Manfred Mann's Earthband - On The Road July 2000

Saturday, 1 July, Sounds of Fankfurt, Germany

Posted by Reinhard Dahms

Hello to you all,

just back from another great concert. All, who could watch it on TV can imagine our feeling when we listened to the Earth Band among thousands of peoples (can not estimate the quantity). Unfortunately they played a shortened playlist with Demolation, She Was, Blinded, SOS, and Quinn because there were lots of bands on this evening. But we saw two(!!!) remarkable debuts: Our new fantastic drummer Richard and the beautiful song SOS on TV! And another novelty for us was to stand in the second(!) front row. The space before us was reserved for people who had a height till 1,50 metres. But it was better to stand at the second fence (about 7 metres from the stage) in view of the enormous height (3 metres) of the stage. We had to 'conquer' our places twice, for in the meantime it was raining cats and dogs.

The sound was superb. It was intesting to watch the kids while the Earth Band were playing. Whenever Mick or Noel was looking or waving to them they were crying and clapping their hands. It seems the Earth Band is a band for all generations!

After MMEB another highlight of the evening turned up - Ex-SUPERTRAMP 'voice' Roger Hodgson. He played some of the great SUPERTRAMP hits taken from the album Breakfast in America and some new songs.

We had a great time with Iris and her husband Thomas in Frankfurt :-), but it's a pity to miss all the others of the fan family :-(.

Reinhard and Erika

Friday, 7 July, St.Poelten, Austria

Posted by Wolfgang B.:

Another great gig in Austria, thanks to Manfred and the Earth Band. The gig took place in the centre of St.Poelten, the capital of Lower Austria. It was an Open Air, and the sky was open as well, which means it rained, but only before MMEB started.

There were three acts in front of MMEB: 'Rimini Project' (Dancefloor or how you may call it) and 'Tim Tim' (modern Reggae???), both playing music from the tape only (probably their singing was live, but who cares). The third act was 'Echt', a temporarily very successful German Boy Group (but besides their two actual chart hits, their music is not an everlasting one...) As you can imagine, after these three acts an amazing change in the front row took place: The average age raised from 15 under to 30 plus (there were only two kids who stayed beside me, but I think they did not know what to do in the front row....).

It now was 22.15 (10.15 p.m., for our English guys), MMEB was to start, the crowd now was about 10.000 people, the place was very well filled.

The setlist was a little bit disappointing, they skipped 'Nothing ever happens'. Furthermore, Davy followed directly onto Blinded, then were the encores, Redemption song and Mighty. They exactly finished at midnight, during the solo of 'Mighty Quinn' Noel more often showed the watch to Mick, it seemed that they had to stop at midnight: they made the landing at the point.

Nevertheless, the performance was great again. As I already recognized at Innsbruck this year, as soon as they are playing on big venues/open airs, the sound equipment is excellent, and the keyboards can be heard - wonderful :-))).

Just a footnote: The two or three teenies (12 under) who were allowed to stay up so long always screamed when Noel appeared - maybe Noel is the key for future success of MMEB.....

Wolfgang

Saturday, 8 July, Kerzers, Switzerland

Posted by Rene

Hi folks

The Kerzers adventure began a week before the gig itself. Pat King called me (sometimes life can be very surprising!) and he told me about MMEB's Frankfurt adventure. He had to drive several times through the hopelessly overcrowded heart of the city. He did it just for four songs of the band. That may be the "dark side of the moon".

Kerzers is a small village and in an area well known as the greatest supplier in vegetables. They produce and deliver all over Switzerland.

The Fun And Action Festival began already on Friday, the 7th for the first time. It was a bit rainy, the days before we had a lot of thunder and lightning together with rainstorms. It began with Kobra, Dr. Feelgood and the absolute headliner was Status Quo (same outfit, same rythm since 1968 . . ., but still successful and - not so bad). What about the Festival on Saturday?

In the morning it was still raining with some sunny moments. Doris and I we left our home in the late afternoon for a forty-five minutes drive. The rain stopped now and we got a wonderful sunny late afternoon (and an almost cloudless night). In Kerzers I tried to reach Pat King to say hello. He was busy with the backstage crew, they had to unload his truck. After another hour we met Pat for a short moment. He looked very tired. If you ask why: he arrived in Kerzers after a fourteen hours drive from Austria and just one hour sleep. Another "dark side of the moon".

