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31/03/07 -
SNOWPENAIR, KLEINE SCHEIDEGG, GRINDELWALD Review by Steven Stanley: ...AND NOW WE ENTER THE
NEW AGE OF THE VIDEO REVIEW! ONLY ON 18!: Anyway, straight from the Geneva show on the Thursday night we headed to our base in Interlaken the day after just below the mountain. Friday night we headed up to Grindelwald for food and beer and to hang out with Darren and Bev. The Eiger mountain literally loomed over the town... it certainly made you feel very small. In the distance we could just see the 2 hotels at the top of Kleine Scheidegg... my god they were high up! An early night called though as we would be up very early the next morning. 5.00am to be exact. We were on a train heading out of Interlaken by 6am and as it turned out the first train up the mountain (the train from Grindelwald got there later). So if there were no baddies on this train we knew we would be first up. As it turns out it was just full of people going to work. 'Snowpenair 2007' - Part 2 of 4: The train journey up was just breathtaking... and I mean BREATHTAKING...
(Above) Looking down from Kleine Scheidegg into the Grindelwald valley as the morning sun burns away the cloud as it clears the Eiger from above Grindelwald. Better than queueing infront of the Brighton Centre and looking at tramps first thing in a morning! We travelled along a snowy line where we saw stuff like frozen waterfalls... it was just incredible. As we got further up the sun started to come out and hit the peaks which was a sight to be seen. The weather was perfect and it was a lovely clear day (even if it was -5 at that point!). Eventually we saw the Eiger mountain and Jungfraubahnen which is the very highest point in Europe. You could just make out the train station and hotel up there (which Karl tells me you have to take Huskies too to get there!). All of a sudden we turned the corner and we could see the stage just sat next to train station at the top of Kleine Scheidegg... nothing else was there... just a train station and 2 hotels! Very bizarre! We were first there anyway and decided to checkout the run down to the barrier (because no one was there to stop us!). The snow machines had been up and down the slope no doubt all morning taking equipment to the stage... it was like a ice rink as the snow was very tightly packed. Karl nearly fell arse over tit on his first walk down!
(Above) Myself and Karl on the barrier before anybody else arrived We moved back up the hill anyway and took our places in the queue... sooner or later (about an hour!) we were joined by Darren and Bev, then quickly followed by Lizy, Helen and co. The sun at that point came over the peaks and into our vacinity... the temperature instantly shot up 5 or 6 degrees which was nice! It's worth noting that I had thermals on, 2 pairs of tracksuit pants, jeans and gortex pants... 3 pairs of wool socks, gloves and hiking boots... 3 t-shirts, 2 sweaters, fleece and a huge coat... it was just about enough! I looked stupid but I didn't care... I was warm! Do not go to Snowpenair with just jeans and a coat... you will die of cold! At 11am we were let in (they didn't even announce it they just let us in when we weren't expecting it!)... Karl and Darren moved swiftly down the hill and I followed... I was running so fast I was afraid if I tried to slow down I would break several bones, so I kept up the speed! I went zooming past them both to get to the barrier. Myself, Karl, Matt, Darren and Bev all got front row center anyway... and so did Nat when she came 10 minutes later cos we are nice like that! Bryan wasn't on for another 4 and a half hours (3.30pm) and during that time we were subjected to the worse set of support bands we are ever likely to witness during our lifetimes. I know we sometimes go on about bad support acts... but this time they we so bad they were funny. Firstly.... 'Nois'; 2 backing musicians who looked like they should have been in a Hanson tribute act followed up by a lead singer who just didnt seem to put any effort into what he was doing. During some song he even started to play guitar and wondered what was wrong... until a roadie came out and PLUGGED THE GUITAR IN FOR HIM. They were a young band though so credit to them... its hard when you are starting out, and to be fair they were the best support of the day (even though that doesnt say much). Next up a group called 'Jargon'... before they came on we witnessed 2 inept roadies trying to put a 'Jargon' banner on the front of the stage... it took them about 10 minutes to do and they hadnt a clue how to do something so simple. It was just sheer comedy... just like watching 'The Chuckle Brothers'. The band themselves though.... DEAR GOD. There was what looked like my old biology teacher on bass... Sinbad from Brookside on keyboards and accordian (who hadn't yet got dressed), a Dad