Dirk von Lowtzow von der Band Tocotronic bei einem Konzert in der Columbiahalle in Berlin, 20. August 2022. Tocotronic Konzert Berlin *** Dirk von Lowtzow of the band Tocotronic at a concert in the Columbiahalle in Berlin, 20 August 2022 Tocotronic concert Berlin

If there were a kind of Noah’s Ark for popular music, into which only one song by each artist or band could march before the rest of the world disappeared in a huge flood, what would that be with the Berlin rock band Tocotronic? If you take the applause at the concert in the Columbia Hall on Saturday evening as a benchmark, the answer is clear: with “But here living, no thanks” from the 2005 album “Pure Reason May Never Win”.

Alone, as Dirk von Lowtzow throws his fist into the sky, as he announces the song! He smashes the “But live here” at the audience, which then takes over the “No thanks!”. “Wow,” shouts von Lowtzow, his voice briefly in danger of cracking.

Then Arne Zank beats the beat on the drums and all of a sudden you realize how much you’ve missed concerts like this over the last two and a half years and why Tocotronic are such a terrifically good band: They know exactly how to play with their expectations fans. And they know how to treat them with respect, but also with the necessary sense of humour.

Dirk von Lowtzow, Arne Zank and their colleagues Rick McPhail and Jan Müller on guitar and bass are currently not only traveling between cities, but also times. The night before they played a concert in Hamburg, where they reviewed their early work. The Berlin epoch, which has lasted to this day, will come into its own on September 3 with an evening in the Potsdam wash house, the performance in the Columbiahalle is part of the tour for the current album “Nie wieder Krieg”.

The song “But live here, no thanks” can be understood as a hinge between the two eras, which are considered equally in the sold-out hall. “Never Again War” characterizes the first third of the concert. Von Lowtzow opens up his solidarity with Ukraine, noting how, when the song was written in 2018, the band had no idea what a world it would burst into upon its release.

And indeed: the way he begs his “no more injuries”, his “that’s not that difficult” when there are only four white spotlights on the band, the pathos of the album version seems to have been surgically removed from the song. That touches. Nevertheless, it is a relief that shortly afterwards the band rocks properly, pardon, in “Jugend ohne Gott gegen Fascismus”, announced as an “agnostic-anti-fascist summer hit”, and that the light show also gains momentum.

What follows is a Best of Greatest Hits. They show how long not only this band, but also large parts of the audience have been with us. The astonishing number of popular hits from the Tocotronic Mesozoic such as “Digital is better” or “I deeply despise you because of your cabaret” are sugar cubes for those present – stimulating and high-calorie.

“This Boy Is Tocotronic” flashes happily. Its slightly delayed live beginning is strongly reminiscent of US postcore bands and of course “Let There Be Rock”. At Tocotronic concerts, the song is always an indicator of how much von Lowtzow throws himself into it. How far does he allow himself to exaggerate the singing so that it also sounds a bit silly? The answer this time is: very!

It rarely gets quieter. Sure, in “hope”. This is another song that deals with realities that didn’t manifest until after it was written. “Hope” was released at the beginning of the corona pandemic and offered comfort in the lockdown with lines like “A little piece of lyrics and music against isolation”.

The “I heard voices” at the end allows you to pause and look around. To the left of the merchandise stand, where there is some space, a young man is pogoing with himself. Another, marching from front to back, proudly shows his girlfriend the indeed impressive sweatstain landscapes on his t-shirt.

The concert ends with “Freiburg” after a total of three encores. No surprise, but: heavenly noise and thus one of the most beautiful affairs in the world.