Robbie Williams Live in Munich... Again

I only seem to come to Munich for music. My first time here was back in 2013, for my second ever Robbie Williams show, and the last visit was 3 years later for Frightened Rabbit and Paws. This trip much more closely resembled that first one, in that it was also planned for a Robbie show, happened in August, and both times the night before the gig included big thunderstorms. Nobody asked me to marry them this time, though, so it's not exactly deja vu.

Anyway. When Robbie Williams - One Show & One Night Only -- a giant outdoor show for 100,000 people -- was announced, I woke up in the middle of the night to book my Platinum section ticket in the first minutes of the first pre-sale, and hoped Covid calmed its fool self down enough for me to go back to Munich. Since I've seen the city a couple times before, and the show was a bit away from the center of town, I prioritized the gig and booked a hotel that (on the map) was right across the street from the venue: Messe München, which other fans described as like a fairground. So while I figured the actual walk to the concert wouldn't be the 2 minutes that Maps quoted me, I guessed it couldn't be much longer than that, given that I could see the place from my window. 

Per the ticket, the show was supposed to start at 8pm and end at 10:30. But there were 2 openers, and Rob always goes for 1.5 - 2 hours, so I figured it was probably more like a 6:00 start. Since my busted back and knees rebel if I make them stand for more than 3 or 4 hours, and the only opener I'd heard of was Lufthaus (who I love, but they just DJ on stage, and I mean... I could listen to dance records at home), I thought I'd leave just before 6:00 and probably catch 1 1/2 openers with my maybe 10 minutes walk.

Nope.

At the appointed time, I walked down a pathway right outside my hotel door, that was marked for Messe, so I assumed it was just on the other side of the road. After 30 minutes of following the crowds all the way across a much-bigger-than-a-fairground area, past building after building, I finally saw an entrance to the concert venue of this behemoth place. But it was the West Entrance, and my ticket said Ost (East). There was no other gate as far as I could see, and every person around me was going in West, so I just went on in and figured there'd be a way to go in the right entry to the actual concert section inside. No luck. Every sign was West, West, West.

So I gave up looking, bought a t-shirt, got all my wristbands, and walked into my section right about 7pm... as Lufthaus started their 3rd to last song, and the other opening act was long finished. The section was PACKED, almost all the way out to the edge where you couldn't even see the stage. So I thought, if everyone's coming in the West entrance, there's probably way more room on the other side. There's some space along the back barrier (between Platinum and Gold sections), so I'll just go through the crowd and pass on over. By the end of the song, I'd hit a point where there were only 4 or 5 more people in front of me, and then a barrier... guarding the catwalk coming down into the crowd (aka the B stage), which extended past the back fence into the Gold section. I couldn't cross over. So I sheepishly found the nearest open spot that would annoy the fewest of the nice people who arrived earlier than I did.. and inadvertently got myself my closest view of Rob since the tiny Las Vegas theatre, at least when he came down the catwalk. It was the first time I've actually had to turn my entire body to keep watching him move around during a big show, since the larger section at the end of the B stage was behind me. Here's to getting lost?

Side note: I ended up standing next to a mother / daughter pair, who were interviewed and then filmed by a couple of press people right before the show started and during Let Me Entertain You. My lack of German skills limited my ability to eavesdrop, but I gathered they were chosen because the mom was wearing a Robbie concert t-shirt and the daughter had a big sign that said MY MOM IS YOUR #1 BIGGEST FAN. OK, that's cute, but no. #1 BIGGEST FAN? Not a chance. I'm closer to #1 BIGGEST FAN than her, and I'm not anywhere near the top of that list. I mean, I'm not even the #1 Biggest American fan. Although maybe top 5? Gotta be at least top 10. But on the overall, world rankings, I couldn't possibly be higher than like #563 BIGGEST FAN, and this woman wasn't even in the same league as fans I run with. Fake news!

Ahem. Anyway.

The show was incredible as always. I never have the words to say how amazing a Robbie show is, because no matter the venue, or how large or small the crowd, dude knows how to fill the room (or arena, or giant stadium) with his presence. And despite there being 200,000 hands holding up phones in all directions at all times, I got some really good photos of the big man. It's not skill, I'm just lucky to have long arms and a phone that's smart enough to make a picture turn out decently even though I'm waving it wildly in the air with one hand.

Since all RW shows are similar in some ways, with most of the same set list, I best remember the differences. I was really excited that they started the encore with the new single Lost, which I love. I must listen to it a lot, because I realized last night that I already know almost all the words, even though it's only been out a couple of weeks. And it was fun to hear Tripping live, maybe for the first time ever (at least the first I remember). 

Less fun a difference to remember was Rob leaving for a verse or so during She's the One, then coming back to end it and explain that he'd had to go throw up. I get it, buddy, that song makes me feel that way too. (Kidding. Kind of. That song's fine, I just never loved it. And after more than 20 years, I'm beyond sick of hearing it all the time).

But in all seriousness, when he told the crowd what happened, I immediately flipped from fangirl loving Robbie the entertainment machine and never wanting him to leave the stage to being concerned about Rob the person. I just wanted to say, No more songs! It's okay, these people don't need to hear Angels. Just go take care of yourself! Also, despite dark clouds overhead and a weather alert for "heavy and prolonged rain" issued earlier in the day for exactly the hours of the concert, the first drops of the night fell at the end of She's the One, and started to really come down after it ended. But our boy's a pro, so he stayed to sing Angels in the rain, and take a bow with the band before exiting stage right, with the huge crowd singing his song back to him. 

