Manfred Mann's Earthband - On The Road June 2000
6 June, Graz, 8 June, Innsbruck, Austria
Posted by Wolfgang B. This is the report for the Austrian gigs of last week. Graz, June 6
The venue in Graz had a capacity of 1300 people and was quite filled. Luckily there was no supporting act which only leads to head-aches and
makes the waiting time too long. The set list was as usual, the keyboards too silent (as usual). However, the gig was great, a pleasure as I did not hear the band for a year.
SOS: I already knew from previous reports that this song will be in the set. But I was not prepared to that arrangement. Totally different from the
ABBA-version, a wonderful soft ballad. This song should be recorded, it will make its way on the radio stations. Noel, what a wonderful voice. I enjoyed that song very much, and the audience sang the chorus. Overall, a great mood in Graz.
Innsbruck, June 8 An open air in the middle of the town, free entrance. This time with a local supporting act, which was not too bad (no head-aches, but still too long
time to wait). When MMEB started, the place was filled with about 1000 people, standing very loose. But soon the crowd grew up, and at the end
of the gig we had problems in the front row as there was not much room left for clapping with the hands. Overall about 4000 people were now listening.
This growing of the crowd once more showed me, that there are not too much people who still know MMEB, but while passing by and hearing that
sound, the people stop and listen and join and have fun. After the gig a lot of the audience was still dancing and singing, they obviously have enjoyed the fantastic gig.
By the way, the sound was much better than in Graz, I suppose that at Open Airs the equipment is better. And the keyboards, I could hear them –
and I enjoyed them very much. Just a little disappointment, the solo of castles was with the piano instead of the moog (as in Graz, but there I could not hear the moog….).
Richard: I join the opinion that he plays the drums harder than John, but it makes the sound overall more rocky, which I like. Anyway, the songs sound different than last year, although they are the same. This is MMEB.
Two fantastic gigs again, looking forward to the next Austrian gig in July
Saturday/ Sunday, 10/11 June Minden/Peine, Germany
Hi Wil and all the other fans!
Oh yes, that weekend was another great one in our collection! We enjoyed every minute and want to thank all the members of the fan family (old
and new) we met in Minden and Peine for the nice time we could spend together. It`s always a pleasure to meet old friends and to get some new - Greetings to you, Reinhard number 2, hope you are online anyway!
We saw two big city festivals with MMEB as the main act, and the gigs were really the highlights of the day! Great as ever, I guess the sound
always depends on the stage equipment the local organizers had prepared, and that was on the second day, at the big NDR - radio stage in Peine,
of course much better than in Minden. But on both days we saw the Earth Band we know - always the same fine music but always different from
gig to gig! Nice surprise to change Father - although after the disappointment at the Altenburg gig I feared for a moment now we could get only a
half song when Mick started with the solo as the intro. But then we saw him smiling and knew - we will get it in full length and we got one of the best versions we saw this year, or was the next night even better?
And we got some more of Simon`s special lightshows - in Peine he did another masterpiece, the lights changed in songs like Demolition Man or
Blinded as quick as the musicians played, it seemed they had been directly connected with the keyboard and the guitars - wow!
You are right, Wil, Richard plays his drums somewhat harder than John but we think meanwhile he is getting the "Earth Band feeling" more and
more from gig to gig. We saw him now in 8 gigs and he was always playing a bit softer and more and more distinguished - very interesting for us
to follow that development. And his fresh drive sounds good for the audience! Only in Castles, there are the drums still too hard for me, Richard. But that`s my private view.
Now we are back and really shattered. We are always wondering how the band manage it to come out after a long tour like these 2 weeks and
look and play just as good and fresh as in the very first gig! We fans have only to stand there and listen to the music and are "kaputt" (only for you,
Graeme! :-) ) after the second gig. I think we have to learn something more from our band... :-) So we are looking forward to the next gigs. Special greetings to Graeme, Lois, Reinhard number 1 and Erika. Thomas and Karin
Sunday, 11June, Minden, Germany
Posted by Wil I was asked by Thomas to join him two weeks ago. It was not my intention to go to the gig but why not. We met each other at 18.00 hrs near Hamm
and it took us another hour to get to Minden. It's a nice little town near Bielefeld and it was party time in the centre of the city. Different stages but
only one was of interest for us. It was a nice evening with no rain. After a pizza and a cold beer we got an SMS from Graeme, are you here???
