The Udonaut and the Panikers chased the rain away

Altenkirchen. Before the band took the stage, Helmut Nöllgen welcomed the large crowd of fans gathered at the beautifully decorated venue near the bell tower. Like all the visitors, their eyes kept turning upward to the dark clouds that were gathering menacingly over the festival grounds. As it turned out, Helmut Nöllgen’s plea to the weather gods proved to be right: Not a single drop of rain fell on the heads of the audience throughout the entire concert.

The concert by “Udonaut und die Paniker,” on the other hand, was a real blast: From the very first second, everyone in the audience could tell that the band was determined to burn off all the energy and power that had built up during the long wait. There was no long intro; one after another, the musicians unleashed hit after hit on the audience. It’s rare for the energy to instantly spread to the audience at a concert, but that’s exactly what happened here. In conversation with the “Udonaut” Before the Panikrocker from Hamburg took the big stage at the Kultursommer festival grounds near the Glockenspitze in Altenkirchen, the AK-Kurier had the opportunity to speak with Dominik Feist. He is the band’s lead singer and takes on the role of Udo Lindenberg on stage. In summary, Dominik Feist explained what fans can read on the band’s website: “We’re inspired by Udo Lindenberg’s work. His songs radiate unfiltered human warmth, deep respect, and political conviction. His body of work is incredibly diverse stylistically; the songs are so different in their musical language, and yet they’re all authentic. Udo Lindenberg is probably the most unpredictable musical constant in our language region. For 50 years, he’s been doing his own thing undeterred, even when taking detours; he inspires us, moves us, stirs us up, and when we listen to and play his music, we somehow magically become part of his great ‘Panik’ family.” Dominik, the “Udonaut,” described the time during the pandemic as follows: “It was really tough—we need contact with the audience like we need air to breathe. We held two live-streamed concerts, but that was no substitute for our live shows. That’s why we’re so excited today for our first performance here in Altenkirchen after a year and a half away.” Enthusiastic audience The audience clearly had a lot of pent-up demand for live concerts as well; they sang along to almost every song, and before long the first people were dancing—every song was enthusiastically celebrated. For two and a half hours, the band thrilled the crowd with a veritable barrage of Udo Lindenberg’s biggest hits. Here’s a small selection, since it’s impossible to list all the hits: “Ich mach’ mein Ding,” “Ich lieb’ Dich überhaupt nicht mehr,” “Und dann knallst du in mein Leben,” “Cello,” “Hinterm Horizont,” “Andrea Doria”—and they even kicked off “Sonderzug nach Pankow.”

There wasn’t a dull moment throughout the concert, as the band skillfully blended hard rock with soulful ballads. Just when you were holding hands and getting goosebumps during “Das Leben” (a duet by “Udonaut” and Jasmin Antic), you were suddenly jolted out of your reverie by the hard-hitting rock of “Rock’n’Roller.” During love songs like “Das Mädchen aus Ostberlin” and “Durch schwere Zeiten,” lighters and cell phones were held aloft; it was like an invisible bond between the band and the audience—a symbiosis.

Source: Kurier Altenkrichen