INVITATION Fragile were invited by Hanns-Christian
Mahler of Apricot Records to play at the Apricot Nights 'release party'
along with Brideshead and Mondfähre on 6th November 1998 at the Schlachthof
in Wiesbaden. This was to coincide with the release of the 'Airpop' Apricot
compilation CD and Fragile's own seven inch e.p. single, 'Worlds Apart'.
Unfortunately Rob & Steve of Fragile were unable to attend and therefore
Neale & Mark decided to play as a duo and made the journey to Germany.
It was decided that a Shining Hour set should be performed which would
also tie-in with the release of The Shining Hour seven inch e.p single,
'Five O'Clock Rise'. A second gig at the Wespenclub in Mainz was arranged
for the following evening.
WIESBADEN Neale
& Mark flew into Frankfurt on Friday 6th November and were met by
Hanns-Christian. Hanns-Christian drove us to his home and gave us copies
of the Fragile single, The Shining Hour single and the Airpop CD. We were
astounded by the artwork and presentation of the singles and CD. This
was the first time we had seen the covers as we had resisted the temptation
to look at the pictures on the Apricot website. Later, we had a look around
Wiesbaden - a rather beautiful and picturesque German town - quite reminiscent
of towns in Sussex, England where we come from. We were fascinated by
the wonderful red market church and the natural hot spring which is quite
a well known feature of Wiesbaden.
THE
VENUE Soon it would be time to go to the first venue - the
Schlachthof. The literal transalation is abbatoir and that is exactly
what the building used to be. For some time a huge hall has been used
to house a flea market and some smaller rooms have been used for bands
to rehearse in. One of the larger rooms is now a club and is a popular
Wiesbaden venue for gigs. Before we went to the venue we drove to Brideshead's
practice room to collect some equipment and meet the other members of
Brideshead - Martin (singer and Apricot partner), Zwen (guitar), Paul
(bass) and Daniel (drums). Once we reached the venue the process of unloading
the gear and setting up the P.A. took place - except Neale and Mark didn't
have to do anything! Here, we met the guys from Mondfähre - Bernd (keyboards),
Yogi (bass), Daniel (guitar) and Christian (drums). Whilst Mondfähre were
soundchecking we met Andreas and Olaf (who was involved in the 'Take A
Look At Max' single) and Johannes (Apricot partner). Johannes had the
task of manning the merchandising stall for the evening which had many
fine items for sale including Fragile singles, tapes and t-shirts, The
Shining Hour single, the Airpop CD, Brideshead CDs, Mondfähre CDs and
Elegant t-shirts. Andreas and Olaf were going to be DJ-ing before and
after the bands. Eventually it came around to our soundcheck. Even though
we had been practising for a month before the gig, it was still strange
going onstage without our 'rhythm section'. We were due to be playing
two sets; one as The Shining Hour and another as Fragile and therefore
soundchecked a couple of songs from each.
One
thing that amazed us was the 'backstage' area - for one, there was a backstage
area! At the venues we have played at in England, the backstage area is
otherwise known as the toilet! Also, there was food and drink freely available.
We commented on the fact that when we have played in England you are lucky
to get one beer and a bag of crisps! Shortly before we were due onstage,
we did an interview for the Friday night 'Randomizer' radio show on StadtRadio
Göttingen with Ingo, Holger and Dirk. It was great fun and they were nice
guys. It seemed we were beginning to learn what it was like to be pop
stars!
THE
SHINING HOUR When the doors opened we were amazed at the number of
people who were coming through the doors. By the time we were due onstage,
there were over 200 people packed into the club! We took the stage and
tuned the guitars. We were using Brideshead's guitars - Neale was using
Zwen's Fender Stratocaster and Mark was using HC's black Rickenbacker
330 (just like his own). Mark announced in German that we were The Shining
Hour (and nervous!) and we started to play 'I Don't Want To Know'. None
of The Shining Hour set had ever been performed live before. Despite a
few mistakes, the set went well and the audience were very receptive.
