“You can do anything!” Ben Cristovao and his guests entertained the O2 arena for almost three hours
Ben Cristovao said goodbye in the almost full Vysočan hall with the mentioned call after returning to it after several postponements. And because he’s a team player, he invited a bunch of guests over. Generally good impressions were marred only by small unfinished works and technical problems.
Live: Ben Cristovao
place: O2 arena Prague
date: October 1, 2022
Support, support: DCR Milda, Marcell, DJ Fuuse
set list:It’s raining, it’s raining, Programme, Body (feat. Supa), Naked, Mama said (feat. Adam Mišík / Hills 97), Best, I’m sending you love, Hitchhiker’s Guide, Pápá (feat. fiedlerski and Stein 27), Asgard (feat. Fast guys), Sweet Chilli, Ledová, Instagram (special version), Bed, Come closer to me (feat. Mirai Navrátil), Last, Nevim (feat. Marcell), Carousel, Padam, Aleiaio, Kurt (feat. Majk Spirit) , View (feat. Majk Spirit), Crazy, Trash, Heavyweight (feat. Cavalier), Multiverse (feat. Rytmus), Asio (feat. Osama Verse-Atile), Pumpa (feat. Ego), Bombs, City
© Adam Kocourek / musicserver.cz
“We are connecting my concert today to the international organization Music Declerase Emergency. I have the honor of being the first for our scene, from around the world Brian Eno, Moby, Thom Yorke, The 1975 and a bunch of others are participating. It’s not so much about being the first, but about the fact that I would like to let others know what can be done differently. Because we really only have one planet and it is up to us to decide what will be left here for future generations.” Ben Cristovao took to the social network just before he returned to the O2 arena after three years. The effort to do things differently and if possible better is typical for him in the long term. It applies to him when composing new things as well as publishing them, it can be seen in his work with social networks. And the fact that I try to think about ecology should not surprise anyone, given his veganism and long-term efforts to protect animals. Special menus in the hall buffets, recommendations to use public transport, recycled merch, special cups, but also the preparation of the show itself. These are all topics that Cristovao not only thought about, but also put them into practice.
© Adam Kocourek / musicserver.cz
That, perhaps due to this, the visual aspect did not seem as stunning and expensive as the competition, it is a compromise that its fans did not have a problem with. Rolls of paper flew out only in “Sweet Chilli”, there was no exaggeration with flames, props or the design of the stage itself. One main screen with simple graphics, two smaller ones on the sides and that’s it. We can only speculate whether inflation, rising costs and the fact that fans were holding on to tickets for several years were worth the easier visuals, but as said before, it didn’t matter. The native of Pilsen still had a lot of other tricks up his sleeve.
Even before he stood on stage at eight o’clock in the evening, his fans were warmed up by two DJs, including a six-song set by Marcel Procházka and his band, which included Matyáš Vorda from the defunct Mandrage and Ondřej Fiedler alias fiedlerski. Procházka has already been trying to break through with Czech-sung music for some time now, and thanks to the singles “Tvůj svět” and “Nevim”, he is doing quite well. And it is admirable that despite the change of language he manages to keep the musical and production side of his work airy and fresh. That is, the one he scored with years ago in his severely underappreciated indie rock band No Distance Paradise. Marcell, who used his medical education during the hardest period of the pandemic and helped on the front lines in hospitals, revealed, among other things, that one of the most anticipated home album debuts will be released in November. We are very much looking forward to it.
© Adam Kocourek / musicserver.cz
The lead singer, also known from the backing group Lenny, took the role of backing vocalist on the main program, with Laura Weng seconding him, and together with the rest of Ben’s band, they came and went on stage depending on what song was playing or if the whole group was needed, just DJ Fuuse . Cristova’s critics often blame him for his weaker vocal range, mumbles and stomping on his tongue, which can be heard a lot in, for example, the song “I send you love”, which, despite the mispronounced letter “L”, remains one of the best pieces in his repertoire. And the singer himself is probably well aware that he will probably never sing like Usher or Bruno Mars.
