Last Friday we caught up with King King during the German leg of their Reaching for the Light Tour 2017. This was our second evening with this multi-award rock blues Scottish band and, just like the first time, we had a blast.
As Alan Nimmo, lead singer and guitar, may have mentioned once or twice, King King has a live album out. Just like all of their opuses, we totally recommend. We will be listening to it while waiting to see them on stage again.
During our chat after the concert, Alan said he had spotted me taking photos. Not surprising, really, as back home I found out there were 380 pictures on my camera… A selection can be viewed on Of Lens And Pen and you can learn all about King King on their official website.
Hard to believe, I know, but a KISS concert was a first for both Sexy Hubby and I… We were therefore quite curious to see if the band, on their 40th anniversary tour, would live up to its reputation for spectacular shows.
We had bought VIP tickets and arrived about two hours before the concert, as catering was included. Just like with the Scorpions in Berlin in 2010, O2 World did not disappoint. The food was lovely, with plenty to choose from, the wines very good and the service friendly and faultless. The same could sadly not be said about our Bon Jovi Diamond Circle VIP Experience in 2013 in Cologne!
The Dead Daisies opened the festivities at 19:45. We had enjoyed their acoustic set at the Hard Rock Café the day before and it was great to see them live again. They played until 20:30, which we thought was not nearly long enough. Afterwards the band met with their fans and I got their new CD, Revoluciòn, and a poster signed.
It was then time for KISS to hit the stage. Wow is all I can say. The show was very spectacular indeed, with not a moment of dullness. There was always some dazzling special effect happening, members of the band performing on elevated platforms, fire blazing and yes, Gene Simmons still vomits blood!
A fabulous evening and more awesome memories to add to the collection Sexy Hubby and I are building together.
SET LIST
• Good Times Bad Times (Led Zeppelin cover)
• Detroit Rock City
• Deuce
• Psycho Circus
• Creatures of the Night
• I Love It Loud
• War Machine
• Do you Love Me
• Hell of Hallelujah
• Calling Dr. Love
• Lick It Up
• Bass Solo
• God of Thunder
• Parasite
• Love Gun
• Black Diamond
Encore:
• Shout It Out Loud
• I Was Made for Lovin’ You
• Rock and Roll All Nite
• God Gave Rock’n’Roll to You
Last week Sexy Hubby and I made our way to Hamburg to catch KISS on their 40th Anniversary Tour. The Dead Daisies were opening for that mythical band and the day before the concert, they treated fans to an acoustic set at the Hard Rock Café. Needless to say, we attended and had a blast! My only complaint was that it was too short… The Dead Daisies also donated a drumhead and an ESP guitar.
After their performance, the band members mingled with the audience and I had the pleasure to meet Marco Mendoza. Many thanks Marco for your kindness. It was also nice to be recognized the following night at the O2 World, while I was waiting for my CD to be signed! Sexy Hubby was also happy to catch up with Marco, having met him in London two years ago.
The Dead Daisies just released their second album, Revoluciòn. We highly recommend.
While I was finishing my first novel to send it off to a literary agent in London who had requested the full manuscript, my blog had to take a back seat. I am now catching up with recent events!
Like every year, we attended the Carnival festivities in our corner of Germany. The parade in our village was the first opportunity to get into the spirit. It would seem that the various groups participating are very lucky: every year, the sun shines on them or at the very least clouds hold back the rain. This of course raises the number of attendees gathered in the village streets, waiting to be entertained by the colourful floats passing by. It is always a great occasion to use my camera and you will find a selection of my efforts below.A black and white version of the fantastic Alice in Wonderland float is available here.
Next – and last, as I was then leaving for Switzerland – was our traditional Faschingsparty. The theme this year was “I love NY”. Apart from dressing up as the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building, we did not come up with too many ideas. Then Sexy Hubby declared that New York equals to extravagant and went off to order… a leopard print costume! Teamed with gold-rimmed sunglasses, cowboy hat and boots, he was just perfect. As I had just bought a black leather dress, I accessorized it with long velvet gloves, a feather boa, huge sunglasses, my blonde wig and… leopard print tights. You can find photos of our efforts here and here.
We were a tad disappointed in the party itself. First, a new security firm was in charge and they were useless. As always the evening was sold out so there was no reason for the massive queue that greeted us when nobody needed to buy an entrance ticket. The men at the door were needlessly holding people back and we ended up waiting outside in the freezing cold for forty minutes. I was definitely not amused. Then in previous years a fab set of DJs had been hired, and while not all of their musical choices was to our liking, they were brilliant at keeping the party atmosphere on a high. This year a live band had taken their place. We were not particularly impressed and during their regular breaks, it sounded like a CD was replacing them, the mood suddenly dropping every time. Still, we enjoyed our night out, or should I say date night, as the party was on Valentine’s Day?
