Brian May - October, 10^th 1998

"Another World" Tour

Since I'm a big Queen-fan and also like Brian May's own music very much there was no way around this concert. I talked Karin, a friend who had joined me for some concerts in the past, my sister and also my mother into accompanying me to the concert.
The venue was the "Rockhaus," a relatively small Hall for about 500 to 1000 people. The concert was supposed to start at 8pm, so we arrived at 7pm. After exchanging our vouchers for the tickets we were able to get close to the door which would lead to the hall.

After some waiting we were allowed in and Karin, my sister and me rushed down the steps and to the stage. I was able to get a place in the first row, with Karin and my sister right behind me. My mother chose to stand in the back of the hall. We had to wait a little longer and endured the rough hour of the supporting act, a local band called "Blind Petition." Although the band wasn't very good, I had a nice time dancing to their music. But we all were thankful when they finally left the stage and the crew began the preparation for Brian.

The stage in the Rockhaus is very small and I was standing about a meter away from Jamie's (the guitarists) mic. I traded places with my sister for a short while and she was able to read parts of the set list. To my delight we found out that it featured some of my favourite songs from Queen. (Hammer to Fall, Tie Your Mother Down)

Finally a few minutes before 9pm the lights were put out and the show started with a meant-to-be-funny act of an Elvis-like rocker. After that, Brian started with his cover version of "Slow Down".
The concert was just fantastic. The chemistry of the band was great, as was Brian's interaction with the audience. To my surprise a lot of people weren't able to sing along to Brian's songs, but the whole hall was singing during the Queen Medley. Brian often stopped singing those songs and just held the mic out to the fans with a gesture meaning something like, "you are doing it better then I can."
It looked like everyone had a great time, the band was enjoying itself, as well as the fans. Brian has surrounded himself with very talented people. Unfortunately everything must come to an end and so the concert was finished at about 11pm or a little later.
I was able to grab Jamie's setlist, so I can give the whole list of songs here:

(They only played the first encores.)

After the concert I bought a tour shirt and we all went home happily. This was truly among the best concerts I've been to. The closest I will ever get to "Queen live".

written on: October, 13^th 1998