Reports
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Where: Munich, Germany (Philharmonie) When: March 8, 2006 Written by: Niek van de Klundert
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Set list:
The Band:
1) Columbus Stockade Blues (Kenny Lovelace) 2) Lonely Weekends (Robert Hall) 3) Bye Bye Johnny / Sweet Little Rock 'n' Roller (BB Cunningham)
4) Boppin' The Blues (Buck Hutcheson)
Jerry: 1) Roll Over Beethoven 2) You Win Again 3) Sweet Little Sixteen
4) Blue Suede Shoes 5) Rockin' My Life Away 6) Trouble In Mind 7) Before The Night Is Over
8) Pledging My Love 9) Johnny B. Goode 10) Over The Rainbow 11) Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On 12) Great Balls Of Fire
Show length: 48 minutes
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Buck Hutcheson, Kenny Lovelace and Jerry Lee Lewis at the Philharmonie in Munich, Germany (March 8, 2006) Picture: Bernd Kircher. See Pictures section for more pictures of this show.
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Me and Maarten arrived
Tuesday around 6 pm at the airport and all of a sudden JW was standing in front of us. Soon we discovered Jerry (who was looking tired, but in a good mood) and the band. We tried
to find out where they were staying, as hotels kept changing...
Later that evening we met Graham and Wolfgang and talked for a while. Than Graham showed us the suit he had
with him as a surprise for Buck; it looked great! Finally we knew where the band was staying, so we went to their hotel, met some other fans and went to a typical
German restaurant.
Next morning me and Maarten walked around a little bit in the beautiful city of Munich and around 2 pm we met everybody again at the Hilton. More and
more fans were joining the gang, and we had a great time there. They had a very nice piano, and we were with quite a few piano players: Peter Hayman, Scott and myself. BB
Cunningham played a few songs as well; a great version of Sea of Love, a song from his CD.
Some people went over to the soundcheck, and so did we. The venue looked great! I
was very happy that me and Peter were allowed to play a few minutes with the band. Always an honor. We went for dinner afterwards with a couple of fans and than back to the venue.
Many familiar faces from all countries, that's the great thing about being a JLL fan.
First there was a support act. It was OK. Than a break and the band did their
usual songs, sounding great and ready to rock, the audience loved it. Kenny kept looking at the backstage door, but after 4 songs still no Jerry. So he started with My Babe.
During the first verse Jerry entered the stage, looking OK, wearing a suit and great boots.
He started with a great Roll Over Beethoven, many solo's and the band was doing
great as well! Already after the first few lines I noticed that Jerry's vocals were not that powerful as in Amsterdam 2005, or the October tour 2004. Maybe because of the flu,
maybe he was still a little tired. He didn't talk much between songs, just smiling to the band sometimes. Some great songs followed, all long versions and many solo's by Jerry and
the band. For me, after Rockin' My Life Away Jerry really started to rock; I thought that in particular during the first few songs his voice was not 100%. Piano playing was great
during the whole show.
For me Pledging My
Love sounded great. On this song he was working very hard on the vocals, whereas in the first few songs he was rather "talking" instead of singing. Trouble In
Mind, Blues Suede Shoes, Rainbow, from then on all the songs sounded great. Another highlight for me was Before The Night Is Over. He mentioned the album, though no release
date...Great version, love that song.
Another detail, during one
of the long solo's he took a sip of his Coca-Cola. I really think he had some trouble with his voice sometimes and needed to drink a lot. All to soon, (as usual) he started with
Shakin' and Great Balls Of Fire, two great versions. After GBOF he tried to kick away the piano stool (it was a very light one) though it didn't work, sad. Without looking at the
audience or any interaction with the band he left the stage. The band finished the songs and left the stage as well, the audience was satisfied.
Altogether I think:
- piano playing great - band great - audience a little reserved, but OK (maybe because jerry was not making contact at all)
- vocals, during the first few songs a little weak, later on better, though not as powerful as I expected.
-Jerry looked sharp, but tired, though when he smiled he seemed to be in a good mood. He even knew he was in Munich, not just Germany.
After the show we met some fans
at the Hilton and the band's hotel, though most people left. Kenny and Buck were still in the lobby, and some other fans as well. Very sad there was not a real after-party
as so many fans were there and a great piano as well. Hope you're all up for it in Bocholt!
