Nits featuring Simon Ho & Friends Tour (Summer 2002)

first published: 19-08-2003

Introduction

This tour had a very interesting history. It started with a CD project by a Swiss composer/musician and it ended with some amazing concerts featuring around 15 musicians performing two concerts with the theme 'Nacht de Liebe' (Night of Love). This Swiss artist is called Simon Hostettler, who names himself Simon Ho. Simon worked in the Swiss music scene, playing with and writing for others. He had been working on several songs and at some point he got into contact with Eric Facon, of Letter To E fame. Eric himself told me how the project evolved and how Henk Hofstede and the Nits got involved:

"Let’s just say that I met this guy Simon Hostettler when I was working on another project. He’d been working mostly for theatre productions, ballet, classical music and jazz-projects, also a bit of cabaret. During that first project (combination of texts by T.C. Boyle and music, again involving many of the people that were at the Nacht der Liebe too – CD "Hinter deiner Schulter geht die Welt unter"), Simon asked me whether I would like to listen to a mini-CD with some songs of his that he didn’t know how to proceed with. He’d been working on almost 20 pieces of music for four years, on and off. The material I found amazing, most of it: intricate, interesting, unique even. But there was a sincere lack of good male voices. Since I thought that at least two songs fit Henk quite well, I decided to call him. (Simon had no idea who the Nits were). Henk agreed that he would like to participate. Simon and me travelled to Holland, met at a concert, and the rest is history…. "

Simon Ho

Henk actually sang on 4  songs on the album, including a song written by Henk himself. The album is called Before Sleep and was released in the summer of 2002. The album is not only interesting for Nits fans because of Henk's contributions, but simply as a very original album that features great music. It has roots in traditional European styles, mixed with more exotic styles and modern music. The album features mostly keyboard-based songs, Many other musicians contribute, including percussionists, a string section and various vocalists. A few different women sing on the album, while Henk is the male vocalist on 4 songs. To celbrate this album it would be perfect to perform them live and Eric tells how the Nits and the other artists got involved:

"Combination of coincidence and wishful thinking. First record company that we asked for Simon’s CD asked for concerts. So we asked Henk. Henk said, why don’t I bring the Nits? Simon and me think: hooray! The record company folds, and the A&R-guy moves to the artistic department of the EXPO 02. He says, why don’t you assemble a band for Simon and we’ll make him play the night of the songs called Nacht der Liebe. I suggest a big band built around Simon and the Nits. The boss of the Events-department at the Expo is a guy who was boss of the St.Gallen Open Air where the Nits got their first big break in Switzerland (1986/7); he’s a fan, he loved the idea, we got the budget and started asking people who could be sympathetic to the idea… In the end we had a magnificent really big band."

" [The reasons for choosing these artists were] musical ability, compatibility, also human compatibility (very important in such a project). Oli and Andi were obviously important, because they’d played in Stop the Shoppers with Henk. No question: both would always play with Henk and band anytime…Shirley: strong female singer who’d harmonize perfectly with Henk. I could just hear her slip into Home before dark and Three sisters. Hank: an intelligent musician who comes from one corner of the world but who can listen (very important, according to me!). His reaction was: Tell me where I set up my amp and I’ll be there. Just make sure I can sit close to the drummer. I wouldn’t mind just playing rhythm guitar on two songs if I can just sit on stage. Shirley and Hank are well-known artists who add to the all-star-character of the show. Had to sing House of Jacob because he has a low voice… Henk is a fan of Stiller Has, so Balts Nill was invited. An eating house was the obvious choice. He was very enthusiastic. On to Simon’s choices: I Salonisti: a string section was needed, Simon has often worked with them, so… Horns: Somebody suggested Werner Hasler who is from the electronic jazz-corner of the world. Simon brought an old friend of his: Silber Ingold. Cassis: Simon met her in New York, they collaborated on a number of things, including a tour in Mexico."