The "menu" began with George & Hardcore Troubadours as supporting act. The Lovebugs was the starter in the main program. The music is something like Brit-Pop, sorry, but it was boring for me. About 1500 people now on the area. Not to much for an openair but better forme. I don't like overcrowded gigs and festivals.

Second act was Polo Hofer and his Schmetterband. A well known Musician in Switzerland with a fantastic Band. Rock-and-Roll, Blues - music with deep roots. Colourful and powerful. We like it very much. After this Band the audience was in mood for more "handmade" music . . . There were a lot of people who didn't know Manfred Mann's Earthband!

At about 10 pm the main act: MMEB.

No changes in the setlist (surprised?). Not a song of the setlist was missing! Still the same? They never play the music like the day before. I heard SOS for the first time. I like this arrangement very much. Could it be for a new album? Everybody did a powerful job. Mick's solo in Father is still great. Or the one with the accoustic guitar before Redemption Song.

Manfred served us some interesting and wonderful solos and intros (in Quinn's intro I thought he will destroy the keyboard . . .). As you know She Was is a "playground" for improvisations. Sometimes I wish to hear Manfred only with a piano playing some jazzy music. MMEB is not only Manfred and Mick. Thanks to Noel, Steve and Richard. MMEB is not MMEB without them.

Last but never least: Thanks to all the people behind the stage. Pat, Ian, Mat, Simon, John and many more. What would we hear without them? Nothing!!

It was another wonderful gig. We hope to hear and meet them again this year.

Regards :-)

Rene

Sunday 9 July 2000, Mainz, Germany

Posted by Thomas and Karin

Hi everybody,

Last Sunday in the rainy night we had another wonderful gig, together with many others of the fan family: Greetings to Iris, Angela, Uschi, our "video man" Armin and Jens Goetzke! Jens, you were great during the gig, it was a pleasure for me to stand next to you in front of the stage like already in Hofheim. And special greetings to Reinhard and Erika who were such enthusiastic fans that they visited the gig only some hours before they started their holiday trip to America! Another special greetings to our new friend Charles Carter from the USA - Charles, we had a wonderful night together, thank you!

When we passed Frankfurt on the A 5 after a 350km- journey we suddenly turned up the radio: There was Noel singing Davy in the Sound-of-Frankfurt-version (1/7/00) live on HR3 - that was the right opener for a great night!

The gig took place in a big tent and not open air - what a luck for us, it was raining cats and dogs! The band was announced being 20 min late because of a traffic jam on the freeway. But that was okay, we had no supporting band to survive, and when the Earth Band started their intro the mood was great from the first note. We guess there were around 2500 - 3000 people, or what would you estimate, Angela, Iris, Uschi, Jens? However, the tent was well filled and the people saw a real fine gig. The atmosphere in front of the stage was one of the best we had this year and as always the spark jumped over to the band.

Noel and Mick worked together very well like you could already see that at the TV gigs of Frankfurt and Cologne. Manfred gave us some more of his wonderful keyboard solos, although the keyboard was for me not loud enough. Mick played his guitar fresh and excellent as ever and sang in "Angels" 70 and not 60 -we were already waiting for that :-) - and Noel got a real mighty choir in the audience for his wonderful "SOS". When Manfred announced him as the Demolition Man he came out with adhesive tape on his mouth - but he started to sing very soon a great Demo Man (of course without the tape...). So one highlight was followed by the next: Shelter, Castles, Martha, of course Father, She Was, a very nice Redemption Song (thanks for your always great intros, Mick!), Davy, Mighty. Of course all the other songs sounded well as ever, too, but I don`t like the Demolition Man so much and I guess Blinded I heard too often in that version now - it would be time to replace the guitar solo in the middle of the song, how do you think about a little change, Manfred? Richard played his drums like already in the TV-gig in Frankfurt very relaxed and very good - I liked your Castles very much, Richard.

As ever the gig was over much too soon. The people I was speaking with were all very satisfied and happy and many of them said: We will see that band again!

