Garbage live in Köln am 5. Juli 2024 - Concert Review

Let me try my best to revise my memories from that night to explain what happened at the Garbage concert and why it's my top concert experience so far. Of course, we were late. With the newfound love of football and living in Germany, we couldn’t miss the game between Spain and the host of the European League 2024. We watched until the last seconds, even during our ride to the new venue where Garbage moved their concert. I have no idea why and what happened to the old place, but the new one was so cozy and welcoming, not big, but enough for all of us.

Sometimes I forget how old Garbage are, not in a bad way. No, I never mention years to make someone feel bad—old like a good wine. But I was absolutely sure that I was the youngest there. Since the 90s, Garbage has won the hearts of millions of fans with so many hits, building their base like the bricks of the building that constructed the new venue. The set started with an incredible song that didn’t sound very good, and for a moment I thought to myself, "Oh no, is it one of those concerts where you discover your favorite singer actually cannot sing?" Shirley probably needed a moment to warm up because the whole set right after "Crush," which contained almost all of the band's hits, blew me away.

After this astonishing performance, even among that wooden crowd that turned out to be the German public, I became a certified gold fan. I danced like never before, enjoying the corner of the balcony on the podium that was giving me a 15 cm advantage against the giraffes patrolling everywhere. Listening to "Crush" now, while I regain my memories, or what is left of them after so many beers, feels familiar and, sad to say, better. Okay, one of the songs didn’t deliver as I expected, but still, at least the band decided to perform it. Yeah, the other problem I have with Garbage is that they missed "Queer," "Even Though Our Love Is Doomed," and "The World Is Not Enough" from the playlist. I was shocked. These songs would have been the final touch for this show to be my most favorite musical experience. Now, I feel like they left the door open for someone else to sweep in and take the number one place. I guess they are creating a craving for more, and they succeeded because I am thinking of seeing them again soon.

During the concert, I realized that a lot of songs were not familiar, but they received marks in my mind to be revisited and researched. "Godhead" is one of those songs that I hadn’t experienced yet, and now checking the lyrics and the music, I am amazed. A song about ongoing sexism released not that long ago. While I was waking up once more to the band, they hit us with "I Think I’m Paranoid," very familiar and strong song. The lyrics of this hit hit hard. You know when you are in a life situation and the songs around you finally start to make sense? That was the concert that made me feel something new. By the end, I had this brand new appreciation for the band, like never before. And I have to give it to them, they almost sang all of my favorite songs—23 in fact, which is not a small set. The time flew so quickly; we went through the list like crazy with "Cherry Lips" and "Special." The concert took a turn with another unknown to me song, "The Men Who Rule the World," playing next. I know artists feel the need to be political and voice their views, and sometimes they are obligated, but I feel like I need a break from this, especially when I go to a concert. I am not sure if there has been a concert where the artists didn’t spread their views. Even though what was said was true and Germany lost to Spain—a powerful, current, and important topic—I feel like for this hour and a half, we should have the escapism that we crave.

After "Metal Heart," we went back to the past with "Run Baby Run." I never considered Garbage a protest band, but after checking the lyrics of some of the songs, I am surprised how current they are, keeping up with the problems of the world and using their platform for the things they care about. Don’t get me wrong, even though I am searching for escapism, I can certainly appreciate people who are fighting the fight, so the respect for Garbage skyrocketed after they spoke about the dying children in Gaza. 

The concert took a pause because of a problem with the drums. While they were trying to fix the problem, Shirley Manson spotted a birthday girl named Gabriela, and with the help of the whole fandom, she sang "Happy Birthday" to her, which she acknowledged she had never done before. This must be the happiest birthday for Gabriela because I felt extremely happy for her and at the same time so fucking jealous. The drums were fixed, and Gabriela was in heaven when they played "Hammering in My Head," another one that I hadn’t heard before, with incredibly powerful lyrics and is becoming a favorite in my head right now. Shirley Manson is 58, but she has the energy and the look of Harley Quinn while playing "The Creeps," another song punching the air in the building hard. Her voice cut through the room, proving how talented she is.

