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Ten
Years After In Concert – Osnabrück, Germany January 11, 2019
Thoughts and Impressions - by Dave
So
Ironic - Aschaffenburg Concert:
The
band played just twenty minutes from my house in Aschaffenburg, Germany
– but I chose to see them for the first time, with this line up, with
Brigitte in Osnabrück. Anita had already seen them perform twice before
this. She has come from Berlin for a visit. We also met up with our good
friend Reinhard Pieper, and later this evening we’ll meet with our
mutual friend Thomas Pfeifer and a Danish husband and wife couple. We
have met this couple before at another concert, but none of us can
remember which year or venue that was at. Like the rest of us, they are
good friends of Ric Lee’s. After the concert we were all invited
backstage by Ric, for a “Mini Ten Years After Family
Reunion”. It’s just like old times again. It all ended on a high
note at 12:00 Midnight. Back on the street, we say our good-bye’s to
Reinhard and Thomas and head back home…tired / elated / happy.
The
New Line Up:
Ric
Lee - Drums / Chick Churchill - Keyboards / Colin Hodgkinson – Bass,
Vocals and Marcus Bonfanti – Guitar / Vocals / Harmonica.
Ric’s
in great condition – Chick is in good condition – Colin always looks
the same to me, and Markus being the youngster in the band adds the much
need kick-ass-enthuisiasm to
this legendary outfit.
Where Alvin Lee left off Joe Gooch admirably filed those vacent shoes,
as did Marcus picked up right where Joe left off, and with incredible
energy and flair !
The
Songs:
Hear
Me Callin’ (Faster and Louder) – Hear Me Callin’ You.
Just
Say Yeah – (With Audience Particapation) Just Say Yeah – Yes – Yes
– Yes.
I’m
Coming On (Welcomed Addition) I May Be Right and I May Be Wrong.
I’d
Love To Change The World (Pray For Peace People) – So I’ll Leave It
Up To You.
Good
Morning Little School Girl (Always Welcomed) – Can I Go Home With You?
I
Woke Up This Morning (Great Guitar Work By Markus) – My Baby Was Gone.
Love
Like A Man (With Bass and Guitar Playoff) Love All You Can.
The
Hobbit (Ric Never Sounded Better)
Bass
Solo – Blues (Colin Impresses The Masses)
Down
To The Bottom (Lots of Energy)
Choo-Choo-Mama
(Chick Excells Once Again)
I’m
Going Home (Fan Favorite As Always)
Acoustic
Set:
Portable
People
Don’t
Want You Woman
Losing
The Dogs
This
was a fantastic change up after cranking the audience up on some
thunderous / pounding rock and roll. This is the first time that I’ve
heard “Portable People” performed live. A great effort by all - an
audience favorite.
Audience
Statistics:
The
offical ticket count was 300 on this Wintery Friday Night in January…but
looking over the room, there’s a mass of
people standing and those sitting, to which
I’d say add another 75 = 375 to 400 at the outside. It was
packed full and hot enough to be in tee-shirts.
Most
were vetern rockers and loyal Ten Years After Fans. A vast sea in
constant motion the entire evening. Male and female dancers alike were
all over the place – even dancing to the Bass Solos, if you can
imagine that. They never stopped, people were out to have fun!
The
Sound:
Well
opinions vary here. Anita and I say, it was very heavy on bass guitar
and bass drum. Sometimes Chick and Markus got lost in the mix of volume
vs. harmony vs. melody. Marcus’s vocals also suffered from trying to
compeate in volume over quality.
On
the other hand Brigitte gave it a thumbs up positive vote as she heard
everything clearly and without any problems. Reinhard gave it a 50/50 -
was his honest assassment and that makes it a wash – meaning a (Nutural
Vote). The audience’s
overall reaction was 100% positive. Leave it at that I say – they know
what they like – they always have the final word.
Backstage
Area:
A
big table, filled with friends and fans. Ric at the head of the table
and myself at the opposite end. Conversations flowed like a mountain
stream after a nights hard rain. All of us bubbling over with energy,
passionate exuberance and a nonstop list of inquiries.
