Lyrics: “Letter To Myself” – The Lottery Winners, 2023
Oh look, it’s already over a week since I posted here last. I’ve been busy. You know. Work. Life. Sadly not in any balance. Plus the whole.. everything. Everywhere. Again, you know what I mean. Anyway: let’s tell you a little bit about the The Lottery Winners gig I saw in sold-out venue in Cologne on Saturday, 15th Marc. Sold out! 450 people, I think. Which is about 10x the amount of he audience they played to the last time I saw them in Cologne in autumn 2023. How times have changed. Next time headlining Palladium in Cologne? A girl can dream, right?
The show was lots of fun, because Thom (lead singer) is talking to and interacting with the audience a lot. I think it’s palpable that the four members of the band are close and old friends, they enjoy experiencing this together. I remember other bands (not naming any names), where (by the end of their band career) they didn’t really interact with each other at all. Not the Lottery Winners, they are having the best of times together.
At some point Thom was wondering, where all the people knew them from and he said “Nickelback, I guess?”, because they were a support on Nickelbacks’s last tour in mainland Europe and I saw quite a few in Nickelback swag in the audience. In protest to that assessment, I pointed to the FTHC shirt I was wearing and Rob (guitar) at least noticed that, because I stood right in front of him and he gave me a thumbs up.
Later on Thom was talking about [Instagram link] how his biggest talent is doing things – being on stage, sharing his emotions through songs and all – despite being scared about doing those things. But doing them anyway.
By the end of the gig he then asked for six volunteers to do a dance routine on stage with them and I found myself raising my arm. Half of me was scared about embarrassing myself up there, because I’m a klutz. The other half was determined to do it anyway. I then was picked indeed and climbed up and did the routine, which I sort of already knew, so it wasn’t such a big deal. But OMFG! If you had told me I’d do something like that a decade ago, when I started out as introvert, hyper self-conscious, worrying (Frank Turner) fangirl, I would have said “No way!” If you’d told me I’d do something like that 5 years ago, I probably still would have said “No way!”. Look how far I’ve come. Go Me!
I haven’t found any photo or video proof of it all online (yet), I’m not joining The Lottery Winners Facebook group just for that. I don’t need proof that I did it. I know I did. (And I’ve got a photo of the crowd from the stage to prove it). The Instagram post I shared above has a bit of the routine, but it’s filmed centre stage from behind the volunteers and I was at the right side, out of the frame.
Anyway, it was a fun night. Next time I see the Lottery Winners they will open for Robbie Williams in a stadium. Far far far away from my seat up on the side somewhere. But I can’t wait to see them win over the next big crowd.