Yes, of course we're here. So we met Graeme, Lois, Karin, Thomas, Erica, Reinhard, the unlucky (so far) Andreas and his sister. In the Kaellerbar (or something like that), enjoying a hot dish in a hot temperature.
The gig started at about 23.00 hrs and it was difficult to get in front. It was refreshing from the very first moment. Manfred played louder, more solo
and with more fun. He doesn't sing that often during the gig but this time he had to laugh every time. My favourite was again Martha's Madman. All
the songs were different then before, faster, more drive (thanks to Mark?), harder. It was the same setlist with of course the new song (SOS).
This time the audience sang SOS. I must say it's nice to hear something new and Noel sings the song very well but it misses the finishing touch.
We were told that Mick wasn't feeling that well but during the gig he was I think better than I've seen before. They changed the intro of Father of
day this time. Mick started with the engine now, instead of in the middle. All the other solo's where as usual not the same, that's typical for MMEB I
think, and the reason why we're still not fed up of hearing the same songs after 20 years. I liked the solo's of Manfred specifically this evening.
You could see they had a lot of fun on stage, it was a pleasure to look at. What a change (sorry to say John) can do.
Thanks for asking me Thomas (and of course for the recordings) I wouldn't have liked to miss this gig (England was enough). It was really worth
the drive (I got home at a quarter to five in the morning). And again it's no problem for one guy coming from Holland to Germany and catching up with all of you. I had a great time and hope to see you soon (free from Mick Rogers).
Minden 10/06 & Peine 11/06
Posted by Graeme Conception Adventure Number 4 began its life a couple of weeks ago whilst browsing the airline sites on the Internet for flights to or near to Hannover. It
seems that no low cost airlines fly to Hannover so with competition somewhat curtailed the prices tend to reflect this. With Hannover now off the
list the next best bet was Hamburg about 100 miles to the north. A visit to Ryanair.com confirmed that Hamburg was a destination that this pioneer
of cheap flights to Europe served. The response to my electronic enquiry for flights on the 10th June returning on the 12th June so stunned me that
I immediately grabbed my credit card and booked the flights. Lois was busy in the bathroom at the time and I managed to get past her with my credit
card and make the booking before the inevitable cross-examination. In any language £4.50 each way was too much of a bargain to miss! Although
by the time the taxes etc had been added the total was £32 return, it was still the cheapest flight I've managed to book - so far!
However, as with all things done in a rush, there was a small complication, which I was not aware of until a week later. The airport described as
Hamburg (Luebeck) is actually 50 miles north of Hamburg and as such 50 miles further away from Hannover. This in itself was not too much of a
problem but the airport being so small there were no apparent car hire facilities available other than in the city of Luebeck 5 miles away.
Eventually with the help of Karin, Avis and Hertz were contacted; Avis had no cars available so it was Hertz who were to provide us with the
transport (hopefully). I faxed Hertz in Luebeck to ask if the car could be delivered to the airport and of course we set off on our journey with no response to the fax and therefore not knowing where it would be! Saturday 10th June
We set off on our journey to Stansted Airport at 5 in the morning to get the flight at 06:40. In my estimate of time required, I forgot to allow for the
bus transfer from the car park to the terminal and the walk back to the car to collect my glasses which I'd left behind. We arrived at the check-in
desk at 6:15 and chose the desk which had the only woman in the world at that time to have 35kgs of excess baggage! How she imagined she
would get on the flight checking in that late with so much luggage God only knows. As it happened she didn't and neither did her 55kgs. At 6:30
we had checked in and with 10 minutes until the flight departed we dashed hurriedly to the gate. Another element I'd forgotten was the transfer
train to the gate which adds more time and frustration to the equation. We arrived at the gate at 6:40 just as our baggage was about to be offloaded!
