Jan Delay is with his funk band Disco No. 1 on tour, and that he’s hot for the show becomes clear in the first bars of the concert, when he opens the evening at the Zenith brilliantly with the “Intro” from his current album “Earth, Wind & Feiern”. That he’s hot too, he’s already taking off his jacket.
Jan Philip Eißfeldt aka Jan Delay is in the nineties as part of the beginners become famous, hip hop from Hamburg, pointed and striking. Also because of Delay’s nasal voice. Later he dedicated himself to funk and soul, his second solo album “Mercedes-Dance” went through the roof in 2006, followed by the hit single “Klar”. Delay performs it in the usual posh way that evening and with the line “We bring this shit to a boil here and that’s how it works” does exactly what he sings about – the well-filled hall is in top form. The fantastically performing band is not called for nothing Disco No. 1: The show is a party fueled by Delay and its three amazing singers who also act as dancers.
Is this still a concert or already a children’s birthday party?
With some songs from the new album there is a problem; the song “Fun” describes xenophobic “concerned citizens” who are full of hate because they’ve never really had fun. The fact that it is very under-complex does not seem to bother anyone here. In any case, Jan Delay’s audience, who joins in everything, has fun, be it with late dance education (“These are dance moves from the nineties”), singing along or laughing at jokes that could have been left behind in the nineties. “Are you all so wet too?” asks Delay. He wrings out his wet shirt and says in a disguised voice “and where that came from, there’s a lot more of it” and thus hits a thoroughly questionable notch of humor.
The later the evening, the wilder the party. The two-hour show reaches a climax with the first of three encores. If well-known songs were quoted during the concert, the first encore is a disco medley: to “Show me love” by Robin S and daft punks “One More Time” should all do a stop dance. Is this still a concert or already a children’s birthday party? A dance evening on a club holiday?
Well-loved rituals and motives can no longer fit when they outgrow their time. Many a concert guest jumps up from a squat with difficulty, social criticism does not arise from catchphrases wrapped in hedonism, lines like “And whenever the moon shines, then it’s showtime” don’t make a meaningful disco track. It’s like a favorite item that has been washed too hot and shrinks and no longer fits. Jan Delay in his long shirt doesn’t seem to be affected.