By the way, there was a new CD sold, published in 2000 and called "Blindin`" and you can read at the cover: "A stunning collection rock masterpieces 1973-1982". Nothing new for us "old fans" but another piece of the CD collection. There are songs like the original versions of Blinded, Redemption Song, Father of Day, Spirit in the Night (with Mick on vocals) or Demolition Man (Steve Waller on vocals), of course Martha`s Madman and... Come to the gigs and see yourself!

Armin and Thomas recorded the whole gig on video. I saw some pieces after the gig on Armin`s camera: We can look forward to a real great band video! The SWR 1 was there, too, and there was another guy with a camera, but I don`t know who he was.

So we want to thank the band and their technicians for another great night. Looking forward to the next,

Thomas and Karin

Posted by Jens Goetzke

Hi everybody,

First of all: I tried my very best to write the first report about this concert but it's hard to beat fast writing Karin & Thomas. So I will only do some additional comments. Thank you very much, Karin, for enjoying me next to you in the front row. I am always a little bit concerned about what my neighbours might think about my singing, shouting, clapping because I don't want to disturb the others around in enjoying the concert. That's the reason why I leave my 1981 tour scarf at home because I received some "bad" comments on that from England (Hi Graeme ;-) ). But the next time I will take it with me again (Sorry Graeme, this will be in Fulda, so do not stand behind me). The mood of the crowd was very good, even better than in Hofheim, which was already quite good. I also estimate at least 2000 people and they made a very nice choir. The sound in the front row wasn't as good as I liked it to be but I think the direction of the speakers was done more for the back of the tent. One very funny thing was that due to the cold weather and the hard work Richard had to do he begins to sweat and little clouds of steam were arising from his bare head ;-) I really liked that. I took my brother in law to the concert (his first MMEB concert after 22 years, he saw a concert during the Watch tour in 1978) and he was also very satisfied. part from the new Blindin' CD they sold a Version of Best of Remasters Vol.1 in just a paper envelope, no jewel case and no booklet and so on. A little bit poor for such a great collection of music.

See you

Sunday, 16 July, Braunschweig, Germany

Posted by Fee on August 15, 2000 at 19:00:23:

Finally I made my way through all the statements and reports of the last 5 months of the MMEB message board. It's really exciting to read how others see and feel the Earth Bands gigs. Furthermore it's hardly believable how nearly everyone of you 'old fans' hear differences between the songs played on different gigs. Maybe I will sometime as well. But as I've only seen them three times yet I guess it will take some more time.

Nevertheless I'd like to give a supplement to all your reports, as there didn't appear one about the gig in Braunschweig. Or did it get lost on the way to my computer? Be that as it may, I'll do my very best to give a short feedback of this fantastic show (but I will begin a bit far back).

I first came across MMEB on June 11, 2000 in Peine. Actually my younger sister and I were looking forward to see 'Sweety Glitter and the Sweethears' again. When my Dad said Manfred Mann would be playing as well I didn't bother too much. I knew the band but I couldn't get any songs in coherence with them. When my mom then cited 'HaHa! said the clown' and 'Do wah diddy' it at least rang a bell and it woke my interest.

'Sweety Glitter' was great, as almost always. We really enjoyed it standing in the second row. After this part of the show we finally made our way to the front row right before the speakers (I nearly got deaf on my right ear). We were getting more and more excited waiting for what would happen next. I remembered that the keyboards are an important part of MMEB. It was strange. On the one hand I couldn't name their most famous songs, on the other hand I somehow knew they were good.

The band came up and what should I say? I was caught from the first song. Not just because of the songs I then recognized ('Blinded', 'Davy', 'Quinn'), but because of the whole scene. I've been on some good concerts so far but I've never heard anyone play the guitar like Mick does. It was overwhelming!

My sister beside me felt just the way I did, although she was even less familiar with their songs. As she later said she most enjoyed Noel and his jokes.

On the way back to our car we tried to remember every minute of the show. It wasn't easy as everything was so new and so great.

Weeks later seeing the front cover of a local free magazine I was happy having ear. Otherwise I would have been grinning all around my head. Who smiled at me from the cover was Manfred and his 4 companions and the title said they'd be in Braunschweig on the 'Wolters-Hoffest'.

On July 16, when the gig was to take place I wasn't quite sure if I really should go there. I felt a bit weak, as I had been on the Hoffest already the whole afternoon and evening before. But fortunately my sister pushed me onto my bike and minutes later I found myself in front of the stage.