We did three songs from the single in all. Mark performed a new song solo
called 'Warmth Of The Sun' and Hanns-Christian joined us on 12 string
acoustic for 'I'll Come Running'. The final song played was 'Five O'Clock
Rise'. The set was a little nerve-racking, rough around the edges at times
(Mark forgetting the lyrics!) but, overall, very enjoyable. After, we
headed back to the backstage area for a drink.
The
Shining Hour Set:
1.
I Dont Want To Know
2. Face It Now
3. Good Intentions
4. They Don't Understand
5. I Won't Be Home
6. Warmth Of The Sun
7. Something
8. I'll Come Running
9. Five O'Clock Rise
BRIDESHEAD
were
due onstage next and this was something that Neale & Mark were looking
forward to seeing. Brideshead were augmented by Kai Schoppe (trumpet)
and Andi Winkler (trombone) who are normally part of the ska band, The
Skatalites. Brideshead played most of their great album 'Some People Have
All the Fun' plus some 'Elegant' songs. The songs really came to life
with the brass section. Without wishing to embarrass them, Daniel and
Paul are a tight rhythm section, Zwen is possibly the coolest looking
guitarist in Germany (maybe Europe!), Martin's singing in English was
so good, someone thought he was English (he seemed pleased about this!?)
and HC, despite, looking a little anxious at times, kept those jangly
melodies going and smiled a few times too (only joking!). They were great!
FRAGILE
We
again took the stage - this time in our Fragile guise. It was a shame
that Rob and Steve couldn't come. We knew we were certain to lack power
with some of the songs. After all, we had played most of the songs as
a full band for years but the audience didn't seem to mind. We started
with a new song by Neale called 'Everybody Says...' followed by the lead
track from the single, 'Worlds Apart'. 'Wednesday's Child' was next complete
with a messed up guitar solo by Mark. Oh well...! During the rest of the
set, we performed our first ever cover version, Crowded House's 'Four
Seasons In One Day' which seemed to be received really well. Phew! Neale
played solo on Smiths' favourite 'Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What
I Want'. The end of the set came soon
with the first ever performance of 'Useless' from the 'It's A Lie' tape.
The dual vocal harmonies went very well and we thanked the audience for
the kind applause and cheering. Two guys came onto the stage and asked
for an encore of 'It'll End In Tears' but sadly we hadn't rehearsed this
and we thought we should vacate the stage for Mondfähre. However, thanks
a lot guys. It's nice to know someone loves us!
Fragile
Set:
1.
Everybody Says...
2. Worlds Apart
3. Wednesday's Child
4. I Remain
5. Pass Me By
6. Four Seasons In One Day
7. Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want
8. Don't Mention Her Name
8. Useless
MONDFÄHRE
are
usually a five piece but the other guitarist Jan couldn't make the rehearsals
and was therefore in the audience whilst the remaining four played their
noisy, funky, beat-pop. It's difficult to define their sound - check out
the two excellent songs on the Airpop CD. One thing is for sure - they
are guaranteed to get you moving. Bernd's swirling 60's style organ sound,
Daniel's choppy guitar rhythms, Yogi's punchy bass and Christian's fantastic
drumming provide a rocking basis for the dual vocal assault of Bernd and
Yogi. This band is extremely tight. The climax of their set saw Bernd
hanging by his hands from an overhead bar, playing the organ with his
feet! A great performance lads!
MORE...
Olaf
and Andreas kept the music flowing after the bands playing some cool tunes.
At one point, The Jam's 'Town Called Malice' was played. Excellent! Neale
& Mark talked to many people, Jan from Mondfähre, Johannes, someone
who used to live in Brighton (near us at home!!) and many other people.
Neale autographed a single for a young lady (where was Mark at this time?)
We had been up about 20 hours by the time we left the club (since 4.30am
- almost a Five O'Clock Rise!) and were feeling tired but very happy.
The people we had met were all really nice and friendly. It was a real
pleasure to have played in Wiesbaden.
THE NEXT MORNING...
we got up very late (hey, it's rock 'n' roll!).
The lads from Mondfähre came around to Hanns-Christian's place for breakfast
which was very nice. Christian of Mondfähre was very pleased with a pair
of sunglasses he had bought for 10 pfennigs at a flea market and insisted
on wearing them at breakfast. Maybe he'd had too much beer the previous
evening. Drummers eh?! We went back to the Schlachthof and walked around
the flea market there. No more sunglasses for sale.
