29.09.2003 Nuernberg, Hirsch
Finally the day arrived, I waited for that very long, but now my
adventure starts! My first destination is Nuernberg. That city impressd
me much, here Rock'N'Roll isn't dead, I haven't seen more people living
their music in another town! Here I even found a Hard'N'Heavy store,
where you could buy t-shirts and patches and other stuff! I immediatly
felt welcome!
Because the day started early I took a nap, who knows how long the night
will be? Around five I left the hostel in the direction of the Hirsch!
That place is really hidden and I had to walk around for a while! I made
the mistake of wearing new shoes, and as I finally found the Hirsch, I
only needed a seat!
Because there was light inside I walked in, and with that moment my best
holiday ever started:
Inside was sitting Mike Tramp having dinner! I said hi to him, and
before long the other guys joined us. They remembered me from Copenhagen!
The guys finished dinner and some got busy afterwards: showers,
phonecalls ...
Suddenly Mike came over to me and we had a very good talk! He asked me
what I am doing in life and what my future plans are. I told him about
my dreams and goals and he encouraged me going on with my dreams! Thank
you for that, Mike!
Doors opened and the guys vanished, so I talked to Roland (the bus
driver, the merchandise salesman ...) until the show started!
And how it started, the Danish Rudeboys rocked like hell, the audience
was immediatly hooked! Mike thanked everyone for being there and having
supported him during all the years! Thankfully Mike chose english and
german as language, so everyone could understand him!
He talked about his songwriting and I think that was the first time he
did as far as I can remember! Now, he says, he is writing about his
life, about his friends and family, and even about nothing! Then he
played that song about nothing, "Nothing At All".
Well it was time for some White Lion classics, but before he spoke about
that cover version of "When The Children Cry", unfortunatly it was a
german act that made a Techno version out of it! He stated that you can
do what you want, but it should be you on the CDs, not anyone else and
your name! As long as you are not the guy on the CD, you shouldn't be
the guy on stage! Well spoken, Mike!
As last song they played "Don't Want To Say Goodnight" and said goodbye
with it, but before long they came back!
"I am a man of words and I don't want to say goddnight!" Encores
followed, including "More To Life Than This", during that song Mike
introduced his band to the audience, he just realized that this guys, he
knows for long, are his friends, and friends are the most important
thing in life!
Then he stated "I'm a man..." Don't ask me what was in his mind at this
moment, but he left a break a bit too long, so everybody including his
band laughed out loud! He soon realized what he said: "At least I was
the last time I checked it!"
After three songs they left the stage again, and I really hoped they
would come back and play that medley they did at Copenhagen!
"We can play the whole night, I don't mind!" With these words Mike,
Oliver, Claus and Kasper entered stage again and they really played the
medley! The audience got crazy! Mike again thanked everyone for being
there at a monday evening (That wouldn't be possible at Denmark!).
After the show the guys signed stuff and let their fans take pics, they
have been real gentleman! I had now a talk to Chris, the sound guy! He
also was on tour with Mike last year, and he remembered me!
What a great night, I can't figure out a better start for my holiday,
and I am really looking forward for the next shows! See ya on wednesday,
guys!
01.10.2003 Frankfurt, Nachtleben
I spend the day off at a friend, and he joined me at this show. He
doesn't know Mike Tramp, so I am curious if he will like it!
We went to town earlier for seightseeing, but at first we wanted to
check out, where the club is located! We hadn't to search for long, and
as we arrived there, a red nightliner was arriving there too! That's
timing, isn't it? We had a short hello with the guys, before we took our
way towards Frankfurt!
Later when timed passed by we went back to the club, and a lot of fans
were already waiting outside!
Doors opened, and people moved in. It was only a small place and before
long it was half filled!
At quarter past nine AC/DCs "It's A Long Way To The Top" was aired,
followed by a piece of music I think it is aboriginal music. Then live
music started. But somehow it sounded different, the sound was real bad,
I think it was due to the location, it was a very small place, not very
high, with some pillars and angles! After the show I talked to Oliver
and he said that they had sound problems on stage as well, they hardly
could hear theirselves!
The show wasn't as good as the one at Nuernberg, because of the sound
problems, but anyways the audience was hooked by the first White Lion
song!
Mike wasn't as talkative as two days ago, but he said one thing that
made everybody wondering: He said that he heard from some guy that White
Lion will be back next year! And they will play "Lady Of The Valley",
even if it is only the singer!
The audience was very enthusiastic, especially the medley was cheered at
loudly! Maybe this is a hint for your next album, Mike?
It was funny to see how people get drunk! While partying wildly some got
one drink after the other! One of the girls was screaming "Mike" all the
time. No, it wasn't Farida or Marianne! This girl wasn't slightly as
loud as my french and dutch friends, but maybe she is louder without
being drunk!
At Frankfurt there have not been much people, but what did Mike say? "There
is no difference between playing infront of 15000 people or 150 people,
besides that the 150 are happening now!"
It is funny to say "See ya tomorrow!" as goodbye, all made astunnished
faces, Oliver promised to try to play better tomorrow (not that he
played bad today)!
