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Sabine Engelhardt: Hi, better late than never, here's my review for Schwetzingen. Please forgive me when I use wrong time forms, this is my weak point ;-) I went to Heidelberg from Düsseldorf via Frankfurt by train already at Thursday to have a few days with Alex. After all we can meet only about three times a year! At Friday we thought about a present for Chris. Contrary to the concerts in Köln (Cologne) and Dortmund, where wheelchair users and their companions had to sit literally at the other end of the hall, in Schwetzingen we had the opportunity to get seats in row one, right in front of the stage! A very good position to give a present to Chris, who had given and still gives us so much with his music. But we didn't want to buy flowers that would have been gone two days later; we wanted to give something special. After some looks around in the old town of Heidelberg we found a small store selling a lot of different sorts of "Fruchtgummi" I don't know a correct translation, I only found one for "Gummibärchen" -- gummi bear or jelly baby --, but this describes only a subset of "Fruchtgummi"). They make a lot of specialities, even Fruchtgummis with the flavour of beer or really hot chili! "Endlessly amazing and inventive that we are ..." ;-) In this small store we found the Bärenmeter (bear metre), a collection of some sorts they offer -- yellow smilies, jelly babies, "cars", "cola bottles" and more, in a package looking like a big, one metre long ruler. We speculated: Will he make a joke out of it? (Of course he DID!) On one side we wrote "THE POWER OF TEN -- decimetres to give you power for a lot more concerts. Love, Sabine & Alex". For Saturday Alex and I had decided to meet at 1pm at the main station in Heidelberg, then take a train (S-Bahn) to Schwetzingen, have a meal there and then search for the location of the concert. First we found that there is no S-Bahn from Heidelberg to Schwetzingen, but then a bus of the BRN (Busverkehr Rhein-Neckar) brought us directly in front of the Schwetzingen castle. :-) We had a meal at the "Brauhaus" on the marketplace, just across from the castle's entrance. Then we went over to the really beautiful park, walked around a bit, and I took some photos. We found the stage and the entrance -- at first we thought this couldn't be the entrance, because it was so narrow! Another visitor told us that the sound check was already done 40 minutes before. So we sat on a stone bank and went on waiting ... until we heard music from the stage! Another sound check? -- We went over again, but it wasn't Chris we heard. I'm still not sure whether it was live or canned music. This time we met Monica at the entrance, and together we walked back to the park. An unknown man always trying to tell us loudly that cameras would not be allowed followed us and sat beside us at the bank, until we had enough of his sabbling and left for another place to sit down. Some time later Monica left us to look for Elisabeth. The entrance was opened at a quarter past six, although it was said that it would open only at seven. This seemed to be a communication problem between the security people (not the only one, as we should find out later). We were allowed to go into the location area, but not to our seats until seven :-/ So we bought ourselves a drink and waited ... again. ;-) Before the entrance we saw two pieces of paper saying that "professional cameras" would not be allowed. But the security people didn't check my camera bag -- although it is clear that this IS a camera bag. They only took a look into my normal bag. So I didn't mind ... I remembered Chris' MotL not long time ago in which he said that he likes people to take photographs for private use. And it really doesn't matter whether you give me a professional reflex camera or a simple one -- I have got 23 years of experience and can take good photos with almost every camera. :-) Next problem: I am not exactly slim, and it seems that these seats have been made for slim people or children only. It was really uncomfortable for me to sit there. Fortunately those who sat right and left from me weren't as fat as I am *g* I forgot the uncomfortable seat the moment we heard the first tones of "When Winter Comes". But when I got my camera out of its bag and started to make the first photos while "Road To Freedom", something else became much more uncomfortable: The security! :-( The younger one, still a boy in my eyes, came to me and told me to stop taking photos. I tried to explain to him that Chris had allowed this explicitly, but he didn't listen. Instead he said I should give my camera to him. I told him that I NEVER give my camera to ANYONE (and those who have expensive cameras know, why!). In this moment I was so angry! I had carried my camera with me to make my own pictures of the show, knowing that I possibly won't have a chance for that for a long time. I didn't know that I could have taken photos in Cologne or Dortmund before I went there, so I had left my camera at home then. And I think that Chris will not have the time for another tour in Germany this year. Finally I never know whether I am able to buy a ticket (and, if necessary, train ticket and hotel) the next time a concert takes place, because since almost two years I'm unable to work because of a major depression and have to live from social welfare. This is not exactly a big amount of money, or, as we say in German: Too less for living, too much to die. This boy and his companion acted like they were something important. After Chris went down to that older security man and whispered something in his ear, then explaining: "This show is for the people who paid their tickets -- and for me", they made it even harder. It was like a cynical game: Who has more power, Chris and his fans or the so called security? -- Since then they forbid everyone, even those fans with only small cameras, to take photos, sometimes putting their own heads in the way as if a camera shot could kill :-/ I asked myself whether I should stand up, go right to the stage and ask Chris himself. Only Alex stopped me from that ... and still I don't know whether this was the right decision. -- As you can see, I'm still irritated about all this. I could take only five or six pictures -- so why did I buy some extra films before? :-( -- In the end I put my camera back into the bag ... I felt like a surrender. (After the show Alex told me that there was another security man at the right side of the stage, wearing a red t-shirt (the others had black ones), always making signs to the others to calm down and let the fans take their photos. But they only continued to look around as if they had to defend something. Perhaps their cocky honour, I don't know.) Finally I ignored these ... |
File last modified on July 29th, 2006