THE GIG Next we travelled across the Rhine into Mainz near Frankfurt
to the Wespenclub. A smaller venue than the Schlachthof but interesting
because downstairs there is an art gallery and also Zentralstudio where
the Apricot releases are mastered. The club was due to close at 10.00
pm and therefore we had to go onstage a lot earlier. Problems with an
amplifier caused a short delay. Because of time, Neale & Mark decided
to combine The Shining Hour and Fragile sets by choosing the songs which
had been played the best the night before - it was hard choosing from
so few! We went on first, about 7.15 pm and started with 'Everybody Says...'.
Being a smaller club and less advertised than the previous evening, we
played to about 50 people but it felt more relaxed. We included 'Worlds
Apart', 'Four Seasons In One Day' in the set and finished with 'Useless'
once again. At one point Mark jokingly asked to borrow Christian's sunglasses
due to a blinding spotlight shining on the stage. Hanns-Christian guested
again on 12 string acoustic for 'I'll Come Running' which was a truly
great moment of the weekend.
Fragile/Shining
Hour Set:
1.
Everybody Says...
2. Worlds Apart
3. They Don't Understand
4. Pass Me By
5. I Won't Be Home
6. Four Seasons In One Day
7. Face It Now
8. Something
9. Don't Turn Away
10. Useless
11. I'll Come Running
12. Five O'Clock Rise
This
evening Mondfähre played after us. Christian wore his sunglasses all the
way through their set (was it because of the light or was it to look cool?
- he did look cool!) His bass drum seemed to want to wander off stage
and Bernd and Yogi struggled to push it back during the songs. After the
previous nights' gig, the band looked more relaxed but again a good solid
performance.
Brideshead
took to the stage last, this time without the brass section. Brideshead
also seemed more relaxed than the night before and played a good set.
They sounded tight and as melodic as the CD 'Some People Have All The
Fun'. Martin had to be careful with his jumping on the spot for fear of
hitting his head on the ceiling. Neale commented on how tall everyone
was... true - but we are short!
It
was a good evening and great to see Joerg Kruckmeyer of the Meller Welle
Producte label who had come a long way to see us. Thanks Joerg! Joerg
has a compilation CD out called '25 - A Silver Jubilee' of songs by international
bands which have been released on his label over the years.
Sadly,
we had to say goodbye to Joerg and Mondfähre. Christian asked whether
we would come back and 'tour' with them again. Yes! We would love to.
It would be an honour!
THE NEXT DAY...
we met Brideshead plus girlfriends for breakfast at a
nice bar/cafe in Wiesbaden. Lovely breakfast too. Afterwards, Martin and
Sarah looked after us for a while and showed us some sights of Wiesbaden.
Thanks. Hanns-Christian picked us up and then it was soon time to leave
for Frankfurt airport for the journey home. We met some really lovely
people in such a short space of time. It was a fantastic weekend - one
that we haven't been able to stop talking about since. Rob and Steve know
that they have missed out and want to come next time. It was hard saying
goodbye to our friend, Hanns-Christian, who had been the perfect host
all weekend. HC - we cannot thank you enough. Thanks also to Daniela for
putting up with us! One last thing - Mark was stopped at airport security
while some officials scanned his guitar effects pedals. Maybe they thought
they were explosive devices but all they could find were traces of rock
'n' roll and badly played guitar solos!
MASSIVE
THANKS and GREETINGS TO: MARTIN,
JOHANNES & HC (Apricot Records) for your all of your efforts with
the records, CD and gigs. MARIKO for the design, TOBIAS for the mastering.
OLAF & ANDREAS for DJ-ing, BRIDESHEAD - Zwen, Paul, Daniel, Martin
and Hanns-Christian, MONDFÄHRE - Bernd, Yogi, Daniel & Christian.
Ingo, Holger and Dirk from the RANDOMIZER show on StadtRadio Göttingen.
Daniela, Sarah, Romina, Jan, Joerg, the Schlachthof and Wespenclub people
and everyone that came to see us and finally, Hanns-Christian - you are
a star!
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