Photos and review by Lara Thissen
Picture This is currently on their 'Parked Car Conversations Tour' and I had the absolute pleasure to see the boys live in Cologne on October 18th 2024. Cologne was the first city to sell out, the room was fully packed of people wearing merch, bringing their parents or like me, bringing their best friends with them and you could practically feel the buzzing excitement of everyone there when walking into the venue.
Sam Fischer as the support act set the mood for the fans with his powerful voice and beautiful lyrics before ending his set with one of his biggest hits called „This City“ that got every last person in the venue ready for Picture This.
At exactly 9pm the lights in the room turn off, the intro to 'Act of Innocence' starts playing and drummer Jimmy Rainsford walks on stage. With a can of white spray paint he makes his way to the black car that's parked right in the middle of the stage. A visual representation of not only the tour name but also their latest album. After spraying on a big „KÖLN“ he walks up to his drumset that's on top of the cars roof while the other members of the band find their ways on stage. Guitarist Owen Cardiff, bassist Cliff Deane and session guitarist Nicky Brennan join in on the melody and singer Ryan Hennessy blows everyone away with his powerful voice.
The band plays a bunch of their songs from their latest album mixed with some older hits. From an upbeat tune like 'LA House Party' where Cliff plays on top of the car to their song 'Satellites' during which Ryan dances around with a lightsaber, the four piece band really shows their most energetic and passionate selves. In between those upbeat records, songs like 'Middle of Love' or 'Never Change' give the crowd a moment to just enjoy the calmer portion of the set and listen to Ryan's powerful voice and the bands beautiful melodies.
During a quick talking break Ryan introduces each band member and lets the crowd chant their names – a really lovely moment to give each of them the credit they deserve for truly giving it their all.
The show is slowly coming to an end but you can still feel the energy in the room. So to get the crowd going once more the band encourages everyone to „get low“ and get ready to jump during the last chorus of 'You & I' – and the crowd goes wild.
For the entire time the band is up on that stage their audience sings every lyric back at them and when you look into the fans eyes you can truly see the happiness the band brings them.
The last song before the encore is an extra special one. 'Song To Myself' talks about mental health and you can feel every single emotion singer Ryan puts into his performance. The band end the song with a cover of 'With Or Without You' by U2 and it is a really beautiful moment – seeing Ryan start the song off, standing on the car and calmly singing the lyrics and then ending the song laying on stage letting every emotion out. I can assure you, no eye was dry after that one.
After a short break the singer comes back on stage by himself. In his hand, a glass of beer. He tells the audience that for the past shows they played an original irish song for this section of their concert to kind of go back to their roots and appreciate where they come from. For tonight he wants to sing a song about a pint of beer. The crowd chuckels while he starts singing an acapella version of his song about wanting to drink only a little bit but ending up drinking the whole glass, while also demonstrating the drinking part.
After that, the rest of Picture This joins him again and they perform their last two songs of the night. For 'Get On My Love' the band has a little loudness battle with each side of the crowd – who sings the chorus the loudest? In my humble opinion, Cliff's side (also my side) definitely won – but according to the band it was a tie...
Closing the show with their biggest hit 'Take My Hand' will always feel really special. It's the song that made them who they are today and it felt a little emotional watching everyone dance and sing along for the last time of the night.
After the song ends each bandmember thanks the audience time and time again and they soak up all the love and support from their fans one more time. Right before walking off stage, Ryan grabs the spray paint again and writes a big „THE END“ on the side of the car, thanks the crowd one last time and off they go.
Picture This is definitely a band to put on your concert bucket list. Not only are those four guys the kindest people you could ever meet, they are also truly some of the most talented musicians out there. In each song you can feel their emotions displayed, their shows are beyond passionate and energetic and their music will make you wanna sing, dance, cry and laugh.
So If you ever get the chance to see Picture This live – do it.
