HANNOVER,
GERMANY – FRIDAY MAY 4, 2007
TEN
YEARS AFTER – LIVE
IN CONCERT
My
turn to drive again. On a Friday afternoon, heading
to the north is a nightmare. The autobahn from our
house onward is referred to in these parts as “The
Warsaw Highway”.
So
many Polish people work here in Germany during the
week and then return home with their pay checks for
the weekend. From 11:00 in the morning until 9:00 in
the evening the autobahn becomes a virtual parking
lot. As the photo here shows. Right after I passed
this tractor trailer, we came to a 45 minute stand
still – turn off the engine – sit and wait.
People got out of their cars and trucks and walked
around on the highway, looking around.
We
finally got to our destination an hour later than
expected, but no worse for ware.
The
venue is a perfect size as well as being clean. The
mixing board is right in the middle of the room and
as we enter Wolfe and the other sound tech are in
the process of working
out the kinks and tweaking the system to perfection,
with Chick Churchill looking on.
There is plenty of floor space, behind us and above is
a balcony / loft which is only used for picture taking
this evening. The floor area is more than
adequate enough for the audience participation.
There
is only down side to this particular event. Hannover
is a huge
and prominent city in Germany, including
a very large population, but the turnout for
this Ten Years After gig is far from impressive. At an
outside guess, maybe two hundred people are in
attendance.
I
find it so ironically
funny, as you can never judge how things will
unfold. For instance, this should’ve been a packed
house, it isn’t. On another night, in another town,
with a population of say five thousand - people might
be over flowing out into the street and down around
the block just waiting to get in to see the band. This
is a Friday night concert, the turn out should’ve
been far better.
QUALITY
OVER QUANITY:
There’s
also a plus side to this situation, you’ve got room
to move around at will. Brigitte enjoys that aspect,
in order to get the best photos. As for me, I grab the
closest bar stool and plant myself right at the end of
the stage, just around the corner from those standing
right in front of the stage, so that I have a
birds-eye view of the band in action. My position is
to the right of Leo Lyons and looking down the length
of the stage.
Anita
and Brigitte are centre stage, Reinhard wanders from
the back of the room to the front and back again,
always looking for the optimum spot for sight and
sound quality.
Right
in front of me, and (to my right) is our friend Jens
and a young man that he brought with him from Hamburg
to see TYA for the first time. This new fan is very
tall, lanky and full of anticipation, which
reminds me of myself at his age.
ONE
YOUNG PUP VS. TWO OLD DOGS:
The
concert will begin in twenty minutes, so ----and I
have a chance to talk together. I’m sure that Jens
has bored this young man to death on the ride down
here, so I don’t want to overload him with any more
information than he can handle.
I
figure that the best way to help him is just to point
out what to look for on stage.
But
please don’t think for a minute that my helping him
is as arrogant as it may sound to you the reader,
because it isn’t that way at all, ----- wants any
and all information that he can get.
Leo
is Leo, Ric is Ric and Chick is Chick – simple
enough and self explanatory. It’s the “GOOCH PHENOMENOM
” that needs to be absorbed into your new musical
psyche.
My
advice to ---- is don’t get hung up on Joe’s
finger fast / fret work, but remember to keep your
ears open or you’ll miss the total effect of his
playing and performance. What you see him doing, many
times isn’t what your expecting to hear. Joe, will
slide melodies into theme’s rhythms into streams and
textures, while holding notes, bending notes and
creating something completely
different every second. Your eyes see it, your
ears absorb it, but your brain can’t process it all.
So,
your brain has to just accept it, not analyze it –
your body feels it running through every fiber, and
your eyes just become two insatiable jewels, that are
silent witness to the entire extravaganza .
PRETTY
HEAVY INDEED:
Once
again the show is running a half hour later than
expected, we check the time every five minutes or so
between each other, and we wait patiently. Then the
introduction music starts and the lights dim. Chick
walks out, followed by Ric and then Leo and finally
Joe takes the stage – all the necessary working
components are in place, let the magic begin.
“Working
On The Road” starts it off, followed by “King Of
The Blues”, “Big Black 45” and all the rest that
fill up the usual TYA set list.
We
all just smile at each other, nod and find it hard to
believe what we’re seeing and hearing.
While
the crowd is relatively small, yet respectable, you
wouldn’t know it by all the noise they’re making.
Clapping and singing along and in the end, clamouring
for more, more more, and the band of course delivers
the goods.
Encore,
fulfilled – the end is reached.
After
the meet and greet with the band the room is barren in
no time.
Such
a strange vibe this evening, it’s Friday night and
everyone seems preoccupied. The band played flawlessly,
and the audience rocked, for a very enjoyable time,
but something in the air just isn’t
agreeable to what just took place.
I’m
at a loss to put my finger on exactly what was wrong
and strange this evening, I just stick it in my memory
bank and move forward.
Cloak and Dagger Mystery
– Friday The 13th
Full Moon – Halloween Night !!!
HEADING
HOME:
Sometimes
the best part of going to a good concert, is the ride
home. The three of us compare notes and discuss the
evening from our individual perspectives. It’s from
these conversations that I gather my notes and put
together what will become these diary reviews. What
songs we liked, which ones we deemed a little weak and
the bands strong points in general.
On
this night the band was right on the money, full of
energy and happy as hell.
Now
we’re back home again – and
happy!
Our thanks to Anita, Reinhard, Jens --- and
TYA for a great time!
|