Concert Review: Bonn, Germany - July 26, 1998
Hiltrud Schlüter:
Wowza - I can't believe I am the first to post about the Bonn Concert... Where is everybody??? Probably still in Heaven 17 *grins*
Hmmm ... where do I start? The beginning maybe - We DID make it backstage, and anybody who had not been totally convinced of Chris de Burgh was hooked after this encounter. He took quite some time, was very interested in who and what we were ("I have to say first of all that I am not on the internet and that I have no idea what you are on about ..."). He wanted us to introduce ourselves - each and everyone of the big crowd of 24+ ppl per handshake - and chatted with everybody for a few.
Oh - if my English is all mixed up ... so am I... I finally understand the meaning of being High on Emotion ...
He signed our T-Shirts, Tickets etc, and patiently squeezed himself into our group for a fantastic group picture. He was totally relaxed and seemed to feel very comfortable in our company. Oh, Dave - we REALLY behaved, believe it or not, and we added another good day to the reputation of the list members. Another great experience was yet to come. Just after the concert started he mentioned our group, said that this was a special event with ppl from all over the world gathering in Bonn to see this concert. Later in the concert he said that he felt totally as if he were amongst friends (which Annelies confirmed with a loud and clear "you are!!!") and played "Snows of New York" to thank those friends ... when announcing the song and mentioning the friends he pointed to our group ... But not only our gang went crazy of course. The whole audience was fantastic and more than once I had the impression that he was very touched by how the ppl responded. He even said he felt the emotion coming back to him - which was absolutely true! We sang along every song he played, and after a certain time - after playing Hotel California - he grinned and said that he was relieved to finally have found a song which we (the audience) didn't know all the lyrics to ... hehehe (well, only I had not sung along this time *grins*)
To cut a long story short .... Chris expressed how much he enjoyed himself and that the Bonn concert had been the best so far. Unfortunately I don't have the song list, but he obviously played one more song than in Künzelsau... did he play Satin Green Shutters there? For me it was the first time to hear it live, and it was just terrific!!! Apart from the concert as such which definitely was the best concert I have ever been to (not only CdeB) with Chris showing so much enthusiasm for and fun in performing and his voice being just fantastic, the personal side of meeting online friends made this event unforgettable for me. I feel very privileged - privileged to have gotten the chance to shake hands with one of the most charming, friendly and down-to-earth artists of our time, but also privileged that you, the members of the Bonn Gang, allowed me to become your friend. I already miss you, and there is only one thing I can say:
Thank you so much for the most wonderful experience of my life
P.S: To anybody out there who might get a chance to see The Man in England - he left a very deep impression on all of us, and if anything I think he should know he has made friends for lifetime during those few backstage minutes in Bonn. I really envy everybody who gets a chance to see Chris on this tour from now on.
P.P.S.: Oh - I almost forgot - he said that he and the band are working on some new material at the moment and that the new album will similar to "Into in the Light". Good luck Chris with your work - and don't forget, the Bonn gang will always remember this special day on the 26th of July 1998.
Henoch Neethling:
Well, Hiltrud might have been surprised that she was the first to post a review to the list, but for the rest of us who were there, I think we all felt in some way that the words of the man himself, which he repeated twice during the evening, sums up our silence..."I don't really know what to say...". So despite thinking that no attempt to capture the emotion of the day will ever really do it justice, here are some of my impressions...
The excitement built as the big day approached, and different groups started to meet in preparation. All our friends had names, most had nicknames, and some had faces, but none had smiles, none had touch, none had expressions other than keyboard signs. And for most of us this was it. The chance to come face to face with our family, the people in which company we have spent so much time, but never before really had the chance to meet. And so it wasn't a big surprise that we got along as well in real life as we do on the net, and in some cases even better. And finding the group proved almost as easy, just walk past the groups of fans gathered in coldness and acting as if they know all there is to know about Chris and as if they owned him. Sure they wore t-shirts, even CDEB most of them, but when we pulled out our unifying factor, they just stared. And that was something we had to get use to. Everywhere we went, people looked at us. At the love that sprang up, bridging continents, bridging internet connections and bringing together people who live the message that the storyteller has been telling for so many years.
