WhitesnakeThe fullfilment of my dream was, however, not that easy. I had no choice but to go to Berlin, this time with no friend of mine and (fortunately) with no “ready-made” organised transport. It wasn’t a difficult decision to make, in case you all wondered. I did not hestitate for a moment and I was ready to do anything to go and see the show. And to tell you the truth, the only matter that might be potentially the problem is the money.. But if seeing your god is not priceless, I don’t know what is..
Let me skip the boring 6-and-a-half-hour journey as well as further trying to buy a ticket with paper money (xD), not to mention freezing, getting wet and trying to solve the mystery of the public communication in Berlin..
My intelligent plan was to be at the Hall an hour before the opening of the gates, and so I stood and froze until 6 when puctually (in Poland it would be like a miracle) they let us enter. ( In case you have been already bored with the pre-gig stuff please skip this and go to the main part xD – I hope I will get there). Now… How can the cloakroom cost 2 Euro? I thought that our 1ZŁ price in Stodoła (for each piece of clothing!!) is a little bit primitive xD I mean, you can buy a sausage for 2 Euro and leave your coat in a cloakroom for the same price.. ?
So we are done with the rip-off. Next there was a bloody fight over the best standing places!! xD I would love to see that, but no, there wasn’t even enough people for this kind of thing. When I got there, the first row was already taken, but the second was still free and it took a lot of time actually for the standing area to get crowded.
Before the supporting band started playing, quite an interesting thing happend. Mainly, Doug Aldrich himself came down and started talking with people, signing stuff and being photographed. I must say he IS the kind of guy that makes impression, oh yes.. especially when he just walks by with a guitar. And he’s such a nice guy!
As I was standing there and getting bored, it was quite surprising to hear Polish language! It seems that a lot of Poles came to see Alice (obviously), but also Whitesnake (even though they played in Stodoła the day after).
As for the support there’s not much to say. Kids playing for kids – it would be this kind of music. Catchy, Green Dayish, “trendy”, but well, there was a little bit of rock and roll in it. Also, nice set of guitars – Zakk’s Bullseye (Epi) and a violet but still beautiful Gibson SG. And they were much too loud…
WHITESNAKE
The truth is that if I were to see Whitesnake and Alice separately, I would be excited almost equally about both gigs. And in fact, I was extremely excited about seeing David and I also loved the performance of the whole band. So why didn’t I write about Whitesnake earlier in this review..? The point is that I was (and am) so overwhelmed with Alice that Whitesnake seems to be a little overshadowed. It had to be this way. But I really love Whitesnake, and it has been always my dream to see David. In fact, after Whitesnake went off the stage I was so excited about what had happened that I was seriously afraid of my state when Alice would appear.. and I was somehow right.
Before the gig, I haven’t seen any recent photos of David and I didn’t know what to expect, but he didn’t dissapoint me at all. He looked really great, and he’s only 3 years younger than Alice. He has still got his charm and hasn’t lost the beaming aura that has always made him such a wonderful and charismatic frontman. Voice – as good as always and also he didn’t omit any of the difficult parts. Focused and emotional during the ballads.. it was this David that we all know, he didn’t change a bit. And of course, most importantly - doing stuff with the microphone! Almost the same as in 83 at Donnington !!
Now Doug. Charming, handsome.. (po prostu zniewalający!!!) But…. I couldn’t find anything extraordinary in his play. As it didn’t impress me while watching the Live in the Still of the Night DVD, sadly it hasn’t impressed me this time either. He may be a great guitarist technically, he may have a charming way of playing.. and in fact I think he fits the present band really good and I like the new album and its style. But, there is nothing about his play that would make me go mad about him. ( see Vinnie Moore xD)
Now if Doug was charming, I don’t know how to describe the bass player - Uriah Duffy.. I guess you can’t describe it, you just have to see him perform. He could make a tough competition for Rudy Sarzo.. if you know what I mean :D
What was the name of the drummer again? Where the deuce is Tommy Aldridge?
I don’t want to say much about Reb Beach, beacause I simply didn’t enjoy his play, nor his image, behaviour etc. Seeing him live has not improve my opinion about him.
