German rock band Giant Rooks spent the start of 2024 touring Europe and North America. On May 5th, they spent their last day in America at The Echo Lounge in Dallas, before heading to Brazil to open for Louis Tomlinson’s shows in South America. They celebrated an end to their tour by giving fans a performance like no other.
Opening for Giant Rooks was alternative/indie artist Loviet who played a brief but powerful set. She began with “Broken Lips,” a track from her five-track EP The Nighttime Is All In The Timing. With the set just beginning, Loviet instantly captivated the audience, as they clapped along to her first song. Throughout her performance she moved all around the stage, venturing to the edge, playing to her drummer, or standing on platforms. She told the crowd “This is the last night of my tour. This is it. So I want you guys to get crazy.” The audience did exactly that as they matched her vibrant energy. After playing her last song “One” she blew kisses to the fans, immediately jumping into the pit to converse with the audience and take pictures.
As the lights dimmed and the venue turned dark, it was time for Giant Rooks to come on. They started their set with “For You,” the opening song on their latest album How Have You Been. Lead singer Fred Rabe was continuously dancing across the stage with a smile on his face. The clear joy that the band had performing was infectious, illuminating the entire venue. Rabe had a tambourine in his hand through many of the songs, either tapping it against his leg, raising it in the air, or crashing it on the cymbal at the front of the stage. In their third song “Bright Lights,” he took to the drum in the center of the stage and the crowd went wild.
In their 5th song “Bedroom Exile” fans excitedly took over many of the lyrics and swayed their arms to the beat during the guitar solo. After this song, Rabe told the audience “We released our second album How Have You Been in February.” He asked the fans “Have you already been listening to it.” When he was met with cheering from the crowd he replied “Sheesh Dallas.” In the next song “Under Your Wings,” fans joined in once again as Rabe held out the microphone to the crowd for them to say “Side” in the lyrics “Stay by my side.” Rabe introduced the rest of the band shortly after with Finn Schwieters on guitar, Luca Göttner on bass, Finn Thomas on drums, and Jonathan Wischniowski on piano.
The ninth song on their setlist, “Flashlights,” stole the spotlight – a live experience not to be missed by anyone. Featuring a dramatic pause halfway through, the venue fell the quietest it was that whole night until the beat dropped back in, igniting the energy once again.
Before playing what they told the audience was the last song, Rabe told the crowd “We’ve been touring for four months now and this is definitely one of the best shows.” The band then went right into “Somebody Like You,” one of their more lighthearted tracks. Throughout the whole song, arms were in the air and fans were jumping up and down and singing along. With the lyrics “While she is driving down to Georgia,” the band replaced “Georgia” with “Dallas” and was instantly met with cheering. A fan in the crowd tossed Rabe a red, white, and blue cowboy hat and he happily wore it for the rest of the song as he continued dancing on stage. The band then went off stage, building the anticipation for the encore. The lyrics of the last two songs were once again taken away by the fans, and as the set ended they told the crowd “We can’t wait to come back to North America and to Texas and to Dallas. Thank you so much”
The excitement and dedication of the fans that night were unparalleled. The first row of the crowd was filled with signs, some reading “Where Do We Go After The HHYB Tour,” or “I Miss You ALREADY.” Bracelets with Giant Rook’s song titles were lining the hands of fans. The stage performance of Giant Rooks was unmatched, and their energy traveled through the whole room. Whether fans were on the barricade, in the back of the crowd, or at the top of the balcony, every individual was dancing and singing along to the music. When the night ended, fans presented the band with a fabric banner full of signatures with their album title How Have You Been printed on it.
I am a Dallas-based photographer who has an appreciation for both the arts and music! Besides photographing concerts, I also enjoy doing creative portraits and working in Photoshop. I spend my free time either playing the cello, guitar, or piano or collecting CDs and vinyls. I would say my top three favorite artists are Peter McPoland, The Beatles, and Harry Styles! I’m currently a senior in high school, but I plan to major in graphic design and one day turn concert photography into a career.