Although the flight was now late, we arrived in Luebeck 15 minutes early, which was soon to be cancelled out by the next drama. In the departure
hall I found the Ryanair desk which coincidentally dealt with Hertz bookings. Although I hadn't booked through Ryanair I thought there was a
chance at least they could help. German efficiency has not yet migrated to Luebeck Airport! After an hour of waiting to at least ask the question
''Where is my car'' I phoned the office and enquired ''Is there anybody there that speaks English?'' to which I got the response ''Nein''. With my
limited experience of the German language I knew he did not mean that there were 9 people that did! I had Reinhard's mobile phone number and so I
phoned him to ask him to phone and ascertain the location of the car. He confirmed that it was at the airport and I was in the right place. There was
one woman behind the desk who seemed to be running the whole airport. She would start to deal with a customer and then disappear for 10
minutes, return flustered and red faced, sit down and continue with the customer, be interrupted by one of the several members of staff whose
sole responsibility would be to mill around doing nothing but interrupting our girl and then she would disappear again. Finally she disappeared for
good never to be seen again and was replaced by another member of staff. He dealt with me most efficiently although he had to search several
draws and desktops until he found my paperwork. I told him that I realised it was not his fault but the organisation was diabolical. After nearly 2 hours (almost twice the length of the flight) we had our car.
On leaving the airport we were immediately confronted with one of those left - right decisions. Lois said right, so I went left. After a couple of kms I
had the feeling I had made the wrong decision so back we went to the airport. Right of course was right and apart from another wrong left right
decision near Minden the journey was uneventful. The Mercedes A160 incidentally was the 'wobbliest' car I've ever driven. At speed it has all the attributes of a Tesco's trolley in that it will go precisely where it wants to.
We arrived at the Holiday Inn at about 3 o'clock and met Reinhard and Erika just as they arrived at their room next to Karin and Thomas. We were in
need of some sleep so retired to our room but I was too excited and gave up. The good news here was that the pillows were 'normal' but there was only one each! How can anybody sleep with one pillow?
Having not slept at all I had a look around the town and found the stage where MMEB where to play later. I met Ian Thompson and Steve, had a few words and then made my way back to the hotel to prepare myself for the evening.
In the square we met Uschi whom we'd first met in Augsburg. She was consuming her food 'al fresco'. We enjoyed a meal indoors and
underground in the Ratskeller with Reinhard, Erika, Karin and Thomas and whilst there I received the SMS from Thomas A telling of his and Wil's
arrival. Karin volunteered to go up into the square to find them and returned with Andreas and Daniella! Two more very nice fans! The Gig (at last).
This was to be our first open air MMEB concert. I had been worried that it would rain especially as earlier on I had received an SMS from Thomas
A telling me of a thunderstorm where he lives. Uschi had told us that Simon had said that if it rained the gig was off but didn't know if he was
joking! In the event the weather was fine and warm and was made warmer by the huge crowd packed into the square. We tried to get to the front
row with the others but failed about 7 or 8 rows back. Again the sound was 'different' but still brilliant. The big surprise was of course the Formula
1 solo at the beginning of Father! I think it worked well but on speaking to Steve later he said they'd probably change it back the next night. (They
did)! It was initially a little worrying as I thought the song had been cut in half and of course Karin thought the same. What more can I say about the
gig that has not been reported elsewhere. Afterwards we met Reinhard number 2 for the first time another fan to add to the growing list. Another wonderful evening over so quickly but so late. At 2:30am we finally got to bed.
This bit is for you Manfred in the hope that you will read it. This year the sound from your keyboards is the best I've ever heard. I am sure it is a
combination of your undoubted expertise and somebody behind the scenes ensuring that your efforts can be heard. Sunday 11th June
After a wonderful 'English' breakfast of sausages, scrambled eggs, mushrooms and bacon (twice) we were back on the road again for the
journey to Peine 70 miles away. On the autobahn we encountered a familiar looking white Mercedes van with an equally familiar looking driver in
the shape of Pat King. Reinhard obviously decided to form a convoy in slowing down to 80km an hour! Suddenly a blonde head emerged from the
sunroof of Reinhard's car and with it an arm holding a video camera to film us and the white van behind! These mad people! The hotel in Peine was
not so good. Incredibly it was more expensive than the Holiday Inn in Minden. I felt sorry for Reinhard for it was he who arranged the
accommodation but it was not his fault as the prices had been inflated due to EXPO 2000 taking place in Hannover. Additionally we had the familiar
awful pillows to contend with. My attempts to rest however were rewarded with a 3-hour sleep in the afternoon.