The logistics of rehearsals were of course interesting with part of the musicians in the Netherlands and the rest in Switzerland. Songs were chosen beforehand by several persons. Of course Nits had the biggest influence and Simon Ho chose several tracks from his album and re-arranged a few Nits tracks (Nescio and Fire In My Head). The other artists either chose songs themselves or were suggested songs that their own style would mostly fit with. Eric tells about the preparations and the rehearsals:

"Oli and Hank met beforehand, rehearsed all the guitar-based stuff. Simon rehearsed with the string section for the songs he’d arranged. They had charts. Everybody had the records and the lyrics. I made CDs with the full repertoire… The rest was worked out during rehearsals, spontaneously. Hank ended up playing a lot more than he thought (bouzouki on Nescio, for example). Werner’s trumpet in Three sisters was thought of during those two days…. Rehearsals took place in a small jazz clinic in downtown Berne, a crowded cellar… it was full, it was hot, everybody had fun. People met in the evening for dinner, drank a lot and talked a lot. I had everybody over at our place for dinner one evening. Our apartment felt crowded too."

The first concert took place in Biel (or Bienne) at the EXPO grounds. The EXPO is a very artistic festival/fair with a few pavilions in several cities in Switzerland. In the evenings musical programs were performed and one night the 'Nits and Friends' Big band played at the 'Nacht der Liebe' on the outdoor stage at the shore of the beautiful lake. A second concert took place in the 'Dampfzentrale' in Bern, a small club with a lot of atmosphere. After these two highly successful shows the Nits toured Switzerland for about a week, playing several cities. Simon Ho joined them for this tour, but the rest of the big band were not there anymore. A month later they returned to play another gig at another EXPO pavilion (without the big band).

I think this was quite a successful tour. The two big band shows were very well received by the audiences and were clearly a joy for all the musicians involved. The club tour with Simon Ho also featured (mostly) sold-out venues and a band that enjoyed themselves a lot.

Band

Biel and Bern
Henk Hofstede: vocals, guitar, harmonica
Rob Kloet: drums, percussion
Arwen Linneman: electric and standing bass
Laetitia van Krieken: keyboards, piano, vocals
Vera van der Poel: vocals, percussion
Simon Ho: piano, keyboards
Shirly Grimes: vocals, accordion
Cassis: vocals
Hank Shizzoe: electric, acoustic and slide guitar, bouzouki, vocals
Oli Hartung: electric guitar
Andi Hug: drums, percussion
Werner Hasler: saxophone
Silber Ingold: trumpet
I Salonisti:
Lorenz Hasler: violin
Ferenc Sedlak: cello
Michael Bollin: violin
guest performance in Biel
Balts Nills: strange guitar, harmonica, bass drum, whistle, ukulele 

Virtually all Nits songs were played with extra musicians. Oli Hartung, Andi Hug and Hank Shizzoe played on most Nits songs. Also Cassis and Shirley Grimes contributed vocals (and accordion in the case of Cassis) to several songs. I Salonisti (the strings) and the two horn players played on most Simon Ho songs, but also on selected Nits tunes. Simon played on a few Nits songs as well. There was only one song on which all the musicians played (Hope Is). During the Simon Ho songs Nits (or part of Nits) played as well. 

Later Concerts
Henk Hofstede: vocals, guitar, keyboards, melodica, harmonica
Rob Kloet: drums, percussion, vocals
Arwen Linneman: electric and standing bass, vocals
Laetitia van Krieken: keyboards, piano, vocals
Vera van der Poel: vocals, percussion
Simon Ho: piano, keyboards

Simon played on all his own songs of course, but also on a few Nits tracks. Laetitia covered most of the missing instruments on her keyboards on Simon Ho's songs.

