ThunderWeb V2.2
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Stuff
    • Interesting Stuff >
      • Americana >
        • The Sierra Nevadas
        • The Brooklyn Bridge
        • The Empire State Building
        • Lost Angeles
        • Hollywood Boulevard
        • Jim Thorpe
        • The Alamo
        • The Basketball Museum
        • Sunset
        • Boston Skyline
      • Europeana >
        • Brimham Rocks
        • Liverpool - L7 4LB
        • Liverpool - Tobacco Warehouse
        • Kirkstall Abbey
        • Ilkley Moor
        • Classic Cars and Beartown Radio
        • Bjorn the Polar Bear
        • Dachau
        • Munich Olympiapark - Olympiaturm
        • Munich - BMW Welt
        • Neuschwanstein
        • Munich - Oktoberfest >
          • Shlocktoberfest
          • Fear and Loathing in München
          • When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro
        • Munich - Christkindlmarkt 2009
        • Dali
        • Tutanchamun - Munich
        • Tutanchamun - Manchester
    • Walkabouts >
      • Nude Dudes In The Sand
      • Harrogate Walkabout
      • Liverpool Walkabout Sefton Park
      • Leeds Walkabout
      • Blackpool Deco
      • Fenton Town Hall
      • Stoke Minster
      • Beauty and Bursley >
        • The Wedgwood Institute
        • The School of Art
        • Town Hall Tales
        • The Leopard
        • Desolation Boulevard
      • Asbury Park
      • New York Rideabout >
        • New York Rideabout I
        • New York Rideabout II
        • New York Rideabout III
      • Reno
      • San Francisco
      • Atlantic City
      • The OC
      • Philadelphia
      • First Boston Walkabout >
        • First Boston Walkabout - Copley Plaza
        • First Boston Walkabout - Boylston and Boston Common
        • First Boston Walkabout - Downtown Boston
        • First Boston Walkabout - Charlestown Naval Yard >
          • USS Constitution
          • USS Cassin Young
        • First Boston Walkabout - Beacon Hill
      • Final Boston Walkabout
      • Blackpool (Post Apocalypse)
      • Liverpool
      • Manchester - Brief Walkabout
      • Glasgow
      • First Munich Walkabout
      • Munich Faschingsdienstag Walkabout
      • Second Munich Walkabout
      • Munich Walkabout with Firstborn & Lizzie I
      • Munich Walkabout with Firstborn & Lizzie II
      • Munich Walkabout with Pan 'n' Chris
      • Copenhagen
      • Passau
      • Oss
      • First Basel Walkabout
      • Second Basel Walkabout
    • Old Stuff
    • Random Stuff >
      • The Garden of Unearthly Delights I
      • The Garden of Unearthly Delights II
      • The Garden of Unearthly Delights III: Christmas Special
    • Weird Stuff >
      • Top Ten Plagues
      • Top Ten Gangsters
      • Top Ten Ways To Kill Someone
      • Top Ten Hairstyles For The Follicly-Challenged
      • Top Ten Stars on Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame
  • Gigs
    • 2017 Gigs >
      • Iron Maiden - Leeds
      • Norman Beaker Band - Blackpool
      • Ian Hunter - Liverpool
      • Cheap Trick - Manchester
    • 2016 Gigs >
      • Congleton Unplugged 2016 >
        • Congleton Unplugged 2016 - Saturday
        • Congleton Unplugged 2016 - Sunday
    • 2014 Gigs >
      • Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival 2014 >
        • Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival 2014 - Saturday
        • Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival 2014 - Sunday
      • Dirty Dozen - Congleton
      • Chantel McGregor - Wolverhampton
      • Chris Bevington & Friends - Wolverhampton
