Live report LIFE OF AGONY (Up Close & Unplugged), Gruenspan, Hamburg – February 22nd, 2024.

Life Of Agony, the New York hardcore/metal veterans, are renowned for their powerful riffs, thundering grooves, and Mina Caputo’s expressive vocals. These core elements define the band’s sound, which has resulted in great albums such as ‘River Runs Red’.

The band is currently touring Europe, with some shows in Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands, and these concerts are something special. Life Of Agony created a unique ‘Up Close & Unplugged’ tour that offers fans a visual and audio experience.

Mina, Joey, and Alan are sure to deliver a memorable evening under the banner of ‘Up Close & Unplugged’, and tonight’s stop is at the legendary Gruenspan in Hamburg, Germany. The show at Gruenspan is seated, which is a rarer thing at this venue, but it makes perfect sense for this intimate performance.

The evening starts at 19:00 and it is the film ‘The Sound of Scars’ that marks the first part of an unforgettable evening. The documentary tells the story of the band and explores the personal backgrounds of the musicians. Broken homes, drug abuse and violence were the circumstances at the time and there had to be a catalyst, which was music in general and hardcore in particular. The film shows these roots unmasked and provides a great context for the band’s music.

Mina’s transformation is also a theme of the film, as well as the band being overwhelmed by the success of the debut album and the show at Dynamo Open Air in front of more than 90,000 metalheads.

Unfortunately, the chatterboxes get louder and louder during the documentary and you wonder why people spend more than 70 Euros to talk to each other. Maybe they have already seen the film or whatever, it is disturbing.

After a 10 minute break the Q&A session begins. The fans had the chance to send in their questions prior to the event and after the trio (Veronica Bellini doesn’t take part in these events) entered the stage, guitarist Joey Z. takes over the role of the moderator. It was also Joey’s idea to do this kind of shows, which, as he explains, is less of a concert or a typical show. The intention is to have a close contact with the fans in an intimate campfire atmosphere. In order to create the right conditions for the audience, they were asked to keep their mobile phones on silent and not to use the camera. In a digitally connected world, it is surprising that, with a few exceptions, everyone followed the band’s wish and was 100% in the moment.

Mina, Joey and Alan are very open, vulnerable and authentic, and the questions asked are more of a leading but interesting element. What do you think about the music industry today? What is the difference between life at home and life on tour? These are questions that get the conversation going, and more than once the band, and especially Mina, drifts away from the original question, which isn’t a bad thing at all. Nothing is scripted tonight and it’s not about how certain chords help to create a stellar song. It is about emotions and feelings, the most essential part of music. In this session the fans get a deeper understanding of the three individuals, their bond, their fears and their hopes.

The Q&A session is a very tangible moment of tonight’s event, with everyone listening with focus and you could have heard a needle dropping on the floor. It is also a very touching and emotional hour, with e.g. Mina talking about her dog which brings tears to her eyes.

After such an emotional journey, another 10 minute break gives everyone time to refresh and regroup before the acoustic set begins.

Although it feels unique, it’s not the first time Life Of Agony plays an acoustic set. They did it back in 1997 at the Lowlands festival in The Netherlands, but this is the first time they have played these acoustic songs in such an intimate environment and atmosphere.

The choice of songs also differs a lot from a usual set, as the band doesn’t play any re-arranged anthems like ‘River Runs Red’, which probably wouldn’t be possible in a good way anyway. Instead there are songs that the band hasn’t played very often in the past.

With ‘Weeds’ the trio ends the show with a well known closer, while some cover versions add a great element to this gathering. ‘Home’ is originally from Mina’s solo album, which she recorded as Keith, while the emotional version of ‘Redemption Song’ refers to the band’s wide range of influences. The melancholic version of Nirvana’s ‘Something in the Way’ is another highlight, also because Joey Z. takes over the vocals.

The campfire spirit of the night is also reflected in this musical segment of the set as Alan gives some background information on ‘I Surrender’. The song actually comes from the Robert family as it was Alan’s daughter who came up with the idea for the song together with her bass playing father. Then called ‘Friends Forever’ the band reacted very positively when they heard it for the first time and so ‘Friends Forever’ became ‘I Surrender’ – a Life Of Agony classic.

‘Up Close & Unplugged’ is an intimate show for fans and both with both of them appreciating the closeness to each other. The movie, the Q&A session, and the unplugged performance are all part of the 100% L:O:A experience and at the same time a special moment for everyone who found their way to Gruenspan tonight. These four hours have been well-invested time.

Setlist Life Of Agony