Wise Guys in Wesel
April 6th 2006 - Niederrheinhalle Wesel, Germany
Actually we didn't plan to visit this concert. But because the concert in Köln in January got cancelled and postponed, and I couldn't go to Köln again, I ordered tickets for Wesel. Or actually, Maike ordered tickets for me (thanks again Maike). So it's Wesel again today. I'm actually getting a bit fed up with the Niederrheinhalle... it's just a terribly ugly hall. But, during the concert I don't look at the hall, I look at the stage and the five men performing there... so what does it matter what this hall looks like?
We had an early dinner, left the dishes in the kitchen, hoping they might clean themselves during our absence, and drove off to Germany. We arrived just after seven and waited for the others (not knowing two of them were already inside to promote Misereor. Mareike arrived, we went inside and found Solli and Anke there. Just before eight, Maike, Martina and Mella finally arrived. They made it!! (with 190 km/h on the highway... oh oh Maike!!). Time to get to our places. Martin and I had never been this far away from the stage. Row 8 and 9 ;) on the far left. But they were the best places we could get. Let the show begin!
The intro starts, in which you hear Ferenc telling about turning off your mobile phones, and
it's forbidden to film or record audio, etc. Eddi calmly appears on the stage. He starts singing
all alone, about how lonely he would be if he'd be alone on the big stage tonight. And what
could he sing for two hours? Luckily, he's not alone and Sari joins him. Together they continue
the song. They sing the audience will probably get bored because of all the thirds they're singing.
So they try to amuse the audience with a crazy face - but that doesn't work all night as well. So Clemens joins them and with him they are already able to sing pretty chords. But there's still something missing. A bass would be great. Ferenc appears and just like the others he gets his own applause and cheering from the audience. They continue the song, and sing there's still something missing. They could use some energy, some rhythm. And what would they be without Dän, who writes almost all of the texts? As soon as Dän appears on stage, the Opener transforms to an up tempo song which brings so much energy, and such good vibes. I really love it and it's the perfect start of tonight's show. They've got new outfits and they're nice. Though I loved the old ones a lot actually.
Dän welcomes everybody. "Herzlich willkommen in dieser..... eh... " He looks around, searching for the right words to describe the building "in dieser... eh... Halle". Yes, exactly, don't try to make it beautiful, it's just a dumb hall. He tells us they are having a very, very busy schedule this week. I believe he said eight concerts in ten days. And tomorrow there's the concert with the classical orchestra Schumann Camerata for which they had a lot of rehearsals. He also tells us some of the songs they are singing tonight will be on their new album "Radio" which will be available as from 05.05.06. He mentions this fact another five or six times during the evening. He'll make sure nobody will forget the release date.
They will also sing some 'oldies', some of them over two years old :)
But they can't sing every song we'd like, so they continue with Du kannst nicht
alles haben, and again (or should I say still) there are people clapping when they shouldn't,
but that's just perfect. Without these people the song would be less fun. Dän tells us
they will soon start with their "Radio-tour" (again he mentions the new album), and the song
Du kannst nicht alles haben will not be in the show anymore. So tonight
was almost the last time they sang it.
He asks for some lights in the hall, and starts the audience questioning ("Zuschauerbefragung" sounds better). With the lights on he discovers six empty places in the third row and he invites people from the back to come forward. It doesn't take long before six people jump up and sprint to the front, haha. There are a lot, really a lot of so called "neuhörer" (people that visit a Wise Guys concert for the first time) and again it turns out that most people got to know the Wise Guys because others told them about the Wise Guys, and not because they read or heard about the Wise Guys in the media. Dän asks us to continue this mouth propaganda. "Frage nicht was die Wise Guys für dich tun können, aber was du für die Wise Guys tun kannst."
They continue the show with Denglisch. An up tempo song about the
Anglicization of the German language. The song starts in German, but the sentences are slowly translated
into English and at the end of the song there's not much German left. Where they first sing
"Oh Herr, bitte gib mir meine Sprache zurück", later it's "Oh Lord, please give mir
meine language back". A great song, with a great text.
Dän tells us about a phase in your life in which you can decide everything by yourself. The
phase in which you are living alone, when you can decide if you are going to sleep, what you
are going to eat, if you are going out, if you are coming back, or not.