      • Sweet Winn Dixie - Congleton
      • Congleton Unplugged 2014 >
        • Congleton Unplugged 2014 - Friday
        • Congleton Unplugged 2014 - Saturday
        • Congleton Unplugged 2014 - Sunday
      • The Fire Beneath The Sea - Blackpool
    • 2013 Gigs >
      • BearTown Radio 1st Birthday Bash 2013
      • Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival 2013 >
        • Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival 2013 - Friday
        • Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival 2013 - Saturday
        • Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival 2013 - Sunday
      • Parklive 2013 >
        • Parklive 2013 - Friday Marquee
        • Parklive 2013 - Saturday Park
        • Parklive 2013 - Saturday Marquee
      • No Strings Attached - Congleton >
        • NSA: Adam French
      • The Dirty Dozen - Congleton >
        • TDD: The Fire Beneath The Sea - Congleton
      • Maschine - Congleton
      • Congleton Unplugged 2013 >
        • CU 2013: Sweet Winn Dixie
        • CU 2013: John Ainsworth
        • CU 2013: Jim Kirkpatrick
        • CU 2013: Phil Maddocks
        • CU 2013: The Robin Pierce Band
    • 2012 Gigs >
      • The Post Apocalypse Party 2012
      • Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival 2012 >
        • CJ&BF: Steve Hayes and Les Hunt
        • CJ&BF: The Beartown Stompers
        • CJ&BF: The Robin Pierce Band
        • CJ&BF: Phil Maddocks
        • CJ&BF: The Hexmen
      • The Rittz and Friends Festival - Congleton >
        • TRAFF: Thomas Twemlow
        • TRAFF: Amy Condrey
        • TRAFF: Phil Maddocks & Nick Bayes
        • TRAFF: Faux Feet
        • TRAFF: John Ainsworth
        • TRAFF: Dirty Green Vinyl
        • TRAFF: Luke Gray & Danny Wilde
        • TRAFF: Hoodie Ledbetter
        • TRAFF: Kill The Young
        • TRAFF: The Rittz
      • The Dirty Dozen - Congleton >
        • TDD: Thought Glands
        • TDD: Fieldhouse
    • 2011 Gigs >
      • Fun House (November) - Congleton
      • Demon - Kingsley Holt
      • Fun House (August) - Congleton
      • Fun House (July) - Congleton
      • Johnnie Walker - Bradford
      • Fieldhouse - Liverpool
      • Kush - Liverpool
    • 2010 Gigs >
      • Wolfmother - Munich
      • Dave Matthews Band - Munich
      • Chris Rea - Munich
      • Dave Matthews Band - Manchester
      • Joe Perry Project - Sheffield
      • Bad Company - Sheffield
      • The Mayhem Effect - Congleton
      • Demon - Leek Arts Festival
      • Mark Knopfler - Munich
    • 2009 Gigs >
      • Sweden Rock Festival >
        • About SRF 2009
        • SRF: The Tubes
        • SRF: ZZ Top
        • SRF: Over the Rainbow
        • SRF: Marillion
        • SRF: Demon
        • SRF: Johnny Winter
        • SRF: Motörhead
        • SRF: Riot
        • SRF: Blackfoot
        • SRF: Journey
        • SRF: Goda Grannar
      • Keep It True
      • Y&T - Munich
      • Foreigner - Munich
      • Bruce Springsteen - Munich
      • Eric Burdon - Munich
      • Gary Moore - Munich
      • Demon - Dudley
      • Hamburg Blues Band - Munich
      • Mott the Hoople - Hammersmith
      • Night at the Flamingo - Blackpool
      • Magnum - Munich
      • Pavlov's Dog - Munich
      • Uriah Heep - Munich
      • Ace Frehley - Munich
    • 2007 Gigs >
      • Little Barrie - Manchester II
      • Demon - Wolverhampton III
      • Diamond Head - Wolverhampton V
      • Demon - Antwerp
      • Demon - Nottingham
    • 2006 Gigs >
      • Helloween - Bradford
      • Yellowcard - Manchester
      • Robin Trower - Manchester
