Welcome back – WHITESNAKE!
Two more days and then it’s time for more Whitesnake. :) One show in Kristianstad, Sweden and one in Copenhagen, Denmark next week.
It’s a shame I won’t get to talk to David anytime soon, as he’s not doing interviews on the days when he’s performing – and with the tight tour schedule they’ve got, well… it doesn’t leave much time for anything. But I’m very excited to see the show.
I saw Whitesnake 3 times this summer, I think. So these two shows are #4 and 5. Not to mention how many times I’ve seen the band through the years… But they create magic on a stage. For me they do. After Sweden Rock Festival, I kept hearing a bunch of grumpy critics complaining about “the long guitar solos”.
I don’t even remember the freaking guitar solos. All I remember is the heartfelt, emotional vocals, the fantastic songs, David’s stage presence – cause let’s face it, there’s no frontman like David Coverdale and there never will be.
Most of all I remember when he presented Bernie Marsden and Bernie walked out on stage….
I couldn’t believe it. And just as I was trying to take THAT in, out comes Adrian Vandenberg as well. I don’t know why, it was so incredibly powerful, I couldn’t stop the tears, it was like the Niagara falls. Bye bye mascara.
I’m grateful that music still has that power over me, that it can touch me with such intensity.
I told a colleague who looked like a questionmark and said she had no idea what I was talking about. She had never felt that way and couldn’t understand how a concert could make anyone cry.
When something is way beyond the ordinary, it gets to me. I can’t help myself.
I once stood in the front row during a Judas Priest concert years ago, bawling my eyes out. They were fuckin unreal that night.
Whitesnake…. always delivers. Always.
David is fantastic. It’s scary to even contemplate that one day he might want to retire and not sing again. I know that every show just might be the last I’ll ever see him do. Who knows. One never knows. We always think everything is eternal, but it isn’t and I’m beginning to realize that now. All my heroes will drop off one by one within the next five-ten-fifteen years…
So, I’m letting it “get to me” without any restrictions, Whitesnake has put a smile on my face a million times, and I know this will be the onemillionthandfirst time. :)
WELCOME David & Whitesnake! :)
(Unlisted Whitesnake-videos from Sweden Rock Festival that I never had time to upload back then)
The VOICE…… I could listen to this for hours.
Intro – taking the stage like the true star he is:
IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR 
A couple more weeks for me (going to Wolverhampton to see them) which I’m looking forward to, because I haven’t seen as many gigs as I would have liked to this year!Must confess, I thought the solo spots were getting a bit lengthy too, maybe because only ‘My Evil Ways’ separated the Doug/Reb guitar bit from Tichy’s drum solo, and it led to an extended period with DC off the stage. Perhaps they ought to bring back Snake Dance or even let Reb sing something (why not, he used to let ‘Bomber’ Hodgkinson sing!) so it gives a bit more variety and David still gets that mid-set breather. As for DC retiring, he’s done that twice already and although he’s not getting any younger (nor are we!), I think there’s still a couple more ‘best years’ left in him!
I’ve never cried per se, being a guy, ya gotta keep that in in large crowds :P. I’ve been overcome with emotion and had my eyes well up countless times. The most recent probably being when I saw Ozzy for the first time and he yelled out those infamous words “Let the Madness…BEGIN!”. I was ashamed at the fact that I wasn’t able to see Ozzy until my late 30’s after having been a fan my whole life, but he only came to my town once when I was in 6th grade or something. The local churches were protesting it and the whole shabang. Seeing the Crue for the first time with Vince back in the band, same thing, The biggest was seeing Van Halen with DLR. At one point DLR and EVH pressed their foreheads together and were smiling at each other. All I could think about was all of that animosity they had towards each other for soooo long and how, at least for that moment, it was as though it never happened. Whether it was genuine or not, there they were..My heroes, in the same “room”. I was never a big Scorpions fan, I mean, I liked some of their songs but I never really got into them. Then I saw them for the first time last year. That was the first show that moved me to tears in a LONG TIME. Maybe it was because they were calling it quits after that but seemed to be so in love with performing and I realized what I had missed out on over the years. I don’t know. It is still one of the best shows I have ever seen. I’ve never seen a band interact with their fans the way they did. God, I’m choking up while typing this on my phone….*sigh* (keep it together Labine)I don’t know how anyone cannot get emotional over music. In my world, only a robot wouldn’t. I bet they would smile when they heard Iron Man though ;) (and probably shake their head at Mr Roboto)
Sean, I’m always amazed at what you manage to type on your PHONE (I know I would never have the patience with those teeny tiny little keys to write anything longer than “hello” :)). I can only say – I completely agree with your last statement – how can you NOT get emotional over music, that’s what music is all about…As for Scorpions, it seems as though they’ve only got two levels – fantastic and goddamn awful. I’ve seen both. Ozzy just makes me smile, he’s awesome. I rarely see someone so sincerely enjoying himself on stage. That man will never get old! :) Talk about being young at heart! I’ve seen guys cry at shows, but they’ve always been convinced that nobody saw them…
Ronnie-I guess you’re right – it sucks when the solos take over and David disappears from the stage. However, I enjoy Tichy’s drum solo at least. The guitars maybe not so much (not a big fan of Reb Beach….) but s till – you need to look at the show as a whole, and at least from my point of view a Whitesnake-gig is always brillliant! And tomorrow – I’ll get my Coverdale-fix, woo-hoo! :-)) Are you going to the Def Leppard/Motley-gig in Manchester in a few weeks by the way??
Unlikely I’ll be at the Leppard gig (I think it is sold out by now) but if you fancy a starbucks during the day I’m sure we can arrange something!I do enjoy Whitesnake gigs immensely – of course I do, else I wouldn’t have seen them as often as I have (!) and do look at the show as a whole but I still think prolonged solo spots break up the momentum. The Snake Dance jam of 2004/2006 was a better idea IMO, maybe have a shorter solo spot for both Doug and Reb, then bring the rest back on to jam while David gets his muscles unknotted! I get that performing the way DC does is very hard and he does need to break it up, I just think there’s a better way of doing it so people aren’t all dashing off to the bog during the solos!