Many conversations going on in different directions, all
simultaneously, like a runaway locomotive. Brigitte and Anita talking,
The Dutch Couple conversing with Ric, Thomas, Reinhard and myself, each
in top form in this friendly medieval, verbal jousting match. The object
of this game, is to see just how much information you can share and
aquire in an hours time. It involves fifteen people in the room, keeping
track of broken concentration, leading to disrupted conversations, and
then trying to remember what the bloody-hell we were talking about in
the first place.
When
we get stuck for names, places, venues, and times – we interfere in
other peoples conversations, breaking up their sense of balance, which
then leads to the entire room joining in to help. Suddenly, a brand new,
unxpected topic is launched and the entire dynamic of the room changes
in a heartbeat. Add the hustle / bustle constant hum of the roadies
popping in and out every minute, like shifting sands of an oceans tide
– adding their own chaos (definition) causing disorder, confusion,
bedlam, upheaval, havoc, frenzy, uproar, babel, hurly-burly, madness,
confusion, disruption, disarray, turmoil, pandemonium and total
disorganization – about covers the backstage area – and the later it
gets the worse it all gets. People want to go home and the pressure is
on !
Note:
Reinhard knows more about music than anyone I know. It’s always a
pleasure to meet and discuss all aspects of the music world with him.
What I don’t know he does, and what he doesn’t know I do. We could
talk for hours on end.
The
Concert / Aftermath:
After
the show Ric asked, “but did it look like we were having fun”? I
replied from my end of the table, it looked like it was damn hard work
to me, to which Ric agreed. Lucky for Ric and the band, their work is
play. There’s not much to report on about the concert itself, you have
the basic set list, audience mood and satisfaction with the band. It was
a great time… to which Brigitte took many photos as usual, that will
do more than I can say in words. Trust me on this.
In
Conclusion - I’ll let this fan Burkhard do the talking: (Thursday
January 17, 2019 – 7:22 pm)
“To
all members of the band: Thank you for your great concert in Osnabück,
Germany at the Rosenhof on Friday January 11, 2019. Please come back
next year! Special thanks to Mr. Ric Lee for autographs, photographs and
signing books and records. You are a real old school gentleman
!”
Ric’s New Book – “From Headstock to Woodstock”:
This is the talk of the town these days. Brigitte and I have our copies
– I finished reading mine, she just started on hers, and Anita bought
her copy at the concert and started reading it that night. I don’t know
exactly how sales went at the merchandise counter, but I do know first
hand, that as I was looking for a special passage to show someone in the
book, people were waiting for me to put it down so they could purchase
it. Apparently they sold out that evening. Good for you Ric !
About The Book:
Ric told us that it was edited a few times along the way – reduced from
its War and Peace size transcript says me (laughing) and reduced to a
friendly readable human size. I said to Ric, I wish it was longer, to
which he asked me, “what did you want to know Dave?” I wanted to know
more details, about your manor house, the big parties there and such.
His reply was, “all that came after Woodstock, you’ll have to wait for
the next book – “Part Two Called, “I’m Going Home”. My mistake Ric – my
bad as they say. I also wanted more about Woodstock – such as where are
the recordings – the tapes – what was the entire set list? We have
pictures of him chatting with “Chip Monck” – (Chipmunk) by the side of
the stage. What was that conversation, and I would like to know Chip’s
involvment with Ten Years After? I know it was a close relationship, as
Alvin was on a TV show Chip had once about Rock and Roll.
More About The Book Itself:
The pages are made of slick photo paper, a quality job and very costly
replied Ric, shipping cost a fortune due to the weight. In my opinion
its well worth the time, effort and quality that Ric put into it. That
being said, Ric tells the truth – the whole truth and cuts no corners.
Its very readable, goes by fast and captures your attention throughout.
