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27/03/05 - COLOR LINE ARENA,
HAMBURG The band head straight from their charity gig in Egypt 48 hours earlier to start the European tour off in Hamburg. Review by Yvonne Kehrbein: Things went pretty fast and Countermine hit the stage. I couldn’t even understand their name at first, that’s how bad the sound was. They were from the UK, that was all I got in the beginning. The lead singer’s voice kind of drowned in the sound of his guitarist who was standing right in front of me. So, for 40 minutes or so guitar was all I heard. I prayed that the sound during BA’s gig wasn’t as bad as this and fortunately it wasn’t! Phew! Now, the gig had been announced at short hand which left only six weeks for ticket sales. The arena was filled with about 6,000 people and we definitely proved that it doesn’t always have to be stadium gigs to raise the roof. Lights went out an the guys started with an overwhelming Room Service (the new single CD version). The intro was just amazing and the crowd was really going for it. Hitting right into Open Road after that it was a funny incident that Bryan had forgotten to put the harmonica into his pocket earlier and hence the song went ahead without it. He then welcomed us with a loud ‘Hallo Hamburg’ and with a tremendous roar we welcomed him back. 18 til I die is always great at gigs and this time it was particularly amusing to be standing right in front of Bryan sticking out his BAD tongue at us. He, he. Let’s make a night to remember gave us a little break before Can’t stop this thing we started evolved into a loud and collective ‘Can’t stop it!’ from the audience. Bryan went ahead and chatted a bit. ‘Ya know, 2005 is a very special year for us. It’s the 20th anniversary of the Reckless album and that’s why we’d like to play a song off of it.’ An awesome Kids wanna rock followed and really rocked the house! ‘The next song is from the MTV Unplugged album and in fact I should’ve opened up with it...this is Back to you!’ A great song which is always fun, especially with the ever-present Back to you bounce which had the whole floor bouncing throughout the entire song. The camera guy totally focused on the crowd and it must have been an absolute stunning sight! Summer of ’69 still wasn’t back to the full rock version but always one of the highlights for me at every gig. I just never get tired of it, he he. Everything I do followed and the arena was lit beautifully. An unexpected but welcomed change in the set list followed with I’m ready. ‘This is another song from the Unplugged album featuring Keith Scott on the Spanish guitar’ Bryan told us. Cuts like a knife just can’t be missed and Bryan gave us two thumbs up for our screaming na-na-na’s. ‘Ya, that’s what I’m talkin’ about!’ Once again it was time for a little enthusiasm. ‘Now I’m looking for somebody to sing with me. Anybody wanna sing with me? I’m looking for someone with enthusiasm.’ The band started playing a few chords of When you’re gone and the whole crowd joined in. Bryan finally chose a girl from the seating area and to my surprise she was actually from Hamburg. At the prior gigs the WYG girls had always been at least from another city. Nowhere fast was next and had just previously been added to the set list. Played live it sounded even better than on the album but why did Bryan only then get out his RS guitar? What was with the first two songs? Weren’t they off of the new album as well? ? When they strummed the first chords of Heaven I was really happy to have back the original version. It’s only love had us snap back to reality with Keith’s incredible solo and I can still remember myself just standing there staring at him, he he. Bryan was standing next to him and almost forgot to play himself. Without a break they headed right into The only thing that looks good on me is you during which Bryan duelled with the audience shouting ‘YOU!’ back and forth. Eventually the guys all bowed and we honoured them with the loudest cheer we could produce. I knew they hadn’t left for good yet and they returned for the first round of encores. Cloud #9 must’ve looked amazing from the seating area. Run to you – do I have to say more? This song just contains the BEST guitar solo ever! It was simply breathtaking to listen to both Bryan and Keith playing it together. During the beginning of The best of me I got kind of excited cause I knew Bryan was gonna come offstage to get in touch of the fans. He kept running up and down shaking people’s hands like a madman. When he came over to my side I stuck out my hand in order to touch his and while I was still happy that I did I realised that he hadn’t let go of it. He had me pull him up onto the step in front of the fence when the fans behind me started pushing forward. I literally fell into his arms and all I had to do was put my arms around him then. You can probably imagine the big ol’ grin I was wearing on my face! ? And I still can’t believe that I got to hug him. Simply incredible!!! The guys left the stage and Bryan remained for the acoustic set of songs. ‘It’s just you and me, baby’ he threw at the audience with a big smirk on his face. After having heard Flying at four gigs now I really have to admit that it sounds much better live than on CD. Bryan that chatted a bit comparing songwriting with cooking and how there are always the same ingredients but it still tasted different every day. The audience joined in singing All for love and the echo in the arena was amazing. Right before Straight from the heart Bryan got out the harmonica he’d forgotten earlier and admitted ‘Ya know, I forgot to put it in my pocket earlier tonight’. The finale with the acoustic version of Room Service was overwhelming. ‘You can be in Philadelphia, you can even be in...Hamburg’. Loud cheers were the answer. ‘...ya, Room Service, we’re open all night long...!’ Bryan was visibly touched by the audience’s tremendous response and thanked us with an honest ‘Thank you so much! Dankeschoen! Wow, what a great audience! Goodbye and Auf Wiedersehen, Hamburg!’ What a gig! What
a night! I had hugged Bryan and still can’t believe how incredibly lucky
I was. This had definitely been one hell of a 10th gig anniversary for me, he
he!
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® 2005 18 Til I Die.co.uk. All
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Pictures by Yvonne Kehrbein
Bryan counting the band in
Bryan and Keith jamming during 'Kids Wanna Rock' |
