Tamino played a concert at the Arena in Vienna.
Seen on: 16.2.2023
[Here’s my review of the last concert he played in Vienna.]

After many years of (COVID) break, Tamino finally returned to Vienna with a beautiful new album. (He also brought Dienne as his support act, but I missed her.) To say I have been waiting for that concert would be understating things a little. Fortunately, despite my high expectations, he managed to fulfill them once again.

Tamino’s first album is still one of my eternal favorites, but his second album really shows his growth as a musician, feeling more assured and mature, less ostentatious (although maybe still searching for his sound, but then again, who isn’t, especially at that age). It’s an excellent sophomore outing, and I can now also say that it play very well live. The biggest difference between the first show and this one wasn’t so much the songs but that he was there with his band this time, though he still played a couple of songs on his own.

What hasn’t really changed is Tamino’s awkwardness with audience interaction. He barely said anything, and interrupted his one attempt himself quite quickly: “I was warned you were a chatty crowd. We’ll just play music now.” Coupled with the lighting that constantly shone on him from the back, it gave the distinct impression of him trying to disappear behind the music. It was a little amusing to me, but I didn’t mind.

It is possible that this has something to do with the audience, mostly made up of young women (I felt so old there. It was a good thing that I kept to the back, close to the doors, and wore a mask due to COVID concerns, kind of mirroring Tamino’s attempts to not be there and be there at the same time, now that I think about it) – he seems like the kind of guy who is very uncomfortable with his own good looks and the (sexual) attention coming his way. This is, of course, wild speculation on my part, but it’s nevertheless a distinct feeling I got.

Anyhow, back to the important thing, that is the music: the show concentrated most on his newer songs, even including a so-far unreleased song that sounds very promising to me. He played some of his old songs as well (though I was again out of luck regarding a couple of favorites), making it a well-rounded show. I had a really good time with it, and I’ll definitely hope to be there for the next show.

Summarizing: beautiful.