The parts concerning Alvin and Leo are honest and factual, as I have
heard many of these stories from the guys after concerts. This book is
not intended to throw mud at his bandmates, in fact Ric always gives
credit where credit is due. Ric only adds facts as it applies to his
tales, and the facts as he knows them to be…there’s no fluff here….no
selfgrandindisement (ego trip) here.
It’s facutal, real and real funny in many parts. Its like talking to Ric
face to face, the words and tone are all his – believe me friends. He
writes in explicit terms to the reader, in a simple, friendly
style…you’ll love it from beginning to end and want to read it all over
again in a few weeks or months – but you will.
Magic
Moments / A Sad Song:
Brigitte
and I got to meet the members of Ten Years After in 2002, in Hannover,
Germany at Henry’s Blues Garage. Along the way many of TYA’s fan
base became our trusted friends. Lionel Webb, Patrick Bellier, Torsten
Strube, Reinhard Pieper, Anita Ranisch, Peter Mand, Herb Staehr, ……..and
for awhile we would see them here and there at different concert venues
all over Germany quite often. Now it’s January of 2019 and those magic
moment are secure in my concert reviews, and in Brigitte’s photos and
on our Alvin Lee / Ten Years After websites in memorabilia of the bands
extensive history. My point being, that time keeps moving forward, our
memories become faded and hazy. Our websites are in the words of Humble
Pie, “As
Safe As Yesterday” is. When a bunch of us gather together these days,
we all have some difficulty sorting it all out between us. It’s fun in
a way, but also frustrating, when we realize how much time has passed,
and how fast our lives are moving. At this moment, both Ten
Years After and Hundred Seventy Split are active forces in their own
rite. Still playing live concerts, recording new music and still
producing quality all around. What will happen in the end for these two
bands? Sadly, time will silence them. But for the moment we’ll enjoy
their company, praise and support them. The sad song is for Herb –
“Tons of Sobbs” R.I.P.
Sunday 27, 2019 3:19
am - From Michele Kitsch
– Karpiak -
Location
– U.S.A.
To
the Gentleman of one of the Greatest Bands:
Since
my birth, I have grown up listening to Ten Years After. I am the oldest
of eight children. My father and godfather blasted “Rock ‘n’
Blues” every weekend, when the families got together, but Ten Years
After always kicked it off. Most of my best memories of my father
included this band. He and I would be driving with him singing. Your
music had such an influence on my life, that when I met my my husband to
be, we found that we both loved the same type of music, but he had never
heard of you. Let me tell ya, within a few weeks, he knew all your songs,
he fell in love with the band. It doesn’t stop there. I had four sons
when we met, when my love and I decided to get married, two years into
our relationship, we had our D.J. make sure that he had your albums for
my dad and godfather. The best was when our six year old twin sons, the
second in line of our nine children, got the microphone from the D.J.
and started singing, “Here They Come” or as they would call it,
“The Alien Song”, came on during the reception !
I
wanted the band to know, that three generations of family love came
together and stayed together, this during some very tuff years, thanks
to your music. Our families fourth generation has now been included, and
now we are ourselves grandparents to four grand-daughters (18 months –
6 years) have also been welcomed to our ever growing family, and also
introduced to Ten Years After as well. Nanny, blast the radio and they
hop around the living room. We will keep your music alive, promise ! I
pray that one day you will return to the U.S.A. – I would love to have
four generations of my family see you together.
If
not, maybe in the future I will be able to bring the two men that gave
me the love for your band, and so many more in Europe, and see you.
Thank
You For All The Greatest Memories That The Band Created For Me ! They
Are Priceless !
Note
From Dave:
I
edited the above text, but I didn’t change her passion, emotion or
emphasis.
Michele,
if you happen to see this on our website, please be proud, that I
respected your comments enough to use your heartfelt comments on our
site. You have said what many other fans have told the band over the
years. So I decided to add it to this 2019 concert review.
Congratulations
on your happy musical family – that keeps expanding, just as does the
“Ten Years After Fan Base”…keeps growing even after all these
years. Proud to know the band members and you too.
With
Thanks and Respect From Dave – Hope You Enjoyed This Page.
Finished
on January 27, 2019
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