Live report THE PINEAPPLE THIEF & TROPE, Fabrik, Hamburg – March 16th, 2022

The last months and years have been tough for the music industry. Pandemic and lockdowns have brought venues, artists and their professional community to their limits. But also fans had to suffer and could only experience their favorite artists ‘live’ in livestreams. Slowly the fog of the non-concert time seems to lift and the one or other live event starts to take place again.

One band that is on tour at the moment is The Pineapple Thief. Bandleader Bruce Soord and his mates have already started their tour through Europe a few days ago and one stop on this journey is Die Fabrik in Hamburg.

Originally the tour should have taken place in September 2020 to promote the new album ‘Versions of the Truth’. However, for well-known reasons, nothing came off the ground and also the newly scheduled date in autumn 2021 became a victim of the pandemic. But now the time has come. Fans rush to Die Fabrik to finally experience live music again.

Vaccination, test and mask are mandatory on this evening, but who cares about that when you finally have the opportunity to experience live music again.

Tonight’s opening act is Trope. Trope is an alternative prog rock band that combines hard sounds with soulful moments. This time Trope is just a duo and acoustic. Singer Diana Studenberg and guitarist Moonhead enter the stage at eight o’clock sharp and enchant the audience with their quiet and emotionally performed tunes. The fact that Trope have a lot to offer technically becomes apparent right at the beginning and it is astonishing how much energy this performance sparks. Trope prove that even unplugged shows can generate massive dynamics and intensity. The duo provide a very emotional ambience and are a very well chosen opener for this evening.

Then it was time for the main act. Frenetic cheers accompanied the moment when The Pineapple Thief entered the stage and the band started their 90 minute set with the title track of their latest studio album. ‘Versions of the Truth’ is a well-done start to the evening which represents a good selection from the band’s back catalogue. Along with new material from the not so new ‘Versions of the Truth’ album, a song from the band’s early days, ‘Part Zero’, also comes to full life and heralds the encore section of the show.
Bruce Soord and his four fellow musicians obviously enjoy being back on stage again and the audience feels the same way. The time of musical abstinence seems to be over and all the other dramatic developments in world news fade into the background for 90 minutes. The music is the focus and you get the feeling that friends, who haven’t seen each other for a long time, reunite again.

One of my personal highlights is ‘Demons’, a song that gains even more depth in a live set. But one can mention every song, because the musical talent of the band is undisputed. There are experts at work who listen to their hearts.

The Pineapple Thief are the masters of loud and soft sounds. The quintet combines both aspects with great skill, which on the one hand stimulates soulful reflection and on the other hand also leads to clap-along moments.

The Pineapple Thief make it clear on this evening how important live music is and how much we missed it. When the fans left Die Fabrik around 22:30, there are bright eyes throughout and hopefully the future will bring more of these moments.