EUROPEAN TOURMarch / April 2006
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Hello to all the RAGE-heads everywherePeavy calling – we are ready to start our new "Speak Of The Dead" tour 2006 to the same named album, which will be available in the shops at the same time. For sure you know what I am talking about, as it has been in the news and you might have even downloaded our work already, as it was again available in the web somewhere (but just a promo version with voice overs). We're very proud of our new baby, which has some new and surprising stuff. We can't wait, to play this LIVE to you guys, especially the new Suite Lingua Mortis, which is going to be a real challenge. We are sure that you understand, that we can't take a full Orchestra on the road with us for a 25-minute part in the show, the costs would be a killer! (but who knows what might happen and we're working on having a full complement along for special shows in the future!) So, you'll have to bear with us when we use samples from the orchestra now, but you can bet, that it will be top notch. For the other part of our show we've compiled a new set, including old favourites, but also material, you have not heard from us for a long while. We have given the whole stage show a makeover, we've re-designed the stage, so we're looking forward to have a great show together. Another bonus on tour is the boys from FREEDOM CALL with explosive power metal material!! Just not to be missed!!! So make sure you're there!!!!! As our normal crew were unable to make this tour, we're bringing along two new entrants. My old mate Jürgen Schmitz, who will be responsible for stage and lighting, got many years experience and toured with a number of bands including GRAVE DIGGER amongst others. We also welcome Sascha Schwulera as another new crew member, who will arrange the backline and who is familiar with our equipment after helping us out during several shows last year. Charly Czaijkowski, our well tried sound profi, will make sure, that we have the best metal sound – he helped us to produce our new album, and no-one else knows our songs better!!! Mike will take care of his drums and tour itinerary, as he has done for the last 2 tours. And of course there will be a range of new merchandise on offer (thanks to Print Pallace, Dortmund), offered to you by a soft female hand this time. More details in due course.... Speak to you soon! Yours Peavy |
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23.03.06 - 1. DAY OF TOUR - FERRY STOCKHOLM-TURKKU - SFerry Stockholm-Turkku/Metal Båten.... Now finally here is the first part of my tourreport for our actual tour. I'm a bit late, had some problems with my laptop, then there was no net, blabla… anyway, now I'm online and can send the mail to Joe. Let me first thank you for your comments and the good feedback to our shows and the new album.We'll continue giving our best to serve you high quality metal. So, how does it start? First of all we had to drive with our complete equipment from our rehearsal room to Quickborn near Hamburg, the homebase of our coach company Red Car. Here's the gathering point for everybody. The usual pickup by Nightliner was impossible because of the uncomfortable routing. The way to Stockholm was too long anyway and we needed 2 drivers. If the Bus would have collected everybody at home we'd needed 3 of them. (they can only drive a certain amount of hours without break by law). So we'd spend the first day on the motorway. In the evening we loaded the trailer in the icy cold, then set of to Stockholm. We had a couple of welcome beers with the mates from Freedom Call but we didn't do the heavy drinking in order to safe our powers, as we had a lot of shows to do. After an endless drive we finally could check in the Ferry to Turkku/Finnland. Since a couple of years they do a little Festival on this Ferry. This time we're booked as Headliners, no easy tourstart, as it is in general to start the tour in Scandinavia, wich is still a new marked for us, that we have to build up. A challenge, but after this we'll have the hardest part behind us (what also concerns the weather: while in whole Europe spring is coming, we go to the deep frozen north, as if our winter wasn't long enough). But back to the boat show: imagine a huge Ferry packed with 2000 totally drunken Vikings and we're right in the middle on a Gala stage! The Swedish rock the boat with us and it's a real funny show, even we played a shorter set because of the festival. Our soundman Charly melts down the PA to oversound the cracking of the ice shelves (the sea is completely frozen). |