Stage

The stage in Biel had a little sections with a table and some chairs on the back right. Here the players could sit when they didn't have to play themselves. In Bern the stage was so small and full of people this was not possible. Front left of the stage was for Simon, just behind him was Laetitia. To her right and a bit to the back were the horns. In the back left was Andi's drums setup with right next to him Rob. Right to Rob was the table and chairs and before this the string were positioned. Arwen was in front right and Henk, Vera, Cassis and Shirley were in the front middle taking turns at the microphones.

At the later concerts Simon Ho was set up at the left of the stage, Laetita on the left back, Rob on the right back, Arwen at the right front and Vera and Henk in the middle. No special things, just the band on stage!

Songs

26A (Clouds In The Sky)

This one was played similar to the Wool Tour, but with added bits from the 'friends'. The most obvious were the fact that Andi played the shaker throughout the whole song, while Rob could concentrate on the drums and Werner Hasler added electronic  effects. Simon also added touches here and there. In Biel they were done with just a piano-like sound, while in Bern he used synth effects (which worked better with the song than the piano). This little effects sounded a bit intrusive, especially in the beginning of the song, but they became more an addition than a distraction later on in the first part of the song. Vera and Laetitia sang backing vocals and Vera sang almost a capella in the middle 'clouds in the sky' part. The only other main sounds were again these effects, but here they worked better. The wild part after the drumming started was spectacular with Henk's singing and Vera's vocalizing. Unfortunately th*e sound effects again became intrusive and even annoying when Werner switched to a 'scratching' sound effect, that in my opinion did not fit with this song. Luckily this song is so good that even these distractions could not destroy it and it was certainly a highlight with the audiences.

At the later shows the song was played as on the Wool Tour, but with Simon adding his little piano-effects.

And Your Bird Can Sing

This Beatles cover was only played at the Bern concert during the encores.  It was a happy, upbeat full version, faithful to the original, with a spotlight on the guitar players. Both drummers played and Henk and Vera did some enthusiastic singing. The guitar parts were nicely divided with Hank Shizzoe playing the main electric guitar melody, Oli Hartung also played the main melody and some rhythm parts. Henk stuck to acoustic rhythm guitar. The main melody line sounded wonderful in this arrangement and it was certainly a wonderful rendition overall.

Bilbao Boa

This was only played at some of the later concerts in the same arrangement as during the Wool Tour.

Colcannon

This is an Irish folk song about potatoes, sung a capella by Shirley. As she commented: the band was now reduced to a minimum: just her singing, no instruments. It has a typical Irish atmosphere and Shirley sings it great, but to me this song was a bit too monotonous. This might have to do with the fact that I'm not really into Irish folk music though... Another reason might be that it  moved away a bit from the innovative Simon Ho music and the typical Nits atmosphere. At the Bern concert a funny incident happened. When all the band left the stage and Shirley was ready to sing, Rob started to play. He forgot that this song was there and already started the next one... After a quick apology he exited the stage as well...

Crime and Punishment

Hank Shizzoe started the song with a long, wonderful sounding bouzouki intro, complimented with a bit of percussion. This intro immediately provided great atmosphere. The band joined after a while. The percussionists split up in two parts: Rob on drums and Andi on 'ticking' percussion and small cymbals. The vocals in this song sounded great with several vocalists doing their best. Laetitia reprised her high eastern backing vocals from last tour, sometimes joined by Vera. Hank Shizzoe's dark, mysterious bouzouki parts continued throughout the song and the strings played the breaks at the appropriate sections. Henk and Oli played acoustic and electric guitar respectively throughout the song. This spectacular version was, rightfully, very well received by the audiences. At the later shows without the big band the song was played very similar to the Wool Tour.

the 'Darling' Stone

This was not played in Biel and Bern, but only at the later shows. It was exactly the same as during the Wool Tour with no contribution from Simon.