Later on our original plans were changed as the others having walked to the town discovered that there were thousands of people there and
wanted to go on ahead of us. We stayed behind and had a meal whilst outside the heavens opened. It rained for about an hour but stopped by the time we had to walk to the gig.
The size of the event in Peine was quite amazing. There were 14 different stages in the town with events covering 3 days. We were only
concerned with the one on stage M at 10 o'clock. Fortunately Reinhard had given us a map of the town detailing the area, as the first area we
discovered was completely wrong. I have no idea how we got to stage C instead of M unless the map was upside down! The area was packed so again there was no way we could get to the front row.
Another wonderful gig followed marred only by the intermittent buzz at the beginning caused by a loose connection somewhere which was
eradicated a little later. Another fantastic Martha solo from Manfred and in my opinion one of the best Davy solos added to the overall brilliance. Once more, all too soon it was over and it was time for another well-earned rest!
Monday 12th June After breakfast it was sadly time to say our goodbyes to Karin & Thomas. Once we had finished packing we set off on our journey back to
Luebeck following Reinhard & Erika back to Hannover where we veered off to the right and north towards Hamburg. We had several hours to get
there in time and didn't get lost so we did some proper sightseeing for the first time. I'm sure we didn't see the best parts of Luebeck but it made a change to have the opportunity to take in some of the beauty of Germany.
Back at the airport and things had changed. I met the man who had dealt with me on the Saturday and meetings had taken place to sort out the
chaos. Efficiency had got to Luebeck! It was another weekend not to be forgotten. Thanks to everyone who was a part of it. Graeme (Lois is at work)!
News: Tag der Niedersachsen in Peine
PN präsentierten: Mehr als 10 000 Menschen am Schützenplatz waren begeistert Manfred Mann war das Musik-Highlight
Das war der musikalische Höhepunkt des Landesfestes. Darin waren sich von Stadtdirektor Udo Willenbücher über Vize-Superintendentin Ingrid
Sobottka-Wermke bis zu Tom Rüsdorfer vom Landesmusikrat die meisten einig nach dem Konzert von Manfred Mann's Earthband am späten Sonntagabend. Nur wenigen waren die genialen Instrumentalimprovisationen zu viel.
Auf dem mit mehr als 10 000 Menschen voll besetzten Schützenplatz griff Begeisterung um sich, als Manfreds Mannen ihre Mischung aus neueren
und älteren Stücken, samt und sonders in neue Arrangements gekleidet, anrührten. Präsentiert von den Peiner Nachrichten lieferten der virtuose
Namensgeber der Band an den Keyboards, vor allem aber Leadgitarrist Mick Rogers ausführliche Soli ab, die die Fans in Verzückung versetzten.
Unnachahmlich mit seiner kehligen Stimme einmal mehr Frontman Noel McCalla. Er allein erlaubte sich so etwas wie eine Bühnenshow, die die Truppe, die seit 1971 in wechselnden Formationen spielt, auch gar nicht nötig hat.
Furiose Höhepunkte des durchgehend auf höchstem Niveau stehenden Konzerts waren die Titel "Blinded by the light", "Davy's on the road again"
und der "Redemption Song". Das Sahnehäubchen als letzte Zugabe war selbstverständlich "Mighty Quinn", das Manfred Mann bereits von Bob
Dylan coverte, als es die Earthband noch gar nicht gab. Vor Coversongs schreckte der fast 60-Jährige ohnehin noch nie zurück. In Peine wagte er
sich sogar an Abbas "S.O.S." heran und bewies, dass gute Musiker sogar aus wenig Substanz tolle Titel machen können.
Eingestimmt hatte das Publikum zuvor die überwiegend in Wendeburg beheimatete 70er-Jahre-Cover-Band Sweety Glitter. Mit ausgefeilter
Bühnenshow und witzigen Moderationen von Ober-Sweety Volker Petersen bewies die längst über Braunschweigs Grenzen hinaus bekannte
Band, dass sie live ein Erlebnis darstellen. Massiver Gitarrensound, der aus manchem Ohrwurm der 70er mehr macht, als er einst war, machte es
der arrivierten Earthband zunächst gar nicht so leicht, die euphorische Stimmung zu halten. Es gelang dann aber doch nachhaltig. Die PN bringen in ihrer Mittwochausgabe ein Exklusiv-Interview mit Manfred Mann. tn 13.06.2000
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