having the time of his life on lead guitar (bless him!) and THE MOST scary woman I have ever seen on lead vocals. We didn't like the rock/reggae rubbish they were playing so we were just watching (not loving it like Nicolai behind us)... the woman heading the group took it upon herself to try and get us Brits on front row into the show. She looked me into the eyes at one point for about 30 seconds while singing a song... I have never been so scared in all my life. I was just thinking "you can do that all you want love but I can't understand a goddam word you are saying to me". It was like she was trying to possess me.... you just had to be there. I'm sure she said something derogatory towards us (even though we weren't doing anything wrong) to the crowd.... like we understood a word she was saying. As she left the stage we all thanked our lucky stars we were still there in one piece. 'Polo Hofer and the Schmetterband' were next... a group of semi decent looking musicians started playing and at last I thought we were going to get something half-decent... I thought the bass player was going to start singing.... but no, instead this old bloke (wearing a cardigan and woolly hat) tripped onto the stage and the whole swiss crowd went wild. Apparently he's big here (and the crowd seemed to love him)... but he was awful, looked like he'd had a few and sang a multitude of boring songs that sent us searching for answers as to why we came all this way to watch this. My friend Matt (not well known for being a Bryan fan) at this point said..."I'd never thought I'd say this during my lifetime... but I can't wait to see Bryan!!!". I couldn't agree more. Polo (unfortunately not the mint with the hole) serenaded us with a German/Gospel version of 'Walking in Memphis' (at which point I went to the toilet to throw up) then after a few other equally forgettable songs he left the stage to go and kiss the teenage girls that were waiting for him next to the stage.
30 minutes later and BA should have hit the stage... it's all ready but he's nowhere to be seen. We notice the snow mobile move up the hill and he's there... the whole crowd erupts and we get a first glimpse of the band... all in shades and plenty of layers!...
The weather was still perfect... lots of snow, sunny and crystal clear skies. The guys come down the hill in the shovel of the huge snowtruck. I see the guitar tech handing BA the gold Gretsch for 'There Will Never' (I also saw it on the setlist beforehand) but he sends him running back for his strat and kicks off with 'Can't Stop' instead. BA strolls out in a big black sweater, jeans, scarf and shades...the place erupts. We appreciated BA so much more than ever before after the 4.5 hours of drivel we had to go through. 'Can't Stop' was awesome too... extended after the usual "I can't stop it!" endings into a monster jam that had the whole crowd bouncing to the riff... simply awesome. Best version of 'Cant Stop' I've seen him do.
'Somebody' was next up followed by 'Open Road' during which BA changed the lyrics several times to "life is a snowpenair!". '18 Til I Die' was a great crowd singalong as always, and Bryan kept the energy going with 'Back To You' which is usually later on in the set. 4 great rockers to open the show... certainly kept us and the band warm! 'Let's Make A Night To Remember' was done with BA on acoustic guitar (probably cos he couldnt be bothered to change it in the cold... but to be honest it didn't sound too different really). After he said "lets make sugar darlin'" he was like "wtf for lets making a fucking fire!!!". Afterwards Bryan stood at the mike stand blowing warm air into his hands to keep them warm (if you took a picture he could have been playing harmonica during 'Open Road')... at which point quick witted Darren shouted... "whats up Bryan have you lost your mouth organ??!!"... very funny! 'Snowpenair 2007' - Part 3 of 4: Karl shouted a request for 'Kids Wanna Rock' which got the nod from BA... complete with Gretsch it was the best version I've witnessed him do. He extended it during the middle and got the whole crowd to bounce like 'BTY' and didn't let us stop until he was satisfied! '69 rocked the place afterwards and then he chatted with the crowd.
He tried to play guitar with gloves on but it just wasnt happening so he and Keith ended up putting a glove each on their guitars for the reminder of the show!...
He was also teasing Darren about having a warm cup of tea to hand... infact his tea wasn't as warm as he'd liked so he ordered "a piping hot cup of tea" from the roadies! It was so funny to watch him take the piss out of all us lot freezing on the barrier. He added insult to injury as well by declaring "...oh i want biscuits too!". After he'd finished 'Everything I Do' he got what he wanted! All the band were having a laugh with Gary and Norm constantly throwing snowballs at each other!