      • Dave Matthews - Manchester
      • Mountain - Manchester
      • Danko Jones - Manchester
      • Monsters of Rock 2006 >
        • About Monsters of Rock 2006
        • Monsters of Rock 2006: Roadstar
        • Monsters of Rock 2006: Ted Nugent
        • Monsters of Rock 2006: Queensryche
        • Monsters of Rock 2006: Thunder
        • Monsters of Rock 2006: Journey
        • Monsters of Rock 2006: Alice Cooper
        • Monsters of Rock 2006: Deep Purple
      • Journey - Manchester
      • Demon - Sheffield
      • Bob Catley - Sheffield
      • Demon - Cheltenham
      • Bob Catley - Leek WM
      • Demon - Leek WM
      • Little Barrie - Manchester I
      • Wolfmother - Manchester
      • UFO - Manchester
      • Demon - Crewe III
      • Demon - Nuneaton
      • Iron Maiden - Sheffield
    • 2005 Gigs >
      • Velvet Revolver - Manchester
      • Megadeth - Manchester
      • Diamond Head - Manchester
      • Fozzy - Manchester
      • Wishbone Ash - Blawnox PA
      • The Midnight Creeps - Providence RI
      • Danko Jones - Cambridge MA
      • Demon - Leek II B
      • Demon - Birkenhead
      • Donington 2005 >
        • About Donington 2005
        • Donington 2005: Fozzy
        • Donington 2005: Megadeth
        • Donington 2005: Billy Idol
        • Donington 2005: HIM
        • Donington 2005: Velvet Revolver
        • Donington 2005: Black Sabbath
        • Donington 2005: Slipknot
        • Donington 2005: The MC5
        • Donington 2005: Motorhead
      • Kings of Leon - Manchester
      • Danko Jones - Philadelphia
      • Sonny Landreth - Ocean City NJ
      • Derek Trucks Band - Ocean City NJ
      • Leeds Festival 2005 >
        • About Leeds Festival 2005
        • Leeds Festival 2005: Funeral For A Friend
        • Leeds Festival 2005: Iggy Pop
        • Leeds Festival 2005: Marilyn Manson
        • Leeds Festival 2005: Iron Maiden
      • Iron Maiden - Hammersmith
      • Diamond Head - Stourbridge
    • 2004 Gigs >
      • Hughes-Turner Project - Dudley II
      • Wishbone Ash - Crewe
      • Donington 2004 - Hoobastank
      • Donington 2004 - Danko Jones
      • Donington 2004 - Metallica
      • UFO - Wolverhampton
      • Marillion - Wolverhampton
      • Marillion - Leeds
      • Nazareth - Manchester
      • Bill Nelson - Manchester
      • Nils Lofgren - Wolverhampton
      • Living Colour - Manchester
      • Rush - Birmingham
    • 2003 Gigs >
      • HITS UK - Bradford
      • Demon - Leek I-A
      • Iron Maiden - Donington
      • HITS UK - Morecambe
      • Blue Öyster Cult - Wolverhampton
      • Alice Cooper - Wolverhampton
      • Rat Dog - Wolverhampton
      • Budgie - Crewe
      • Thunder - Wolverhampton
      • Iron Maiden - Sheffield & Birmingham
    • 2002 Gigs >
      • Chris Farlowe - Crewe
      • Diamond Head - Wrexham
      • Budgie - Wrexham
      • The Blues Brother's Band - Manchester
      • Man - Crewe
      • Mountain - Dudley
      • Stray - Dudley
      • Iron Maiden - Brixton >
        • Iron Maiden - Brixton Academy: Getting there
        • Iron Maiden - Brixton Academy: Getting home
      • Diamond Head - Crewe III
      • Rick Derringer - Crewe
      • Pat Travers - Crewe
      • Ian Hunter - Crewe
      • HITS Blackpool 2002
      • HITS USA 2002 - Saturday
      • HITS USA 2002 - Sunday
      • Diamond Head - Hanley
      • 21st Century Schizoid Band - Crewe
      • Diamond Head - Crewe IV
      • Diamond Head - Ashton
      • Hughes-Turner Project - Dudley I
      • Jefferson Starship - Wolverhampton
      • Budgie - Crewe
      • Monsters of Rock - Manchester >
