MUNICH CONCERT REVIEW

Sunday 12th December, 1993

This was the third time after 1988 and 1991 that CH came to Munich. 
This time they played at a different location, at the "Panzerhalle", which used to be a tank
garage for the army before the US abolished it. Not exactly a place I would choose because of
its excellent acoustics...

The weather that evening was really cold, but the place was sold out, so the temperature 
inside rose quickly. The band started 30 minutes late after a 25 minute-set of a band with a
female lead, which reminded me a bit of Edie Brickell in looks and music style. Nice job, but
not a major discovery.

The Crowdies played a solid 110 minutes that night. The set list I managed to snatch from the
stage - afterwards - said the following (the songs they added impromptu are in brackets):

+ Recurring
+ Whispers
+ Locked Out
+ Dream
+ Lowlands
+ Love This Life
+ Command
+ (This Is Massive)
+ Fingers
+ Temptation
+ Nails
+ Possessed
+ Weather
+ When

Encores:

+ God
+ Dust (the only song I did not know, anyone can help me here?)
+ Pineapple
+ Italian
+ Fall
+ (Distant Sun)
+ (Better Be Home Soon)

After the first two songs Neil introduced Mark as a new member, teasing him repeatedly; he gave
him his guitar and 20 seconds to tune it, explaining that Mark was actually making less money
now that he is not just a supporting (studio-) musician anymore.
Paul dropped first hints about leaving the band. He said he would "maybe do this for another
year or so", offering his job to someone in the audience. At the time, though, I did not think
this was meant seriously. The band fought against the miserable acoustics, and my ears actually
survived only because I managed to wet some Kleenex and put it inside my ears. Horrible - all
the more delicate musical cues were lost in that sludge of noise that vibrated between the
concrete walls. I hope they select a different place next time.

CH is still not a "major" band in Germany: the only tunes you can reliably count upon being
widely known are "Dream" and "Weather"; the first because it was their only Top 10 in 1987, and
the other due to massive airplay a year and a half after first release. The audience here
(roughly 600) though consisted of about 50% die-hard fans who knew all the lyrics, some of
which even recognized the Enz-tune. So the mood was good in general, and the seven encores give
a hint that the band felt welcome. 

The good-bye was very brief, and immediately after the band had left the AE cranked up
"Together alone" from tape. I would have loved to see and hear them perform that song live, but
with CH you can never tell. Check out the 1991 review for more about this.


By BvW (1993)