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24.03.06 - 2. DAY OF TOUR - HELSINKI - FINHelsinki/Nosturi.... After this chaotic start we play in Helsinki for the first time in our carreer. First, we try to bring our full show on stage, which succeeds all in all after a few difficulties. For that we've never been here, we have quite some people with 400 that show up. Freedom Call play a great set and we follow them, which reflects in our good merch sales at the end. 25.04.06 - 3. DAY OF TOUR - TAMPERE - FINTampere/Hellä.... On this day, we have to be without our special guests, as the boys are booked for a festival in England. Usually we'd have an day off, but we wanted to fill it with a little gig. So quickly this little show in a metalbar was added, which we play alone. Unfortunately there was no advertisement, and as we've never been here, the show was a bit more intimate with approximately 100 people. Anyway, better than doing nothing...... |
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26.04.06 - 4. DAY OF TOUR - TRAVEL DAYWe went back with the same Ferry to Stockholm (this time in civil). As they missed the hitfaced Vikings, the most of our boys copied them by having a full Jack Daniels Dose. I prever to save my voice and go to bed (Its not easy being the singer...) 27.03.06 - 5. DAY OF TOUR - STOCKHOLM - SStockholm/Klubben.... The FC is back and everything runs in schedule. On our last tour we did our final gig here and I remember, being pretty ill then. So I'm glad, that I'm able to sing in full glory this time. Also Mikes drum solo is well accepted. Compared to last time, even more people came, so everybody's happy. |
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28.03.06 - 6. DAY OF TOUR - OSLO - NOROslo/Garage.... This day we'd better have spend as an day off, like originally planned. The club is way too small for our production, we cannot put our stuff on the tiny stage, where we tread on each other's feet. Besides this, Norway is really not our place, and so only few people came. On top, Victor got some problems with his monitoring system, so he had to leave out some songs, which was not appreciated by some fans. He's completely nerved and I can't bring him back for an encore. Somehow I can understand him, it was a bad day. Shit happens, sorry from our side. 29.03.06 - 7. DAY OF TOUR - GÖTEBORG - SGöteborg/Musikens Hus.... Today it's getting better. The general space and backstage situation is relaxed and both bands play a great set. Meanwhile, our lightman Jürgen has optimated the lightshow for the Suite Lingua mortis, and it's well accepted. Also our merch queen Jenny is well accepted… |
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30.03.06 - 8. DAY OF TOUR - VÄXJÖ - SVäxjö/Folkets Park.... The Scandinavian leg of our tour ends like it started with a little festival. The venue is a wooden construction, but the stage is a bit narrow, so some changes with the light construction has to be done. This delays the whole setup a bit, also due to the bad cooperation of the local technicians. Also there's a local band, that needs to setup. We've never been here and we notice, that the people don't know our songs at all, even not "Higher than the sky" is known. Anywy, now they know…...31.03.06 - 9. DAY OF TOUR - FLENSBURG - DFlensburg/Roxys.... Back to our homeland, the more convienient part of our tour starts. While the first week was build up work for us, here we are well known and the places are packed. Although we've never played in our 22 years carreer in Flensburg (why anyway?), we have a nice sauna in the Roxy, packed with over 500 people. The sweat is running and the fans party. Meanwhile, we're well rehearsed and so everything goes perfect. Some boys abuse my skull, that I fixed at my microphone stand, to hold some lyrics (yeah, my memory gets weak), as a cigarette holder, no way!! :-D |
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01.04.06 - 10. DAY OF TOUR - ANDERNACH - DAndernach/JUZ Live Club.... And now it really starts. The JUZ is already sold out before, although Dieter, the local promoter, didn't set up any poster advertisement (it was obviously unnecessary). In the evening, he has to send home over 100 people, it was packed. The show was AMAZING! We are smoking and we rock the house and the fans rocks us. Every line gets sung and everybody got their hands in the air. It's an extreme sauna, but the energy is so strong, that none collapses. Our shirts sell like warm cake and so Jenny gets an upgrade to the merch empress. Thanx for everything! Thanx to everybody, who helped us and also for the great catering. Best wishes to Victors guitar studends, who blocked the first rows in front of him. Let your fingers fly…We'll be back next year.02.04.06 - 11. DAY OF TOUR - VOSSELAAR - BVosselaar/Biebob.... The good old smelly Biebop. A metal vault par exelence, a headache by breathing the backstage air guaranteed… I better stay in the bus. Some fans camp already outside on the pavement with some beer and party in the mild weather (finally its spring). Since stoneage times, the Biebop always serves the same food: rubber chicken with cold fries, a "gourmet-pleasure" of the special kind (aargh). In the evening the place is packed and the daily sauna repeats. A good show for everyone. |
