Milky Chance Blossom Out In Detroit

The delightful German duo, Milky Chance, made a stop at The Fillmore in Detroit on Friday October 13th.

Starting off the night was Gene Evaro Jr.
The classy songwriter presented a groovy rock vibe with an old school guitar tune.
Gene hails from the beautiful desert land of Joshua Tree, CA. With a lovely voice, an in depth folk/soul/funk tunes, Evaro’s set was starkly reminiscent of all that has been great about music, and all that can be again.
Each of the three musicians joining onstage seemed to enjoy themselves equally. Evaro repeatedly expressed how happy the band was to be in Detroit, and made sure to point out his fellow bandmates onstage, allowing them ample time for their musical talents to shine.
The band has been touring extensively and bringing ample awareness to their music. This was quite apparent as a few members of the audience seemed to not be strangers to the music. Gene Evaro Jr played 32 minutes of excellent jams to make way for Milky Chance.

Right around 9 PM, Milky Chance took to the stage. The happy crowd greeted the fellows with an excited, collective cheer.
The band started off the night with “Clouds”, from their latest album release. “Blossom”, the band’s second LP, was out March 17th of this year. The usual duo was touring as a four piece – two lads on drums, one swapping between guitar and trumpet, Clemens Rehbein on guitar and lead vocals.
Next up was the popular track “Ego”, followed by their latest album’s title song, “Blossom”. After “Blossom” had concluded, Clemens greeted the crowd with, “Detroit! What’s happening?” The audience responded with resounding applause.

A couple of songs later, Milky Chance reached “Flashed Junk Mind”, which REALLY got everyone in the audience dancing. Folks from all ages were grooving and singing along. Even the balcony where I was sitting was literally shaking from all of the excitement!
Throughout the set, just the right amount of smoke emmitted form the stage, creating a perfect ambiance with the band’s unique and colorful lights set up.
When he wasn’t singing, Clemens darted and danced across the stage to play guitar in front of difference parts of the audience.
There was one quick stop in the show when the band was having guitar technical difficulties. Philipp Dausch, who was mainly on drum and percussion duties for the evening expressed, “We have a little problem with the brown guitar. It’s getting fixed now… and it’s about there!”
Once the guitar was back in business, Clemens lamented, “Sorry guys!”, but no one at the Fillmore seemed to mind in the slightest. Philipp would also pick up a bass at times, jamming out sans shoes and socks. Clemens also once swapped out his guitar for a bass as well.

The band even presented “Bad Things”, a collaboration with a musical friend from London (Izzy Bizu), who wasn’t joining on tour, but the track was shared anyhow.
“Easing the pain inside, got me loving all of the time. Keep the bad things out of my mind…”
“Thank you so much guys. The next song is a love song – ‘aww!'”. Clemens mimicked the crowd’s heartfelt sentiment, and started into “Loveland”.
“Take me to Loveland, and no one’s gonna find me…”
Clemens carried out a chorus note that sent the crowd into a frenzy.

After “Loveland”‘s conclusion, Clemens said simply, “This next song goes like, “Eh ah, eh ah…” “Cocoon”, the lead single from “Blossom” began. Clemens encouraged the crowd to echo back the catchy, “Eh ah” that resonates throughout the track.
“Thank you Detroit, yeah!” Clemens threw up a peace sign, and the band exited stage right.

The insatiable crowd kept clapping for their heroes, and after an extremely brief time away, Milky Chance returned to deafaning cheers and applause.
“Thank you guys! We’ve got two more songs for you.”
Clemens started a western-vibed intro into the massive hit, “Stolen Dance”. He was pleased when the crowd sang along to the first couple of lines without any prompting.
Many concert goers were dancing, singing, and even videoing the track. Clemens let the crowd sing the chorus one time through the second chorus around.
He yelled “Yeah!”, and continued to sing the chorus one more time.
For the last song, their dear friend Antonio Greger was welcomed to the stage, and hugged it out with members of the band before starting into “Sweet Sun”. Antonio jammed out on the harmonica as a last song celebratory dance party ensued.
Once the set had wrapped up, Clemens expressed, “Thank you so much, Detroit! Hope to see each other again! Take care! Peace on earth!” He made a heart with his hands, and one of the band’s light displays even took the shape of a green peace sign.

Milky Chance definitely brought a night of fun and great music to the Fillmore.
They will be touring the US through October, and will be continuing the Blossom tour throughout the world, well into 2018.

Words and photos by: Tiffany Cuthrell