Concert Review: Munich, Germany - November 15, 1999

Michaela H.:

Well, itīs late, Iīm tired, my hands are sore from clapping and my voice left me.

But Iīm HAPPY!!!

The concert in Munich was great. Chris played for full three hours. I cannot remember the full playlist and the order in which he played the songs. So, here only some impressions.

He opened with "When I think of you" - which wasnīt as strong as an opener as I had expected. He then welcomed the crowd, said that Munich was his second home and that he wanted to have the best time he ever had in Munich (Remember the legendary Munich-concerts? Yes, the ones where he wore the "Ivan Lendl"-collection from adidas...) Well, I guess the legendary Munich concerts were close to be topped by what I saw tonight.

But since Munich is such a special place for Chris and since he was quite aware of how difficult it would be to fulfill the expectations he himself and the audience had he seemed a bit nervous at the beginning. The second song was "Living in the world" - and he forgot the words! No kidding! Fortunately, only for two lines. And he was great in improvising. Though he sang absolut nonsense, only the devoted fans recognized the mistake and smiled at each other.

Besides the numerous highlights that everybody expects in a Chris-concert (yes, LIR - the audience went nuts!, Missing you, Borderline and all the classics) there were two unexpected highlights: Quiet early he sang "The same sun". He sang it with such intensity that I (though I listened to that song for thousand times) just stood there with my mouth wide open. Incredible! The second unexpected highlight was "Quiet revolution". He begins the song a capella - which gave me goose pimples. Then the other instruments join one after one. Brilliant. And finally I understood the meaning of that song...

The man was in a brilliant mood. He was joking and entertaining all the time. He said: "Bavarian men, take care of your beautiful women! - Otherwise we will do it!" The crowd loved those jokes. So did Chris. He couldnīt stop laughing for minutes. This guy was having fun!!! Funny thing: When Chris and his band came together as a circle, Chris announced the next song: My lover is. Right then somebody shouted "Patricia!". Made everybody laugh.

Chris really was touched by how the audience responded to him and his performance during the whole concert. And you could also see how proud that made him.

The Olympiahalle was sold out. About 2000 people were standing in the arena, the rest had seats (all together about 8000 to 10000 people). But after a while everbody was standing (except the ones with a broken hip, perhaps...). And since the arena was full, people who wanted to join that area with their seat-tickets werenīt allowed in. Poor people! The athmosphere was great.

On the one hand I love the "Lalalalala"-part at the end, on the other hand I hate it because it means the show is over. But todayīs "Lalalala" was something special. It was nothing but a huge love letter to Munich. He filled the gaps with places and regions of the town (Marienplatz, Schwabing) and with how much he likes the city and the Munich audience. Iīve been to quiet a few CdeB-concerts, but this was more than the usual "You are the best audience and I love your city". The people really loved him and Chris gave everything back.

During the concert I understood what makes Chris so special. Last Thursday I went to the Cranberries-concert - which was good as well, with great songs. They came on stage, they did a good performance, played for 1h10m, came back for one encore and left after 1h30m. They came to play their songs for us. But regarding Chris itīs the opposite: He comes not only to sing his songs for us but also to see us sing his songs. The way he interacts with the audience is unique and makes him so very special!!!

I am still impressed. And trying to figure out how I can make it to Cologne...

Robert Meister:

Never having seen CDEB before in concert I wasn't sure what to expect, but let me tell you (especially for those who have not seen him in concert) CDEB is honestly one of the top performers I have ever "experienced" in concert! I have seen almost 200 concerts in my life; Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Phil Collins, Donovan, Al Stewart, etc. and I can tell you that CDEB was one of the best. Chris played for 3 hours!!! non-stop, has a great sense of humor and compassion and gets the crowd involved like few others. You really get value for money here. I agree with him totally regarding his comment that "some artists come and play for an hour or a little longer, charge you a lot and then go home" (good example: CHER who played in Munich the night before)

His voice is as good, if not better, in concert than on his recordings.

The fans in Munich were split 50/50 between male and female with an amazing age bracket; we saw teenage girls as well as grandfathers. The average age must have been around the late 30's. The Olympiahalle (95% full) was a great place to see him and the fans were great. Although we had not so good seats parallel to the stage and a German couple talking non-stop behind us, it did not take away from the show. The sound on our side (because the speakers were not facing us directly) took about 4 to 5 songs to get optimal (his sound engineers did a great job). The same goes for Chris...I felt it took a few songs before he got warmed up, although he really seems to enjoy Munich and playing there.

What is absolutely incomprehensible to me is that CDEB is virtually unknown in the USA! ( reasons too long to go into detail).

LET ME SAY: For someone, who is "big" from Brazil to Norway to South Africa to Australia, The United States is missing out on one of the best live performers in the world. What a shame! I can only encourage the US list members to see him in Canada in March. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!

The songs in Munich which stood out the most to me were:

The Same Sun (brings tears in my eyes...Jeri get well)
Revolution/Light a Fire/Liberty (the crowd and I went nuts when he played this one)
My Lover Is (super acoustic version with band)
Borderline (absolutely brilliant; this song alone, with him on the piano, was worth the money)
A Spaceman Came Travelling (acoustic Chris only)
Spanish Train (acoustic Chris only)
Quiet Revolution (started solo, then band joins one by one)
Don't Pay The Ferryman (rocked the house)
Where Peaceful Waters Flow (long, long version "saying" goodbye to the crowd)

Here is the song list for Munich:
(best recall)
When I Think Of You
Living In The World
Love of The Heart Divine
Sailing Away
The Same Sun
St. Peter's Gate
A Woman's Heart
Lady In Red
Missing You
Love's Got A Hold on Me (I think this is the title)
Hotel California
Revolution/Light A Fire/Liberty
My Lover Is
The Snows of New York
Borderline
A Spaceman Came Traveling
Spanish Train
Natasha Dance
Patricia The Stripper
Quiet Revolution
Nothing Ever Happens Round Here
I Want It, And I Want It Now
Don't Pay The Ferryman
High On Emotion
Say Goodbye To It All
Where Peaceful Waters Flow
Hey Jude

The atmosphere and Chris's performance in Regensburg (he played the night before in Zurich, Switzerland) was not as good as in Munich. The arena in Regensburg was much smaller and I was also stressed out from driving 3 hours on icy roads (damn Glatteis) just to make it to our seats the same minute the concert started. He played about 15 minutes shorter; talked less and he did not play Patricia, Spanish Train, but he did play Carry Me for someone. I stood about 30 feet away from center stage the second half of the concert in Regensburg (there was no security there unlike in Munich). I was really surprised myself that I could get this close, and forgot to buy a second T-shirt after the show.

In summary:

A great experience, a brilliant performance in Munich and an "encore" in Regensburg, a fantastic time in Germany and for those fans in the USA who have not seen him, go see Chris in Canada in March if you can afford it.