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03.04.06 - 12. DAY OF TOUR - HAMBURG - DHamburg/Markthalle.... Today, our time schedule got skipped a bit behind, so there's some stress at the setup. Our hard working crew and we really need a day off now. Luckily we can have a break tomorrow. Today, a lot of old buddy show up and it becomes a funny evening. The lightshow looks great on this nice stage.04.04.06 - 13. DAY OF TOUR - DAY OFFJust a sleeping day, not worth to mention, if Mike wouldn't have done a hammer stunt: since a couple of days he had an infection in his right thumb, which became really bad. It was swollen to double size and in bad pain. It was evening and Mike, who had lived too long in Hollywood and identified himself too much with the Terminator, thought he could (like Arnie in the flick) "repair" himself. So he cut in his thumb with the knife of his leatherman-tool (wich he "disinfected" with a match, like in the wildwest movies), to let the pus run out. He's a good drummer but a lousy doctor, so his complete arm got swollen and a visit in the emergency of the next hospital was necessary. There his thumb was cut open professional and taken care of. The doc suggested to cancel the next shows… |
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05.04.06 - 14. DAY OF TOUR - NÜRNBERG - DNürnberg/Hirsch.... But not the master himself! After several painkillers he ignored all pain and played a super show, including his drumsolo. Unbelievable the man, that's real "Human Metal", respect!Besides this, it was packed and both bands went down perfectly (FC homeshow). In the afternoon a few dudes broke in our bus. But Helge, our driver, noticed this early enough, so they could only steal a sixpack of beers… fuck them. |
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06.04.06 - 15. DAY OF TOUR - ZLIN - CZZlin/Masters Of Rock Cafe.... This show was sold out already in January, so we were more than welcome in the brandnew club. Great stage, great bands & great fans, those 800, who got a ticket. For all the others who couldn't be there (we could have packed the place twice concerning the promoter) the show was recorded by a radio station. In summer we'll be back for the MOR Festival, see ya… 07.04.06 - 16. DAY OF TOUR - BUDAPEST- HBudapest/Wigwam.... We've been here already a couple of years ago, in this Indian-style club with all its cow & horse skulls (no, I didn't steal one!). That time, we hadn't too many people, so we're glad, as we have a great crowd walking up in the evening. Also this show is super, we're pretty tight and the new songs are well accepted. Freedom Call decided to sell their Merch on their own, to make it easier for our overloaded Jenny… |
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08.04.06 - 17. DAY OF TOUR - WIEN - AWien/Planet Music.... Summer came to Vienna, so we go into the city at sunny 20 degrees. Today our buddys from Deadsoul Tribe show up. Adel, the drummer, is already shitfaced and he developes this status over the evening. We had more presales than overall people at the last time and it was already full then, so we have a super show. The Vienna fans celebrate our set and soundmaster Charly blows up the PA and we stand in silence. The damage is repaired quickly and we play "Winter" again. We stay overnight, so we have plenty of time to party… |
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09.04.06 - 18. DAY OF TOUR - GRAZ - AGraz/Orpheum.... The Orpheum is a real theater with strict rules. So we can't hang our backdrops cause the fabric doesn't fulfil the fire rules. Also there's a strict curfew. Although we played the day before only 150 km away, we had a nice crowd walkup and we play in the best mood until Mike smashes his finger in "Nightmare". Blood spreads all over his drums and his swearing all over the stage. Also he drops the mini disc, that contains our orchestra for the suite, and it falls under his drumriser. What a sight: like "Laurel & Hardy" Mike & myself crawl under his riser, looking for the disc, joined by Mikes swearing. Thanks god, that Victor helps out with a guitarsolo. Time for a break… 10.04.06 - 19. DAY OF TOUR - DAY OFFThis off day we spend in a nice little hotel near to Venice, some with sightseeing, some sleeping… |
