After about 10 years of abstinence, I attended a concert of my old youth once again on Tuesday - punk rock gods Die Toten Hosen at the Bielefeld "Seidenstickerhalle". The reason I hadn't attended any Hosen concerts in the last 10 years was simple: their records got worse year by year.... And since the "Friss oder Stirb" tour in 2004, I was done with the fun; the album for the tour "Zurück zum Glück" was crap, and outrageous prices were being charged for tickets. What did the band say in the 90s, "...for a concert, we will never charge more than 20,-DM..." now the Hosen charge double that, but in euros... This year, however, I dug deep into my wallet, even though I only liked 2 songs from the new album "Ballast der Republik". That "Ohh ohh ohh, ahh ahh ahh" in the new songs just gets on my nerves. The second CD, if you treated yourself to the double album, is a different story; most songs are so well covered, and the selection is great.... "Computerstaat", "Sirenen", "Keine Macht für Niemand" and "Innenstadt Front" were THE punk rock songs of the 80s! Just awesome, and hoping that some of those would be played, along with many old Hosen songs, we headed to the tour kickoff show of the Düsseldorfer in Bielefeld.
Since we weren't in a hurry, we arrived only halfway through the gig of the Irish support band Kopek in the already very full "Seidenstickerhalle". The 5-6 rocking songs we heard were enjoyable to me and apparently to many spectators as well. At least there were no "Hosen Hosen" chants between the songs. Unfortunately, the sound wasn't turned up fully at the mixing desk for the three young Irishmen. But that's to be expected; they save the full volume for the main band, which, I’ll spoil it now, unfortunately did not happen! Even later with the Hosen, it could have been a bit louder. You could have a conversation without shouting, and that's not a good sign for a "rock concert"!!! After the good Kopek gig, we first searched for other acquaintances who wanted to come to the first tour gig of the Hosen. But apart from Manu and his gang, as well as the guys from Cockamamy Minds, a friend band, no one could be found among the 7½ thousand spectators.
At exactly 9 PM, the Düsseldorfer took the stage and immediately went full throttle with the new songs "Ballast der Republik" and "Altes Fieber" before playing the old hit "Opel-Gang". Of course, during these three songs, the entire audience sang along more or less, but that changed with the following song "Auswärtsspiel" where Campino congratulated Arminia on their promotion, but also noted that hopefully, there wouldn't be a duel between his favorite team and Arminia Bielefeld next season; we now know it will happen.... It continued with "Das ist der Moment", "Alles was war", etc.; the atmosphere was good, but 20 years ago, the atmosphere was much better... Back then, the concert hall was boiling, condensation was dripping from the ceiling, and Campino was climbing on the ventilation pipes, slipping on the wet pipes, and barely managing to save himself from a fall (unforgettable back then at PC69). 20 years later, the atmosphere was just good, although Campino really gave everything on stage, and I take my hat off to him! At 50 years old, he is still fit as a fiddle! Andi was also still moving well... But the impact zones of Breiti and Kuddel (who has become quite thin) were noticeably less... In contrast, the average age of the audience was higher, which may also be why the atmosphere was "only" good. I also didn't find the mosh pit in front of the stage to be large. Among others, they played "Bonnie & Clyde", "Sascha", "Pushed Again", "Schrei nach Liebe" by Ärzten, "Steh auf, wenn du am Boden bist" again with a reference to his Fortuna, "Hier kommt Alex", "Wünsch Dir was", and "Tage wie diese", just to name the better songs. After 70 minutes or 20 songs, there was the first break. 3½ minutes per song shows that the Hosen didn't come to Bielefeld to chat and mess around on stage. What was also noticeable was that in many songs, the Hosen inserted a break; the fans continued to sing along, encouraged and kept in the right tempo by Campino, only to start again with the music at the right moment.
While the first part still had some good songs in the program, the second part of the show was quite unspectacular. This was also because Campino stood alone on stage at the beginning with Kuddel and his guitar, just crooning away. But even when they were back together as a five-piece, the second part of the gig was rather uninspiring.
In the third part, Campino began to talk about the machinations and financial dealings of the better-off wealthy class. I jokingly said to the Bayern fan Manu, "So, is he going to take a shot at Uli Hoeneß?" And while Manu went to get a beer out of a bad premonition, the Hosen started the song "Ich würde nie zum FC Bayern gehen". Good guess! J At the same time, an Arminia jersey flew onto the stage, which Campino only set aside. However, there are now photos showing Campino chatting with Arminia coach Stefan Krämer (who also worked as an independent DJ); who is getting information from whom? Then came the songs "Zehn kleine Jägermeister" where Campino had his first and only lyric slip, as well as "Schönen Gruß, auf Wiederseh´n". The atmosphere shot up again during these songs, and 15,000 arms flew through the air during the last song, in line with Campino's arm-stretching action....
In the fourth and final part, Campino gave it his all again, so much so that he didn't even sing the lyrics completely anymore, but that didn't bother anyone, and those who still had breath sang along with "Mehr davon". With "You´ll never walk alone", the 33rd song of the evening and just over 2 hours of Hosen music, the concert ended. It was good, but I didn't get euphoric. Maybe I missed the alcohol, the youth, the healthy bones, the sweaty clothes.... I don't know... But it was nice to see the guys from Düsseldorf again, at Campino's last concert with all his fingertips. Allegedly, he pinched his fingers in a fire door that night, and the next morning, they had to amputate a fingertip at the Bielefeld hospital. If that's true, then a part of him will always remain in Bielefeld!! *lol*