an Eating House

This wasn't palyed in Bern, but it was featured in Biel and in the later concerts, although in a different arrangement than in Biel. This is due to the special guest performance by Balts Nill. He is half of the Swiss duo that forms the band Stiller Has, a band that plays quite unusual music. In Biel he joined the band to play a rather strange looking guitar, harmonica and bass drum. He performed the rhythm guitar parts with a rough distorted sound. Henk sang the lead vocals over Balts' guitar and bass drum. Vera and Arwen joined on backing vocals in the 'hungry' bits. Balts also regularly played some small harmonica bits throughout. He provided almost all the music exclusively, except in the slow 'I am an eating house' sections, where the music was played by Laetitia on piano and Shirly on accordion. This sounded very nice I must say. They returned to the first section introduced by a rather weird  sounding whistle noise played by Balts. This caused Henk to comment what your stomach sounded after eating Schnitzel and Hasli before Balts actually started playing again all his instruments. The accordion remained playing now. More people joined in on the 'hungry' backing vocals. All in all a very loose, chaotic and fun rendition that was rewarded with a huge applause. The later versions of the song weren't as spectacular as the Biel version, but still very enjoyable. It was now played again in the fast rock 'n' roll version of the Wool Tour. Usually it included a long speech by Henk concerning eating holes in Emmenthaler cheeses that were as big as a house and other Swiss food related stories... In Horw Henk had a long conversation with his own stomach (soundeffects provided by Paul Telman..). These speeches were very funny (and sometimes rather long) and added a lot to the hilarity of the song.

Erom On

This was only played at the later concerts in the same arrangement as during the Wool Tour.

Fire In My Head

One of the highlights of the concerts. The song was rearranged by Simon into a very subtle version. He played a 'rolling' piano intro. Arwen, with bowed bass, and the strings joined the piano when it started to play the main melody. Henk sang the lyrics, while some very subtle percussion parts were added. Vera added backing vocals in some places. A new, haunting instrumental section, featuring sweeping strings and melodic piano, was added halfway through the song and this was simply exquisite. After this part the band returned to the regular song. They started to play a bit more vigorous with plucked strings and louder percussion towards the end. It sounded fantastic and I certainly wouldn't mind hearing a studio version of this arrangement appear as a b-side or a download sometime in the future..  To add to the enjoyment to this song it was of course great to hear the line "in a Swiss town by a lake" played on a stage that was right on the border of the water!

Go!

A strangely structured song from Simon Ho's album with lead vocals by Henk. The string section, augmented by Arwen on bowed bass, played the intro. Henk sang lead vocals with Vera on backing vocals. Henk had to read the lyrics from a paper lying on the stage, which limited his spontaneity to express himself during the song. Instrumentally the song is quite interesting. After the percussion and Simon's keyboards joined an instrumental section followed that featured a saxophone solo and a polka-like section which also featured trumpet. The strings ended the song by themselves. This very nice song could have benefited from more rehearsals, but was fun to hear anyway. At the later shows this was also played, but now with Laetitia taking over some of the missing parts on keyboards. The structure of the song remained the same.

Gone

This was the first Simon Ho song that was played during the shows. They stayed close to the album version. It started with a melancholic string intro and Henk's vocals. After this intro a faster part with plucked strings and Arwen on standing bass was played. Henk made some strange noises and sang his lines, usually read from a paper. Vera sang backing vocals in the chorus. After some time both drums entered and Simon Ho played a wonderful organ solo (similar to the album version). Henk continued his singing, sometimes joined by Vera. After the lyrics finished, the band kept on grooving for a while on this music, until they suddenly stopped. The song was then capped off by a reprise of the melancholic string/vocal intro. At the later shows this was also played, but now with Laetitia taking over most of the strings parts. The structure of the song remained the same.

Hit and Miss

A moody, very original song from Simon Ho's album. It started with slow drums and Simon Ho's synth. Werner Hasler started to play a subdued trumpet solo over this, while Ferenc Sedlak started to play descending cello notes at the same time. The rest of the strings and the saxophone soon entered, followed by the lead vocals that were sung by Cassis, who also played accordion. In the second half of the song Simon started to play his synth with a celesta sound, the drumming became more intense and the trumpet started making wailing noises. The song came to the 'caught like a deer in headlights' part, sung by Cassis with Vera, sounded almost hypnotic and seemed a bit extended compared to the album version. Stronger drumming entered again end and the intensity was built up until the song ended.

