Concert Review: Stuttgart, Germany - April 2, 2011
Andrea Lucas.:
Hello and a sunny Sunday to everybody, for me the Stuttgart concert meant a trip home!!! It was lovely to be at home and sleep in my own bed. Well, on my own airbed, as I had friends staying overnight… After doing a bit of shopping my friends and I went for a walk in the afternoon. Finally it was such a lovely day with sunshine and very warm. What a change to the days before!!! Before leaving for the Schleyerhalle we had a meal and it was great to catch up with friends I hadn’t seen for a while. Meeting friends went on once we were at the venue and I felt very relaxed. The concert started right on time with the Moonfleet Overture, the narration part and three songs from Moonfleet. People started clapping immediately and I think the atmosphere was really good. Chris seemed to be in a very good mood as well. He greeted the audience in German, saying “Es ist sehr schön, wieder in der Schleyerhalle, wieder in Stuttgart zu sein” – that’s if I remember correct… He also mentioned that he would have a 25 year long love affair with Stuttgart and that this was the town where he gave his first concert as a headliner. Well, it’s almost 25 years for me as well, as I went to my first CdeB concert, which was…. At the Schleyerhalle!!!! I won’t mention all the songs, just what comes to my mind now. Something I really like this time are the films on the screens and also the close-ups of Chris and the band members. Especially those from Tony and Nigel, as usually they are kind of hidden. My personal “Moonfleet”-favourites are “Go Where Your Heart Believes” and “My Heart’s Surrender”. In my opinion the selection of the songs is great and I’ve been one of the few people who thought before it’s better to not perform all Moonfleet songs. The beginning of “A Spaceman Came Travelling” is very good with the screens coming down as spaceships. It might be worth sitting a few rows back to fully anticipate all the films, lights and effects… But then being close to the stage is nice as well… After “Borderline” Chris got standing ovations again and he said that he always sings his songs with lots of emotions and it would feel great for him if the audience would respond in a way like this and “giving him back those emotions”. “Borderline” is not one of my most favourite songs, but it’s very powerful and the scenes of the movies shown on the screens are moving indeed. Another very moving and powerful song is always “People Of The World”. There must have been some people from Iran in the audience as they were cheering from somewhere back as Chris introduced this song and as well in the end, as Chris said “I love you” in Persian. The solo part started with “In A Country Churchyard” and before singing this song, Chris asked if someone got recently married or would be about to getting married and only from far back someone was shouting. So like he did before at other towns, he said Stuttgart wouldn’t be a place for lovers… The second song was “Carry Me”, I LOVE this song sooooo much and am really glad that Chris sings it again. Then we were in for an extra song which was “Perfect Day”. There was a short break after “Carry Me” which a few people used to shout out song titles and someone called for “Perfect Day”. Chris was thinking for a little while, then said “Well, it was a perfect day and if I remember the words” and then started to sing and it was PERFECT!!! At some point he mentioned how nice the weather had been and that the band members were sunbathing naked in the Schlosspark and were arrested, “but only for half an hour”… After “Where Peaceful Waters Flow” the band came back on stage and I just saw people gathering in the middle aisle, as they were just about to run to the stage. Too early of course, but then we did the same. So for “Shine On” we were already at the front. While introducing the band Al again said he would be Mario Barth, but of course told his real name. At least he remembers the name of the host of the comedy show, which was recorded last Tuesday… The dancing part was fantastic. Unlike in Mannheim no “smelly” people and enough space to move!!! I really enjoyed it. Though “Africa” is no CdeB song I LOVE it, as I do “Everywhere I Go”. It was sooo great to sing, clap and dance!!! After the concert we said good bye to some of my friends, but met with others at my home. What was supposed to be an early night was the latest we had so far: 2.45 as I went to bed…. We had such a lot of fun and hopefully there’ll be a chance to meet again soon!