        • Monsters of Rock - Alice Cooper
        • Monsters of Rock - Thunder
        • Monsters of Rock - The Quireboys
        • Monsters of Rock -Dogs D'Amour
    • 2001 Gigs >
      • Demon - Crewe I
      • Demon - Leek Moorlands
      • Diamond Head - Crewe I
      • Black Crowes - Brixton Academy
      • Demon - Newcastle Oxford
      • Rockshield Festival >
        • Rockshield - Wishbone Ash
        • Rockshield - Girlschool
        • Rockshield - Demon
        • Rockshield - Diamond Head
      • Demon - Crewe II
      • Demon - Leek FC II
      • Pat Travers - Wolverhampton
      • Demon - Macclesfield
      • Diamond Head - Crewe II
      • Demon - Camden I
    • 2000 Gigs >
      • Demon - Wolverhampton I
      • Demon - Telford
      • Demon - Newcastle (Rigger)
      • Demon - Leicester
      • Demon - Leek FC I
      • Demon - Stoke
      • Demon - Wolverhampton II
      • Demon - SOM Rehearsal
    • 20th Century Gigs >
      • 1990s >
        • Man - Swansea 1999
        • Man - London 1999
        • Man - Croydon 1999
        • Man - Stoke 1998
        • Man - Blackpool 1993
      • 1980s >
        • Man - Reading 1983
        • Reading Festival 1983
        • RockPop 1982
        • Rockpalast 1982
        • Alice Cooper - London 1982
        • Reading Festival 1981
        • Diamond Head - Leeds 1981
        • Whitesnake - Bradford 1980
        • Iron Maiden - Leeds 1980
        • Monsters of Rock 1980
      • 1970s >
        • Buzzcocks - Manchester 1978
  • Travels
    • 2015 Travels >
      • Toxteth Walkabout
      • Eclipsage - Toxteth Cemetery
      • Crosby - Another Place
      • Crosby - Sunset
    • 2014 Travels >
      • Brimham Rocks
      • Harrogate
      • Liverpool - Divergence I >
        • Liverpool - Sefton Park
        • Liverpool - L7 4LB
        • Liverpool - Tobacco Warehouse
      • Leeds Walkabout 2014 >
        • Leeds 2014 - Kirkstall Abbey
        • Leeds 2014 - Ilkley Moor
    • 2013 Travels >
      • Fenton Town Hall
      • Stoke Minster
      • Beauty and Bursley >
        • The Wedgwood Institute
        • The School of Art
        • Town Hall Tales
        • The Leopard
        • Desolation Boulevard
      • Blackpool - An Alternative View
    • 2011 Travels >
      • Blackpool (Post Apocalypse)
      • Manchester >
        • Manchester - The Trafford Centre
        • Manchester - Tutanchamun
      • Liverpool
    • 2010 Travels >
      • Faschingsdienstag
      • Manchester - Brief Walkabout
      • Manchester/Glasgow
    • 2009 Travels >
      • What Marky did in The Fatherland >
        • Arrival
        • First Munich Walkabout
        • Faschingsdienstag
        • Second Munich Walkabout
        • Dachau
        • Hannover
        • Olympiapark Sealife Centre
        • Olympiapark Olympiaturm
        • BMW Welt
        • Home from Home
        • Würzburg a Mad Manager and a Demon
        • Tutanchamun
        • Back in the UK
        • Neuschwanstein
        • Copenhagen
        • Passau
        • TiPi Fest
        • Potts and The 'Zard Camera 1
        • Potts and The 'Zard Camera 2
        • Pan 'n' Chris
        • Oktoberfest >
          • Shlocktoberfest
          • Fear and Loathing in München
          • When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro
        • Blackpool
        • The Flaming Gummi Bär Incident
        • Oberammergau
        • Garmisch
        • Christmas 2009: Christkindlmarkt
        • Christmas 2009: Snow
        • Christmas 2009: Absinthe, Drunkenness and Fireworks
    • 2006 Travels
    • 2005 Travels >
      • Basel