Home Before Dark

The lead vocals of this Nits classic were sung by Shirley. Her Irish accent sounds pretty nice with this song, giving it a nice new twist. Cassis played accordion, similar to the way Robert Jan used to. Both drummers contributed (Andi Hug on toms and Rob Kloet on drums), while Henk stuck to playing guitar. In the chorus he took the lead vocals together with Shirley. Oli Hartung added some guitar touches throughout the song. The end result was a nice version, not really spectacular, but interesting due to the changes.

Hope Is

The only song in the repertoire that had all musicians playing at the same time! In my opinion this is the best song on Simon Ho's album and also the live version sounded great. The structure of the song followed the album version, but the live atmosphere elevated this song to an even better version. It was started by the horns and strings. Henk started singing and Oli Hartung added electric guitar parts. The 'hope is a little beast' parts were whispered by Henk and Vera and sounded very cool. The drums and the accordion also entered the song a bit later. The chorus was split between several singers. Vera sang the first and third line, Shirley sang the second and fourth line and it ended with a multi-part harmony that included Vera, Shirley, Henk and probably also Laetitia. The song featured a trumpet solo by the Werner Hasler, who was later joined by Silber Ingold on saxophone. At the ending of the song Hank Shizzoe became the most prominent player, with his moodful slide guitar part that brought the song to its finish. In Biel special guest Balts Nill remained on stage after Eating House and also played along with this one. At the later concerts they arrangement was severely reduced, but the song remained impressive. It's always a good sign that a song stays good, even in other, simplified arrangements. Download the Biel-version of this song at the Nits website

House of Jacob

After an absence during the Wool Tour this song returned for the two 'big band' concerts. It was a showcase for Hank Shizzoe who played lead guitar and sang the lead vocals on this version. He started it completely solo on electric guitar and with his low, moody voice that suited the song well. The first time other musicians joined was during the 'yeah yeah yeah' part when Henk and Vera joined on backing vocals. Later on in the song also Laetitia sang backing vocals. All these backing vocals were more elaborate than on the original and Alankomaat version. At the appropriate moment Henk (on acoustic guitar) and the bass and double drums entered and the song was then further played in the usual structure. It was nice hearing this song again and especially with Hank Shizzoe's vocals and guitar it turned into a very nice variation on the original.

In The Dutch Mountains

Of course In The Dutch Mountains could not be omitted during this tour! It was played in the same arrangement as the Wool tour, but with added guitars, drums and piano parts. Especially Simon's piano parts that consisted of nice variations played over the main melody were a great addition. Oli Hartung on electric guitar and Hank Shizzoe on slide guitar and the accordion also contributed to the song, which sounded very nice. Hank's slide guitar was a soft, but great addition to the quiet middle part of the song. Although I've heard this song an incredible amount of times, I never get bored by it, but the additions were certainly welcome! The bit messy performance is maybe a small criticism, but the fun and enthusiasm on stage made fully up for that. The later versions with the smaller band were very good as well. At these concert the song was played as in the Wool Tour, but luckily still with Simon contributing his bits.

Ivory Boy

Laetita opened the song with her synth noises, after which the song was played similar to the Wool Tour version. Hank Shizzoe added some subtle lap steel guitar parts and the addition of the real strings, throughout the song and most prominently in the ending, of course made it sound warmer than during the Wool Tour. Vera and Laetitia both contributed backing vocals. At the later shows without the big band the song was played very similar to the Wool Tour.