My friend liked the show, I asked him if he will join me again next year,
and he said "Sure!" Trampster community is growing!
02.10.2003 Munich, Garage
Time passes by slowly today and with every minute my backpack grew
heavier, and I still haven't found the Garage! I don't have an
accomodation for tonight, so I have to carry my things with me!
Finally I found the club, some crazy Rockers were already waiting out
there! It was still about an hour to go before doors would open,
although it was announced earlier!
At Munich I met Ulf again, and he remembered me! Time passes faster when
you have someone to talk to!
At half past nine the guys started rocking! At least they tried! The guy
doing the light was strange, most time the stage was dark, or the guys
in front were rocking but only Kasper was bright!
Mike asked us to catch him if he fells off stage, because he isn't
seeing much!
There have been some guys from Italy in the front row, and can you
imagine, Mike remembered them from White Lion days!
All at all he wasn't in his best form today, but the other guys on stage
were performing really great! Today they changed the setlist, now "Follow
Your Dreams" was played, great, this one is my favourite song!
At the end of the show Kasper crashed his drum kit, was he drunk? He
wasn't, he told me afterwards that this was in his intention and he even
took care of the microphones, he didn't want to crash them! But he hit
Oliver with a cymbal, and Oliver wasn't pleased by that!
It was the first time I saw Mike breaking a string! He took another
Fender Telecaster instead. Pascal, the backliner, was busy putting a new
string on the guitar, but Mike didn't want to change back (I never saw
him playing again the cream on on the whole tour, he only used the
sunburst one now!)
The introduction of the band was really short today, it was obvious that
Mike wasn't in his best mood!
After the show all musicians came out for chatting with the people, all
musicians besides Mike! Unfortunatly! Some people had the chance to
catch him up later at the bus, so did I, we chatted briefly! Because
there were lot of other people that seemed a bit scary, and Mike wasn't
pleased at all, I went back inside!
I had much time to spend before I would take the first train to
Ingolstadt, and the DJ provided real good music afterwards for partying!
And who partied along with the people? Oliver, Kasper, Claus and even
Pascal! What a great night again!
03.10.2003 Ingolstadt, Ohrakel
At Ingolstadt there were two support acts, the first was easy going
melodic rock, the second was heavier and in my opinion totally crap!
With all the guest those bands brought along, the Ohrakel was almost
half filled.
Than the Danes hit the stage, and the audience was very enthusiastic!
And again, with the first White Lion song, everybody was hooked. It's a
tragedy I think, Mike's new songs are not worse than his old ones, ut
the crowd is always longing for the old ones!
The sound was good today, but the Ohrakel is situated near a train
station, that sometimes caused problems! Than it happend, Mike's amp
went out of order! Somebody told me he saw this thing already smoking
the day before, I haven'T seen that, but maybe that's the reason why we
have a little break now! The crew on stage was working hard trying to
get that thing working again, but finally they took one of Oliver's amps.
All in all this break wasn't a bad time for the audience, because the
other musicians spontaneously started a little blues jam session, the
audience appreciated that very much!
Well the longer they played, the better they got, especially Mike's mood.
It's funny to listen to some talkes within the audience! A lot say that
they would like to hear now one or two White Lion classics, "Little
Fighter" for example, and as if the guys on stage could read the minds
of the others, a few songs later they played "Little Fighter"! That
proofs that this setlist was the right decision, even if Mike wants to
skip the White Lion and Freak Of Nature Songs one day!
Today Mike again and again tuned into a White Lion song, but skipped it
after the first tacts, with the advice to buy tickets for next year!
People got really crazy!
When it came to the end, they again included the medley, but today they
changed it a bit! It wasn't only "Keep On Rocking In A Free World", "The
Boys Are Back In Town", "We Will Rock You" and "It's A Long Way To The
Top", no, today Mike included "Farewell To You" as well! You can imagine
the audience!
Afterwards all came for signing and taking pics! Finally I took some
pics too, even with the whole band!
Today I had the chance to talk to Mike again for a while, for example
about our both favourite movie "Still Crazy" and again about some
personal matters! I really appreciated that!
Nevertheless I have to skip the next two shows, so I will go to Cologne
tomorrow, taking two days off for travelling and seightseeing, and I am
really looking forward my next show at Bochum!
06.10.2003 Bochum, Matrix
Tonight should be a special one for me on this tour, because I will met
some friends there again! Looking forward to the evening it was very
hard to kill time! But finally I took the train to Bochum! As I arrived
at the Matrix, Farida, Marianne and Mirabel, my french and dutch friends
have already been there!
It was the first time that I could see the soundcheck, they played the
Thin Lizzy song "Still In Love With You", and it was great to hear
something different from them! Yeah, these guys are real Rock'N'Rollers!
Afterwards there was enough time to chat with the guys, we had a lot of
fun and time passed fast!
When the doors were opened the first crowd came in, so Roland asked me
to help with the merchandise, I already helped him at Ingolstadt, there
wasn't much to do, but today there was!
I saw the show from the middle of the venue today, the sound amongst the
audience was okay, light was fine, but on stage they had problems with
the sound, so everybody on stage was very concentrated, they weren't as
lively as they used to be!
