On September 9, Minneapolis-based shoegaze band She’s Green played Nochtwache in Hamburg, Germany. Located beneath Nochtspeicher, Nochtwache is tucked inside a vaulted basement that was once part of a 19th-century warehouse and schnapps distillery.
At the end of August, She’s Green went on their very first UK/EU tour and made their way to Germany for the first time ever. With dates in Hamburg, Berlin, and Cologne, I knew I had to catch one of their sets. Hamburg was the perfect stop since I just recently moved here myself.
The night opened with Berlin-based shoegaze band Dusk Saffron, who joined She’s Green for all three German dates of the tour. The band quickly clarified that, despite being based in Berlin, only their second guitarist is actually German. Their lead vocalist/guitarist and drummer are originally from Ireland but currently live in Berlin.
Dusk Saffron
Dusk Saffron began the night with a great mix of fuzzy yet clear guitar strums, powerful vocals, and driving drums to back it all up. Performing most of the singles currently available on streaming platforms, they also treated the crowd to a few unreleased tracks toward the end of their set.
Dusk Saffron knew how to bring the emo energy out of the crowd. Heads bobbed throughout the room as everyone settled into the band’s hazy alternative sound. It was a short set of only six songs, but the time spent on stage was something that everyone will remember. I myself even texted my friends after the show telling them how great this set was, and immediately shared their Spotify page for them to go check out. If you’re near NYC we recommend trying to catch them at The New Colossus Festival this coming March. But if that is too far and you can not make it, we hope you check out their music online.
Dusk Saffron Setlist:
- “A Little Death”
- “Sinking Ship”
- “So Liminal, Subliminal”
- “How to Fight Back”
- “Objective Correlative”
- “Tears in the Rain”
She’s Green Live in Hamburg
After a quick changeover and drum line check, it was time for She’s Green to bring their moss music to the rainy, nature-filled city of Hamburg. Following the release of their debut album, Swallow Tail, this past July, the band made sure to play plenty of its standout tracks while weaving in popular singles from before the album’s release.
For a band with a color in their name, you might expect the stage to be washed exclusively in green. While green hues illuminated much of the set, the band’s lighting expanded into lots of other beautiful colors. Purple and orange hues washed over the stage during the older track “Purple,” which arrived shortly after two songs from the new LP.
The night was the perfect cooldown from the work and life stress that tends to hit in the middle of the week. Instead of asking, “Is it the weekend yet?” She’s Green made everyone forget, at least for a moment, that it was only Wednesday.
Everyone was dancing and moving along to the soft serenity that lead vocalist Zofia Smith was putting out into the crowd. Behind Smith’s vocals, the other four band members made full use of the tightly packed stage, moving and playing off one another throughout the set. Drummer Kevin Seebeck settled into the back center, while bassist Teddy Nordvold and guitarist Raines Lucas played alongside one another stage right. Guitarist Liam Armstrong held down stage left, but the tight quarters kept all five members physically close, allowing them to constantly connect through their movements.
As the night began to reach the end, Smith wanted to check in with everyone to see how they were doing. The audience responded with the same positive energy they had carried throughout the set, but Smith used the moment to offer a more serious reminder: check in on the people you love.
You never know how someone may truly be feeling, she explained, making “Mettle” a reminder to reach out to those closest to you. Before launching into the song, Smith asked everyone to jump along during the chorus. Everyone closed out the night with non-stop movement until it was time to move to the merch table.
Stepping back out into Hamburg’s increasingly cold fall weather, She’s Green’s self-described moss music somehow felt even more fitting. What started as a rainy Wednesday night had become an escape from the middle of the week. Now heading into their first full North American run, She’s Green is bringing that same atmosphere across the Atlantic—and if they stop in a city near you, they’re worth stepping out into the cold for.
She’s Green Setlist:
- “Locket”
- “Keeper”
- “Purple”
- “River”
- “Paper Thin”
- “Smile Again”
- “Graze”
- “Willow”
- “Bleed”
- “Figurines”
- “Mettle”
- “Mandy”
- “Close Your Eyes”