Hello, Better late than never! Paul arrived at 4.55 PM at the Köln Arena, sitting on the right side of the second limousine. The window of the car was opened, a short wave of his hand, and within 5 seconds the car vanished into the parking house. The Arena is located in the city centre, but this doesn't mean parking problems if one arrives by car, there are several storeyed parking lots very close to the Arena. Only leaving afterwards was a problem, nothing did move for about half an hour. We returned after the concert for more than one hour to have a drink and leave much easier. Again metal detectors were used like in Antwerp to confiscate dangerous weapons like small plastic bottles with orange juice :), these were not allowed by the sponsors we were told. The Arena is much huger than the Antwerp Sportpaleis, we were at the far end almost at the top. First thing we noticed was a small metal tube attached to each seat, we didn't know at all the use for it until we saw somebody attach his plastic beer glass with a handle. Speak of German efficiency. What was very annoying was that people with beer tubs on their back kept on walking through the aisles to sell beer, I guess this is custom over in Germany because I already noticed this three years ago in the same hall with Springsteen. Seats in the hall were not as comfortable as in Belgium, when we arrived home we still felt sore at our bottoms. T shirt and programs had some different prices than in Antwerp: the Sand AOH T shirt was 33 ?, program was at 23? both 3 Euro higher than in Antwerp. New was a Blue Crown Baseball Jersey at an expensive 100?. The set of 4 pins, the flashing pin and the magnet were at 9?. Concert started about 20 minutes late and when he came on Paul had picked another coloured costume from his wardrobe, this time it was turquoise. Before We Can Work It Out Paul started telling a story about how he learned German in school and told some lines (which I don't think he read off his teleprompter about Jakob der Rabe - Jacob the Raven. After Calico Skies he said this song was available on a charity album for the children of Iraq. The drum pattern on Two Of Us was particularly great, different than Ringo's one, which doesn't mean Ringo's one was bad. And Abe whistling at the end. At the end Paul sang All roads lead to Rome. On the new songs I've just seen a face and Two of Us Paul was really enjoying himself, he seemed so much more relaxed than on the songs he played during the complete tour. Also during Let 'em in he was having a laugh with Wix, almost missing some of the lyrics. Rusty's joke this time (and I've heard during all the other German concerts) was that he played a tape, probably after having asked a stewardess on the plane, telling in German that one wasn't allowed to put his chewing gum underneath the chairs, which received a big laugh from the audience. Unlike in Belgium where he dedicated Your Loving Flame to his loveliest wife Heather she was reduced to mein liebe Frau (my lovely wife) He spoke less German during the concert than Flemish in Antwerp. Dirk
(5/6/03) From Angsgar Belleson, on the April 28 show:
Hi, We arrived short before the gates were opened at 18:00 o'clock. I had my camera in my trousers. You know, the place, where usually nobody touches you. Then I saw that the security guys had metaldetectors (I’m not sure, if that’s the right word). I didn’t wan’t to risk anything, so I brought the camera back to the car. We got into the Kölnarena at about 18:15 o'clock, which did not mean that you could take your seat. Instead you should probably spend your money on merchandising. I paid incredible 23 euro for the program. We had tickets for upper rank 2, directly under the roof. From there it was hardly to be seen what’s happening on stage. We went from the bottom to the top and back again and landed just before showtime in the lower rank on beautifully padded seats with excellent view on the stage. Don’t ask me why but nobody claimed the seats (although it was a sold-out performance – 14.000). The pre-show I personally found really good. Something completely different from what we know from 1989 and 1993, but artistically very appealing, circus-like - simply unusually. With that first heavy guitar chord by Rusty Andersons the giant screen with the Hoefner/Paul silhouette went up, I got the first goose skin. But with JET I already noticed that the my excitement wasn’t the same as with my past 5 concerts 1989 and 1993. Back then there weren’t seats, I STOOD always in the middle of the action (which means directly in front of the stage). But the distance prevented this effect in this concert. Still my opinion is that the acoustic set is too long. Rhythm changes are beautifully and well, but only after WE CAN WORK IT OUT there was thundering applause. Paul sang YOU NEVER GIVE ME YOUR MONEY with that pseudo-improvised line again. After SOMETHING there again was a short YELLOW SUBMARINE singalong.The atmosphere got better with songs such as ELEANOR RIGBY or MICHELLE, when the band joined Paul on stage again. TWO OF US I liked a lot. John’s vocal part was taken over by Abe, and it was o.k. However in the last third of the concert no one remained on the seats and soon the wave of enthusiasm came up to our block. Paul’s voice was something that was absolutely convincing - with only a small mistake in WE CAN WORK IT OUT. In perfect shape. Clear as a bell in YESTERDAY or HERE TODAY and strong, whenever it was in demand. Unbelievable, what power the man has. BIRTHDAY was not too sterile, but straight rocking as on the WHITE ALBUM. MAYBE I'M AMAZED, which is my favourite Macca solo-track, was a real highlight and far better than 1989. The pyrotechnic effects with LIVE AND LET DIE … what can I say – WOW!!! As someone has pointed out before there was a little Hendrix tribute after LET ME ROLL IT with FOXY LADY (about half a minute long I would estimate) with Paul playing lead in real Hendrix-style. A further surprise was BAND ON THE RUN with a completely new intro. Spherical sounds and halved speed. Excellent! After the concert we took, like some other fans, posters and promotional displays off the walls. At least, that was for free! All the best from Germany,
Ansgar