Now about the performance – the biggest surprise, at least for me, were acoustic versions of “The Deeper the Love” and “Ain’t Gonna Cry No More”.. mmmm Starkers in Tokyo :) The new songs sounded even better than on the album and I was even surprised how well they fit in the setlist. Someone who doesn’t know Whitesnake at all might have never guessed that these songs were recorded 20 years later than the others. As for the rest of the songs – no surprises and no dissapointments either. I mean, you can’t be picky when you see such a band for the first time. Anything they played would be great. Even hearing Is This Love for the 1000th time was wonderful.
Maybe David did not do much of the talking in between the songs, but there were some funny moments. – before The Deeper the Love started somebody from the audience shouted: Mistreated!. David’s response to this was: Mistreated indeed!! xD Before some other song somebody also shouted: I love you baby xD which was awesome xD and so was Doug’s response: Baby yeah!!!
The sound was really good, and I must say Germans did a great job just as at the KISS gig in June. However, the audience behaved also as previously – with no energy whatsoever.. The singing was also very poor and audible only during the choruses xD And it was to the point that I even heard myself singing most of the time…
The setlist wasn’t very long, but I didn’t expect it to be any longer. The performance was really satisfying, incredible and unforgettable.. If not for Alice coming next I would be the happiest person ever anyway!
The setlist:
1. Best Years
2. Fool For Your Loving
3. Can you Fell the Wind Blow
4. Love ain’t No Stranger (Dedicated to Mel Galley)
5. Lay Down Your Love
6. The Deeper The Love (Acoustic)
7. Is this Love
8. Guitar solos of Doug and Reb and then the guitar duel!
9. A Fool In Love
10. Ain’t Gonna Cry No More (Acoustic)
11. Ain’t No Love in The Heart of The City
12. Give me All Your Love
13. Here I go Again
14. Still of The Night
Best Years
Love Ain't No Stranger
ALICE COOPER
After Whitesnake finished playing, the fullfilment of my dream was getting closer and closer.. The thought of seeing Alice in a moment wasn’t just exciting, it was something indescribable..
After listening to the songs of Along Came a Spider coming from the loudspeakers the lights go suddenly down… Behind the curtain, there appears a shadow of Alice.. then another Alice stabs him in the heart… the curtain goes up, and then I’m out of my mind. I didn’t even notice what had happened. I saw Alice and I was the happiest person alive.. And he was just like I imagined him to be. And he was real, and standing so close.. Then It’s Hot Tonight started and how I love this song! Alice singing just like he should, just like on the album, going from one side of the stage to the other. Looking in the eyes of the people in the front… Singing and acting just like Alice always does… It was so perfect! Except for one thing? NO!! With no exception! ( For those who listened to the new album xD)
The end of the first song, lights go down, and then immediately – No Mr. Nice Guy.. And then one song after another. Each one so familiar to me and so beloved. Each one sang by me from the beginning to the end and a smile has not dissapeared from my face for a moment – especially when Alice was standing at the right side of the stage.. I just couldn’t believe both my eyes and ears, I’d been waiting for that moment for so long!!!!
And the songs… aaaahhh. Woman of Mass Destruction and Dirty Diamonds surprised me the most!! It’s so good that Alice didn’t forget about his last album as I was afraid he would. Having so many albums and songs to choose from, it was really a big surprise to hear these two. However there were only two songs from the new album.. including my favourite one – (In Touch With Your) Feminine Side.
After Vengeance is Mine Halo of Flies started… and it is in my opinion the best song of Alice and my particularly beloved one.. I wasn’t sure if I was going to hear it, but you may all guess what I felt when I heard it start… Alice as if conducting his band during the beginning… then his theatrical singing … I was so overwhelmed there was even no time for tears!!! Not yet!! Then right before the final part of the song, the bass player had his own little solo, following by Eric Singer’s longer one on drums. And then there was something I’ve never seen anybody perform on stage. Both guitarists – Keri Kelli and Jason Hook joined Eric and played with him the drums. It was quite long and it was really amazing… If I was to highlight one song of the show.. it would definitely be Halo of Flies. Ahhh, it was a masterpiece !!
