Live | Nestor [& Velveteen Queen] – Club Volta – Cologne [GER]

30 October 2024

Wednesday the 30th of October I am once again on my way to beautiful Cologne. The gentlemen of Nestor are busy with their European tour, in support of their latest release `Teenage Rebel’. Something that hasn’t happen on a great scale so far for the band, because basically they played a lot of festivals and a tour of their own wasn’t really there yet. 
However, it was slowly time for that because the places where this tour is coming are all well filled or even sold out. Club Volta is a nice venue and is in the same Cologne district as the Carlswerk or the E-Werk. 

VELVETEEN QUEEN – THE SUPPORT ACT

Before the Swedes of Nestor will take the stage, Velveteen Queen are there to warm up the crowd. These gentlemen formed their band in 2021 and have a love for old-school, sleazy rock and roll á la Guns ‘N Roses. 

Let me start with the fact that I absolutely love it that there are still young bands, time and time again, who have this kind of music in their hearts. Velveteen Queen is certainly one of them, but it doesn’t take away that their stage presence is a bit forced. It all looks somewhat artificial, in the trend of, this is what we have to do on stage. Musically, however, it is a band with good songs and that appeals to the audience. Songs like ,,Barrel Of A Gun” or ,,Take Me Higher” are nice rockers. In any case, a fine support and a band we will probably hear from in the future.

NESTOR – THE HEADLINER

After a brief change over, the musicians that it’s all about tonight may then take the stage. Tobias Gustavsson [vocals], Jonny Wemmenstedt [guitar], Marcus Åblad [bass guitar], Martin Johansson [keys] & Matthias Carlsson [drums] are able to get the audience on their hands with their [80s] songs from the first minute of their performance. The light show is beautiful, the sound in the venue is good and most importantly, Nestor was in great form. Singer Tobias is an energetic person who knows how to reproduce his high-pitched vocals with all ease.

But let’s not forget the background vocals of the rest of the band members, especially bassist Marcus and guitarist Jonny. These guys can also take on the role of lead vocalist in no time and many other bands do not have that advantage.

Nestor plays extremely tight and the fun really shines through. It is clear that this is not just a band but a close group of friends who enjoy making music together that they love. Of course, the story of Nestor’s origins in 1989 comes up and that the Swedes have chosen to keep the band on ice until 2021. They lived their lives, but that the love of music has always remained.

IT IS IN THE DNA

As it turns out, Tobias has lived in Cologne for a year and thus has a special connection to this city. He even speaks some German and says he has high expectations from the audience, with regard to singing along with the songs. I can report that there was no shortage of that. In any case, the roof went off and a large number of fans seem to travel from city to city to see the band.

Where I may have been a bit disappointed upon hearing the new album, I could only conclude that these songs are totally awesome live and fit perfectly into Nestor’s lane of music. Seamlessly, songs from `Teenage Rebel’ and the debut `Kids In A Ghost Town’ are fired at us.

Once again, Nestor proves to be a band who has this kind of melodic rock music in their DNA. You can think of the band all you want, but you certainly can’t catch them being fake or a bad band, because Jonny‘s guitar work alone is beyond brilliant. What a master on his instrument. And in terms of vocals, it is wonderful to enjoy Tobias, but certainly the singing together as well.

And when you start encores with a song like ,,On The Run”, with the vocal line ”Call the Police” in it and then appear on stage in a German police vest, at least you understood how things work. A more than successful performance, and a treat to see this band at work on stage. Is it all a bit with an 80s vibe. Yes indeed!!! And nothing wrong with that, because the roof went off at Club Volta. 

It is absolutely a home run for Nestor.

NESTOR – THE SETLIST

• We Come Alive
• Kids In A Ghost Town
• Addicted To Your Love
• Stone Cold Eyes
• Last To Know
• Perfect 10 (Eyes Like Demi Moore)
• The One That Got Away
• Unchain My Heart
• Signed In Blood
• Victorious
• Caroline
• Firesign

THE ENCORE

• On The Run
• Teenage Rebel
• 1989