Hopefully all was well with Mr Williams when things calmed down, and it was just the adrenaline of the night hitting him in the stomach -- having 100k people stare at you for 2 hours could make anyone's nerves jangly. Even the world's greatest entertainer.

Brandi Carlile Live (for the First Time in a Long Time) in Chicago

 Last night I saw Brandi Carlile live in Chicago, in a crowd of 10,000. Last time I saw Brandi and the Twins live, I was one of maybe hundreds, and they didn't have a real record yet. And she was just as much of a rock star back then as she was on stage yesterday.

I've been a lover of the BCB (Brandi Carlile Band) since 2003, and still have two demo CDs on my shelf alongside all the other big studio albums, yet I somehow skipped all the live shows in the middle. About the same time that they went away to make it big, I slowed down on seeing live music for a few years. And when I started again, around a decade ago, Brandi was too known in Seattle for me to get a ticket. Every time I found out about one of her local shows, it was already sold out. Then she switched to playing the Gorge instead of the city, and... y'all... hell to the no on the Gorge. It's too far to drive there and back the same day, and the closest I will ever get to camping is a hotel with less than 4 stars. 

But during the pandemic I finally found out about the Bramily, which DUH I should've been a member of all along. And signing up for that was what finally gave me enough notice about the tour to get myself a good seat at the Chicago show. Because, yeah, I'll take a flight halfway across the country over camping ANY day.

I know it sounds like some kind of crazy bandwagon jumping being back now that everyone knows about Brandi, but c'mon... if you know me, you know I don't play around when it comes to music fanaticism.

I was trying to remember when the last time I saw BCB in person was, but it had to have been 17 or 18 years ago, and I saw a lot of their shows back then. Given that Brandi was still a local hustling to make it big, there were a lot of opportunities for live shows in Seattle when I discovered her in 2003, and even my completely broke ass could afford them. I know I went to a many a bar show, and made a few visits to a restaurant in Queen Anne where you could see BC and the Twins play an acoustic set for free on Sunday nights, as long as you bought something. So either of those settings could have been the last time, and it was probably in 2004, since I think 2005 was when they left town to make their first album.

It was before I had a million phone pics of everything I did, so I looked in my old blogging service to see if I could figure out the timing of my last Seattle BCB gig. I couldn't, but here are some excerpts of what I wrote about a show at the Tractor Tavern in October 2003:

Brandi kicked ass, as usual. Her CDs don't do her justice. Along with all the brilliant original material, she sang the hell out of Creep once again, and did the best version of Hallelujah that I've ever heard (which is saying a lot, because everyone and their mother has done that song).

Speaking of mothers, I bought a CD from Brandi's mom* on the way out.

I would recommend Brandi Carlile to just about everyone. She's that good. 

It wasn't my first BCB show, nor my last, but it seems to be the one I wrote the most about. Compare that to the ONLY thing I said about my first (absolutely incredible) Ani DiFranco gig in July of 2003: I just got home from the show and I couldn't possibly love Ani anymore right now. She just rocks the entire world.

Clearly there's a reason I'm not a rock journalist.

Anyway. Last night in Chicago. It was roughly eleventy kajillion degrees out, even after it got dark, but luckily there was a slight breeze and my seat was shaded by the stage, so I only sweated out about half my body weight during the show. Also, the only way to get seats up front was to be a Bramily member who got in on the pre-sale, so I spent the down time chatting with all the superfans around me about our history with Brandi, Ani and Celisse, tattoos, the upcoming Girls Just Wanna Weekend, feminism, racial justice... ya know, chick stuff.

The show was opened up by Celisse, who rocked my world, shredded on the guitar. She only did a few songs, but also got the chance to do a few with BCB during the headlining set.

Then came Ani DiFranco, who I just saw last month in Seattle, but who I'd happily hear play every night if I could. Ani's always amazing and inspiring, and getting to see her again alongside Brandi was one of the main reasons I picked Chicago as my stop on the tour. And as per the BCB way, Ani came back to sing 32 Flavors with Brandi and the band during their encore.

Then the main event! Brandi is, was, and always will be a rockstar. She killed it, as did the Twins. Who, by the way, were celebrating their birthday last night (although I think maybe it's actually today?), so Tim and Phil got to hear the birthday song from a full amphitheater before going back to the business at hand. 

My seat was down front, but sort of off to the side of the stage, so if I looked straight to my right I saw into the not-well-concealed backstage area, below one of the big screens for the folk in the back. There was a small open area between the stage barrier and the seats, and everyone in the first two rows got a wristband to allow them to flood that area. I was row three, so got the pleasure of staying in my seat. Or standing in front of it dancing for most of the night, actually. But because I remained where I was, I turned my head to see what was on the big screen while Brandi was telling a story about her family, and noticed Catherine Carlile standing there at the side of the stage, with both their kids playing around nearby. And it seemed like they were there for most of the 2 hour set. I love that. Not only that they go on the tours, but that they actually want to be there to see Brandi doing her job every night. What a family. What a band. What a night.

Oh, and Brandi's still doing Creep; with the help of Celisse on guitar last night. Same old rockstar from the Tractor!

*I have no actual proof of this, and I don't remember making the purchase at all. This is purely based on word on the street at the time, which was that Momma Carlile worked the merch table.