This abstinence was quite hard, special as ALPHAVILLE played relatively near to our home (Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wittenberg...) But I had to breasfeed Corvin every 4 hours and the ride to the place would have taken 2-3 hours. So the only way had been to take him with us. And of course Corvin was too young for that.
27.
5.99- Concert in Potsdam, 80 km away... and Corvin is 4 month old. Can
we dare to leave him more than 2 hours at his grandparents? Will
he drink his milk from a bottle this only one time? We decided to risk
it. We prepared everything very carefully. Uwe even begged a college to
change the shift with him. However the nearer the day came the uneasier
we felt. Fortunately Corvin didn't cry as we left.
We arrived at the Lindenpark in Potsdam short before 8 p.m., the beginning-time according to the venue. Okay we know ALPHAVILLE good enough to know it'll start a bit later. Finally it started at half past 9 p.m. If we had knew that before, we would have left Walsleben later. Because that time we missed at the end of the night. But that wasn't so bad. We used the time before the concert in order to talk with the other fans like Ronald, Bernd, Stefan or Sonja and Martin (this time it was Sonja who came highly pregnant to a concert). Of course we were very interested in the new merchandising stuff and of course we contributed to the sales increase we like the new t-shirts very much as well as the sticker. We had conversations with Torleif from Golden feeling, KP and Monika. Monika told us that probably Bernhard will come to see the show. And poor Claudia. She wanted to come from Cologne, but unfortunately she felt sick and that's why very sad.
Then we noticed that we came very unprepared. We haven't yet some visit-cards with us from the Fanclub.
We were worried a bit about the less people in the audience. The last concert in Potsdam in December 1996 was Great. But than we noticed that some guests were disappointed about the missing merchandising and about the program in general. Maybe this was the reason that now the people weren't so interested in the concert?
As the lights went down and the fog went up to the stage at 21:40 the hall was half-full.
2 eyes on the screen behind the stage turn to the audience. That was the light-show everybody is enthusiastic for.
Shane, Rob and Martin entered the stage and took up their instruments. Already than Marian stormed the stage and with DREAM MACHINE he took us away into another world - the world of Alphaville. Everything happened as quite as lightning.
It was nearly too less time to welcome the musicians with due respect. Then it went the whole hog with the remix of THE ELEVATOR. The power of this remix is incredible. The once inconspicuous B-side turned out to a real banger.
During the song we noticed that Marian really lost much weight. Some fans already reported that, but now we knew how much he really lost. He nearly looked delicate. But who thinks he hasn't enough power for a show full of energy is totally wrong. He moves nearly wild to the rhythm and is a real bundle of energy. It's a great fun to see him. It's obvious with how much passion he's involved with it. The next song is A VICTORY OF LOVE, also very powerful. After Olek's report we knew the strings would crown that song. We agree. The actual live-version is much better than the sooner ones. Then comes IN THE MOOD, a song I don't like so much - anyway at the album. But maybe it's because of I never understood it right. Live Marian tells it better understandable for me. Suddenly the song starts to live. I get a relation to the song. It's like magic, theater... As the song ends I have to ask Uwe what time it is. ... slowly it's time for Corvins milk. Did someone call? No?
In the meanwhile they play one of the hits: "SOUNS LIKE A MELODY" and the audience is delighted. It's a very long version and once more I've got the impression to be in a theater... "follow me, follow me ... to once forbidden places..." And the lights supports the sound that's getting faster and faster, nearly till extasy. Did someone call? No? Probably he'll drink his milk. I'm getting calmer. Marian tells the next song is about a place, where once he was living. We know, this song is SUMMER IN BERLIN. It seems today I listen the music with other ears as usually. I never felt before what a big declaration of love this song is to the town Berlin. Here and today I nearly can touch this emotion 'cause they're getting so real. After the slow song comes again a faster song: THE JET SET... and still no one called us up. After the first tunes I noticed at once JERUSALEM. It's such a great live-version. Marian introduced the songs with these words:" ... it was talked too much about war in the last period...".
I understand what he's wanting to say. "Jerusalem" tells about death and that people will be sacrified.
And nothing else happens not so far away at the moment. Melancholy, created by music, is heavy in the air.
GUARDIAN ANGEL - not less tragic- but it's not so obvious in the sound. If you listen carefully to Marians way of interpretation, you can feel a certain rage. At the end he's talking: "The next song isn't less sad". The next song in WISHFUL THINKING.
And we never heard it before like this time. Uwe told me later at night, how great it was in his opinion. Marian sang also some German passages, for example:" ... ich wünschte du wärest tot...", what means so much as "I wish you were dead". We understand the sarcasm. And than it's again like theater. Marian tells in German: "... and then you're lying in front of me, dead as a doornail ... but than ... you're rising up to the sky... and you're looking so nice, like an angel..." After the song he says: he wish no one something bad and finally he sends the dead to heaven - so hoped no one misunderstood him.
That's a perfect transition to the upcoming song NEW HORIZONS and on the screen behind you can see clowds (=heaven). Since no one called us up until, everything seems to be o.k. with Corvin. I relax now cause now I know they will not call us in this night. ASTRAL BODY and DANCE WITH ME are the next 2 songs. As we hear the first tunes of FOREVER YOUNG we know that’s the last song of the regular concert-program. The people in the hall are happy – this is the song they waited for. We’re very surprised that relatively such a few people can sing so loud. It’s like always a big choir.
It seems they all like the show. And again we notice we’re not so well organized. We even haven’t a lighter. But thanks to Torleif. He gave us a hand full of sparklers. Well done! Incidentally, in our opinion that what you can see on the screen during the song are cells that divide. The symbol for the life.
As the song is over the musicians left the stage. It seems the audience knows very exactly that this wasn’t the last song. The band returns without much callings. With FLAME it stays slow and romantic. And then THE song everybody was waiting for... dub dub dedededub... a cry goes through the hall... BIG IN JAPAN. We admit, this unmistakeable beginning was the best that AV could do. We always liked the live-version they played before, but this version went down much better with the audience.
It was simply great!
What’s up? AV already left the stage? Where’s APOLLO? Okay, we thought they’ll give a shorter program because of the little audience. But no one wants already go home. And indeed AV return once more – of course for APOLLO. As the stage is empty again after that song for us it’s clear, it’s over!
Probably we know AV not good enough. We know they play the DANCE WITH ME – ballad if the show was special great, but in our opinion today wasn’t such a show. But Marian and Martin came once more and played for us this amazing ballad.
Then it was really over.
It was half past 11 p.m. If only we had talked some word with Marian, had congratulated him to his birthday, had shown him a photo of Corvin and had told him how great the actual show is. But Marian just gave an interview to a newspaper and we had to leave at latest at midnight, to be in time at home for Corvin’s next meal. It wasn’t worth to wait, cause if the interview had finished soon, we would have just even 10 minutes for talking. What a pity!
But we have seen a great concert, we enjoyed the time and refulled our souls. That’s everything we wanted! So we said goodbye to the fans and Monika. We just had time enough to tell Martin “oh it was a great show” and "congratulations" to Shane Meehan.
Punktually for Corvin’s next meal we were at home again. Corvin was very well behaved in the last hours, sleept without problems in the foreign rooms, drunk his milk from the bottle and cried not one single time.