On stage: Bonfire

 
- Bonfire & Domain
 
- April 2001
 
- Bochum (D) -


 
- Bonfire & Mike Tramp
 
- April 2002
 
- Essen (D) -


 
- Whitesnake & Bonfire
 
- May 2003
 
- Hanover (D) -

- Bonfire & Mike Tramp
- April, 8th 2002 - Essen (Germany), Zeche Carl -






 
 

 

When I arrived at Zeche Carl just a few fans waiting out­side to get photos, CDs, etc. signed. Later the foyer was packed and so the venue was! No sold out, but more people then I actually expected!

There was a 3rd band opening up which name is ARE. Missed them.

At 20:40 it was time for Mike Tramp and his band! Opening with a track from his 2nd solo album Recovering The Wasted Years. It was obvious that some fans know him from his days in White Lion, other from the times of Freak Of Nature and didn't know him at all.... The 60 min. long set concentrates on songs from his current release like the opening song Falling Down, If It Ain't Gonna Rock and Follow Your Dreams, but he also played old tracks! The 3rd track of the set was an old White Lion song from the Big Game album, Living On The Edge I haven't heard live for ages! This time the old stuff is more rock than before, but sounded fresh and fit into the new tracks. Mike Tramps backing band gave him the space to concentrate on entertaining. But as a solo artist Mike Tramp started playing guitar and he managed it very well live to play and to sing! Songs like Wait Not For Me (from his solo debut), Candle (from Freak Of Nature) and Little Fighter (White Lion's Big Game) which are from different periods, bands fit to­gether and it was obvious that not just mainman Mike Tramp en­joyed playing live, so did his band and the fans! He really rocked the house.... And old songs like Broken Heart from the early days of White Lion were played in a more rocking version, but didn't lost the charm!

As encores Mike Tramp tonight played What Am I and Wait, both from the old days... A great show and I hope that he'll come back soon! In the days of Freak Of Nature Mike toured a lot in Europe and I hope it will be the same now!

After a break the intro called the fans back in front of the stage. Opening with Daytona Nights followed by Bang Down The Door. With the 3rd song singer Claus Lessmann and his partner in crime Hans Ziller traveled back in time and played a song from Don't Touch The Light! Their debut! It was Hot To Rock and that could have been the motto of tonight's show as well. The set incl. encores had 19 tracks and was a travel through their history incl. Sweet Obsession, Hard On Me, Who's Fooling Who, SDI and Ready For Reaction! Claus Lessmann could easily move the fans and animate them to sing-along and clap their hands. Still a charismatic frontman! The band was always in motion and the rhythm section of Uwe Köhler and Jürgen Wiehler, but also Chris Lausmann supported the dynamic due Lessmann / Ziller! Still the Bavarians are touring with their 'Best Of...' 20 Golden Bullets which is one of the reasons for this musically travel through time. Another thing which should be mentioned is that Bonfire show that small tours with fair ticket and merchandise prizes are possible! Claus Lessmann and his mates realized that their fans are loyal, but never tried to screw them financially! And so the fans come to see Bonfire live again and again! When other acts have to face small crowds, they play in front of several hundred fans. Only one thing to mention finally.... Bonfire have released so many albums, so please Claus & co. next time offer us some tunes you haven't played in years....

Thanks for a night of rock & hard rock and see you soon somewhere on stage!
 
 






Claudia Ehrhardt

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- Bonfire & Domain
- April, 14th 2001 - Bochum (Germany), Matrix -






 
 

 

On this Friday night a few hundred hard rock fans came to see Bonfire. The German hard rockers had Domain as support, a band who just started a comeback. Guitarist and mainman Axel Ritt and his companions entered the stage to rock the house. With One Million Lightyears From Home the band had a new album in the stores and so the band concentrates on the new material, but didn't forget to play a few old songs. Most fans were really surprised when everybody except singer Karsten left the band and the former Mr. Hate singer started an a caplella part before he got support from the keyboards to play When It Comes To Love. At the beginning of this slow part the audience was quite and they kept quite to listen and applause afterwards to honor this performance. It was risky to do this, but it turned out good... After a few more songs they ended with Lost In The City... The band obviously enjoyed the show and the people had a good start into the night.

After a break the band of singer Claus Lessmann and guitarist Hans Ziller entered the stage to present Strike X! They opened Under Blue Skies to Strike Back. Even if Lessmann / Ziller are around for more than 15 years they looked fresh on stage and enjoyed every minute. Singer Claus was permanently in motion. Beside tracks from their latest release they traveled through time and played songs like Bang Down The Door, Give It A Try, SDI and Ready For Reaction. The song Proud Of My Country some may have misunderstood, it has nothing to do with nationalism or racism. Claus Lessmann just wanted to make a statement that Germany's history is not just the time between 1930 - 1945! He is proud of all the authors, poets and scientist who came from Germany! But that was the only political statement of Bonfire... The rest of the night the Bavarians were just play good time Rock'n'Roll which was also one of the encores. And they sent the fans back home with Sweet Obsession. A good show! If the next album of the Bavarian hard rockers is as good as Strike X, Point Blank or Fireworks, we can expect another night of great hard rock from Germany!
 
 






Claudia Ehrhardt



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