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11.04.06 - 20. DAY OF TOUR - TREVISO - ITreviso/New Age.... During the Italian shows we all have to lower our expectations. What elsewhere is normal is not given here. Such simple things like dressing rooms, own artist toilets, catering etc., you can only dream of. Imagine, how "In Flames" and "Sepultura" made it in that 2 squaremeter sized room next to the stage a week before. The chaos couldn't be bigger. But somehow we make it and bring the show on stage. I'm sick of a stomach virus, too.12.04.06 - 21. DAY OF TOUR - FLORENCE - IFlorence/Ministry.... Today we're near the center, so we use the day for extreme sightseeing in the wonderful Florence city. In the evening, the place is packed and both bands play a great show, although FC fucked up their encore. This time I was able to get a chair when changing chlothes, what luxury! Anyway, the Italian fans are great and this helps us over the thoughtlessness of the Clubowners. |
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13.04.06 - 22. DAY OF TOUR - MILAN - IMilan/Rainbow.... Another shithole.We better spend the day outside. The show was best attendet, and we had a great metalparty with the Milan fans. Worth to mention is, how Mike treated the obligate t-shirt bootleggers. After he asked this thiefs (fact) two times friendly to get away from the entrance of the venue, and this arrogant ignorants showed no reaction, the beast broke out of him. Loudly swearing he ran over to their stand and smashed it down with fists and feet. Under the constand cheering and clapping of a couple of hundret fans that saw the scene, the guys ran away… Bob at it's best! |
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14.04.06 - 23. DAY OF TOUR - PRATTELN - CHPratteln/Z7.... Coming home! This is the reward for our suffering. Like always, here's the tourhighlight. The best stage, best catering and best friendly treatment. Recently the Z7 became new sanitary stuff, so we get a kind of hotelfeeling. Because of the brilliant pre-sales, it looks like a good evening. As in the evening 900 metalheads march up and celebrate a great metalevening with us, the overall grin doesn't leave the faces. Boss Norbert is happy, he had us so many times, and he's a special friend of the band. Since years he's wishing us success and now it's happening. Logically we promise to be back for the metal days festival in summer. |
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15.04.06 - 24. DAY OF TOUR - DAY OFFIts raining in Paris and we all do what we like. I spend the day with visiting the musee de homme and some historical cemeteries… 16.04.06 - 25. DAY OF TOUR - PARIS - FParis/Elysée Montmartre.... Today everything is very relaxed and we're ready with the complete setup incl. soundchecks for both bands one full hour before doors open. Wow, we never had that. So let's have another walk over Montmartre and then hit the stage. The show is pretty early, cause after us there's a Hip hop(!) show in the Elysee, time is money. Nicely, the place is pretty full and the show is very good. Only the loadout later is very chaotic… |
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17.04.06 - 26. DAY OF TOUR - LYON - FLyon/Transbordeur.... Summer in France, so I go out and hang my feet into the near river, watch the beavers build a dam, something you don't see so often… The show is well attendet and the fans are totally wild. Massive diving and crowdsurfing causes some damage to several of the actors. Of course they carry their wounds with pride. Because of Easter holidays, we had a delivery problem, so we ran out of shirts. Most items on our merchboard say "sold out". |
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18.04.06 - 27. DAY OF TOUR - MONTPELLIER - FMontpellier/Rockstore.... Today everything goes wrong, what possibly can go wrong. Because of a bigger construction site in the street of the club, the emergency entrances of the venue were blocked. So the police closed the club, that's what the promoter told us. Although they tried intensly to find another place for the show, this didn't work out, and the local promoter cancelled the show at 4 o clock in the afternoon (tickets held value for a later date). I really don't know why this whole thing wasn't cleared up long before. Maybe another case of acute unproffessionality? I can't say. Just to get it straight: we were there, ready to play. The local promoter cancelled, because he had no venue anymore. It was absolutely not our fault (for those who complained in our guestbook). For all the fans who stood before locked doors: sorry from our side, we were as much disappointed as you were! We want to try to fix a new date. Anyway, there was nothing left for us than to check into a hotel and gamble through the rest of the day. Soundgod Charly had the glorious idea to buy a portable grill, so we spent the evening on the parking lot with steak and sausages. We projected the Maiden/Rock in Rio DVD with our beamer to our trailer, so the mood was getting allright in the end… |