      • Philadelphia >
        • The Krispy Kreme Fiasco
        • King of Prussia
        • Snow
        • Atlantic City
        • Sunset
        • Lancaster County
        • The Philadelphia Cheese Steak Debate
        • Food For Thought
        • More Food for Thought
        • Gideons
        • Dali
        • Culture
        • The Basketball Museum
        • Ocean City NJ
      • Boston >
        • The Cheesecake Factory
        • Copley Plaza
        • Boylston and Boston Common
        • Downtown Boston
        • Charlestown Naval Yard >
          • USS Constitution
          • USS Cassin Young
        • Beacon Hill
        • Call Me Spiderman
        • Providence RI
        • Boston Skyline
        • Final Boston Walkabout
        • The Third Time I Nearly Got arrested
      • Oss
    • 2004 Travels >
      • Basel
      • Philadelphia >
        • First Philadelphia Walkabout Pt I >
          • The Franklin Institute
        • First Philadelphia Walkabout Pt II >
          • The Liberty Bell
          • Monopoly
          • USS Olympia & USS Becuna
    • 2003 Travels >
      • US Tour 2003 - Fri 25th Flying In
      • US Tour 2003 - Sat 26th Brooklyn >
        • The Brooklyn Bridge
      • US Tour 2003 - Sat 26th Baltimore
      • US Tour 2003 - Sun 27th New York
      • US Tour 2003 - Mon 28th Oakland
      • US Tour 2003 - Tues 29th Sacramento
      • US Tour 2003 - Wed 30th The Sierra Nevada
      • US Tour 2003 - Wed 30th Reno
      • US Tour 2003 - Wed 30th Reno (Later)
      • US Tour 2003 - Thurs 31st San Francisco >
        • US Tour 2003 - Thurs 31st SF Walkabout
        • US Tour 2003 - Thurs 31st San Francisco (Later)
      • US Tour 2003 - Fri 1st San Francisco to Lost Angeles >
        • US Tour 2003 - Fri 1st Hollywood Blvd
        • US Tour 2003 - Fri 1st Hollywood Blvd - Walk of Fame
      • US Tour 2003 - Fri 1st Lost Angeles (South Gate)
      • US Tour 2003 - Sat 2nd Costa Mesa & The Beach
      • US Tour 2003 - Sat 2nd LA (Corona)
      • US Tour 2003 - Sun 3rd San Diego
      • US Tour 2003 - Mon 4th Phoenix
      • US Tour 2003 - Tues 5th Phoenix to San Antonio
      • US Tour 2003 - Wed 6th San Antonio
      • US Tour 2003 - Thurs 7th Austin
      • US Tour 2003 - Fri 8th Dallas
      • US Tour 2003 - Sat 9th Oklahoma City
      • US Tour 2003 - Sun 10th Flying Back
      • US Tour 2003 - Epilogue
    • 2002 Travels >
      • US Tour 2002 - Fri 30th
      • US Tour 2002 - Thurs 5th >
        • US Tour 2002 - Thurs 5th Union & Clifton
      • US Tour 2002 - Fri 6th Providence RI
      • US Tour 2002 - Sat 7th Union NJ >
        • US Tour 2002 Sat 7th Asbury Park NJ
        • US Tour 2002 - Sat 7th Asbury Park NJ (Later)
      • US Tour 2002 - Sun 8th Asbury Park NJ
      • US Tour 2002 - Mon 9th Union NJ >
        • US Tour 2002 - Mon 9th Long Island NY
      • US Tour 2002 - Tues 10th >
        • US Tour 2002 - Tues 10th NYC
        • US Tour 2002 - Tuesday 10th ESB
        • US Tour 2002 - Tues 10th NYC II
        • US Tour 2002 - Tues 10th- Manhattan and beyond
      • US Tour 2002 - Wed 11th
  • Music
    • Phuxubtelty Review
  • Movies
    • Skyfall Review
  • Books
    • Ted Simon
    • Charley Boorman & Ewan McGregor
    • Mike Carter
    • Robert Fulton Jr
    • Zoltan Sulkowsky
    • Simon Gandolfi
  • Artworks
    • Diamond Head - Acoustic Cuts
    • The Skeptix - Hate and Fear
    • Demon - Child of the Dark Sky
    • Demon . Better The Devil You Know
    • Demon - Time Has Come
    • Demon - Live at Tiffany's
    • Demon - Live in Germany
    • Demon T-Shirts
    • Mjollnir
  • The 39 Steps
  • New Page

