Sweat and goosebumps: Yungblud made Berlin feel. You can find out everything about the setlist and highlights here.
As the minute hand slowly approaches midnight and the autumnal Monday towards the end of October is almost history, the Berlin concert hall – isolated from the wintry temperatures in the east of the city – has long since heated up to tropical temperatures. In the aisles, people are crowded in front of the merch stands, trying to grab the last remnants of T-shirts and CDs that will remind them of this evening – and it was a special evening indeed. As part of his “Idols” tour, Yungblud stopped in the German capital and treated his ever-growing audience to a truly cathartic evening of rock ‘n’ roll at Uber Eats Music Hall.
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It’s the love for the genre that is evident in everything he does – in his voice, his style and most of all in the energy that Yungblud, or Dom as fans affectionately call him, conveys on stage. Shirtless, in black leather trousers and with sweaty black hair, the young Brit has become the epitome of a new generation of rock, flying the flag of social liberation through artistic expression and the power of musical connection.
Palaye Royale: A strong support act
On his tour, Yungblud demonstrated a feeling for what rock’n’roll is today and who can carry the genre into the future with passion and independence, directly through the selection of his support acts: First Weathers and then Palaye Royale put on a show whose musical excellence would have made the trip to the Uber Eats Music Hall on a cold Monday evening worth it. Palaye Royale, the explosive glam rock band from Las Vegas, has long been considered by connoisseurs to be one of the best – albeit niche – live acts that rock music of the second millennium has to offer – and can really heat up the cautiously enthusiastic crowd with their hits like “Mr. Doctor Man” and “You’ll Be Fine”.
“Hello, Heaven, Hello” opens the evening
With “Hello, Heaven, Hello”, the opening track from his latest album IDOLS and also the first song of the evening, Yungblud opens his rock opera with full force. He is no longer the unconventional, jumping rebellious figure with pink socks and suspenders that fans learned to love on European stages a few years ago. The Brit thrived in his role as a rock star proclaimed by the industry – full of self-confidence, powerful sound, vocal excellence and the knowledge of his very special effect on the listeners. Yungblud may have matured as an artist, but even with his new album and on larger stages, he carries the same heart and soul as ever – nourished by his love for art as well as his love for his fans.
A sound bath between old and new
In the two and a half hour sound bath that brings the Uber Eats Music Hall to a boil between guitar riffs, basslines and columns of flame, Yungblud finds a convincing mix of old and new works. Songs from the IDOLS record, which was released in June, predominate with powerful rock stories, but fans of earlier pieces also get their money’s worth: between “Idols Pt. 2”, “Lovesick Lullaby”, “Fire” and “War”, which show the new, mature Yungblud, there are old hits such as “The Funeral”, “Fleabag” and “Loner”.
“My Only Angel”: proof of vocal excellence
A highlight of the concert is “My Only Angel”, the Brit’s new piece, which was created together with Aerosmith and offers a foretaste of the upcoming joint EP ONE MORE TIME with the long-established rock band. The song shows that Yungblud has also developed vocally since his beginnings – just like his interpretation of “Changes” that shakes up the hall.
The Ozzy tribute
With his version of the Black Sabbath classic, Yungblud, as in every show, remembers his late friend and rock colleague Ozzy Osbourne, to whom he always dedicates in concert. The honesty with which fans join in this homage almost moves the musician to tears. Yungblud has already proven enough in performances over the past few months that Yungblud has the artistic talent to effortlessly perform an interpretation of “Changes” – and still leaves fans impressed.
“Zombie” as the crowning glory
The brilliant finale is “Zombie”, which can also be found on their most recent record and is one of their most successful pieces. The music video, for which he recruited actress Florence Pugh, reached 16 million views on YouTube in four months. The song provided a fantastic conclusion to a rock performance that – as was heard from the crowd – more than met the fans’ expectations.
Arrived in the mainstream
Anyone who has been following Yungblud and his concerts for a long time will have noticed that not only has the artist changed and grown – the crowd has also changed compared to the shows he played three years ago. The faces that look into the highlights of the Uber Eats Music Hall stage have become more diverse, reflecting more of a cross section of society than the gigs of just a few years ago, which were more rough symbols of youthful rebellion against the establishment, convention, coolness and conformity than rock experiences suitable for mass consumption.
The crowd in Berlin shows that Yungblud has long since entered the mainstream as an artist, phenomenon and brand. The fact that he has become the figurehead of a new generation of rock’n’roll has naturally meant that his music has also become acceptable and accessible to the broader society. Some fans who have followed Yungblud since the beginning may miss the thorny riot and desperate, rebellious fury that a youthful Yungblud stood for. However, Yungblud has remained true to his charismatic, liberation-fighting character and the revolutionary, future-writing essence of rock’n’roll. And in the end, maybe it’s not Yungblud who has adapted to a middle of society – maybe society has just become more Yungblud.