One of my favorite songs starts after a heart-to-heart intro about the hard times we all experience and how to deal with them. With "The Trick Is To Keep Breathing," Garbage reminded me why I loved the band in the first place. I have to check their albums one by one; they have so many hidden gems. I don’t remember much of the next song, so I played a live version from one of their concerts. Today, I listened to that song when I woke up, and I was amazed that I didn’t know it before. Now I will never forget it. What a beautiful song, 'Bleed Like Me,' which is about empathy and understanding the struggles we face as different people. "Stupid Girl" starts right after, followed by new entries (for me) "Wolves," "No Gods No Masters," and "Cities in Dust" (cover). It’s so funny, every song I didn’t know relates to my state of mind right now, and I went to the concert thinking that I knew Garbage. Obviously, I had some knowledge, but there was way more unknown than I had anticipated. "Vow" and "When I Grow Up" are two of these songs that I realize I like listening to right now. One other thing that came to my mind during "When I Grow Up" is that Garbage has such good outros. Their songs usually finish on a very good extra note that completely grabs my attention and gets me vibing.

The next two songs are well-known hits, yet I had never paid attention to the lyrics or the videos before. Now I have the opportunity to fully appreciate them, and naturally, they cut deep. Please tell me if I am not the only one who feels this way! "Why Do You Love Me" is a question that comes up often in my mind lately, or it should be "Why do you tolerate me?" Either way, I am on the wave, and the concert is turning into one of the best decisions in my life. Often, I feel overwhelmed in such places, hard to release the tension, not letting myself go. By now, I owned this place, and Garbage was playing only for me. "Push It" begins, and this live version is the best thing I've ever heard. The end of this version you can hear on YouTube and it is magnetic. Again, these outros are out of this world, and the sound in the building comes as a bass wave of uplifting energy. I cannot say anything bad about the venue, even with the small stage problems, the music and the availability, the space were just perfect. "Push It" became my number one until today when I found a couple of hidden gems that are growing on me fast.

All of a sudden, the concert ends, and I start to count the songs we didn’t hear. Maybe I should check the playlist before I go and take control of the disappointment. I knew she would come out again if we continued to applaud and scream, so I gave it my best drunken shot, and she did. She came and performed "Milk." Even though I love the song, I was scared. The fear of not hearing the best songs, the ones that made me a fan and brought me here, was starting to creep in. "Milk" ends, and she leaves the stage again? Scream! I screamed, and they came back one more time. I thought, "Good, but there are at least three more songs that I want." The last song, "I’m Only Happy When It Rains," destroyed me. I have to admit, songs change their positions in my top 100 playlist (aka the soundtrack of life); some even leave the list and never reappear, but the last song is always there. Girl, she got me. The best concert of my life. Now, after revisiting these memories and unfolding the group and their albums one more time, I realize that they didn’t perform many more songs that I turned out to love. "You Look So Fine" was missing, and I’ll live, but I was five songs away from the perfect orgasm. Now, I’ll try to relief myself on their YouTube page because I became a proper fan after this experience. 

Garbage live in Köln am 5. Juli 2024 - Concert Setlist:

Setlist:

1. #1 Crush
2. Godhead
3. I Think I'm Paranoid
4. Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)
5. Special
6. The Men Who Rule the World
7. Metal Heart
8. Run Baby Run
9. Happy Birthday to You
10. Hammering in My Head
11. The Creeps
12. The Trick Is to Keep Breathing
13. Bleed Like Me
14. Stupid Girl
15. Wolves
16. No Gods No Masters
17. Cities in Dust
18. Vow
19. When I Grow Up
20. Why Do You Love Me
21. Push It

Encore:

22. Milk
23. Only Happy When It Rains

Iliya Badev