Hardline / Fire Rose @ Z7 Pratteln
25.05.2019 @ Konzertfabrik Z7 Pratteln, Switzerland
Even a heavy thunderstorm cannot keep me from coming to Z7 tonight, just like 600-700 more Hard Rock Fans who do not want to miss Hardline. And there is also the local opener Fire Rose, hence this is going to be a great concert evening.
Around 20:30 it’s time for lights out and spot on Fire Rose from Baselbiet to play on home ground. They obviously enjoy to play on the big Z7 stage and once again the five guys deliver high quality Hard Rock. They kick it off with a new song «Get it All» and singer Phillip Meier animates the crowd to sing along. I have to say that this is the perfect front man who is also vocally always flawless. And you can see that they play with passion when looking at the Giese brothers on guitars, Jannik Schaffner on Bass or Dani Kopp at the Drums, especially on a big stage. However, they cannot use the full stage because of the headliner’s instruments and are rather squeezed into the right corner. Still they deliver 100% and warm up the crowd with «Touch Down», «Fade to Grey» and the final «Devil in High Heels». In my opinion Fire Rose are still one of the best Swiss newcomer Hard Rock Bands who also always offer a great live show.
After a longer changeover the headliner Hardline finally storms the stage. Literally. Singer Johnny Gioeli seems first a bit over the top when kicking it off with « Place to call home». So much action on stage, back light and a lot of fog effects – not good for the photographers but for the audience it’s a visual treat. You don’t really know where to look because there is so much going on. Gioeli surely attracts a lot of attention with his personality, but also Anna Portalupi, who is known to me as bass player for Tarja Turunen, is someone demanding attention. It is simply great to watch her playing with such joy and passion, and she is indeed a very skillful musician. Singer Johnny even jumps into the pit to be closer to fans, just to return to the stage right away afterwards. The only thing that irritates me a bit is this prompter tablet right in the middle of the stage which could have been hidden better. It’s not shame to use a prompter but you don’t need to put it on display. Musically there are highlights after highlights, high quality Hard Rock Songs. And Gioeli is also a comedian, entertaining the crowd with jokes all the time. Thus you receive some great music for the ears and some laughing-yoga-work-out. A great show, a fantastic band and great entertainment.