'Cuts', 'When You're Gone' (during which BA put his hands down the WYGG's jeans to keep them warm!) and an acoustic 'It's Only Love' followed... and I saw Matt loving Keith's solo! Infact he was loving all of it to be fair!... he can't deny it either we have the evidence ;) 'The Only Thing' rocked as always (highlight of the show), 'Cloud #9' looked spectacular with 10,000 people in the snow with their arms in the air and 'Run To You' was last up... but it was great to end on a rocker (on a high) for a change! On the surface it's a very average setlist but Bryan kept the energy up during the whole show and rocked it up as much as he could given the time he had onstage. Definately one of the best shows I've ever done given the setting and the time I had with my friends... which is what it's all about. Karl, Matt, Nat, Jez, Darren, Bev, Lizy, Helen, Babs, Anouk, Silke and everyone else thankyou for a great gig.
(Above) Directly above the stage the 'Jungfraubahnen' - top of Europe (Below) The venue from the top of the hill
Bryan skiied straight down the mountain again like he did last time (after he and the band had dished out snowballs to the crowd!)... however this time he took Keith skiing for the first time (and apparently he did quite well!) Myself, Karl, Matt, Nat and Jez hung around Kleine Scheidegg for an hour or 2 after the show (as it wasnt easy getting on a train 3 carriages long that came every 15 minutes with 10 thousand people wanting to get on!) and enjoyed beer, pizza and hotdogs as we gazed at the glorious scenery and talked about the show. What an awesome time we had. On the train during the way down at the stop before Grindelwald we noticed BA and Keith casually walking straight past our window on the train... which they got on! I don't think anybody noticed it was them and 5 minutes later they hopped straight off and wizzed into their hotel. Was cool to see them though! 'Snowpenair 2007' - Part 4 of 4: We ended up drinking the night away with Nat and Jez in Grindelwald having a laugh about the day... I only wish more of the badfans around the world could see him here, it's definately one of those places you just have to come and see... very special indeed and I'm really glad I went. It was really great that Matt 'Lil T' Turner came as well... he'd briefly seen BA before with me (he blagged himself into the Clearwater '03 gig to watch the last song but he was too wasted to remember much of it!). It was just nice to show one of my best friends a glimpse into the 'BA World' I go to sometimes... he enjoyed himself and saw it wasn't all about queuing and swapping Bry stickers... we actually have fun too! Setlist: | |||
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® 2007 18 Til I Die.co.uk. All rights
reserved.
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Before viewing the 'Snowpenair 2007' documentary be warned it contains bad language and Matt's own unique sense of humor. If you are easily offended don't watch. GO TO THE 'SNOWPENAIR 2007' & FILMS PAGES FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE FILM Pictures by Steven Stanley, Matt Turner, Lizy, Anouk, Helen, Silke.
BA kicks off with 'Can't Stop'
The trainride up the mountain was beautiful... here we leave Wengen
We see snow blowing off the caps at the top of Europe
Eventually Kleine Scheidegg comes into view with the stage and venue in the morning shadow of the Eiger mountain
Matt warms up with pizza!
Karl on camera!
Me on camera!
BA's gear is taken down the slope on the snow machine before the sun hits
BA's gear
One of the trains arriving at Kleine Scheidegg
Polo Hofer
The band walks onstage
'Open Road'
Darren: "Have you lost your mouth organ Bryan??!!"
On the Gretsch during 'Kids'
Gettin' the crowd to bounce during 'Kids'
Karl and Nat!
Lil T during 'Cloud #9'!!! Look at him loving it!
Me and Lil T with the Eiger mountain
Karl getting a quick pic in with the Eiger
The crowd getting beer and warm food from the teepee at the station!
Higher than a brother with an ounce of weed.
Don't eat yellow snow!
On the train which BA and Keith got on after the show
On the train down the mountain... Nat gettin' wrecked! (Infact to be fair we all were!)
The T going on another drunken rant after seeing Bryan! |