I grew more and more excited the closer the gig came. Suddenly my sister said: 'There's Noel.' I turned my head up to the stage: '?!'. 'No', she replied, 'down here.' I turned my head and then saw him walking right through the crowds. That's what makes them so sympathetic, they don't fear to get into close contact with their fans.

Enthusiastically we were now waiting for what the show will be tonight. I don't know the correct order of the songs. I even can't tell which one was the opener for I've only seen them once before. But what I can say is that they were great.

We stood right in front of Mick. That was the best that could have happened to me, as I really love great guitars.

Recognizing the songs from the gig in Peine we tried to sing along the choruses as good as possible (guess we managed somehow good or bad). Then while either Mick or Manfred had their solos I did not just hear the music, I almost felt it. It found it's way into my ears and settled down in my stomach (I still have that feeling listening to 'Mann Alive', recalling the gig).

One of Noels jokes we kept in mind was during 'Demolition Man'. He came on stage dressed in black with black sunglasses on and had his great vocal part. Then came Mick's solo. Noel took the wire from his micro and strangled Mick. He kept on playing without any mistake and smiled. What a team!

As it could be read in nearly all earlier reports this gig was over much too soon. We'd rather liked to have more of these phenomenal guitar and keyboard solos (especially the 'battle' between Mick and Manfred during 'Father' was great). And I would really have liked to know which button Steve might have opened next after he nearly pulled off his shirt. Must have been pretty hot on stage. ;) This was a fulfilling evening. I could hardly sleep for the following three or four days.

Our next MMEB event was to show up three weeks later in Hanover. It was again my sister and I who went there together with a friend of mine.

We were a bit late, as there was heavy traffic on 'Messeschnellweg' but as it happened to be another big NDR2 party there were other bands on stage before. We wouldn't miss anything. Nevertheless the show before was quite enjoyable (except 'Ralf Sögel'. Must have been a shock for 'our guys').

Until MMEB came up we managed to get to the front row. Again in front of Mick.

The show was really great, although they only played for about one hour and 'Father' was missing. But it had several highlights nevertheless.

What was nice to observe was Mick recognizing that one spotlight next to him was just in the height of his guitar so he always stood where this blue light shone directly on his right hand. Great effect, Mick. Later he stretched his tough when I tried to take a picture of him.

Noel again had his scene while 'Demolition Man'. First he tried to start a struggle with Steve, but he didn't bother. Then, while Mick had his solo, Noel dragged him around the stage. He nearly kicked him to the ground. Mick again kept on playing without mistakes. and now he seemed to be really angry. He took off his guitar and walked up to Noel as if to beat him. But Noel just stood there pointing at his own cheek as if to say: 'I'm such a good guy. Come on, give me a kiss.' In fact Mick did and everything was ok again.

And what we took home from this gig? Another three days of not being able to sleep!

Thank you guys.

Yours fee.

BTW: Greetings from my sister Sarah as well.

Thursday, 20 July, Augsburg, Germany

Posted by Thomas and Karin

Hi everybody,

is there really nobody who wants to tell us something about the Bocholt//Duisburg/Braunschweig gigs? What about you, Andy Taylor, we heard you had been there? (It`s a pity that we couldn`t meet you again there.)

Then let`s write something about the Augsburg gig yesterday!

Our planned tour week wasn`t under a lucky star. First I got the cold which didn`t allow us to drive to Braunschweig, now, the day before Augsburg, I was better but Thomas started to sneeze. I warned him because I already knew that feeling but he said - No, this time we will go to Augsburg, a little cold cannot be so bad! So we drove the 400 km yesterday in the morning, found our hotel after some little problems - and waited and waited, but neither Graeme and Lois nor our new friends Thorbjorn and Mona from Norway arrived at the hotel. Graeme had sent us a SMS, so we knew they had arrived at the airport Munich - but where they are now??? We are looking forward to your part of the tour-report, Graeme! I tried to reach him at his mobile but that didn`t work. Finally - my mobile rang, Graeme and Lois were just around the corner with their car! And Thorbjorn and Mona arrived around 6 p.m., too at the hotel - now we were complete and could start for the gig. Thomas was feeling not so good but he wanted to come with us to the Spectrum - so he found a place at a bench in a corner of the hall where he couldn`t see the band - he said later: It was my first radio show of the Earth Band! We other fans met each other (after some short talks with Noel, Steve, Richard, Ian and Pat who stood just near the door of the club) infront of the stage, where Uschi already waited for the gig.

