Nena

Nena has become for many (especially for those in my American homeland) a tangential reference to “99 Red Balloons”. The song speaks for itself. It is a bold political statement wrapped in gorgeous symbolism and delivered in the catchiest manner possible. But you would be fooling yourself if you thought this was the only good song by the band. Maybe some think it is the only song they have done. An extensive look into their sound will definitely pay off. Every song off the “99 Luftballons” album is great and it is a joy to hear them play any of these songs live or any other ones from their spanning discography for that matter.
In the beginning of their career Nena seemed to embody everything good and cliche about the 80s and I love that about them. Saxophone solos became intertwined in the sound of almost every synth pop band in the 80s; however, it never seemed like an indulgence or a submission to a trend when Nena implemented this in their sound. Each use of instrument served a purpose in their recordings and the result was extraordinary. Part of the charm of the band comes from their ability to take all the quirks of the 80 synth pop sound and consciously exploit it to their advantage. Their sound has progressed past this genre. A large majority of Nena’s setlist consists of newer material such as tracks off the 2009 album “Made In Germany”. The raw punk characteristics which seeped into the groups earlier work have been extracted and polished. Nena’s later material now is greatly indebted to the euro dance circuit. It builds off electro-pop melodies and techno backbeats. The group still uses aggressive distorted guitars, however they are highly compressed and fit neatly into their sleek new sound.
Thankfully Nena showcases both of these styles and because of her diverse selection of songs she has been able to maintain the interest of her older fans as well as capture the attention of a younger audience. She is truly the queen of German pop music. The show with its platform stage design, flashing strobe lights and wondrous quality of sound has proven to be a near essential concert experience.

Proving that new wave, as achingly eighties as it was, wasn’t just a genre for the English-speaking world, Nena broke through in 1983 with her classic pop track ’99 Luftballons’; the song went to number two on the U.S. charts and fared similarly across the German’s home continent, but she did indeed go on to re-record it in English the following year, just for the benefit of our ignorance of other languages. You can probably chalk her up as a one hit wonder, though, outside of her home country at least; her original, eponymous band broke up in 1987, with Nena herself then going on to have modest success across Europe in her own right, continuing to release solo records to this day. In 2002, the celebration of her twentieth anniversary in music helped her to return to serious prominence in her native Germany, with a new DVD reaching platinum status. Her popularity over there continues to this day, with an arena run across the country planned for later this year; as usual, she’ll be joined by her live band to run through choice cuts from her fifteen albums to date. In 2004, she made a rare appearance in the UK, playing ’99 Luftballons’ both in German and English at Shepherd’s Bush Empire with Howard Jones; she’s not been back since, so jumping on a plane might be your best bet for the foreseeable future.

Most people will know Nena for the inescapable 1983 single '99 Luftballoons' however many fail to realise that the talented singer-songwriter went on to have a successful new wave/synth-pop career following the international success of this release. Nena, real name Gabriele Susanne Kerner continues to tour across Europe and looks fantastic onstage as she is now 55 years old.

The solo releases have been consistent through the years and have charted well in Germany, Switzerland and many others so the shows continuously sell out. She greets the crowds with a huge smile on her face as the band begins behind her and Nena finds her musical zone. She holds their attention for an impressive set spanning over twenty tracks in length with the main set coming to a close with a wonderful mashup of her synonymous single and the bellow-along 'Hey Jude'. She has the crowd so excited that they simply explode in adoration as she returns to the stage for a hefty five song encore.

Yesterday i saw the Nena show in Lingen (ems).
The show was realy great wit a lot of old songs from the 80's.
Highlights were Leuchturm, 99 Luftballons and ofcourse irgend wie irgend wo irgend wann.
Als the very nice In meinem leben wasr toll.

It was a great show. The vibe was amazing and Nena put on an excellent performance. She performed all her greatest hits and some really good songs from her latest album. I would definitely reccomend going to her shows.

Hammer Konzert in Gera!Nena du bist einfach die beste Sängerin!Hammer Stimme, top Auftritt, total sympathisch!hoffe sie kommt mal wieder nach Gera!Danke nochmal für den schönen Abend!

Beau concert à Strasbourg. NENA en super forme été en famille , à 61 ans elle a une pêche d'enfer. Un bonheur de la retrouver en espérant la revoir de nouveau en concert