punk club. But it was NENA and her band. It was here her club tour had to begin – in the city that to this day is close to her heart and is for her a second home. In the alternative club, opened in 1978, that NENA stood on stage for the first time. Back then NENA lived across the street on Oranienstraße, she was 18 years old, in love and in SO36 every chance she got.

That’s exactly why NENA chose this concert for her live album: NENA Liva at SO36. Everything comes full circle. Immediate closeness. The first gig of the tour: maximum anticipation, tension – and the discharge of pure euphoria. Sometimes you don’t have to know all the words. It’s all about the melody, the feeling and the moment. “And so we dance all night to our favorite songs.”

“Let There Be Rock” AC/DC famously commanded. And NENA kicked off the SO36 show just like that – straight off with “Noch einmal”. NENA‘s timeless hits “Nur geträumt”, “Leuchtturm”, “99 Luftballons”, “Wunder gescheh’n” and “Irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann” mixed with songs from her newest record Oldschool: “Lieder von früher”, “Ja das wars”, “Betonblock”, “Kreis”, “PI ich rechne mit allem”, “Sonnemond”, “Berufsjugendlich”, “Genau jetzt”, “Peter Pan”, “Bruder” and “Schicksal“.

The no-frills, down-to-earth and dynamic arrangements span the range from classic rock to new wave to punk. Indulging in the sounds that first moved NENA years back, Bowie and Blondie, the Stones and the Ramones, she translated these inspirations into her own internationally renowned repertoire. NENA’s played the stadiums, the huge multi-functional arenas that constantly change their sponsored names. But SO36 and NENA have remained true and never lost sight of who they are, meeting once again on this magical March night like old friends. Accompanied by family, the fans. Hand in hand they celebrated through 21 songs – until the last one, “Zusammen”. The other hand, free for a beer, the beauty of the night, a loved one or just to wipe their eyes free from the sweat and tears of joy burning there.

For those that couldn’t be there or for those who want to be there all over again, they can with NENA Live at SO36, a trip back to Kreuzberg for 88 blissful minutes, available as:

-a 2-CD box including booklet with special cover card

-an extensive vinyl-box with 3 LPs (one side etched vinyl), 2 CDs and 48 pages full of exceptional peeks and insights in front and behind the stage.

-a download

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