After a break of almost 39 (!) years, Dieter Meier and Boris Blank once again grace a Swiss stage. It was an unexpected triumph.
It's hard to believe: Yello, the Swiss electro pioneers with a global reputation, are complete beginners - at least when it comes to performing in front of a live audience. Dieter Meier (72) and Boris Blank (65) enter the stage in Montreux accordingly nervous.
Understandably so. The Lab is fuller than it has ever been this year. And the last concert at the Kraftwerk Club in Berlin at the end of 2016 was not exactly warmly reviewed by a well-known German music journalist.
Yello rock!
But there's nothing to criticize about their performance in Montreux. On the contrary: after a somewhat restrained start with "Limbo" and "Bostich", the band rose to a concert triumph. Supported by drums, percussion, guitar, five horns and two backing singers, Yello sweep away any doubts about their live qualities.
Yello rock. The hits of the Zurich electro pioneers have rarely sounded so driving, funky and infectious. "Oh Yeah", "Si Senor The Hairy Grill" and "Vicious Game" don't just work as sounds for the harmonious video collages in the background. They also get the Lab audience going as danceable live hits.
Breakdown during presentation
So it doesn't matter that the presentation of the "Yellofier" sound app on the smartphone goes wrong at first. Boris Blank: "It's not working. Sorry, it's my wife's phone."
Typical Blank - and very likeable. Nevertheless, it's good that the band can respond with the mega-hit "The Race" and deliver a perfect finale. At the end, a visibly moved Dieter Meier thanks his "young live band" for the exuberant applause.
Later in the evening, Dieter Meier can be found in high spirits at Funky Claude's Bar. "The main rehearsal was disastrous," he reveals, "I almost threw myself into Lake Geneva this afternoon." As we all know, bad dress rehearsals make for good performances - and this has also been proven here.
It's good that we don't have to wait almost 40 years for the duo's next appearance. Yello will be playing in Zurich's Hallenstadion at the end of November.
One day before the gig, Boris Blank presented his Yellofier app at a workshop in Montreux. We met him there.
