So, Mikki managed to convince me to check out the show in Lindau as well. So we were on our way from Nuremberg to Lindau, and it was already dark. We were really running late and were worried that we would miss WIZO.
Upon arriving at the club, Den gave me his card and relaxed in the hotel room. There was already a huge line outside, almost reaching the street. Oh crap, it’s definitely going to take more than an hour to get in. And WIZO would start in about 20 minutes. Okay, I thought, audacity wins, and we just casually pushed our way to the front. We were inside in 10 minutes. Mikki chatted a bit with the merch guy, and then we went in. Schmutzki was just finishing their second-to-last song. The audience was already in a good mood, but there was still a lot of space in the room.
When Schmutzki finished, Mikki floated back to the front row. We waited for WIZO. The stage was being set up. Cables were laid out, and the roadies checked the sound system. The lights went down, and the excitement in the hall grew. Cheers from the audience as the intro blasted through the speakers and Axel, Ralf, and Thomas came on stage. 'Raum der Zeit' started with a rap intro using a megaphone, and when it really kicked in, people were pogoing and jumping around us. Arms were raised everywhere, and everyone was singing along confidently. During 'Seegurke', a plush sea cucumber flew onto the stage. How long had it been since WIZO had plush toys on stage? Then came the classic 'Hey Thomas', perfect for singing and jumping along. Wild pogoing during 'Diese Welt' and 'Nana'. It was already quite sporty up front, with people pulling and pushing each other everywhere. 'Ganz klar gegen Nazis' was very well received. 'Das goldene Stück' and 'Gute Freunde' were celebrated frenetically. And hits like 'Kopfschuss', 'Alte Frau', or 'W8ing 4 U' were, of course, not missing. The finale was 'Endzweit' from the new album and 'Die letzte Sau', which on this tour is, of course, only authentic with the green Fertiecaster. To what extent the guitar is related to a Hertiecaster would need to be investigated. The atmosphere definitely holds up better...:-D
The new song 'Meine Wut' is a very personal song from Axel about how he lost the anger from his youth as he got older. 'Kein Gerede' then really took off. More than one nose bone bumped against my back. To top it all off, there was 'Bleib Tapfer'. This song had been a bit overlooked in recent years, even though it was always requested. As compensation, it was nicely stretched out so that everyone could sing along. Then 'Schlechte Zeit' rang out from the speakers, and WIZO messed around a bit until the song was over. When the lights came on, we headed outside. I then chatted with several people about the concert and various topics.
Happy and satisfied, we headed to the hotel. Just one more drink at the hotel bar. We had a great conversation, and from one beer, it turned into two, three, four... This went on until the early morning hours. Besides us, there were only a few hookers at the bar, and there was an amusing scene with a rather silly client. While philosophizing, Den then had the idea of whether I would accompany him through Germany for another week and show him interesting things. I didn’t hesitate, of course. "How far is it to the Russian border? What about tea with Putin?" "No problem, I'm in, let's do it!" I said. Later on the trip, we ended up changing our minds. ;)
The next day, we headed to Lake Constance with a proper hangover and in the afternoon to King Ludwig II's "Neuschweinstein" before we drove to Frankfurt to drop Mikki off at the airport and then spent another week aimlessly cruising through Germany.