New friends were made, too. And a new understanding grew as we listened to the stories of those who travelled from Mexico, Australia, USA, Holland, Ireland, South Africa, Iran, and how many changed their plans because they heard about this meeting. Tension grew as the time we were promised came and went without any sign of Chris, and Astrid bit her lip as she scanned the streets for her last missing sheep. But there was never any need to worry, even as the crowd inside starting packing the place, and we were still outside, clinging to the hope of speaking a couple of words to Chris. Which we did, after we were allowed in. And not for the first time on the day, we were surprised. Pleasantly. That he really wanted to shake every single person‘s hand. He seemed completely relaxed, and took the time to personally sign every piece of paper, every picture, and every t-shirt brought in front of him.
He apologised for been unable to meet us afterwards, but said this was only because he had to return to Ireland, and I got the impression that he really meant that. Clearly, he was as impressed with us as we were with him. He said that he is working on a new album, in which he will go back to the style of Into the Light, and that we can really look forward to that.
So the concert started. With Chris at the piano, doing the usual opening of these concerts : CARRY ON. And as the first notes hit the crowd, I remember thinking: This is as good as I have ever heard him sing. As he played, his eyes scanned the crowd, and I clearly saw the smile when he settled on Jan-Tom, the tall marker of our group. The man who acted as official camera-man.
Carry on was followed, without interruption with HERE IS YOUR PARADISE. Then he got up, and went to the mike to greet the crowd. In German, as best as he could. Talking about how he performed one of his very first concerts in Bonn, and about the 46 people present, one of which was himself. And then he looked for us, forming our rows of white, signed t-shirts: "And by the way, a special welcome to some friends who came here today, from Melbourne in Australia, Washington DC in the USA, Iran, South Africa, Mexico..they all met on the internet and have come here to Bonn." The rest of his words I could not hear, as we made so much noise, and the frowns disappeared from the faces of those around us, to be replaced by expressions of awe.
IN A COUNTRY CHURCHYARD followed, and by now the crowd was really getting into it. Every word, and specially the chorus, was chanted, and for the first time at any concert I have ever been to, I could feel the built-up of something special. A feeling of love growing from the audience, and as much as I wanted to, I could not fool myself to think it was only us. Sure we helped, perhaps setting the example, but Germany, to me as a South African, seemed to be the place where people adopted the message of let your love shine on.
TRANSMISSION ENDS was next, and although it is usually a choice between this song from Man on the Line, or Sailing Away, we heard the band practising the latter earlier, so we knew that we were going to be treated to both.
The much-loved HEAD AND THE HEART brought the first tears from not only members of our group, but from other crowd-members too. With its message of, when in doubt, to listen to your heart, because ultimately that's where the love comes from.
SATIN GREEN SHUTTERS was to be the request, performed completely, even though Chris seemed reluctant at first, saying that he could not remember all the words, but then again, he also claimed to have forgotten the words to Spanish Train (as if anybody really believed that!) and that Patricia has the day off on Sundays...
MOONLIGHT AND VODKA, with its usual intro of big fan Boris Jeltsin and his daughters, followed, with the crowd enjoying the part "and it's so DAMN cold", even though the weather was perfect, without any threat of rain whatsoever.
DANNY BOY, performed without any instruments, brought back the memories to me of why I love his music. His voice was so powerful, as good as I have ever heard him sing, and it might not have been written by him, but I doubt if anybody else could have done better. And the theme of a father sending his son of the war, brought the first signs of what was to follow,
BORDERLINE, where I was astonished by the emotion from the crowd in response to the words "these are only boys and I will never know, how men can see the wisdom in a war". This is a nation who has twice seen the horror of war in this century, and has been, since then, open to embrace the message of love and peace.
The intro to SPANISH TRAIN was a little disappointing, but the song itself was very good. Of course the crowd could not wait to show off their don't do it part.
The now customary karaoke session followed, with DISCOVERY ending up as the chosen song, but the power of the singing by the crowd made it very difficult for the girl, who did actually try. But once again, I don't know of many artists who actually continue with this kind of interaction with the crowd.
We got our opportunity to sing with A SPACEMAN CAME TRAVELLING; and even after the last notes, the crowd did continued with la, la la la, until Chris did not really know what to say. Thus ended the solo session, and the band came on, led by the brilliant Peter Oxendale.
Elvis was honoured again as a major influence on Chris with ALWAYS ON MY MIND, and I heard a woman say somewhere behind me "that was better than the original". Hopefully she was not referring to the recording by the Pet Shop Boys, since almost anything would be better than that.
