The title of the article is originating from what Herbie Hancock called his plugged in session in Dusseldorf last night. I was one of the lucky people who could see Herbie live at a sold out Tonhalle. And having caught such an extraordinary show live, I decided to share my experience.
I’d like to start with the venue. Dusseldorf Tonhalle provides a perfect combination of acoustics and looks with its giant dome and the fancy blue illumination. Circular shape of the hall enables comfortable view of the stage from every seating area. Overall, it was one of the best concert halls I’ve been so far.

Herbie Hancock’s “plugged in” session totally deserves its name as besides his “unplugged” piano, he has a whole bunch of plugged in equipment on the stage including five iPads, three keyboards of various sizes, two computers and his famous white Roland keytar. After all, it’s the amazing combination of all the tunes coming out of all this equipment which makes Herbie and his solo shows so special. He blends the prerecorded tunes and the live key strokes in such a way that sometimes you feel like a whole orchestra is present on the stage. Going a step further, Herbie Hancock also uses his voice in addition to the prerecorded and live played tunes in some of his pieces. With all this electronic equipment, including mainly software driven computers and tablets, he admits that a lot of things could go wrong on the stage in his concerts and that it often has in the past. Last night’s Dusseldorf audience was lucky though as everything went according to the plan for Hancock as he performed his jazz fusion hits including Cantaloupe Island.

Based on last night’s impressions, I can tell you one simple thing: If you hear that Herbie Hancock is coming to a concert hall near you, just get your ticket and enjoy this deviant musical experience.