The Spectrum Club in Augsburg we knew already from a wonderful Earth Band gig we saw there on 30/12/99 - a nice hall for around 400 people with an excellent crew - also this time they brought the drinks to the people who are waiting infront of the stage! At the backside of the hall you could enter a gallery and see the gig from the first floor. No supporting band, no fences - a gig just like we want to get it!

The band started their concert at half past 8 - and like already in December the mood in the well filled, but not overcrowded hall was great. We had already before the gig contact to many people around us - there were lots of Earth Band fans and many of them had already seen the December gig. I guess the Earth Band could play there next year another time - that hall will be filled as well as the years before! (Please think about it, Manfred, we like that place very much!)

As ever the spark jumped over to the stage, the band enjoyed the reaction of the audience very much and gave us some real masterpieces in their music. New for us: In Castles, during the guitar solo, Manfred played the counterpart on the keyboards - very fine, we are looking forward to that development! Martha waked still the very last rows, and during the last great part of that track the whole hall was moving and singing. In Angels Mick sang once more "70" :-)), and the audience was first a bit surprised to hear SOS but then they sang the refrain very well. Already at this time the band got after each song such a long and enthusiastic applause that Manfred had to conduct the crowd a bit - they didn`t want to stop! So you can imagine what was going on when Mick started his Father of Day. It was the first time since many gigs that he let us sing some parts of the song - that worked perfectly yesterday night. We heard another great solo in the middle of Father from him and I enjoyed every second of that song... Of course he did some more fine solos during the gig :-)

During Demolition Man I went back to the bench for a short visit to Thomas - he was not really well but he said he was feeling not bad sitting in his corner. So I returned to our group in the front row - just in time for a wonderful She was. Manfred played that evening solos I heard never before from him - was it the great mood which inspired him?

Steve and Richard were the perfect "engine room" as ever, but much more than an engine! You should have seen Steve when he played the opening of Carol, celebrated by the audience...

And Noel was singing another great gig. A guy behind us said already before the gig he had seen Noel as the only Earth Band singer already in December and he was surprised how good Noel did the vocals. Yesterday this guy said after the gig: He is not only a good singer, he is wonderful! But Noel was not only singing - like we already saw during the last gigs his teamwork with Mick is better and better from gig to gig, and he is playing and making some jokes everywhere on stage. Yesterday he played a little drum, then was behind the keyboards, then again with the guitarists. Some minutes later he gave his water bottle down to a young boy in the audience who looked very thirsty... (it was warm enough in the hall.)

So the gig ended in a great (and very loud) final - Mighty Quinn - sang by 400 people! In a storm of applause the band left the stage - what a gig...

Thomas and I left the hall then just a few minutes later because we both needed some fresh air. It´s a pity, but today in the morning we decided to cancel our planned tour to Winterbach - two gigs with such a cold Thomas had is one too much. So we returned home to give him some time to recover. However, we enjoyed the short time we could spend together with our new and old friends and of course with the Earth Band very much. We wish you all another great gig tonight, a nice stay in Germany and a good journey home. And you can be sure, next time we are in better form!

Looking forward to the other reports,

Bye

Karin and Thomas

Thursday 20 July/ Friday 21 July Augsburg/ Winterbach, Germany

Posted by Thorbjørn on August 02, 2000 at 19:19:18:

Hi everybody!

My girlfriend and I was touring Europe by car this summer. And the highlights was undoubtedly the gigs at Augsburg and Winterbach, our first abroad. If you have read the reports on the gigs from Karin &Thomas and Graeme &Lois you will understand that we were in heaven those two days! We stayed at the same hotel as The Band in Winterbach and after the concert we had a chat with them in the hotel bar :-) We couldn't believe it: Talking to Mick, Noel, Steve and Richard as "old friends"!!!