Another old favourite LONELY SKY, was next, once again drawing a wave of emotion from the crowd. I‘m not quite sure when exactly he said this, but he did remark that in all his years of touring, he has never before felt so much love from an audience. And it might have been something he now says at all concerts to get the crowd going, but this time I felt he was right.
The expected SAILING AWAY followed, and luckily the band just did the backing vocals here, because wonderful guitar players as they are, they are not exactly the worlds greatest singers.
Then, to me, came the first actual surprise of the evening :LOVE HAS GOT A HOLD ON ME. Although this song made the hitlist of singles when This way up was released in South Africa, it still remained a surprising choice. But not too bad, in the end.
The next song has always struck me as one of the most powerful live songs Chris has ever written, and with the backing of the band, was absolutely brilliant. OH MY BRAVE HEARTS.
BLONDE HAIR, BLUE JEANS was another surprising choice, but despite the fact that is well hated by many fans, the live version did get the crowd going.
Then Chris gave us another indication of what was to come by bursting in what almost appeared to be a spontanious version of HONKY TONK WOMAN, by the Stones. At least we could smile to the frowns on the faces of the die-hard fans trying to figure out on which album on Chris they heard this...
Having performed Desperado the last couple of times, Chris really took those of us without a list of songs by surprise by performing a really stunning version of HOTEL CALIFORNIA by the Eagles. More confusion for those who did not know the words, prompting Chris to say that he seemed to have found a song to which we did not know the words.
Entered the Romanian orchestra, who did a reasonable job, but was just completely outplayed by Chris and the band. MISSING YOU, as usual, was the intro into this part of the show, before the very powerful, emotional CARRY ME LIKE A FIRE, once again brought tears from the members of the audience.
SO BEAUTIFUL was exactly that, taking its place among the great new songs, although Chris omitted Forevermore this time.
Then Peter Oxendale entertained the crowd with parts of the Blue Danube, by Johann Strauss, and For Elise, by Beethoven. Nobody was fooled by his wrong notes, either. A real talent, and a joy to see in tandem with Chris. The man actually plays both keyboards at the same time, while giving instuctions to the orchestra!
LADY IN RED was not to be skipped, and here the intro was brilliant, with Chris almost going for a song that he has been known to perform live before, when a man loves a woman, before settling for some deo, oh deo, which got the crowd going before he started LIR. His words to hug your new friends took on a new meaning for our group, and although LIR is not exactly loved either, out came the lighters.
ITS ME proved that Chris' years of writing really excellent songs are far from over. The joy on the faces of those around me made it easy to understand why this song is now considered by quite a few to be their favourite, despite only appearing on the last album.
Then followed the totally stunning REVOLUTION; LIGHT A FIRE, and LIBERTY: Clearly this was the way this trilogy was supposed to sound when it was written, and for the lovers of rock in our group a real treat.
ONE MORE MILE was again preaching the message of peace, and that there is still some work to be done to achieve that, but that we could always dream of that on special days, like today.
Then followed something that many would claim to be the highlight of the evening. Chris said that tonight, more than ever before, he feels as if he is playing for his friends, pointing directly at us, and that he would love to sing this song of friendship for us. THE SNOWS OF NEW YORK. And if the tears did not flow in our group before, it certainly did so now.
DONT PAY THE FERRYMAN has always been a song that works well towards the end of the show, and tonight was no exception. Off he went, but perhaps only to the surprise of the first timers, he returned for a powerful, quick version of SAY GOODBYE TO IT ALL, which seems to work better on stage.
HIGH ON EMOTION continued the dancing in the crowd, which continued the whole time he went off again, only to return again and to claim that, because it was by now almost Monday, Patricia might be persuaded to start the week early, much to the delight of the crowd, who promptly responded by throwing underwear onto the stage.
WHERE PEACEFUL WATERS FLOW took its place at the end, with the Beatles never to be forgotten with HEY JUDE.
The concert was over. But something changed. We came there as strangers, but left as genuine friends, after our own Snows of New York, to a pub downtown, where we talked the time away, and where Ché summed up our feelings with a beautiful song of his own, about our singing hero, and what it means to us to hear him say our names. But as the perfect ended, there were already whispers in the wind......Montreal.....
Henoch from South Africa