Cologne

[Uschi]

After weeks of preparation and excited waiting the great day had finally come. My sister
Irene and I were on our way to Cologne/Bonn airport to pick up Susi. Unfortunately we
hadn't anticipated the amount of traffic and we were running late. By the time we
arrived Susi had had to cope with some sort of anti climax, she had almost bumped into
Dieter Bohlen (he works by the same principles as Stock/Aitken/Waterman but
unfortunately doesn't reach their level).
Then we were heading for the Wiener Platz, a middle sized Square in the same part of
Cologne where the E-Werk venue is situated. The first person we encountered was
Bandido. Some time later and with his help we found the others in front of a tent that
was some sort of cafe. We took seats, ordered drinks and started to discuss when it
would be the best time to make our way to the hall without getting lost. Bandido also
informed us that the sound quality we could expect would be excellent as the hall has
it's own equipment.

Irene and I had the birthday cake for Graham in our car so we decided to depart early in
order to get a parking place near to the hall. With Bandido as guide we succeeded and
went to the queue that had already build up in fron of the hall. It was half past six
(admission was at seven) and I hadn't encountered Achim yet who had the tickets for
me and my sister.

Susi and all the others from the Wiener Platz remained missing. I started to pace the
queue up and down just in case I had overlooked something. Suddenly I saw Lilo
coming towards me! We exchanged hugs and greetings and then there was a big guy
standing with a beautiful woman at his side. After observing me for a while he finally
addressed me and 'hurrah' it was Achim. I hugged him and, while I was on it, his
companion too assuming she was his wife Susanne. She wasn't, she was his working
collegue but she took it with humour.

Finally Susi & co arrived too. Susi had made use of a backstage pass and parked right
beside the hall just in time for the doors to be opened. Our paper tickets were
exchanged for e-tickets and we went to the right side in front of the stage (in Germany
there are no chairs in the halls).

When A.C.T came on stage it happened what had to happen and that was that after
the first two songs the crowed were captured! Knowing this phenomenon from reading
the UK reviews I came with very high expectations regarding their live performance
which were surpassed by reality! They dedicated 'Waltz Of Mother Nature' to Graham
as it was Graham's 40th birthday. A.C.T were just smashing!

Next were Ray Wilson and firstly I was a little nervous. One man with an accustic guitar
after a band like A.C.T? Very soon it turned out there wouldn't have been any need to
be apprehensive. I haven't a clue how he did it but it sounded much more than just one
man with an instrument and soon the familiar tunes of Genesis brought Ray Wilson the
well deserved attention of the audience.
Around this time my friend Birte (who I hadn't seen for years) arrived. Now the evening
was perfect.

Then Saga were coming on stage. It was like a dream come true; I just dived into the
music, dancing, enjoying every moment. The band was soon at ease with the crowd
who went along with the familiar tunes. From time to time I turned round to see the
faces of my friends and my sister, exchanging glances of delight.

After the Chapters we got our share of joining in. For 'You're Not Alone' Michael Sadler
divided the hall in two halves taking turns in singing the chorus. 'Don't Be Late' and 'On
The Loose' were performed by the crowd to Michael Sadler's satisfaction.
On the whole it seemed the band was enjoying the evening too. Michael and Jim
Gilmour joked a lot behind the keyboards and Michael Sadler did honour to his title
'master thrower of shapes' (as Parcel called him once).
The stage looked similar to the pictures of Saarbruecken on Saga-Germany (Susi :
when do we get to see the Cologne pics?)

The show was over far too soon and I was happy that I had still Speyer to go to. I
could exchange handshakes and a few words with Andreas (Guitar player of the Tribute
Band) and then we started looking for Graham.

Susi was the only one with a backstage ticket, so the difficult task to talk with grumpy
security guards (though no-one threatend her with a gun) remained with her. Graham
came with his wonderful wife Amy and provided Bandido and myself with backstage
tickets so that we could go to the car and fetch the cake.
When we came back everything was slightly chaotic. We were quite a bunch of people
standing around not knowing where to go to and what to say (Saga-Germany is
organized in a democratic way and based on team work which makes us lack a leading
figure in moments like these).

Mike Ellis (whom I didn't know at the time) observed us obviously amused. Graham
then took us down to the dressing rooms. On the way down we were passing Saga on
their way out. As the next venue was Cloppenburg (about 300 km away) they were in a
rush to depart.
The more we appreciate the time Graham, Amy and the guys from A.C.T spent with us!
It was a bit more like it was our birthday, not only had we chatted happily with all of
them but we also were treated to A.C.T's already recorded version of 'Mouse In A
Maze'. I look very much forward to the Tribute CD and if only for that song!

Finally we had to say goodbye knowing it would be just two days before all we'll meet
again.

[Aldo]

Hallo Uschi,

Dein bericht ist phänomenal...
Da gibt es nichts hinzuzufügen...

Hugging you...

P.S. Bin in keinen Chat gekommen am Freitag....
Schwierigkeiten mit meinem Rechner...