The next morning after breakfast we met The Band in the reception. They talked to us and wished us a safe journey back to Norway. At the same time we got their autographs on the "Soft Vengeance" cover. This time we were above heaven!!! But the really highlight was before the Winterbach gig outside our hotel. We were walking to the "City centre" of Winterbach together with Graeme &Lois when we saw Noel and Manfred on a bicycle tour! They were heading for the "City centre" as well, and when they passed us they said: Hello! Mona stopped in mid-flow and stared curiously at me, like she was seeing a ghost! But she was seeing MANFRED MANN ON A BICYCLE, and not behind a keyboard!!!

After those two fantastic days in Germany our relation with MMEB will never be the same. Before the gigs they were our far-off favourite band. Now we have really talked to them all, including Manfred, and we feel a part of THE FAMILY around the world greatest band ever! Thanks to Ian Tompson (the band engineer), who was a very nice person.

And a very special thanks to Karin &Thomas for helping us with hotel bookings and tickets, and to Graeme & Lois for their pleasant company in Winterbach.

HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL AGAIN SOON!

*The Crazy Norwegians Mona &Thorbjørn*

Augsburg/Winterbach (Or Something Always Happens)

Posted by Graeme and Lois

I would have liked, for once, to have reported that the trip went according to plan and that 'nothing ever happens'..... but once again Augsburg baffled me, we lost our tour guides and we had one of those 'Oh shit we're going to miss the flight' scenarios again.

We arrived at Munich airport at midday with empty stomachs having only been offered a 'snack' on board which consisted of a small bag of nuts and a cup of coffee. This was described on the itinerary as 'breakfast'! At the first service station on the autobahn we stopped briefly on our 'routine' journey to quell our hunger pangs with an eagerly consumed salad and coffee. From touch down to Augsburg took 2 hours - not bad.

Karin's directions sounded and looked simple enough on the map. Take street 17 off the A8 at Augsburg West and turn left at street 10. After 3 traverses of street 17 there was no sign of a street 10 and in desperation we rejoined the autobahn at the next junction to try again. Once more this yielded no number 10 so a guess was made based upon nothing other than 'it must be here somewhere'. Another city tour ensued but a different one to December, as we didn't see C&A at all! When attempting to turn back to the place where you think it may be right by the time you have made all the turns to get back disorientation intervenes and bad words start to make their appearance. Finally we find street 10 by being on it! But of course in the wrong direction. After a left turn followed by a left, a right, a left and probably a few more we found the Spectrum Club where the gig was to be later. With this landmark reached I phoned Karin to guide us to the hotel. She seemed unfazed by my use of the 'f' word in describing my mood. After 2 hours of driving around Augsburg and its environs we finally made it.

Karin had been ill all week with a bad cold and by now had successfully transferred it to Thomas who was in bed trying to sleep it off. We felt so sorry for them both as it was a holiday week for them.

The time came to depart for the gig and we meet Thorbjorn and Mona from Norway for the first time who where to become our companions for the rest of the tour. They were touring Europe and with Karin's help were able to take in these 2 gigs as part of their holiday.

The Spectrum Club makes the agonising journey worthwhile as it is not too big and the atmosphere is just so good. In the crowd, Uschi managed to find us and Wolfgang Krist and his wife Petra who are locals that we met last time also sought us out. Wolfgang incidentally presented me with a 'Mann Alive' tour poster for which I am very grateful.

The gig was as brilliant as you'd expect as reported by Karin. For me it was one of the best ever - I just don't know how they keep doing it. The highlight for me was the 'duel' between Manfred and Mick in Father which was to be bettered the next night in Winterbach.

The following morning at breakfast Karin announced their withdrawal from the tour. Thomas was not so good and as Karin had already experienced the symptoms, knew what was coming and sadly they went home. That left us with our new friends from Norway to find the village of Winterbach near Stuttgart. Fortunately Thorbjorn apparently is very organised and so he led the way. Apart from his impeccable timing in overtaking lorries and leaving me stranded behind them whilst a stream of BMW's and Mercedes' followed him, the journey was uneventful and we arrived at The Holiday Inn without getting lost. In my defence Thorbjorn has the advantage of always driving on the wrong side of the road and a much better understanding of the strangely named German towns!

