Stormy and a little embarrassed farewell to 2Cellos
Even before the covid, both members of the Croatian duo 2Cellos edited their solo projects, which were a bit different than what they play together. Although the Prague concert of their farewell tour resulted in a stormy response, it was clear that they were both on a different wave.
Live: 2Cellos
Support: Matt Simons
place: O2 arena, Prague
date: May 18, 2022
setlist: Benedictus, Where The Streets Have No Name, Castle On the Hill, Resistance, With Or Without You, Human Nature, Smooth Criminal, Thunderstruck, Army of Seven Nations, Voodoo People, Smells Like Teen Spirit, You Shook Me All Night Long, Highway To Hell, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, Back In Black, Sweet Child o ‘Mine
Additions: Livin ‘On A Prayer, overture William Tell, The Trooper, Wake Me Up, Hurt, Hallelujah
Photo gallery
© Tomas Parkan / musicserver.cz
Before 2Cellos took the stage, the American singer Matt Simons introduced himself. The first reaction was a bit cold, because there was no mention of the jumper on the posters, and apparently only a handful of people remembered at first that he was the musician who was responsible for relatively large hits such as “Catch & Release” or “We Can Do Better”. Song after song, with the mentioned hits and also with the arrival of a great drummer, the audience gradually melted. In the end, they were thrilled by the brand new song from the brand new album “Identity Crisis”, so it’s no wonder that Simons was accompanied by a loud applause behind the scenes.
© Tomas Parkan / musicserver.cz
Since Matt Simons only pulled out with electric keys and drums, rebuilding the scene took a relatively short time. The audience so nervously and sometimes even with a loud whistling demanded the arrival of the main stars. However, Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser did not get used to it and entered the podium at exactly nine o’clock. Their entrée was very gradual – from the short “Benedictus” through “Where The Streets Have No Name” from U2 to Ed Sheeran’s “Castle On The Hill”. Only with “Resistance” from Muse began to bring more energy like “With Or Without You” and especially Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” and “Smooth Criminal” and greater emotions when a photo of the King of Pop appeared on the LED walls. The whole concert found a completely different direction when both cellists launched “Thunderstruck” from AC / DC and behind them appeared drummer Dušan Kranjc, who soon cut his usual solo. The rock part has started in full.
© Tomas Parkan / musicserver.cz
although this tour was originally planned as a promo for the current album “Dedicated”, in addition to the aforementioned Ed Sheeran hit, it featured songs only in additions – “Livin ‘On A Prayer” by Bon Jovi and just before it “Sweet Child o’ Mine”. The rest of the setlist was composed of previous recordings and especially pieces from the eponymous debut. However, the audience was picked up by a song that you will not find in the studio, namely “You Shook Me All Night Long”. From that moment on, the whole O2 arena no longer sat down and the right party began, during which people danced, fires burned and pyrotechnics rained down.
© Tomas Parkan / musicserver.cz
although it all sounds absolutely amazing, something was still missing. It probably wouldn’t have been so obvious if we hadn’t seen Luky Šulić’s performance with Evgeny Genchev in the Branické Ledárny a few months earlier. Compared to this performance, full of enthusiasm, joy of music and incredible energy, the same musician on Wednesday seemed to be fulfilling his duty. On the other hand, it was he who instrumentally pulled the whole concert away, when Hauser came to have more fun and enjoy. It was he who went to the highways with glowing devil horns among the visitors, who often got up, made jokes, communicated with the audience (especially with compatriots) and mainly turned the concert into a rock show, while his companion took away that black work. It was clear that the chemistry between the two had run out and was probably the reason for their breakup.
© Tomas Parkan / musicserver.cz
In addition, those who saw the aforementioned Šulić concert in September must have been disappointed by the show. although he used only lighting effects last year, their design and especially the interaction with the music were absolutely perfect and elevated the whole performance to an unforgettable experience. Wednesday’s performance offered pyrotechnic effects and a large screen, but except for a few moments, it was impossible to get rid of the feeling that the last tour was supposed to contain something more elaborate, more thoughtful, and perhaps even more imaginative and pompous; the classic crossover does explicitly encourage this. Despite the previous lines, it should be noted that the spectators had a great time and accompanied the pair of 2Cellos at the end of the whole concert with a standing ovation.
© Tomas Parkan / musicserver.cz
It’s hard to say if we’ll ever see these two musicians together again. They don’t seem to know either. After all, they joked about it in Avicii’s funny video “Wake Me Up”, where they styled themselves as two residents of a retirement home playing the cello. But now their paths are divided over time, and that’s probably right. Just as it will be worth watching where their careers develop and what they will offer us in the years to come. Let’s hope that it will be a great experience again and, as they indicated in their solo albums, after all, a little more classics.