But, there's always the point where you start looking for somebody. To fall in love with somebody is not that hard, but to be loved back can be more difficult. This problem in relationships is the subject of the song Romanze. It's such a funny song and Clemens sings it with such seriousness. After the final sentence, everybody has to laugh.
Eddi admits there are more possible problems in relations. One of them will be sung by Sari in Sie bricht mir das Herz. A song about the pain a woman can cause you. I won't tell more about it. I guess there are still people who don't know this song and it wouldn't be nice to give away the joke of this song. During the laughter and clapping after the song, the Wise Guys line up to sing Achtung! Ich will tanzen. Eddi made some changes in the choreography and he's dancing even more like a weirdo. I didn't believe it was possible, but it is. It's so much fun to watch him. I realize there is so much to see during a Wise Guys concert. The visual aspect of their songs is in many cases very important, which distinguish them from many other a cappella groups. Most groups I know use the choreo to support the song, but I guess with many Wise Guys songs it's the complete picture that makes it 100%. After Achtung! Ich will tanzen they need to take a break. Dän uses this break to tell us about the past, when they had just started singing and were still a bit shy on the stage. They would stand in a line, close to each other, not moving at all. "Those were good times", he smiles.
Mädchen lach doch mal is next. This is an old song, but they sing it because Eddi likes to do the drums so much. Actually, so tells Clemens, Eddi wants to yodel. But the other four didn't want that to happen, so they allowed this song to be back in the show. Eddi and Sari are doing the drums, and Eddi is jumping over the stage like a kangaroo. How is he able to sing at the same time?? Clemens also tells us that Eddi doesn't have a tv at home. But when the Wise Guys are touring with the band, they sleep in hotels a lot. And one night, after they performed a show, Eddi found out how to turn on his tv in his hotel room. In the middle of the night there's not much to see except for 9Live (note: this is a German television station where you have to call, answer stupid questions and win prices if you've got the correct answer). To get over the trauma Eddi got from this experience, he wrote the song 9Live (original song: "I will survive"). I love the song, but I'd love to experience it during an open air concert again, where you can jump along. The audience tonight wasn't that loud and stayed quite calm, even during this song. Pity.
Another beautiful story from Dän. A cappella music is the oldest form of music, he tells us. Because you don't need anything for it. There was probably already a cappella music when we were still living in caves, cozy at the campfire, while we were baking our mammoth sausages... (Typical; only a German would come up with such a thought. Haha.) The thing is, in these days, you have to think of new things all the time. The Wise Guys have already done that by writing a song which contains a baking recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies. But they've stopped singing this song when fans started throwing the cookies on stage during the song (note: the recipe is really good, you should try it!). For their next album (again he could advertise for it) Eddi has written a song which is very innovative. It's a cartoon without television. Yes! Buddy Biber!! I love this song!!! It takes some seconds before they can start, because Clemens has to laugh about the way Dän is introducing the song. But when he stops laughing they can start. It's amazing how they do this. The sounds are just stunning and Eddi singing backwards sounds so good. I can't resist myself from giving you some pictures from this song, because it's so much fun to watch them.
Without another word, they continue with Wo der Pfeffer wächst. This song sounds so good tonight. Really sharp and angry. I still love it. After the song, Clemens tells us about Misereor and Ferenc disappears of the stage. Eh.. huh? Why does Ferenc leave? Is he going to wet his hair, put on the jacket and going to sing Nur für dich? Not possible. There's no hair to wet ;) Ferenc gets back, Dän goes on with the Misereor talk, and also tells us we can buy cd's, songbooks and more during the break. And Clemens disappears of the stage, aah, now he's going to put his head under the tap. Dän also tells us about the book Eddi wrote; Eddi is the so called Yoko Ono of the group, also optical, haha. And because he wasn't allowed to yodel, he wrote a book instead. Clemens reappears, wet, sad and with a face you can't stop laughing about. Nur für dich is beautiful. He sang the word "durchgelesen" with so much disgust this time, everybody had to laugh about it. And for the statistics: He didn't forget to put his hand through his hair this time as well ;)
During the break we had enough to talk about. I only see the girls during concerts and there's so little time to chat! We really need a new "KusS"! (Wise Guys Fanforum weekend) During the break we had a big laugh because I found out the true meaning of "ja ja" in German. Hey, how should I know?? Just a tip for my Dutch friends: Don't say "ja" twice in Germany. It's really rude.
