“Pardon Ms. Arden” at The Atomic Cafe
The Atomic Café, as it has done so many times in its illustrious history, was the scene of a raucous crowd who welcomed Pardon Ms. Arden this past Saturday Night to its minimalist confines. This keeps the focus on the music. The all-around dank weather did little to dampen the spirit of the concertgoers, who did their best to reciprocate the energy provided by the band.
The Atomic Café, much to the chagrin of the local music scene, will no longer exist in its current location. Some of indie rock’s best have played the cafe in their formative years, including the Arctic Monkeys, Sportfreunde Stiller, and Babyshambles. The owners of the building have other ideas for this prime real estate a scant 200 meters from the Hofbrauhaus, so the cafe will be closing. These facts only seemed to amplify the mood of the crowd, and the opening act Technosaurus Rex did their part.
As most bands are wont to do, pardon ms. arden began their set with ‘Distance’, the title track from their latest release, which has been well-received by their fans and the public. The band showed its versatility by moving from the current single ‘Wake You’ (a traditional rock song) to the
angrier ‘The Night Before’ to the gentler ‘Slip Away’. They also played ‘I Can not See the Point’ which is always better live than recorded.
After the obligatory pieces from the new album, the band settled into a groove, appearing more comfortable, yet excited as the night wore on. The air was electric, and the band toasted the crowd which clearly contained many of their biggest and best fans.
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Songs like ‘Disco Queen’, ‘Cardiff’, and ‘What Is Love’ (a Haddaway cover), kept the pulse pumping till late in the night. The band finished their set with a buzz sawed version of The Police’s ‘So Lonely’, which surely kept many of the audience charged until Monday.
One of the best things about living in LA, is you never know what you might get in intimate clubs. Bands like ’Queens of the Stone Age’ or ‘Tool’ are known to drop by and play a set, without any prior warning. If you’re lucky enough to be there on one of those days, you will never forget it. If you just happened to duck into The Atomic Café this past Saturday without knowing anything about Pardon Ms. Arden, you would have left after the show feeling that local music is alive and well in the Bavarian capital, Munich. It’s just a shame that the Atomic Café will be closing at its present location. We can only hope it moves to an even better one.
Used with permission for the Whiskey-Soda.de website
Translated and edited in English by Michael V. Owens, MunichNOW Arts & Cultural Editor
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