After a walk around the town and a pizza and pasta lunch we returned to the hotel where I promptly fell asleep for 2 hours. After a wake up shower it was time to meet up with Thorbjorn and Mona for the walk to the gig which was estimated at 15 minutes. This made no allowance for the fact that half way there I realised that I'd forgotten the tickets! Having walked all the way back there was no way I was going to walk all the way back again so the Mitsubishi Colt was woken from its slumber to convey us back.

This was fortuitous as although it was warm during the day, at night it was flipping chilly. The gig was to be our 4th in a tent. It housed I guess about 2000 with some seated at the back. Outside were various stalls selling food and drink with the crazy system of queuing for a ticket to exchange for a drink. Firstly one had to queue to pay for the ticket which included a deposit for the glass. Then queue again to get the drink and finally queue yet again to get the deposit back. This system if nothing else quells your desire for a drink at a stroke!

At 9:30 after lots of waffle from a pair of yellow shirted presenters the Earthband entered the stage to rapturous applause - this was going to be a good night. Again Manfred's keyboards could be heard very clearly - the soundman obviously continuing his fine work this year. Manfred introduced the 'Joybringer' bit early in I'll Give You… which was another surprise in the constantly changing delivery of the set. There are a quite of lot of calls for changes in the set list (myself included) but as each gig is so different from the last this makes up for it and so long as Manfred keeps touring and delivering such brilliance then I and most of the other die-hards will be more than happy. Shelter from the Storm of course followed including more mastery from our Mick. The crowd were enjoying this and their enthusiasm never waned during the whole set. I think probably it was the biggest I had seen to be enjoying it so much. Where do they all come from? Nothing Ever Happens again seemed to be better and is a great 'singalong' song. Don't Let It Bring You Down included a beautiful solo by Mick - one of the best I've heard and lovely piano work from Manfred. Martha was one of the many highlights and it was good to see it back over 11 minutes again. Don't Kill It Carol, Angels and SOS where all basically 'standard fare' but of course perfect. And then we got Father. WOW. From start to finish an absolute masterpiece - probably the best ever seen. After Mick's showpiece solo and motor bike impression came the Manfred / Mick 'duel'. The noises that Manfred got from his moog where unbelievable and he really 'went for it'. Anything he did was mimicked by Mick's guitar and in the end I think it was 5-5 draw. I was privileged to be there and witness it.

I commented on it later to Mick and he said how much he enjoyed it and the whole gig. (Not half as much as me)! Apart from a superb She Was the rest of the gig was not bettered and as always it was all too soon over. The whole band I think had an excellent gig and must have gone back to England as happy as us!

The next morning it was time to say goodbye to our new friends Thorbjorn and Mona who were continuing their tour in Austria and we had to come back to London.

On the way back to Munich I thought it would be nice to re-visit Mindelheim where we saw the Earthband in cold snowy December. This entailed a major detour off the A8 down the A7 to cut across back to Munich. After about 2 km it turned into 'not such a good idea' as the journey came to a sudden halt with the first traffic jam of the trip. Despite the stop-start nature of progress and several 'shall we turn off here' indecisions we carried on to the point where there was no point in turning back. We found the spot where the gig had taken place in a tent replaced by a petrol station! Back in the town we also found the hotel where we had stayed and after a quick photo-call we made our way back to the A96.

Time suddenly seemed a little tight and I wanted to fill up the car with petrol so as not to be stung by the rental company who charge 50% on top of the price of fuel if not returned full. The first petrol station found after 90 minutes driving was at the airport - but on the road out! It was now 4:15 and our flight was at 5:30 which may sound OK but to get to the petrol station one had to take the exit road and hope that you could get back without too much grief. Not so! The road led us to the freight and maintenance area some distance from the terminal. Several bad words crept into my vocabulary once again upon seeing our plane landing! After 15 panic struck minutes and racing around the airport roads doing U-turns in places I would never dream of at home the Meitwagen return sign was spotted and relief swept over us. We checked in at 5:05 - a little too close for comfort for me and my long-suffering companion and wife Lois. Poor old thing really does suffer my anger and frustration at times like this but we laugh about it in the end!

Once more we are indebted to Karin and Thomas for the arrangements and to Thorbjorn and Mona for 'rescuing' the tour. We hope that Thomas will get better soon and we will all be well for our August trip. Thanks also to Noel, Richard and Steve for your part in the most wonderful band in the world, MMEB.

Graeme & Lois
Northolt
England
23/07/00

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