Fans
Megaherz live at "Planet Music"
November 14, 2002 - Vienna
I
think Heaven dropped from the sky that evening and settled into a place in Vienna
at Adalbert-Stifter-Strasse 73. This is a beautiful venue for MEGAHERZ. Through
the years, the crowds here have been very supportive and MEGAHERZ have responded
by often playing extremely lengthy set lists. It is with extreme anticipation
that I have anxiously looked forward to this evening. I just had a feeling that
something very special would happen at Planet Music.......again.
Planet Music is the largest of all the venues I have seen MEGAHERZ. By looking at the floor space, it seems a capacity of 1,000+ is quite possible. The stage is spacious and well elevated from the main floor. There are sturdy barrier bars in place across the entire front of the stage area and numerous yellow-shirted security personnel in case the crowd becomes too crazy. A sign of pure genius from the stage handlers are 2 elevated platforms at the back of the stage. The one on the left is for Wenz and the one on the right is for Jürgen. Each member of MEGAHERZ will have a lot of space and the "guys in the back" will be easily visible.
As soon as Kopfgeld finish their set, we make our way to the front and I find my favorite spot: against the barrier bar, to the right-side of the stage. This is the spot where I have always watched a MEGAHERZ show. I fear all of the pushing and shoving that happens in the center and I find it safer to be on the perimeter. At 10:03PM the show begins with "Glas und Tränen"! A great song to open a show, though I quietly mourn the loss of the old beginning with "Licht II" followed by the pounding of "Heute schon gelebt". But, as MEGAHERZ probably opened their April Show at Planet Music with this, I can see the wisdom in wanting to try something different.
Alexx went through several wardrobe changes this evening. He began the show dressed quite like a proper gentleman, perhaps, and I am not quite sure WHAT effect he was going for. He was dressed in black pants, a long-sleeved white shirt, black tie, suspenders, gray cap, and his bullet belt. Eventually he loses the white shirt to reveal a sleeveless white tee-shirt. Then sometime later the tee-shirt disappears and he is bare-chested for a while. A black tee-shirt mysteriously appears later covered by that glittery chest-armor piece he has been wearing at recent gigs in Germany.
The crowd at Planet Music is the MOST enthusiastic I have seen at a MEGAHERZ show. This is the first time that I have seen actual crowd-surfing during a MEGAHERZ performance. The voices in the crowd, singing word-for-word with Alexx are absolutely LOUD, almost deafening at times. The only member of MEGAHERZ who keeps his place on stage is, of course, Jürgen. Everyone else is roving around the stage and looking like they are having as much fun as we are in the crowd. At one point, I watch as Olli climbs on top of a huge speaker tower to the right and attempts to stand straight up on it. Whether it was too much beer or being up so high, he couldn't quite get his legs to go beyond the squatting position, until X-tian came and placed his back to the side of the speaker tower, giving Olli something to push off of so he could STAND-UP finally. That is called team-work!
MEGAHERZ
expanded on the pre-established set-list. "Müde" (featuring only
Alexx and X-tian SITTING and performing this classic from the past), "Teufel",
and a totally indescribable version of "Schizophren" were included.
Even the versions of "Kopfschuss" and "Wer bist du" were
different -- longer, expanded, and just really unexpected. MEGAHERZ gave the
crowd at Planet Music a very VERY special show. It all ended with "Blender"
as the grand finale. As many people as POSSIBLE climbing over the barrier bars
and being pulled up onto the stage. When the final note played, I looked at
my watch and it was 12:50AM. A nearly 3 hour set -- incredible. The yellow-shirted
security people looked exhausted! I was simply thrilled beyond belief -- a brilliant
show from a brilliant band! HEAVEN!
Final thoughts: Even though "Zu den Sternen" was not in the set-list this evening, as I made my way through the crowd, my mind started playing around with the following passage: "Dein Geist explodiert wie eine Supernova, Die Zeit scheint stillzustehn, Auf weißen Wolken fliegst du durch die Nacht........" I think this sums up perfectly how I was feeling.............
Betsy Königsberg