Familiar Vibes and Familiar Faces: BIBIZA Show in Wels

After the release of his new album Rocknrollst★r, Viennese artist BIBIZA hit the road for a series of shows. Most known for songs like "Opernring Blues" or the catchy track "Galopp!" with German Rapper Ikkimel, BIBIZA's music and persona have gradually been gaining attention beyond the Austrian capital. After several tour stops in Germany, he returned to Austria to perform at Alter Schlachthof in Wels on the 14th of October, where the cozy, DIY-like atmosphere felt worlds apart from his Vienna show earlier that summer. Joining him for the evening and adding to the laid-back atmosphere were some familiar faces: Austrian band lovehead, who previously sat down with THE UNSEEN for an interview.

Despite having just under half an hour on stage, the three girls managed to get the crowd warmed up with a rockier version of "lieder für mich", getting the entire audience to crouch down before jumping up as the beat dropped. Their song "sterne" also made a fitting addition to the set, perfectly matching the star-themed stage design awaiting BIBIZA. After playing their fan-favourite "erdnussallergie", lovehead got the fans involved again before their final song, shouting "Bi!" and prompting the audience to respond with "Ibiza!".

With the crowd warmed up, it was time for BIBIZA to take the stage, making quite the entrance to the sound of "Rocknrollst★r", the opening track of his album of the same name. The fans were already enthusiastically singing along to songs like "Call My Manager!", but really went wild when BIBIZA launched into "Eine Ode an Wien". Before playing "Meine Manie" he told the crowd how the song name came to him on holiday, when he found himself pacing around almost maniacally while writing. Somewhere along the way, the line "Meine Manie macht Money" popped into his head. After a whole summer of "Soda Zitron", named after Austria's beloved mix of sparkling water and lemon juice, BIBIZA figured it might be time for a "hülsn" (Viennese slang for beer) instead, cleverly turning the song's final line into the perfect introduction to "Schnapsidee", which, according to his friends, is exactly what drinking too much tends to be.

With his tour sold out, BIBIZA joked that there always has to be a next step in a musician's career. So, naturally, they had brought a top-secret song that nobody had heard before, but everyone kept begging them to release. The song in question? None other than "Narcotic" by Liquido. After their little cover detour, it was time to play some of his own songs again, leading into "Du schaust gut aus!" with a little breathing exercise, just as the song begins. After playing some of his better-known tracks, the band also performed an unreleased song that BIBIZA apparently wrote for his dad, before he went on to declare the audience the absolute worst crowd of the tour so far. He quickly followed up by saying he might have been joking, referencing a clip of Money Boy joking about making a joke.

After a few more fan favourites, BIBIZA left the stage, only to return for an encore, closing out the night with "Für immer oder nicht". With the final show of the entire tour just a day away, even a "rock'n'roll star" has to call it a night at some point.