The Wise Guys were welcomed back with a big applause, they didn't wait for the audience to get silent and just started singing Mad World. The audience quickly got silent. It's the only covered song in the show right now (and it will be on the new album as well). It's just beautiful.
They continue with Schunkeln, another new song. Ok, and here comes my biggest challenge for
this report: How to explain Schunkeln in English? Schunkeln = When people put their arm through
each others arms and make a rhythmic movement from left to right. Ok. Just schunkeln. You'll understand.
It's so much fun to see Clemens singing this song, while the other four schunkeln in the background.
And when Clemens turns around, they quickly stop. It's so funny. I would have loved to schunkel along,
but in my row nobody did... :(
Dän manages again to advertise for the new album, and then he tells us we're going to hear another oldie: Powerfrau. It's a nice song, but I wouldn't mind if they put another song in place for it. Eddi tells us he's oft being asked what the most embarrassing moment in his career is. There are too many, he says. Some of them are used to write the next song, Einer von den Wise Guys. A great song, I love the intro with the vocal percussion. And I love the humor.
Köln is the most beautiful city in the world. Dän really feels sorry for all the
people that have to live in other cities. The people from Köln are optimistic and to spread
this optimism they wrote the song Weltmeister. When Germany doesn't
win the World Championship this year, there are lots of things to be proud of as a German. And
of course, I love the sentence "Die Holländer können kicken doch die haben keine Berge"
:D
Clemens tells us a story about a situation from the past. Eddi and Dän are laughing
about him so much. The next song is for all the people who don't dare to say what they really
think of somebody - in a negative way.
Das Allerletzte is a song with a fantastic vocal percussion from Dän, a great text and such a catchy arrangement. It's not a typical Wise Guys song (there isn't any by the way, but this song is really different than what most people are used of), and therefore I love it so much. I can already imagine me listening to this song when I'm really angry (when's that??). Volume up and throw all your frustrations out! Fantastic. They continue with Sing mal wieder. I love this song because I love the way Eddi is playing with the audience. Today he even made us do some simple vocal percussion. But, still too hard ;) A lot of people were just laughing in stead of singing along. Understandable, Eddi was being crazy of course. Before I knew, the sing along part was over already. It could have been longer, if you ask me.
There is always somebody in the band who is more withdrawn, calmer. As soon as Dän starts talking about Ferenc, there's an applause bursting out. Ferenc has a new song, and it's cool. Really cool. In Tiefgang he is making fun of his four colleagues and being the cool guy himself. Great new song!! The show is pretty much getting to an end, and Dän thanks all the people who cooperated tonight. He also tells us about the different jubilees in the band. Eddi, Sari, Clemens and Dän know each other for 25 years now. Dän and Clemens know each other for 30 years already! Ferenc is with them for 11 years, also a nice number ;) It's time for the final song, Zwischenbilanz, in which they thank all the people, all their fans, and in which they make fun of the media, the illegal copying and the radio stations who don't play their music.
They return to sing Jede Stimme zählt, a song where they sing in turns, and one by one they disappear of the stage. Eventually only Eddi remains and he's so happy his colleagues have gone. Now he can yodel! But not for long, a man appears and takes Eddi with him backstage. Eddi keeps yodeling until he's really backstage. A big applause follows and all five return to sing Ruf doch mal an. A song where we have to stand up, and jump, dance and sing along. After the song, some people already start singing the Ohrwurm but first comes Jetzt ist sommer. They continue with the Ohrwurm and return one more time for the Ohrwurm (reprise). Now it's really over, what a great concert. The audience could have been more enthusiastic, but we can't have it all *chengcheng*.
After the concert we stay around quite long. The Wise Guys come out for signatures, but they are really tired and they leave early. Tomorrow is a big day for them! We are having more fun on the parking lot. There's vla in the trunk for Maike and Martina and we schunkeln and sing the song (as far as we know the text), we call Steffi and together we make plans for the next concert in Wesel. We notice the moon is really small tonight, but of course, we know better. Wise Guys concerts are very educational. I've always wanted to know the diameter of the moon is constant and that the full moon viewed from earth is 31 arc minutes, or about 1/2 degree. So it would be wrong to suspect the moon sometimes is bigger or smaller. More about the moon can be found here. Spaß beiseite ;) Eventually we have to go and after some big hugs we all go home.