© Adam Kocourek / musicserver.cz
On the other hand, what can be attributed to it as a good thing is the fantastic range of positions in which it is possible to hear it. The vocal and interpretive variety is fun. And it allows him to jump from one genre to another. What’s more, it looks natural and is probably the best in our area. To this day, the single “Mam” is one of the best examples of what good Czech drum ‘n’ bass can look like. In the underappreciated Eurovision single “Kemama” he again played with afrobeat, and the album “JENTAK”, which we unfortunately did not have time to pay attention to on the music server, is his sovereign entry into the world of rock and metal, to which he will hopefully return again someday. And it is also one of the most daring releases that the Czech scene has experienced here in recent years. And these are just a few examples out of many. Pop, reggaeton, rap, funk and other genres are also represented by him and he visited them more than once in the O2 arena.
If anything can be read from his second visit to the largest Czech hall, then there are technical complications and minor unfinished business, where it was not always clear whether they were intentional or sloppy. The most painful thing was the choice of the main microphone. Although this freed up Ben’s hands, thanks to which he was able to fly through the air and do one small dance number (I wish he would add more in the future!), but unfortunately he was not very well understood in places and the concert suffered as a result. When he switched to a classic microphone in the second half of the performance, the sound was noticeably better.
© Adam Kocourek / musicserver.cz
In addition, it was clear that he was annoyed by wiretapping and that he didn’t even really hear his brothers and sisters in arms. One song earlier, a kind of umbrella came down to him, thanks to which he wanted to rise up only in the following single “Náhá”. And when Marcell sang their joint song “Nevim” to him a second time (and with a much more emotional feeling), the sound engineer didn’t turn on his microphone in time, and Ben’s verse could not be heard. The hit song “Kolotoč” started right away, in which the singer rode a silver lion created from a forklift after a tour of the hall, which could have been one of the highlights of the event. But he didn’t even make it to a third of the stage, and in the end he moved to the podium on foot. Was it intentional, or did something just not work as it should? So his performance wasn’t perfect, but it would be a mistake to think that it wasn’t great fun because of such mistakes. Ben’s female fans, in particular, did not reveal anything about themselves and the almost three-hour show created a perfect atmosphere. And what was not understood, they sang for him.
© Adam Kocourek / musicserver.cz
The guests played a big role in all of this. For their complete listing, look at the setlist above and you will surely recognize that the O2 arena has not seen such a large list of performers for a long time. For example, Majk Spirit was excellent with his verse about the importance of family and the problems of loneliness, fiedlerski and Stein 27 performed fantastically in the single “Pápá”, in which Ondřej’s guitar sonic pressure upgraded the evening to one of its highlights. And the collaboration with Adam Mišík in “Mama said” or “Come closer to me” was also great, where Mirai Navrátil joined Karol Komenda on the second acoustic guitar. The bed and “Postel” with four squirming dancers, the love song “Poslední” accompanied by artificial seagulls, “Sweet Chilli”, during which half of the enthusiastic arena was already on its feet, or “Heavy weights”, where there was a show full of flames, but also spark. Cristovao, having changed his clothes perhaps four times, did not lose his energy and graduated the crowd with the hit “Smítko” dealing with racism, and, as is his habit since at least the excellent set in Zluty Lázně, he waved the hands of those present in the pieces “Asio” or “Bomby”.
© Adam Kocourek / musicserver.cz
“Thirteen years ago, if you had told me at SuperStar that I would have packed the O2 arena with such guests, I would have laughed at you. And now you see it. You can do anything!” roared Ben Cristovao. It is true. Errors were found, but few people can put together such a long program without some unfinished business creeping in. And despite all this, it was still one of the better concerts by Czech artists in the Vysočan hall. Rapper Rytmus, who also performed here, once claimed to be “multitalented dude”. Almost fifteen thousand people could now clearly see that the label belonged to someone else a long time ago. Respect.