Although they did a great show, Mike being the frontman, and the band
behind him making the show, and they really love playing Rock'N'Roll,
they proofed that very often!
Again there were rumors about a White Lion reunion. "Someone called me
and said White Lion will be back. Great I thought, but who will be the
singer?"
Believe me after all I heard during my trip and read afterwards, there
really will be a White Lion "reunion" for next summer, only the line up
isn't for sure now, Vito will definitivly be not there! Maybe they will
even make a new album, but I don't like that thought at all!
Well, the evening passed like the ones before much to fast, and it
already was time for the encores! The musicians dedicated the following
song to a special girl tonight, to Farida! For those that don't know,
she did the homepages for Oliver and Claus and that was their way to say
Thank You! And believe me, there was some distance between me and the
stage, and the audience was really loud, but I could hear Farida
screaming!
Again Mike talked about that coverversion of a White Lion song by a
german artist, he finally has heard that version, and he doesn't like it
at all! He still prefers the original version, which he proofed
immediatly by playing it!
He wondered which song could be played afterwards: "Maybe a Bon Jovi
song?" No he couldn't, but the one he choose was fine for all! Before he
played a single chord someone out of the audience screamed "Wait"! Mike
reacted with a "Fuck", he hasn't said it loud, but loud enough to be
heard, and everyone started laughing! He indeed played "Wait"!
And they played the medley as well (I haven't expected something
different!), for me it is the best part of the show!
Mike isn't only a great songwriter, he even lives his lyrics on stage,
in his face you can see all his joy, all his rage or anger, and all his
thoughts, even during the medley, those songs aren't written by him but
by other great songwriters!
The audience at Bochum was the most enthusiastic I've seen during the
shows so far, they partied wildly and cheered like hell!
Because there was no support like originally planned the show was over
very early! So we somehow had to spend some time before we could
surprise Oliver! But time passed fast while we chatted with the guys and
took a lot of pics! They all signed my poster which means a lot for me
and they all thanked me a lot for being there, they needn't to, it was a
lot of joy for me joining them and it is my turn to say Thank You!
Then the clock passed midnight, it is Oliver's birthday now! Farida
brought along a cake and we all sang Happy Birthday for him, afterwards
the Danes sang another song for him in danish! Oliver was very touched
by that and we had a spontanious little birthday party!
Afterwards my dutch and french friends took me along to the main station
where I had a lot of time to spend for the next train, more time than
expected, because the train was late and it was so f*** cold! I got a
bit ill, but I don't care, it was my best holiday ever, and I can't
thank enough to everybody that was part of it!
12.10.2003 Berlin, Magnet
Somehow I made it to Berlin, and I am really glad about that! I got to
the Magnet short before seven, the guys were busy with the sound check
at this time! But before long they all came out and we had a warm
welcome!
So we passed the time with chatting, eating and other neccessary things
like changing strings! Then music started, a sign that the doors will be
open soon. You should have seen the guys now, "dancing" to the music
like little kids, very funny!
Quarter past nine it was finally time to rock! Unfortunatly there have
been only very few people! But that handful made a lot of noise,
sometimes this hasn't happend in a better filled venue!
Although the stage was very small, there was much life on it! It seemed
that they were anxious for rocking Berlin! Sound was okay, but it was
loud like hell!
Sometime ago I read a good statement in an interview with a musician (don't
remember who it was): It doesn't matter wether you play for 15000 people
or for 15, they all have payed their entrance fee and want to see the
rock show of their life! And that's exactly what happend tonight!
There have been some people that obviously liked White Lion, but these
also knew the new songs line by line! And it was good to see some faces
that already have been there the last time, Mike Tramp rocked Berlin
about one and a half year ago!
One guy shouted "Warsong", reason enough for Mike to make hints for next
years events! But then this guy shouted "Fuck America", and Mike wasn't
pleased by that! He said to this guy that he should remember that they
are Danes and not Americans, and they don't represent America, they do
represent Rock'N'Roll! I think this was a clear message!
Well time passed much to fast and the guys reached the end of the set!
But the audience was really great, they heavily cheered for encores, and
before long the musicians got back on stage and succeeded again! They
played the medley as well, and again, Mike changed it a bit, that makes
it exciting!
It wasn't their best show on this tour, but very good although! The
audience thanked it with cheering for long, the few made as much noise
as if they would have been twice that much!
And the guys don't need much time afterwards to come out for chatting
with the people! Some had presents for them, and they all were very
pleased! Pics were taken, and the talks took some time. But before long
the place was empty, after all it was a sunday night and most people
have to work on monday.
I again had the chance to talk to them and I thanked them for everything,
but I can't put my emotions in words, these days mean so much to me and
I am very thankful that I could be part of this! Mike told me that he
appreciated much that I have been there, and it was a hugh pleasure for
me! Mike, I will ever remember our talks at Nuernberg and Ingolstadt,
those moments are very rare in my life, and they mean so much to me!
Thank you guys, for everything, you made my holiday a very special one,
I will never forget this one! Tusind Tak! |
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