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Gig reports and other special events

Posted: 2006-12-05 21:36:34

Days before the gig started I tried to organize the three people I can take with me according to the guestlist. So in the end it was clear that my wife, Ville (one other friend of the FIN-connection) and Sven would be on the list. Sven also promised me to take a camera for photos and video with him so that I could tape the show. The nights before the gig I slept less because I tried to finish a playlist for two audio cds I wanted to give Versace and Michael. When I woke up the gig day I had headache and was absolutely tired - not to be keen to go work - so I stopped my working day at 3 pm and drove back to Berlin, making the covers for the cds and took my bike riding to Kalkscheune.

I was there at 6:30 pm and get in and the first who I saw was the man behind the big power amplifier - Versace. It was so nice to see him again after the summer trip in Brescia. I gave him the CDs and he looked very happy with this.

I went outside into the inner courtyard for some fresh air and saw someone staying at the gate, very disturbed, confused that he will not get tickets for the show. His name was Michael Lefkoff(?) from Haarlem/HOL and he said he knew the guys very long, was making pictures from the shows. He also was in NY for the show and also have seen that the two Amsterdam and Utrecht gigs are already sold out. So he was just scared he couldn't get tickets for the Kalkscheune gig after he is coming back from his hotel, having a shower, etc. I could calm him that the show is not sold out. But for help reasons we changed our mobile phone numbers.
Than Michael and Carla came in and I was very surprised to see Carla because she wrote me some weeks before that she wouldn't come to Berlin. Well we went up to the Backstage rooms where all the others were sitting on their computers (everyone with a mac). Carla showed me on her mac what she would like to change on the spearhead website and I liked the new style and changes to come. I gave her the other set of CDs.
I also talked with Carl about shows in Berlin and mentioned the saxophone intro at the Pfefferberg gig in 2001. He said that is very curious because I am the third person telling this today. Makes him thinking.
Got a phone call from my wife that Sven is once again ill. Last time in 2003 he also was ill when the Spearhead gig was. Today the same. Also curious. So Petra was now on the guestlist.
At 8:30 pm Antje and also Andreas were coming. Wonderful. So there are two more persons which get to know the live feeling of a Spearhead gig. 15 min later Tiina, Petra and Ville were also there, having some problems at the entrance with the camera but in the end it worked and everyone got their backstage pass.
The "Photo"-Michael from Haarlem got also his ticket but had the same problem at the security check with his camera. Anyway he got in and was very happy.
In the meantime DJ Boima was warming up the people with reggae music. Together with Andreas and Antje I was going in front of the stage (3rd or 4th row, more right side - I always stay on the right side, haha), good filled by lovely people. My wife and Petra were in the back - knowing that they are not that kind of jumpers :-). Ville also was somewhere in the back. After the whole Kalkscheune get really filled with people, DJ Boima was going to the mic holding some box in his hands from which he could make a sirence sound. The Sirence sound getting longer and longer and the Kalkscheune show in Berlin began.

Posted: 2006-12-03 16:48:10

The gig started at 09:15 pm. The band members were coming on the stage and began to play some kind of Intro for the first song "Time to go Home". Michael began to sing "Those who start wars ..." but he wasn't on stage. So in the first moment I thought it was playback(?). He was coming from the back, walking through the lines of people and was on stage after one minute. From the first moment the atmosphere in Kalkscheune was wonderful. A lot of people were singning and jumping all the time if Michael said to us "I want everyone seeing jumping" and we were jumping and waving our hands. Don't know when Antje was leaving the front area but Andreas and I had a lot of fun and enjoyed it where we were until the end.

Posted: 2006-11-02 02:13:45

Once again, Dough Wimbish, Keith Le Blanc and Skip McDonald as Little Axe with their distinctive sound

Posted: 2006-08-27 23:59:11

After I have seen the announced European tourdates in May it was clear that I couldn't make any gigs in Netherlands, Belgium or Germany because of my vacation in Finland. The only gigs which seemed to be possible would be one in the UK or Italy. UK or Ireland was to expensive so I looked for cheap flights to Italy and the Brescia-gig seemed to be this one. I ordered the tickets for the plane to Milano/Bergamo and the rest for the tour-travel I would manage in Italy. Problem for me was that my schedule was very strong because my son had his first schoolday (celebration and party) two days later so I had to leave very early the next morning after the gig.

One day before the gig we were coming back from the Finland vacation. There was a lot to prepare for the schoolday party. So I was going very early to bed because my flight the next day would be 6:20 am.

The gig day started at 4 am for me with coffee and some bread and I was leaving my home half'n hour later - taking the bus to the airboard not knowing if I would get the plane in time. Well, everything was ok, I could boarding and got the window place I had already reserved. Knowing that the flight was going directly over the Alps I was looking outside most of the time but it was very cloudy so there was not much to see. We arrived Bergamo at time - taking the bus to the railway station and arrived one hour later Brescia - raining all the time in the first hour. I was asking people where the festival should be located. Less people spoke English and knew where this should be but I found out that the festival area was more than 5 km outside of Brescia. How to go there?

Posted: 2006-08-27 23:10:54

The gig started at 09:45 pm - so it was 45 min later than planned. The area before the stage was filled with a lot of people (maybe 1000 - at the end there were maybe 2000). They opened with "Time to go home" and "Yell Fire!" and the sound was excellent. During the whole gig I was changing my position from the backstage to the frontstage area. I was making pictures with my old slowly digi cam until it run down - here are Pics from the gig, providing Versace at the mixer with cigarettes and beer, helping Catherine to bring T-Shirts and CDs to the promo desk at the back of the mixer. It started raining again when they played "Sweet little lies" and Michael highlighted this with a lot of smile: "tell me that the rain won't fall today".

Posted: 2006-06-10 01:34:56

Well, I was very excited about this gig. See Doug, Skip and Keith after 1 & 1/2 year again. I was calling at the venue Gruener Salon of Volksbuehne Berlin and they told that the gig will start later because of the beginning of the world championship in football and that Bernard Fowler (singer of Tack>>Head - at the moment on tour with Rolling Stones) would also join the gig. Wow. The whole Tach>>Head crew. I was writing some comments at the myspace sites of Tack>>Head, Little Axe and Doug Wimbish about this wonderful news.

Posted: 2006-05-19 21:56:13

It was really great and it was sold out. But from the first moment when I come into the venue Kalkscheune I knew that there was something strange according for security checks in Germany when a jewish artist performs. First at the entrance they were checkin the people for some weapons or bottles which could be thrown (this is ok). When I was coming inside I took something to drink and went in front of the stage. Around the stage they had build a security fence. So I already knew he will not making audience diving or something like that. There were some people I wouldn't expect in a reggae gig. Somekind of hype because it is an jewish artist but the rest of the audience fit to it. It should start at 9 pm but they let the audience wait more than an hour.

Posted: 2006-03-19 18:05:10

Yeah, on Friday night I saw Damian Marley, it was the same venue where Spearhead played the last time when they visited Berlin (Kulturbrauerei / Kesselhaus). In conclusion to the discussion why black people are missing at Spearhead, Parliament gigs I think there were a lot of black people (maybe more than 10%). I saw Papa Pretty very short at the beginnig of the show no time to talk with him more detailed. The Marley gig was totally sold out. It was ok but I was not really enthustiastic about the gig like I always be after a Spearhead gig.

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