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I arrived two hours too late in
Holland, in a little town called Deventer, where Louis waited for me to take me to the
venue. Due to the delay i missed the soundcheck, but it was still early enough for the
gig. It was a nice venue, a disco I think, and there were around 500-600 people. When Heep
started their set, you could feel that they had to get a little warmed up after 2 months
without playing, but after 2 or 3 songs
the usual tightness was there. They had immense fun on stage and there was so much
laughing and jokes. These guys really are buddies and enjoy being together. The setlist
was the same as last year - a lot of new songs - not so many of the classics. I noticed
that the Dutch audience did not respond very good to the new material, unlike the
audiences in Germany who seemed to enjoy the new setlist very much last year (at least at
the gigs I went to). Anyway,
the band had great fun, played very good - only the atmosphere in the room was not sooo
good, only after the old classics the people seemed to "wake up".
When I talked with Mick after the show, I said I had half expected to see a depressed
band, because of their gig situation, no record deal etc, and that I
was surprised they were in such an exceptionally good mood and having so much fun. Mick
said they had not seen each other for two months and that they of course enjoy being
together again and playing music. He was very optimistic about the band's situation,
saying the gigs would surely come in and that he just did not allow himself to be
pessimistic. So we spend I think around 2 hours in their dressing room after the show,
talking, drinking beer,
laughing....
Then Louis and I drove to his house. It was a rather long ride through Holland's night and
we arrived there around 4 in the morning.
The next day, around 2 p.m. it was time to get on the car for the next gig which was to
take place in Zaandam near Amsterdam. This time, Diana came with
us. There we witnessed the soundcheck which was really a rare experience, cause we heard
them rehearse Sweet Freedom with Lee singing the whole song cause
Bernie was not yet there. When Bernie finally arrived they went throught the song again.
We were quite sure that they would play it that night as a reaction to the "not so
good" response to the setlist on the previous gig. What we
didn't know was that they would also put in two other "classics": Stealin' and
Rain. These really came as a complete surprise to us. After the gig we met a
lot of Dutch Heepsters in an Italian restaurant. Again I got to know some great people,
who I only knew from pictures so far. They will all be coming to London
to the Heepvention and I am sure you will enjoy meeting them.
The venue in Zandaam was smaller, but it was really packed. This and the improved and
better balanced setlist really made a "magic" night. A great
atmosphere, a band at its best and really enjoying themselves.
Of course, one of the highlights for me was when we entered the stage with that cake (it
had "Uriah Heep - 30 years" written on it). And yes, it was a
very comic situation backstage when we tried to fumble these candles onto the cake - hands
trembling....John, their stage manager, had said the best moment
would be after Easy Living, the end of the regular set, before the encores came. But well,
Louis and Evert had to get the cake from the freezer at the other end of a really crowded
room and the band played Easy Living VERY fast
that night. They went for the cake with the first notes of Easy Living and I was waiting
for them at the stage door.....verse 1 was over....verse 2 was
over...no Louis, no cake ....the middle part with the high vocals...over...no Louis, no
cake...last verse begins....there they come with the cake, but no candles on it. I ask:
How many candles do we have? Louis: Not enough! I say: So
let's put on only 3 candles, we don't have enough time! But even that we did not manage,
and so the cake was without candles when we entered the stage from the back. They were at
the front of the stage, shaking hands etc. Mick turned around and saw us coming - you
should have seen his face! Louis took his place behind Mick's microphone and started to
get the crowd going like a real
professional entertainer. It was a magic moment for me when the 500-600 people sang happy
birthday and I am sure it was a very special moment for the band
too.
AFter the show there was an invasion of Heep fans to their dressing room. I
don't think any other band would allow this. Again it was a very pleasant night with lots
of laughter there.
We came back to Louis' home around 3:30 in the morning. The next day I took a train home
to Nuremberg where I arrived (this time without a delay) after 8.5
hours.
Those two days in Holland were just great and I intend to do it again.
Richard Wagner
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