One of the better pictures I took… and it’s still pretty bad. I need a new camera. Any recommendations?
This is a bit late, so in lieu of a proper review (as if I would ever write any!), I’d just like to state that I had a total blast! We saw Adam 12 walking around in front of the venue prior to the gig, checking out the crowd and looking like he wished someone would talk to him, so that was lovely.
Obviously, that someone wasn’t me, because I tend to behave like a total sociopath when introduced to famous people. Witnesses to my recent encounter with a football player (marked as one of the most embarrassing days of my life) will be able to testify that.
Luckily, there were no support acts, and the gig itself started pretty late, which was fine because while the Gebäde 9 is already pretty warm under normal circumstances, it was like a sauna that night. Most people preferred to have a drink outside rather than wait inside, including us, so when we we eventually headed inside, we made it right to the front of the stage. Still, the venue filled up nicely – I think it might have been a sold out crowd, probably sparked by a performance on the Sarah Kuttner Show the night before.
I already loved SWR live while supporting Placebo, but seeing them play an entire live set made me love them even more. I’m not one of the self-conscious tall people, in fact I don’t ever walk around thinking, “Gosh, I’m so tall, better duck and cover before they see how tall I am.” Nope, not me. I only ever notice my height when I’m in a club, especially if it’s mainly populated by females – could it be that the average German female is almost freakishly short, or am I just freakishly tall? Either way, as a result I just don’t feel like dancing, at least not when sober. Well, let’s just say that despite standing right in front of the stage, the heat, and not having had a single alcoholic drink because of the heat, I danced from the first second of the gig until the last because the music was just that good.
Justin tried to get more people into dancing, at one point even jumping off the stage to show how it’s done, but he also suspected the heat might have been a contributing factor to the motion-less back of the venue. He looked close to passing out himself after the second song, but pouring a bottle of cold water over his head seemed to work for him. Adam joked about the heat by asking, “Could you turn up the air-conditioning a notch?” – funny, because most places, let alone concert venues, in Germany don’t have AC.
I seem to be unable to recall their set list that night, but it included “Black Liner Run”, which made me very happy, and they also played a cover version of Depeche Mode’s “Stripped”. “Tear You Apart” was their last song, which Justin announced with, “This is going to be our last song. We’re not coming back to play another one, because we’re not that kind of band.”
One last thing that I should also mention was the audience. If you’ve been reading this for some time, you will know that snobby audiences often spoil entire gigs for me. This one sticks out because it was exceptionally nice. We were talking to and joking around with total strangers prior to the gig, which in Germany is pretty rare.
All in all, it was a magical night. Even the fact that I lost my fave sunglasses there can’t take that away from me. Adding the icing on the cake, Adam and Justin stuck around after the gig, so I got my ticket signed. Thanks to Maurice for lending me his pen! 