Before I proceed it would be nice to write something about the rest of the band. I must admit that I haven’t seen any material from any gig of the new line-up. I was sad because of Ryan Roxie’s departure and also I was afraid how well the new guitarists will do. But as it turned out, I should have trusted Alice in this matter. Keri Kelli really impressed me. Young and cheerful, evidently taking a lot of fun out of playing he was the centre of attention if you didn’t count Alice!! He’s definitely a good guitarist and he brought a lot of positive energy to the show. Jason Hook didn’t impress me that much, but he was OK. I didn’t pay much attention to the bass player though. I mean my attention was almost all the time focused on Alice! And in fact it has always been this way that Alice was the main attraction. There were some particularly good guitarists playing with him in the old days, but generally it has always been about Alice. However Keri was really nice! And of course – Eric Singer! I was really happy to see him, though obviously I didn’t see that much of him. In between the songs some group of people behind me started shouting: KISS!!, KISS!! Eric Singer!!. Haha that was great.
Getting back to the show! After the amazing Halo of Flies there came the second part of the show, which was more theatrical. Beginning with Welcome To My Nightmare, and being followed by Cold Ethyl (Alice hanging around with a doll, all in blood and torn clothes).. then Only Women Bleed ( the doll is exchanged with one of his daughters ). Next – the piano intro and of course Steven. And suddenly I had tears in my eyes.. This song is made for being staged and it is watching it live that makes it whole, it creates the full effect.. and it was so impressing, so unforgetable.. Then there appeared a trolley and we all know what that might mean !! Of course Dead Babies, but this time acted with a baby in a trolley. During the climax of the song, Alice took the baby out, and showed it to the audience – it had and evil face xD Then he put it back into the trolley and stabbed with a stick!!!! Red lights flashed, and then he took it out again and the baby’s face was all in blood!! (AAAh, Alice - the master of horror :D ) And then suddenly two men in black appear!! They catch Alice, and put a strait-jacket on him. The classic moment!!!! I couldn’t believe I was seeing it with my own eyes!!! (I have tears in my eyes when I recall this moment) And then Alice is left alone and performs Ballad of Dwight Fry. Another classic moment! “I wanna get out of here”… and then, during the climax, he’s taking the strait-jacket off and leaves the stage. The band continues with the solos.. Then the men in black enter with Alice, who is again in the strait-jacket. There also appears a large mysterious object on the stage.. The band plays Devil’s Food.. the object is uncovered. It’s the gallows!! Now the classic part is about to occur. I must admit I’ve never seen Alice die in this way… how exciting, how exciting !!! The moment of anticipation, the ending of Killer played in the background… And.. Alice is hanged! Next, the band plays I love the Dead.. The gallows leave the stage.. And then Alice is back wearing a white jacket (not a suit anymore) and a hat !! Another classic and awaited moment. School’s Out begins including the balloons with confetti inside and introduction of the band…. and then the band goes off the stage…
First encore – Billion Dollar Babies ( and the classic dollars with Alice’s face given to the audience!!) And finally .. the characteristic intro that couldn’t be mistaken for any other song – Poison! I wasn’t sure he would play it. In fact I’m extremely tired of this song… but seeing Alice sing it.. and seeing him sing the first verse at the right side of the stage and looking me in the eye.. amazing !!!!! I won’t ever forget it. A beautiful ending to an unforgetable concert..
I can’t say it was THE best gig in my life. Nothing will ever beat seeing Black Sabbath and Ozzy for the first time. But saying that it was the second best concert in my life means certainly a lot. One of the best experiences in my life. Fullfilment of my dreams… I don’t know what better could possibly happen to make me even more happy than I am now!
The setlist:
1. It's Hot Tonight
2. No More Mr Nice Guy
3. Under My Wheels
4. I’m Eighteen
5. Is It My Body
6. Woman Of Mass Distraction
7. Feed My Frankenstein
8. Be My Lover
9. (In Touch With Your) Feminine Side
10. Dirty Diamonds
11. Vengeance Is Mine
12. Halo Of Flies
13. Welcome To My Nightmare
14. Cold Ethyl
15. Only Women Bleed
16. Steven
17. Dead Babies
18. Ballad Of Dwight Fry
19. Devil’s Food/ I Love The Dead
20. School's Out
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21. Billion Dollar Babies
22. Poison
Dead Babies - Ballad of Dwight Fry - Devil's Food - Alice is hanged - I love the Dead
Sorry Eric, I couldn't get a better shot!
Mon 1 Dec – Alice Cooper, Whitesnake, Five and the Red one
Alice Cooper
Whitesnake
