Round 4 - Heading To Mannheim - Now it’s do or die!

Two months have passed since this show took place and I somehow never came around to write a review. So, for those who may have enjoyed reading the other so far or just for the sake of completing it here’s the final round of my German tour 2011.
The first crazy thing happened almost a week before that show when my parents decided to both go to that concert - as I mentioned before, they have been divorced for two years now. Memories popped up in my mind from the last show we all did together - Hessisch-Lichtenau 2006, which was quite a disaster due to certain different reasons. Also Munich 2003 hadn’t been that easy with both of them, not meaning the shows itself, but many things that happened around.
So 4 of us started off our trip to Mannheim at around 3pm on that Saturday - me, my parents and Lena, who had already been with us in Munich. From where we live, Mannheim is just a 2 hour drive - I wanted to leave earlier, but got outvoted by the rest of us. And there we were again, right at the highway’s exit to Mannheim, caught in a traffic jam. Man, I was already getting pissed that early again. We made it to the concert sight at around 6:30 then and what looked to be still quite empty coming from the back (the Maimarktgelände is rather long) turned out to be a pretty packed crowd already. Standing more in the back, in the middle of nowhere, that was something to get excited about - not!
But things and the whole night started to turn at that point. I got texted by Johny (Avantasian), who I had met months before at a local club during a Bounce concert. He told me that we should go to the very left side (where all the different footing stands were located), around the barrier and go to the left screen. It worked and was the tip that saved our night - we all of a sudden were even close to the pit area, had a great view and great people around us. By this time the support act was still playing - Vintage Trouble. For the first time in Germany The Breakers didn’t open and, though I never minded them in that slot, I thought Vintage Trouble did a much better job. They’re music had a cool grove and they seemed to be more experienced being on stage.
After they had done their set we went to get something to drink and take a toilet break, before we wanted to settle at our position. Back at the “pirate” bar I met Seb, Katherine, Erik and Thierry. We had a short conversation, Thierry told me how awful Jon also sounded in Zurich and we all agreed that the opener (as the shows with Happy Now and Captain Crash in that spot both tanked) will set the tone for tonight. Afterwards we arranged a meeting point for after the show, as Kathleen and Paul were still in the pit and Johnny, Ronny and Johny were at totally different points of the festival site.
When walking back to our position I kept thinking “this is the final German show and every last German show this decade was special”, trying to convince me that this night would turn out to be good. Normally that’s what an artist should do and not the concert attendant himself. Well, the band still had the chance to prove it, because, even though Dusseldorf (and supposedly Zurich) had been downers, every final German tour show in the past had been awesome - Munich 2001, 2003 (or alternatively Kiel) and 2006 as well as Frankfurt 2008.
The music kept playing, Jon’s white microphone stand was on stage and everybody got excited around us. They were singing, chanting and I thought “wow this could be a real awesome crowd”. The only time I experienced fans being to hyped even before the show went on was in Munich 2003 - and we all know where than went! I didn’t know if there was a curfew, but got a little nervous at around 20 minutes after 8 as the band still didn’t show up. But just as these thoughts went through my head the little orange “balls” at the beginning of the intro started to pop up on the screen and I screamed “it’s about to start”. Everyone around me started to cheer and get crazy. Awesome!
When the intro was done my heart beat was immensely high, anticipating, hoping and at the same time fearing the first song. Tico counted the beat off and Richie busted into Raise Your Hands! Here we go! It was exactly the right song to start to work the crowd and to get everyone going. The only thing that bothered me a little bit was that the sound out there on the left wasn’t as loud as I wanted it to be, but this may have been due to me being used to the overpowered volume in Dusseldorf. It changed and got better throughout the show anyway. Bad Name followed right up to Raise Your Hands and Jon seemed to get more and more relaxed and have fun. The best thing that could happen! It went down great, as did Born To Be My Baby. For the first time this tour I heard Jon properly hitting the “na na na” part in the end, something where he clearly struggled in Munich and Dusseldorf, even a bit in Dresden. When We Weren’t Born To Follow kicked off I realized how good it could turn out that night. Jon started singing and I got goose bumps, for the first time ever during this song. The vocals were just so spot on, he wasn’t mumbling or anything and just sounded very good!
Towards the end of the song I started wondering what will be next. Will they go over straight to Lost Highway or finish the songs and go with In These Arms or Whole Lot of Leavin’? I wasn’t overly excited about any of these alternatives, but loved what happened: Jon shouted a few “oh yeah” and announced The Radio Saved My Life Tonight! I had listened to this song heavily the weeks before, thinking how cool it would be to hear it again. And it rocked the house! Of course I prefer the tune in its original way, but they spiced it up a bit. It sounded faster, with more punch and David’s backing vocals were very present. Tico missed one beat at the end of the guitar solo, but then drummed like crazy as if he wanted to make up for it. After that little break, where Jon sings about walking home with his dashboard light the build-up followed - the part I love most about the live version of this song. The audience clapped and shouted like crazy and I rarely ever felt better at a live show than at this point - and it wouldn’t change for the rest of the night!
The song was done, the cheer immense. Jon did a short speech, talking about how it was good to be back, greeting the people from the military airbase and saying that no one played here for 8 years since he went 20 minutes over the curfew back then.
Then It’s My Life kicked in and kept everyone just on their feet! Afterwards the cheering was so loud I didn’t ever hear the first notes of Runaway. Jon did a much better job on the solo than I ever heard him doing before, he really got better and could kick Bobby’s ass easily. Though I still don’t see the point why Richie isn’t playing it himself, he still most definitely is in a different league with his skills!
Jon pointed at Tico and the beat for Sleep When I’m Dead kicked in. Once again Jon changed the speed of how the audience should clap, just like in Dusseldorf. But the major difference was that he did it here because he felt like he could really let it go, whereas it felt so forced half a week before. He let us count it in and started the song. People following my reviews here might know how much I loved the song in Dresden and how flat it fell on me both in Munich and Dusseldorf. This night the magic was back again and somehow I was again taken away by the lights. I don’t know why, but both in Dresden and Mannheim I was standing very much to the side of the stage, meanwhile my position was quite centered on the other shows. Maybe the view is the reason the lights made more impact on me, I can’t think of anything else to be honest.
But it wasn’t just the lights, the whole performance was a lot more intense. The song had a grove tonight and that’s what it needs to breathe. After the solo Jon did his Mick Jagger parody by playing Start Me Up which worked very well and afterwards he and Richie spotted an Elvis double in the pit. He said something, imitating Elvis tone in his voice and went back to I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead.
I was so relaxed at this point, knowing that it was a totally different style of show than 4 days before, in fact, it looked like a different band. I was just having a great time!
We Got It Going On came and I didn’t even mind, the crowd was loud and the video effects are cool! About the song - well, I rambled enough about by now I guess.
Now we just came to the point where I started thinking “I heard all this in that way before” and right then another special treat “for our Germans fans only” came - I Get A Rush! It’s not my favorite song off the box set, but it was a welcome change and I enjoyed it, though Jon’s vocals weren’t so spot on during that song for once. Even now they didn’t lose the audience in any way, though obviously no one around me seemed to know the tune (I had a female fan behind me literally singing along word for word, but she always shut up for the box set songs).