Helloween - Bradford Rio 16th February 2006 

Picture
Setlist: Intro / King For A 1000 Years / Eagle Fly Free / Hell Was Made In Heaven / Keeper Of The Seven Keys / A Tale That Wasn’t Right / Drum solo / Occasion Avenue / Mr. Torture / If I Could Fly / Sascha's Solo / Power / Future World / Invisible Man / Mrs. God / I Want Out // Dr. Stein 

I found out, purely by accident, that Helloween would be playing three UK gigs; serendipitous interweb surfing, indeed. I purchased the last two Bradford tickets available, nos 199 & 200. Unfortunately, for me, there were three of us wanting to go. Being a fantastic dad, I said that my two daughters could use the tickets; I would take them the 75 miles to Bradford, wait for them, and then bring them home again. Magnanimous gesture, don’t you think?

Dads do stuff like that. Not because we particularly want to, but because we just want to stop the nagging, stomping, door-slamming, pouting and sulking. So, it was a big relief when the powers that be released some more tickets. Number 244 was quickly snapped up by yours truly, I can tell you.

 

Picture
I can’t admit to being a huge Helloween know-it-all. In fact, I saw them live many, many years ago and hated them. I felt the same about Megadeth for many years, until I actually left my prejudice at the door and listened to the music!

Since then, as my offspring started to get into them, I realised what a dick I’d been. Better than Raw, The Dark Ride, and Keeper of the Seven Keys became annexed to my CD collection. (Well, the little darlings have nicked loads of my CDs over the years, and I figured it was about time I returned the favour.)

Much of the earlier material I still find difficult to appreciate, mainly because I just don’t like the vocal. It’s a purely personal thing and is just the way I feel. Andi Deris, on the other hand, I think has an awesome voice and musically, Helloween’s brand of melodic heavy metal is extremely pleasing to my ageing ears and very addictive.


 

Picture
As February approached inexorably, and the glacial migration south progressed, I found myself becoming rather excited about the event, a somewhat unusual occurrence for me. By Saturday, I was behaving like a teenager and could barely wait to get to Bradford. Although I had been to Rio before, the one-way system and my A-Z were obviously incompatible (I obviously had the A-Z for a parallel dimension Bradford). Oh, and even though I persist with rac.co.uk directions, purely because I am an RAC member, they are always wrong once you come off the motorway. In fact, the directions to Woodhead Rd were short by about three miles! Nevertheless, I wasn’t about to give up and, with a combination of memory, my alien A-Z, and a terrific sense of smell, we arrived at the venue just in time for a brief comfort break before Helloween took to the stage.

Rio seems to bring up completely opposite opinions, depending on who you talk to. Some people will say it’s an absolute shithole and the locals are arrogant wankers. Personally, I quite like it and I find the people very friendly. Maybe it’s because I grew up in Yorkshire and all my early gig-going years were mis-spent in Leeds and Bradford. Or, perhaps, it is because I am an arrogant wanker. Who knows?


 

Picture
Helloween took to the stage early, around 8:45 to be precise, which, being of a certain age, I appreciated greatly, given that I had to drive back over the hills to Manchester afterwards. The first section of the show was blistering with King for a 1000 Years, Eagle Fly Free, Keeper of the Seven Keys and Hell Was Made in Heaven all warming the crowd up nicely. I had a walk around to see if I could find a nice spot to snap some pictures, have a pint of Guinness, and generally soak up the atmos. I found a good location behind the sound desk with a full view of the stage. But, I needed to get nearer as I don’t like using the flash on my camera. It bleaches out the photos and is annoying as hell to anyone within the 10KM blast radius.

I made my way back to my original position at stage left, found my girls and, rather stealthily for a big man, insinuated myself in through the crowd, securing a stellar spot about three rows back from the stage, right in front of Sascha. I turned round to see my kids standing open-mouthed, amazed by my graceful ninja moves.

Oh yes, I’m bad!


 

Picture
Now, drum solos. You either love them, or want to start immediate trephining to stop the pain. Personally, I am a master of the steering-wheel bongos and have a particular affinity for our skin-beating brethren; I’m not a musician either, you see. Ah, the old ones are the best. Seriously though, I love drum solos, and this was a pretty damn fine example, partly because of the skill of the individual, and partly because of the chap’s sense of humour and ability to involve the audience. Oh, and he very kindly stood up so I got a bloody fantastic picture too! Most people, even ‘the professionals’, neglect the drummer when taking photographs at gigs. I try to get at least one shot of the man at the back, and usually succeed. This one was brilliant though, even if I do say so myself.