It was great to see all those familiar faces, and some new ones as well. I'm
not gonna mention any names, as I always forget some, though one name I should mention is: Wolfgang, thanks for making this show possible Killer!
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Where: Munich, Germany (Philharmonie) When: March 8, 2006 Written by: Wolfgang Guhl
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It was Tuesday, when I
finally got to meet Graham Knight at Hilton Munich. He is as expected, a very friendly person, who speaks English very well. Among other items, he gave me an original autograph by
Chuck Berry, one of my heroes as you all know. Unfortunately Jerry & Band were not staying at Hilton as originally planned, but at Palace (Jerry & Phoebe) respectively
the Holiday Inn (Band). Graham invited the band, Niek van de Klundert, Maarten van der Tol and myself to a meal at Hofbräuhaus. As I was the only local, my task was to find that
huge restaurant. It's a place only tourists visit, so I failed. Gary Cunningham had a map with him and so we eventually found it.
The next day, I joined the pre-show party
at Hilton. Peter Hayman played the piano and I finally met Joerg Basler and his wife, Daniel White and lots of others. Pierre Pennone gave me all his old Chuck Berry press
cuttings to preserve for future generations as his wife would burn them as soon as Pierre leaves this world for "Rock'n'Roll Heaven". Not too soon I hope, Pierre
still looks in fantastic shape.
We went to the sound check
where I introduced the promoter to a couple of fans. Very relaxed atmosphere. It took ages to set up the sound, but eventually we got a good one in the audience and especially on
stage. The support act did not play the sound check, so Niek van de Klundert and Peter Hayman helped the band out. I think Niek suggested "Rock'n'Roll", but the
band wanted to play the usual stuff only, "Sweet Little Sixteen" or "Drinkin' Wine". I bet that not only Jerry, but also the band has no clue how to play the
songs from the new album. There were about 100 people at the sound check and in the end Kenny with a smile on face thanked "a great audience".
We left to eat some Italian
food close to Philharmonie, only to return a little later. Soon I met lot of wellknown and new faces. The show started at 20:05 after a short announcement by Prof. Dr. Klaus
Schreyer (Bell'Arte) with Munich local Martin Schmitt, who fills the Philharmonie by himself. A great piano player and a funny character, but not much of a singer. The Killer Band
started at 20:50, after a 15-minute intermission. The sound is much tighter than last year, especially Buck Hutcheson has improved and is now integrated in the sound. We enjoyed
the following songs as the excitement was growing: Columbus Stockade Blues (Kenneth Lovelace) Lonely Weekends (Robert Hall) Bye Bye Johnny (B.B. Cunningham)
Boppin' The Blues (Buch Hutcheson) Ken started "My Babe" as JLL did not enter the stage as expected, then at 21:05 the stage door opened and out came Jerry.
Unlike in Farum he made his way to the piano on his own. He looked rather frail, but okay and went immediately into what turned out to be a 8-minute version of "Roll Over
Beethoven" with many piano solos and inspired playing. The audience gave him a standing ovation. Exciting! The standard "You Win Again" was next. Another Berry song
had the audience rockin' in their seats, "Sweet Little Sixteen". They come across very well to the audience. A full version of "Blues Suede Shoes" was next, a
surprise. Third Rock'n'Roll number in a row was "Rockin' My Life Away" and Graham seemed to be a little worried as Jerry was hardly taking a break between songs. No real
interaction with the audience except "it's great to be back in Germany" at the very beginning. Solid versions of "Trouble In Mind" and "Before The Night
Is Over" were next. Jerry got praised by the press for playing the latter. Most people thought it was a brandnew song. "Pledging My Love" was moving and fits the
old Killer very well. The third Berry song this night was the most surprising, "Johnny B. Goode". He had not played this for a while and it's great to see it back.
"Over The Rainbow" followed, but Jerry had a little problem to reach the high notes. "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" was a long version and Jerry pounded
the hell out of the keys. A short "Great Balls Of Fire" closed out the evening with Jerry trying to kick back the piano stool. Without waving, he headed for the stage
door. The audience was satisfied, so was the press.
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