J.O.S. Days

Of course J.O.S. days was also part of the setlists and even though it sounded very full, it was more or less played in the usual way.  The fullness of the arrangement can be attributed to the added electric guitar by Oli Hartung, Hank Shizzoe's bouzouki  and the two drummers. All added something to the song, without deviating too much from the original. 

At the later shows it was played in the same way as during the Wool Tour.

Nescio

This song opened all the concerts. In earlier tours it usually appeared only near the end or even as the last song of the concert, since it is one of the most famous Nits songs. This tour proved that Nescio also works excellently as an opening song. Simon Ho rearranged the song and this version was very spectacular, especially with the big band and got the audience immediately in the right mood. The song started with Simon Ho's piano and the strings that played the usual crescendo synth opening. After a short while the drums and bass started, followed by Henk on acoustic guitar. Simon played the intricate piano melodies differently than Robert Jan or Laetitia usually did, but it fitted the song very well and gave it a unique sound. Henk sang the song, helped out by Vera on backing vocals in the 'Nescio' bits. She also sang the first part of the English middle-section in a very expressive manner, the second part of which was sung by Laetitia, ending with a harmony of the three before the song returned to the Italian section. In the middle section Vera's singing was augmented by long, high violin notes, while Laetitia's part was accompanied by plucked violin strings. In the second Italian part the other guitars joined. In all tours after Stips left, Nescio was truncated and the usual 'fast' ending was omitted, but it gloriously returned in this tour. All the musicians, except the horns, played together. Two percussionists, two guitars, a bouzouki, a string section, piano and bass can make a lot of noise together! They grooved for a little while, before Rob signaled in the end with a couple of heavy drum hits and the song ended with the typical, but this time real, plucked strings.

The version with just Nits and Simon Ho was of course less full, it was played more like the Nits usually did, but  with Simon's piano additions and with the fast ending.

There is a nice story connected to Nescio. Hank Shizzoe's wife once heard a song on the radio she liked very much on the radio, but she misunderstood the title. She went around record stores asking for the 'eskimo' song, but of course no-one knew it. Many years later her husband comes back home with a tape of a Dutch band he will play with. The tape has the songs they are supposed to play and he can familiarize the songs this way. When he played the tape, his wife heard it and suddenly she heard the 'eskimo' song again! Now she understood the title was Nescio and not only can she now listen to it any time she wants, her husband will actually play the song with the band that originally wrote it!

the Night-Owl

Night Owl was played during the later shows, but wasn't planned for the two 'big-band' concerts. It was however also played in Bern. There were some technical difficulties and it was played as  a sort of intermission. Only the 'core'-Nits played on this song, the only song in the entire set in which this happened! The very subdued arrangement based on piano (played by Henk) was the same as on the Wool Tool. Even though it was quiet, this song sounded beautiful and was definitely one of the highlights of the shows it was played in.

Pictures Of The Gone World

The closing song of Simon Ho's album and also of the Bern concert. It wasn't played in Biel or at the later concerts. This song was written by Henk in 1996 and he performed it on his tour with Stop the Shoppers. Nits played a few times at some concerts as well, whenever they had the opportunity to have Oli Hartung as a guest musician. It's a very good thing this beautiful song was finally released, because it deserves to be heard. Oli played the electric guitar intro, hank Shizzoe joined  on slide guitar and Henk sang the vocals. Simon Ho joined later on piano and also played a very nice solo in the instrumental section. The song remained very quiet throughout and was a nice relaxed way to close a concert.

Sketches Of Spain

This was only played at the later concerts in the same arrangement as during the Wool Tour.

There From Here

Arwen started the song by herself on standing bass. Henk sang the lead vocals, while Vera copied his lines. Laetitia played very nice, melancholic sounding synth parts. The big-band version was very beautiful, with added subtle lap steel guitar by Hank Shizzoe, electric guitar by Oli Hartung and a wonderful trumpet/saxophone melody during the faster middle and end bits, which also featured percussion by Vera, Rob and Andi. This is definitely another song that is is worth to hear! At the later concerts it was played exactly as in the Wool Tour.