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19.04.06 - 28. DAY OF TOUR - DAY OFFThe whole day was spent on the road, driving to Granada/E (1200km), with a stop in Castellon, but I slept the day away. The others told me about a fantastic afternoon at the beach though...20.04.06 - 29. DAY OF TOUR - Granada - EGranada/Ind. Copera... We still remember this place from our tour with Helloween 3 years ago. A bunker with metalwalls in an industrial area. In full summer heat our driver Helge washes our rolling home, what leads to some watergames. Jürgen has some serious problems with the light equipment. The rental stuff is not what we wanted, and it breaks down every two minutes. He's down with his nerves… Still, we bring a good show on Stage. |
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21.04.06 - 30. DAY OF TOUR - MADRID - EMadrid/Sala Heineken.... Today it works all pretty good, although the local crew is high in dope the whole day long. Were close to the center but constand rain keeps us from going out. The place is packed and we have a good show, still the clubowner tries to stop us early by turning on the venue light in "La Luna Reine", our Spanish version of "Full Moon". Of course we ignore this and our crew tells him better. So he has to delay his popperdisco a bit, but that doesn't matter. As we drive away theres only a handful of winos waiting for get in… |
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22.04.06 - 31. DAY OF TOUR - BARCELONA - EBarcelona/Razzmatazz II.... Today my buddy Fran picks me up at the bus and we go out together. First we visit his friend Ramon at his clerks bar, he's mostly delighted and we have a drink. After a nice tapas lunch (the best food for me since a couple of days) we visit the cemetery of Collserola, the biggest in all Katalonia, that spreads itself like a city for the dead beneath the mountains. The show is packed and the fans go wild, till after "Straight To Hell" a power blackout in the whole block forces us to stop the show. Of three phases only one is working, later they told us, at a powerstation outside of the city something broke down, and so we stand nearly in total darkness. From the PA only the horns of one side continued working, that's not enough to play a show. Of course, in this moment noone knows what has happened. We give drinks and t-shirts to the fans, after a while the promoter explains what happened. It's astonishing, how calm everybody stays, noones leaving the venue, although we have nearly one hour break. But then it's fixed and the lights go on again. We start again with the "Suite Lingua Mortis" and play the rest of a smoking show. I guess we were lucky in the end… |
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23.04.06 - 32. DAY OF TOUR - DAY OFFThe offday we spend driving on the motorway, how boring that was!24.04.06 - 33. DAY OF TOUR - BOCHUM - DBochum/Zeche.... As we arrive early morning at 3 a.m. in Bochum, my girl Manu picks me up, which is really nice of her, as she has to work at 5 a.m. already! We don't think of sleeping anyway, as we haven't seen us for weeks. Somehow, she get's over with her job and we spend a nice day together (no details :-D ). In the evening the Zeche is packed and we celebrate a great metalfest with our fans and friends. Besides of lots of private friends our first Avenger guitarist Alf Meyerratken showed up, our long time guitarist Manni Schmidt and my ex-boss from my taxidermy-days, including daughter, and of couse FC guitarist Lars falls for her, so he doesn't want to let her go as its time to leave later. It was a real nice evening. |
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25.04.06 - 34. DAY OF TOUR - ASCHAFFENBURG - DAschaffenburg/Colos-Saal.... Also today I stepped out and visited my fossil-buddy Bernd in Klingenberg, near to Aschaffenburg (yes, the place where the last exorzism happened !). It's warm like summer and the mood is more like sitting in the beer garden. The Collossal is nearly sold out and the mood is fantastic. Unfortionally Victor has problems with the transmitter of his guitar equipment, right when he wants to play his solo in Beauty. OK, the tour was long and slowly the nerves are blank, so we take a deep breath and try to be cool… |
