So that was it: My last show on the B2B tour this year. Keith told us, he  would miss us, Mick promised to have fun with us tonight, but it was rather  unspectacular. That doesn't mean that it was not good, but I would have  loved one or the other song being replaced with a non-standard song. 

 

The Corrs opened. They did alright, but earned the applause rather by  looking good (in the cold <g>) than playing good. I wished the Stones would  have come out to play "Rocky Road to Dublin" with them, but that didn't  happen.

The Stones came on just before 9 pm, it was the Leipzig curtain again, so no rockets, because the curtain did not open in time. Lots of smoke on  stage though, because it was windy and the dry ice worked at last this show.

Ronnie was wide awake, so he played very loud and inspired, lots of soloing from his side. Gimme Shelter was tight, Saint of me had a long rendition of the oh-yeahs and Out of Control was really good tonight as well. They  showed a screen for webchoice giving Mannheim on it, but I have my doubts  about that now. Let it Bleed was the choice, so Thierry got what he wanted.  :-)) 

We made it onto the jumbotron first time this tour during Miss You and again during Brown Sugar, so you could see Nico, Petra, Axel, Gerd, Jaqueline, Dirk, Dirk's wife Petra, Birgit and me all in one spot together. Shame we did not get a pic of that, although Axel made lots of pics during the night.

There were great pictures to look at just in front of us: The guitar harmonica solo during Out of control, Keith kneeling to Ronnie during Wanna  Hold you, Mick being f... from behind by Lisa (he did some pelvis movements  to her during Miss you on the other side of the stage, so that was her revenge). Lisa gave Mick a Kiss on his cheek during the "Love, sister, is  just a kiss away" on Gimme Shelter, which seemed to be new to him as he gave a weird look.

the mix. He DOES play a lot, but when you are listening to hear the guitar,  you wait for the fat distorted and sustained sound, and that's Keith's bit.  Ronnie did very good slide guitar on Let it Bleed and Jagger seemed to be really impressed. It was good to see that.

Lots of presents were thrown on stage during the catwalk bit and the last  songs. Mick got a teddy bear, there were roses and pieces of paper, a scarf or two for Ronnie.

 

Mannheim was the end, Axel did not go to Greece, so we all had to say goodbye to the Stones and to each other here. Petra and I went eraly that morning, just a less than three hour drive took us down to Heidelberg. When you pass from Heidelberg to Mannheim, take the exit before the exit you are supposed to take and drive to the next - crossing - motorway as near as you can. Park there, walk ten minutes and you are there. There were hefty traffic jams after the show, but we just got to the car, started it and drove off. Easy as that.

Being there early was an advantage, we got into a section between the front gates and the gates to the Maimarkt and waited with another 1000 fans there. I did see Kemelfield inside, he was getting a couple of girls in before the gates opened. Then the gates at the right side of the field were opened for a minute or two and about 50-100 people got in before they were closed again. We could not really see what happende, but complained loudly. Meanwhile Dirk Jennerjahn and his wife (another Petra), had arrived with some friends. It was good to spend the time waiting with people you knew from so many tours and shows. When the gates opened properly, we just ran to Ronnie's side and got real good places in front of Ronnie's amps. Birgit Jennerjahn was there as well, Axel, Nico, Gerd and Jaqueline joined us later. I still remember directing Nico, who was still on the motorway, to a place to park next to our car by mobile phone while standing there in the separated area. Logistics for fans is a strange thing, but we were pro's now in getting people in. ;-)) Mannheim 1995 was teh highlight of the tour, the Stones were in superb form and the weather was hot, threatening thunderstorms hanging over the hills of nearby Heidelberg, lightning in the sky behind the stage, but no rain. This time is was raining a bit, in the afternoon the dark clouds did hang over us and it was nearly dark, but the big rain did not come down. Another ghastly atmosphere, but the concert was not that spectacular. It was good, but the extra bit was missing. I would have like one or the other change in the set list, maybe YCAGWYW thrown in again for good measure or something special on stage, but that did not happen.


Nico loved the Corrs, they were alright and looked really pretty, but felt very cold on stage, as you could see from the girls. I was not that impressed, but they would have made a nice backing chorus to one or the other Stones song or should have come out during Miss You or something like that.

As this was the last show, Axel did take a lot of pics there, so have a look and enjoy them. And it was our first time on the jumbotron, a good ending to a nice tour.