The show progressed through the middle third into more familiar territory for me, including two of my Helloween favourites, Mr Torture and If I Could Fly. I really did my vocal chords no good during this brace of recent back catalogue classics. I’m old enough to know better, but too stupid to listen to my own inner dialogue. What the Helloween, I was enjoying myself!

Another solo spot was soon upon us and, this time, it was Sascha’s turn, ably, assisted by Dani twiddling away on his diminutive Strat. Now, I have it on good authority, from my youngest daughter, that Sascha is a ‘hot piece of ass’. I’m afraid he’s not my type at all, so I’ll take her word for it, given that she is a hormonally-charged teen and likes this skinny, black-haired look in her menfolk. However, what I do know is, that he is a bloody good guitar-player and the battle between him and Dani was not only unusual, but also great fun, ensuring that the feelgood factor continued to bump the top of the scale.


 

Picture
The final third of the show kept the VU meters peaking all the way to the very last power chord. Future World was the audience participation number and my already Better than Raw throat was further pulped during the sing-along. An instrument-swapping finale ensured that our attention was never allowed to wander for a second, afraid that we may miss some small look or gesture. I know, not words you normally associate with metal, but such was the performance, and such a live band is Helloween. By the time of the encore, Dr Stein, no-one in the building could have been, in any way, shape, or form, less than overjoyed with the performance. For me, a couple of tracks off BTR would have been icing on the pumpkin pie, but as I didn’t have any Kleenex on me, it was probably just as well they didn’t go there.

Musically, aye, and visually, this band is as good as any metal band I’ve ever seen in the last 25 years. The light show was modest but incredibly effective, showing that they had thought this out and wanted to make it special. Pro-rata, it was on a par with Iron Maiden’s much more complex rig.

Where Helloween excels is with the relationship and rapport that they quickly developed with the crowd, Andi Deris in particular. Normally, it disturbs me when people smile too much but, even I couldn’t help but be swayed by Andi Deris’s smile and personality. You almost want to take him home, he is so nice! He has the ability to draw you in and make you feel like this is just a friendly get-together with a few [hundred] close friends. I wasn’t expecting that, and that little piece of humanity tipped this gig over the edge from being a good gig, to a great gig.


 

Picture
Last year I saw Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Megadeth and many other top flight metal bands that have been around for a few years.

Sabbath disappointed me in the extreme, they’re just going through the motions so Sharon can afford to have all the dog shit cleaned off her rugs.

Maiden are the ultimate establishment professionals these days. They are flawless and perfection personified. Therein lies their problem. They have lost the raw spontaneity that made them great in the first place. If you go to multiple gigs on a tour, you will always see a fantastic performance; but you will see it exactly the same every night. Identical.

Megadeth, like Helloween, I have discovered in my twilight years. Accomplished, professional, but human. You will get a fantastic show, but you will also feel involved, part of it, rather than just an observer, behind a double-glazed wall, in a sterile environment.

Helloween really exceeded my expectations and, believe me, I had built this gig up to the point where I could quite easily have come home disappointed. An awesome gig and a fine evening’s entertainment from a band that is at the top of their game right now. Let’s hope they come back to the UK very soon.

Mark L. Potts

The God of Thunder 
13th February 2006


About the photos...

Picture
Now, I'm not known for my modesty, in so many different ways, but I know the things that I do well and those that I suck at.

I happen to think that I'm pretty damn good at taking photographs, especially under difficult conditions such as a live rock concert. It is easy to take a picture. These days, all you need is a camera phone. It is not so easy to take a great photgraph though. Yeah, I've got a pretty good camera and, certainly, luck does play a part, but you have to appreciate so many different factors that will play a part in the end result.

Almost all of the pictures here are taken without the use of a flash. What's more, I don't have a press pass, so I'm just like anyone else; in the crowd, being jostled, dodging arms, heads and beer. That said, some of these photographs are amongst the best I've ever taken and I'm rather chuffed with myself!

Hope you like them.


Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.