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26.04.06 - 35. DAY OF TOUR - LUDWIGSBURG - DLudwigsburg/Rockfabrik.... Home at Hasche's. The ex. Running Wild drummer welcomes us like family and presents us the best catering of the tour. Good food keeps body & soul together, and so it's no wonder, that everybody is in best spirit again. The boys from Nuclear Blast show up with half of the company and with the guys from Nightwish also, which are on promotour. We discuss future plans of an upcoming DVD, that we want to record in Russia. We'll keep you informed about that soon. The show is great, although there again were some technical problems. Something to the comments in our guestbook: it's not always our fault or our soundmans fault, if the concert sound is not optimal. We can only work with the technical material that we get supplied, and that's not always, like we have ordered…27.04.06 - 36. DAY OF TOUR - DAY OFFThe last offday we spend in a cute hotel near Pforzheim. In the afternoon we make office, in the evening we wath the football game in the hotel bar... |
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28.04.06 - 37. DAY OF TOUR - ANNWEILER - DKarlsruhe/Festhalle Durlach... Beautiful weather in Karlsruhe, which I use for walking out. Our crew is not that lucky, they have to do the work of the local PA company. Although these guys have started their build up already the evening before, weather light nor sound was wired. This led to a delay in our build up, and so the more than 500 fans had to wait for get in. We were told a strict curfew but we decided to play as long as the police would stop us (which didn't happen after all). This PA people really didn't do their homeworks and so this caused a mjor technical chaos during the show. Our monitors partially didn't work and had to be replaced, so Mike couldn't play his original drumsolo and had to improvise. The venues sound was already difficult with a lot of reflections but without working monitors it's a real gamble if you play together or not. Caused by that chaos, our setlist got a bit mixed up, still we managed to play a ok show. A pity, that the fans were standing so far away, that we hardly could see them… |
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29.04.06 - 38. DAY OF TOUR - KAUFBEUREN - DKaufbeuren/All-Karthalle.... Today is the last show with the "Friesen girls" our nickname for the boys of Freedom Call. Everybody feels already like breaking up. On top it starts snowing and temperatur goes below zero. After doors open we do a little autograph signing session at our mMerchstand. The venue is pretty full and our signatures are well accepted. The stage is big and our show looks really good, also the sound is good, though the venue is difficult, in real it's a huge cart racing track, made out of concrete and steel. The fans freak out and everyones happy. As we were not ready with the tour yet, we skipped the usual ritual, that the crew is making fun out of the bands at the last show, otherwise the "Friesen girls" would have meet their masters :-D The boys have to leave immediately, some have to play with Gamma Ray right the next day and one (Chris) has to play with his coverband at the same night. So everybody says goodbye. At the merchdesk a fairly depressed man tells us, that his wife has left him because she fell in love with Victor. This woman shows up later and is hurt herself, as she finds out, that Jenny is the woman at Vics side. Now it's getting peculiar: as we load our stuff, our merchboar, a construction made of heavy wood, falls on Jennys head. An attack because of unaccomplished love? Just a coincident? Weird, a case for captain Soundchaser… |
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30.04.06 - 39. DAY OF TOUR - OSNABRÜCK - DOsnabrück/Hyde Park... The last show of a quite long, successful but straining tour. Everybody's minds wander home. We gather our stuff from the bus. Helge starts cleaning up and is astonished of the amount of old socks and pants (used), Cd's and other personal stuff, that the FC boys have forgotten in the bus. Do you have too much money? Manu comes together with Saschas family to witness our last show. Todays support are Mob Rules, they already opened the German dates on our tour with Helloween, some years ago. The show is pretty relaxed and everybody has their fun. After this we're going straight home, load out our equipment and that's it! Now we take a week break minimum.We thank from the heart everybody who was with us, especially our crew, who made a fantastic job, beyond what they got paid for. Our biggest thank of course goes to you, the fans, without you we couldn't have started at all. We hope you had a great time with us, as we had with you. See you all again, latest on the next tour!!! Stay tuned, Rage on!!! Yours Peavy Fotos by: Jiri Rogl... Pavel Petruska... Zdenek Zeleny... Michal Straka... Michael Hirtzy... Andreas Weber... Maiskolben... Joe Derschka |
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| 25 YEARS ANNIVERSARY TOUR 2009 EUROPA TOUR 1999 | |