Live report MANDO DIAO & LUDWIG HART, Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Hamburg – November 29th, 2023

It’s the first winterly day in Hamburg, Germany that welcome Sweden pop-rock veterans Mando Diao. The band is currently on tour, promoting their latest release ‘Boblikov’s Magical World’ and with them on the road is a rather unknown artist called Ludwig Hart, being the opening act tonight at Alsterdorfer Sporthalle.

I haven’t heard of Hart earlier which created curiosity when it comes to the music of the singer and guitarist. Ludwig Hart is hailing from Sweden too and premiered in 2019 with a self-titled album. It was in 2021 when ‘Paloma’ hit the shelves and tonight’s 30-minute show gives an overview about the musical effort of the Swede.

Together with his band, Hart knows how to entertain the audience. The blend of soulful songs, a lot of emotions and straight-forward moments of pure rock are impressive. Emotion-drive denim rock is what the crowd gets offered and they enjoy what they hear. With each song played the vibe in the room gets better and there is more than just one person with a vinyl version of a Hart-release after this set. Ludwig Hart uses the momentum in a way of broaden his popularity and at the same time warm-up everyone for the headliner in great fashion.

Mando Diao are a regular guest in Hamburg, and they played at totally different location – including the iconic Molotow. The last time Mando Diao played in the Hansestadt was in 2019 and as back then also today Sporthalle is the place to be for fans of pop-rock-indie-alternative music. Unfortunately, the venue isn’t sold-out and is certainly too much space in the back of the room, but one thing is for sure. The ones not joining today missed something.

The five-piece starts with ‘Frustration’ into their set, a song that belongs to the best ones of the new album ‘Boblikov’s Magical World’. Equipped with an addictive melody the song reflects the typical Mando Diao sound and shows them extremely groovy.

And on we go with ‘One last Fire’ from the 2019 ‘Bang’-album followed by another new song that accelerate the party vibe – ‘Fire in the Hall’. This first triple sets the tone for 90 minutes of energetic, versatile, and entertaining music. The band seems the enjoy being on stage and it’s the fans that appreciate the effort a lot.

After a rocking start it is ‘Ochrasy’ being the calm moment of the night. The embedded whistling part even gets some spontaneous applause and it is the most touching moment of tonight. According to frontman Björn Dixgård the band came to rock, but the peaceful and acoustic sidestep with him and his acoustic guitar is well-placed counterpart and prepares everybody for the next twist. After a slight adjustment of the stage the band performs ‘Long Before Rock’n’roll’ in a swinging 50s setup. The amazing thing is, that the band sounds as tight and powerful even in this reduces setup before providing the next full blast with high-octane ‘Down in the Past’.

Such a show gets you thirsty and a beer is a very proper salvation. Providing Dixgård with a Corona beer in Hamburg isn’t a good choice though with the frontman asking for a proper beer instead – “We are not in Mexico. We are in Hamburg. Gimme a proper beer.” Nothing to add.

No doubt that Mando Diao has the hits on tonights setlist too. With ‘Black Saturday’, ‘Gloria’ and the irresistible ‘Dance with Somebody’, the timeless classics cause an euphoric crowd, being to the energetic peak of the party with even one crowd-surfer.

Mando Diao showed again, why they belong to the greats of rock music. Professional, entertaining, and yet with a rebellious mind the guys delivered to the point. Although having a well-designed light show too, it is the music that stands on the spotlight, songs performed by musicians that come across authentic and passionate about their own music. This show was a highlight in 2023 and as mentioned in the beginning – the one’s setting other priorities on this winterly night certainly missed a magic moment.