Main Echo - May 15, 2000

by Stefan Reis

translation by Nicole Buhr



Chris de Burgh wins a fan


A quiet revolution in the Unterfrankenhalle 

The man on the stage is happy like a king, the audience celebrates its own
Grand Prix: the long but yet entertaining end of a wonderful Saturday in
the Unterfrankenhalle Aschaffenburg, where the singer and musician Chris de
Burgh let his fans be high on emotion. The world can be okay after such an
event - and the Argentina born world citizen wants to tell nothing else with
his songs. With three hours of hits from traditional
favourites to current material, the Irish man of his own choice and his
band, who were well received by the audience, are rocking and schmalztying (?)
during the current tour. In Aschaffenburg the friendly get together between
an audience, who at times is celebrating a party, and the little king of
songs on the stage, that seems to be so huge but also gives so much freedom,
is developing far away from the running order of the evening.

A little bit of happiness 

The current programme of de Burgh is called "Quiet revolution" - and a
quiet revolution is developing while watching and listening to the so
blissfully happy man, whose view of
pop and rock music was rather a case for woman so far. Of course, also in
Aschaffenburg the 51-year old does croon his " Lady in red " and the single
" A Woman's Heart " from the new album "Quiet Revolution", of course, nobody
believes that this well dressed man seriously is a rocker while singing
"Don't pay the ferryman" or "High on emotion". 

But this is not what it is all about, because who in this business
nowadays has dirt
under their finger nails and looks for his stories in the gutter?
No, the man of this evening is by far more honest, because he knows quite
obviously,
what he has to give to his audience - and also to himself: to some a
little bit of happiness after a hard day, to others a little bit of extra on top
of a sunny time -and this is what makes Chris de Burgh so big. There is this
woman in block K, row five at the stairs: the beaming face of this unknown
woman alone is worth the whole concert. Would there have been these moments
of happiness in a concert with a programme full of hits played just like a
routine by an old star?

For Chris de Burgh is also aware of the fact that there are some empty
blocks and the people in the arena have a lot of space to move, but this does
not irritate him. 
On Wednesday a Swing Combo is said to have given a magnificent show in
front of only 30 people: which superlative word is then to be found for de
Burgh's by far not sold out show?

At the right time at the right place

Let the guitars howl, playing softly the piano, entertaining totally
alone, bowing gracefully with "Hotel California" and "Honky Tonk Woman" to highly
gifted colleagues, asking his musicians to come together for a little
session - and let the audience celebrate his endless melodies: the hours of this
concert are a time journey outside of the world of the everyday's life - and
you are only suddenly realising this as the night comes in in the course of
the gig.

It is indeed a wonderful Saturday, at least for many people in the
Aschaffenburg area. And some, in the end a minority, are lucky to have it set to
music with great joy. This is worth a lot in a world, in which particularly
musicians would like to let the true life dance ever more strongly to their
beats, and in which the quality of concerts is mostly measured on the basis 
of the ticket price. 
Chris de Burgh's concert in the Unterfrankenhalle is last but not least a
thank you to the people who like his music. And if you don't know every song
and even if not all the songs are his own, you don't have to be
embarrassed: after all music reflects moods. 
And this is why somebody like Chris de Burgh stands out, to be at the
right time at the right place: that's the way you attract fans.

You can see and hear Chris de Burgh again on Monday, 29 May, in the
Carl-Diem-Halle in Wuerzburg.