TEN
YEARS AFTER - LIVE IN BAD SALZUFLEN, GERMANY
NOVEMBER 20, 2008
ONE MAN'S DREAM COMES TRUE
Thomas Daubel is the owner of the venue and
a loyal Ten Years After fan going back many a
year.
His dream was simple, one day he wanted to own
a music venue and have his favourite band play
there. On November 20th of this year his dream
finally came true.
Brigitte and I had the pleasure to met Norbert
at the venue when we visited there twice,
which was few weeks before the band even
arrived. He
gave us a personal tour of the place and
filled us in on the history of the building
and how much time, money and effort they
put into this venture. His story was heartfelt
and impressive.
The venue is called Lokation and the building
is an old train station. It's a huge,
well kept building on the outside, but one can
only assume that the inside needed extensive
cleaning and renovations in order to make it
inhabitable for the music cliental who would
be visiting here. Besides this, many local
ordinances, stiff rules and regulations
keep getting in the way. This slowed progress
and delayed the dream from reaching fruition.
As the building has been classified a
historical property, it has to meet certain
specifications. In other words, if someone
wants to pound a nail into the wall, some
person sitting behind a desk somewhere
has to approve it first. You would think that
the little town of Bad Salzuflen would be
happy to encourage a positive venture like
this, and
do all they could to help promote it for the
public. It's my understanding that there was a
music venue in this town before, but has long
since faded into history. In many towns, in
the outlying areas there's music venues, but
they are few and far between and many a mile to
get there. But it's getting better every
year, and we thank and support Thomas
and Norbert
and their hard working team for their
dedication to this project.
For us, the venue is just a twenty minute drive from our house. The parking there
is excellent with plenty of room to spare.
People from all over are coming here this
evening to see Ten Years After play. Some folk
drove over two hours to be here.
Our friend Reinhard drove in from Osnabruck
to join us. Along with Volker, his girlfriend
Brigitte and her son Ramon. This is Ramon's
very first concert, and at age 11 it will be one
that he will remember forever.
We arrive at the venue (in the pouring rain)
just in time for the
sound-check. Tom is working hard as usual as is the band. A quick hello and nod from the
band members and the evening starts.
The bands long awaited new cd has just arrived
and we can't wait to get our hands on a copy, in
fact Brigitte bought six copies, one for us
and the rest to share with friends as presents.
To read our cd review, please click here:
The venue is long, but not quite wide enough, although the bar area is
extremely comfortable, with many tables and
chairs sitting a little higher on step up
balconies, out of the way of people traffic.
Pre Concert:
Finally we're all together, we order drinks
and chat awhile. Volker and Raymond check out
the stage set up, while the two Brigitte's
talk about the venue and the band's history.
Reinhardt and I discuss the cd's that he
brought along David GoGo for me, and a Billy Idol
for Brigitte, as we exchange
views about many different bands.
Reinhard and I haven't seen each other since
the Robin Trower / David GoGo's concert in Melle´
and that was six months ago. We don't
always agree on music or different bands, but
we're both passionate music lovers and have a
deep respect for each others opinions. That
makes for a lot of learning fun.
The Audience:
Is starting to file in, slowly at first and
then more quickly. Everyone is checking out the new venue, and they divide into different
groups in different areas. The only place that
it's really packed, is right in front of the
stage, which is the norm at any concert.
The concert has been sold out many months in
advance, and I have to tell ya, that this
audience is one of the best that we've ever
had the pleasure to be with. No pushing, no
shoving and no hostility that's normally
associated with a packed house. People buying
drinks quietly and respectful of one another.
It's mostly an older crowd, with a few younger
family members in attendance.
Right before the concert started, everyone was
getting into position. By the time Reinhardt
and I decided to join the others it was
standing room only, wall to wall people. He
headed towards the front of the stage, while I
ducked into Wolfe's area, standing right
behind him and the soundboard. This lasted for
about the first three songs and then we were
elbow to elbow with the overflow of the
enormous crowd, many of whom decided to join me
and the other three men in that area, that's built
for three and now holding fifteen spectators.
So I decide to change location, as fast as
possible - I took the back way out, through the
kitchen. No way was I going to try and fight
my way through
the crowd, to get back to the main entrance, where
I came in.
Concert Review:
The band played from 9:00 - 11:00
SET LIST:
1. Working On The Road
2. King Of The Blues
3. Here Me Callin´
4. Angry Words
5. Big Black 45
6. 50,000 Miles Beneath My Brain
7. The Hobbit (Drum Solo)
Happy birthday to Brigitte from Ric and band /
entire audience sings happy birthday to her
Stage announcements - merchandise and new cd
available today - just released
8. Love Like A Man
9. Good Morning Little School Girl (Crowd
Favourite)
10. I Can't Keep From Cryin´ Sometimes (Fans
Love It)
11. I'm Goin´ Home (everyone joins in)
12. Reasons Why (Encore)
13. Choo - Choo - Mama (Encore)
Brigitte and our guest were front row centre,
while I sat at a table out by the bar,
checking out the bands brand new cd, keeping
track of their set list, and making my notes
for this review.
