-Fan-Tourtagebuch

Saarburg, 3.Juli'99

Ein Bericht von Xavier Lizin

Da ich sehr schlechtes Deutsch schreibe, kommt mein Konzertbericht auf Englisch:

What a day, what a lovely day! Ever since I started following BAP in 1983, this must have been the best gig I have seen from them (and I have seen some, even though it sometimes meant extensive travelling). The crowd was great and the band in top form. Although the show was shorter (and it could have been even shorter, had Nina Hagen not reported sick) than the usual 3-hour+, BAP gave a magnificent performance from the word go. They may not the best individual musicians around but as a band their cohesion and obvious pleasure to be there still makes them one of the best live acts around and the current line-up is as close as they can get to perfection, although it remains to be seen what will come in a few weeks time, of course!
The Furys (a discovery for me as a live band) and Guildo had brought the audience to boiling point, BAP made sure no prisoners were taken. People just went ballistic from the first bars of "Psycho Rodeo" and could not seem to relent until the final note of "Paar Daach fröher", with the usual highs, i.e."Verdamp", "Kristallnaach", "Frau", "Nemm mich mit" and "Alexandra". 
Even though one might always regret that some classics (as noted in other reports) or songs that do come across so well once performed on stage (I'm surprised noone mentioned the absence of songs like "Freio", for instance) were cruelly left out of the play list and that 4 LPs in BAP's repertoire were brushed aside,  the concert was highly enjoyable -and duly enjoyed- in every detail : the sound was good, though perhaps a bit loud (my right ear is still buzzing a bit!), Major was all smiles, Effendi danced like I had never seen him, W.N. was close to having one of his famous laughing fits, Sheryl is a definite plus (may we get to hear her play a bit more, please?), as are Jens and Werner, and Jürgen as reliable as ever. Top stuff. I cannot go to Koblenz, but I hope to make it to Gerolstein if I can find tickets in this remote place they call Luxembourg, that is. One final word. As the first football scarf landed on stage, Wolfgang asked "Mons? Weiss övverhaup jemand wo dat ess?". Well, that is where I am from. Check on a map of Belgium. The Saarburg gig was worth every metre of the drive.