“London” sang Queensryche in 1986 and it had to take me 19 years to see it for myself. Well, “see for myself” in this case is an exaggeration, because my stay lasted only 24 hours, but I had my penetrating glimpse. Mike Amott had kindly notified me on time about this special occasion, so I was about picking up my tickets when I was told that the nice people at Inside Out would pay my expenses to be present at the occasion…thanks guys!!!
So, on Monday, the 20th June 2005 I am off to the airport of Athens, the flight isn’t very early in the morning and the streets are empty, cause it’s a holiday, so I got plenty of time ahead of me. I check in and start killing time drinking coffee, smoking Luckies and lurking at juicy female tourists…
Anyway, I depart on a lousy, cheapo Easy Jet flight and my seat is killing me. Obviously not made for people of 190cm height and 100 kg weight…especially when the one seating in front of you doesn’t make it much easier for you. When I stand up my knees are hurting, but what is pain before a Spiritual Beggars gig? Nothing! Gatwick is dirty, full of retired English couples, all reddish from the mediterranean sun and blurry eyes, returning to their cool base. Cool?…hm, not exactly! London is hot and steamy with 27 degrees and lotsa humidity. Crap. I feel lost and the first person I ask information from, utters something incomprehensible and looks away…From my side, my first look around in the place is as graceful as the inspection of a SS-lieutenant at Dachau…
Shit happens when it’s supposed to stay away and Peter from IO lets me know on the phone that I’d better go directly to the pub where the interviews are held. So I pack my baggage and head for the train. My trip lasts more than an hour to King’s Cross, whereof I take the tube to Camden High Street. The underground is stinking, resembles a labyrinth and makes you re-evaluate military virtues one never thought he’d ever apply in citizenship…
However, I arrive timely at the pub called “The World’s End” and as I enter, I come across Peter who greets me warmly. But…wait? Who are these guys next to me? Hej, it’s monster drummer Ludwig Witt and the new guy aboard, Sharlee D’Angelo…man, is he tall!!! I hug and cheer, then go downstairs where Mike and Per are doing interviews. “I know this guy”…Mike gets up and greets, wow, great to see you man, it’s been more than two years!!! He is wearing a killer Hendrix tee, from the Band of Gypsies era…wow! Per is also cool, I had seen him a year ago at the Opeth gig in Athens…I leave them finish work with a colleague and find time to slip into more familiar clothing…hehe!
“Mind if I join you?” I ask Ludde and co…and co says “Fuck yeah” hehe! Humour! Don’t mess around with the press!!!! Kidding! We have a beer or more and chat about the heatwave, the expensive smokies and times spent in Greece. JB is at the Rise Above offices. Time comes to have my share of Mike and Per…we speak at about 45 minutes and I think we could go on for an eternity if the sound check wasn’t calling. When JB appears from behind, I hardly reckognise him. He’s shaved his head and looks like a trooper of the Swedish army instead of the frontman of a beer drinking and mega grooving hard rock band. Hail JB! You rule…hair aside! He hands me a new Grand Magus t-shirt, while he is wearing a groovy Rise and Shine tee…he used to play session guitar for these guys around 1998-99…how time flies by!
Anyway, I stick around and drink a couple of beers in a place that knows how to rock. As I have to check in at my hotel, I leave with detailed instruction by Peter. Danke.
A bath, something to eat, something to drink and back to the “Underground”. Wow…what is this? People standing line? Hm…I think I recognize a journo from “Classic Rock” and fall in love with a british chick who speaks with the voice of a trucker. Weird taste in deed! Inside the place it’s all dark and hot, lots of people gathered to see the band at its first European appearance in more than two years. I grab a Carlsberg and find my way to the front line as I have to shoot some pictures. It’s hilariously easy to approach the front of the stage…in Athens this would be a nightmare, in London it’s a pick nick.
The show starts and I make my shots, then proceed to headbanging saviours throughout the gig…well, almost! I have already written a cover for the show so there’s no need repeating myself. In a nutshell, Spiritual Beggars rocked my socks off, although I missed older stuff like “Blind Mountain” (obligatory killer) and tunes from “Demons” I considered to be indispensable like “In My Blood” and “No One Heard”. Ludde is sitting behind a double bass drum set…I’m not sure if this is the first time I see him like that. Per looks like a prettier Ken Hensley only he is banging and thrashing like if he were playing in a speed metal band. JB is in a great mood. Wearing a skin tight, archaic Mot