Three sisters

After only a handful appearances during the Wool Tour, Three Sisters returned. It was played in a new arrangement that was a cross between the Alankomaat Tour version and the version Henk played with Stop the Shoppers in 1996. Oli Hartung (of the Shoppers) started an electric guitar groove. Henk joined on acoustic guitar, followed by the double percussion. The lead vocals were not sung by Henk, but by Shirley, who added her Irish touch to the song. This caused the song to sound even more exotic than it already was. During the song various trumpet touches and melodies were added that worked very well in this version. Hank Shizzoe played bouzouki touches over the groove and more prominently in the chorus. Backing vocals were sung by Vera and Laetitia, who's piano work was excellent in this song. Henk now and then also added some backing vocals, but mostly he stuck to the acoustic guitar. Due to the new vocalist, the wonderful trumpet parts and the groovy nature this song was rejuvenated and sounded very fresh and interesting.

Through With You

This very poppy Simon Ho song segued straight from Wait For Me.  Vera sang lead vocals sings this song and she did an amazing job. Laetitia and Cassis sang backing vocals. The music is very upbeat and warm sounding. At the big-band show Cassis played accordion in this song, adding to the warm sound. Also the strings, the saxophone and the trumpet added to teh song. I certainly wouldn't mind hearing this song more often, even when Simon is not available and even though Henk has nothing to do in this song... At the later concert this was also played in a slightly reduced arrangement. It was preceded by an instrumental version of Wait For Me. Titia rearranged and played some parts on keyboards and Vera's vocals remained fantastic, so this all completely covered up the missing instruments.

Vah Hollanda Seni Seni

After a long absence (1989) this song made a very welcome return to the setlist! Several band members made some suggestions as to what song they wanted to play and this was Oli Hartung's choice. This is evident in the groovy rendition of the song. Oli normally plays with Stop the shoppers, which is a band that likes to groove on often very original rhythms and melodies. Oli contributed the rhythm guitar parts of course. Laetita played a marimba like synth and both drummers played. Over the 'vah hollanda seni seni' sections, sung by Vera, a trumpet solo was played by Werner Hasler that turned quite echo-y and weird near the end. The saxophone also joined. The song lacked all the Turkish lyrics, except for the title of course. The end result was a very tight and enjoyable version of this song. For the later shows without the big band the song was still played. Of course it lost the guitar groove and the horn parts, but it remained great to hear. Download the Biel-version of this song at the Nits website

Wait For Me

A song from Simon Ho's album. It was played similar to the album version. The song was started by the keyboards (with a celesta sound) and the strings. Cassis sang the lead vocals. The vocal melody of this song is beautiful and counterparts the unusual music in a great way. Cassis' delivery definitely helped with this. The horns, bass and drums enter near the end and play along with the melody of the song until the song segues into Through With You.

At the later shows this song was reduced to a short instrumental intro to Through With You, with Laetitia playing the strings parts on her keyboard.

Walking With Maria

This was played similar to the album and Wool Tour versions. The intro and solo trumpet parts sounded great, although at the Biel concert it didn't go completely smooth in the intro. Werner Hasler didn't copy the album solo, but played his own, very fitting, solo. The real trumpet is definitely an improvement over the melodica Henk used at the Wool Tour. Andi Hug added extra percussion to this song as well. Also, the presence of the strings makes this version better than at the Wool Tour.

At the later concerts the song was played exactly as on the Wool Tour (including the melodica).

All the photos on this page are made by Nick Werren for www.endorphin.be. Nick, thanks a lot for the permission to use these photos! Many more photos by Nick and information about the concert and participating artists can be found on the Nacht der Liebe website of Endorphin Entertainment. 

Very special thanks to Eric Facon for organizing the Simon Ho project, the Nits And Friends concerts, the good times at the concerts and of course all the invaluble assistance with this page!