The concert lasted two hours, everyone got
their money's worth and by the extensive line
up
at the merchandise table, the new cd's were
being sold hand over fist like hotcakes on a
winters day!
Posters, Cd's and photo cards were all being
autographed one after the other.
A man that
I'd been talking to before, during and after
the show wanted a pair of signed drumsticks
from Ric Lee. He stopped by my table to show
me his newly acquired / treasured prize from
Ric.
This man is also a concert promoter, here to
check out the band, to play in his club in the
near future. I'm
not sure if Ric knew this in advance, my guess
is that he didn't, but all credit goes to Ric,
who treats everyone the same, be it fan or venue
owner. You never know who you're rubbing
elbows with, and the most unassuming person
just may be the one important person who is able to do you the
most good.
I have seen Ric do this time and again with
different people, all the way back to the
Blues Garage in Hannover 2002. Some fan will
sheepishly approach where we and the band are
sitting, they stand there patiently, waiting to be
acknowledged and then Ric will be the first
one to approach the fan in waiting. Be it for
an autograph or conversation Ric gives them
his undivided attention and totally without
any discrimination. This is one of the traits
that I admire most about Ric. Leo does the
same, but needs to be approached directly if
you'd like his attention. Joe and Chick are
good at the merchandise stand, but then
quickly would like to get cleaned up, change
clothes and then relax a little before
returning to the hotel.
This band is the most accessible that we've
ever had the pleasure to know.
The band members are a class act!
Backstage Commentary:
It's a nice big room located at the
opposite end of the building from the stage.
Our friend would like band autographs so we
bring him with us to meet them in person.
Ramon is 11 years old and this is his very
first rock concert. Eyes wide open, excited,
but exhausted from his long day at
school and evening activities - he's fading
fast and needs his sleep. He's looking forward
to his next TYA concert coming to our area
February 7, 2009 in Melle, Germany.
The band signed what seemed like a few
hundred autographs for us, which we in turn
(and have done since 2002) send out to fans
from many different countries upon request -
although Leo and Ric are constantly kidding us
about selling them on ebay.
The hardest part for us and the band, is
deciding which request are legitimate and
which ones are bogus. So far,
we're proud to say, we haven't been stiffed,
at least to our knowledge, we haven't seen
them for sale on ebay anyways. We keep our
word and the people we deal with keep theirs
as well.
In the beginning with Joe in the band it was
easy to decipher the request, but as the band
grows in fame and popularity, some people become
much more creative in the scam department..
Our time backstage is comfortable and very
relaxed, in fact the band is in no hurry to
leave. They spend quite awhile there, right up
until the venue staff would like to go home.
Leo and Ric are happy after the show, Chick
leaves early for the hotel and Joe is happy
and a little hyper as usual after getting off
stage, he needs time to wind down. After a few glasses of wine or beer, everyone
settles down.
Now is a good time to talk with Ric about
future plans, TYA in America, the upcoming
Woodstock 40th Anniversary 1969-2009……and
future tours in the offering.
We discuss their new cd, the new songs and are
they happy with the final results.
After about twenty minutes the conversation
turns to politics - Obama the States, the
failing economy, of which Leo likes to talk
about current events rather than rehashing the
past ones.
Leo is a real history buff and well versed in
a great many areas…Cowboys / Indians…
Indian rights, human rights, individual rights…..freedom
and it's counterpoint repression.
As Teachers:
Ric and Leo are musicians by trade, but also
teachers at heart.
I really feel that Leo could hold his own with
any college professor on just about any topic.
He's an excellent communicator and storyteller.
Ric on the other hand, is an incredibly good
speaker. He's able to connect with any
audience, keep their attention fixed and make
them feel involved.
Chick, is a different kind of teacher, with
him you have to read between the lines and
around the humour to get to the real substance
at hand. Chick is an untapped wealth of
knowledge and experience, just waiting to be
retrieved and explored.
Joe, is all about music, it's in his blood
24 / 7, it's playing in his
head constantly, and he's always expanding the
frontiers in the music that came before him,
as well as paying close attention to the
current advanced artists of today.
As a teacher, he'd also be excellent, but
keeping in mind that he's also an insatiable
student in his own rite. A student of his
would have to be advanced, innovative and
original.
In fact Joe reminds me a lot of the late,
great Randy Rhodes.
In Conclusion:
Their new cd "EVOLUTION"-
Highly Recommended ! See them in concert
at a venue near you!
Our thanks to everyone who's made TYA's
return possible - Dreams do come true - Keep
The Faith........
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