KROKUS Reunion Show "Simply Magic"
BW&BK has received the following press release:
To sum it up in one word: Simply Magic! After 25 years the most anticipated comeback in Swiss music history started out with a powerful concert performance in front of close to 10,000 fans and ended with fireworks lightening up the skies above the Bernese Stade De Suisse Football stadium.
Fanfares reminding us of the Roman Empire's circus games raised the anticipation of the crowd a hundred-fold and as the curtain fell to the ground, a huge backdrop with a new Krokus logo and Headhunter alike skull and cross bones dominated the stage. On stage an impressive 16 towering Marshall Amplifiers promised a power performance and sound. And then the lights captured the five original musicians that had penned, recorded and performed all the big hits of Krokus a quarter century ago. To the left lead guitarist Fernando Von Arb, elevated on a drum stand in between a wall of 8 Marshall's on each side Freddy Steady and his extensive set of drums and cymbals, including a bigger than life gong for the intro of
'Tokyo Nights'. To the right of
Freddy original Krokus member (since 1976) and founder Chris Von Rohr on the mighty bass. And on the far right of the stage
Mark Kohler on rhythm guitar.
Marc "The Voice"
Storace was pacing the stage from the far left to the far right and in between.
They started the set with
'Long Stick Goes Boom' from the 1982 One Vice At A Time release and 'Rock City' (Marc screaming: "Is this Rock City, is Bern tonite the rock capital of the world" and the audience responding with a loud "yeah") from the 1981 Hardware album. The crowd had to love the band for not only playing the hits, but also some gems that fans had not heard live for a long long time. Rightfully so, the band was rewarded with a huge applause as they played "Winning Man" (the only song recorded twice in Krokus' history - first on the 1981 release "Hardware" and then a second time on 1988's Heart Attack album). Then, to the surprise of the audience, Krokus played a very solid, straight forward 'Hellraiser' from the 2006 released album by the same name.
Before starting 'American Woman' (from the Vice album), vocalist Marc asked the pumped up crowd whether there are any fans from the USA in the audience? A very vocal response pleased the band and Marc thanked especially the US fans for their understanding of postponing the US dates and that they will be coming there sometime next year. 'Down The Drain' from the Vice album followed neatly.
Freddy's intro of hitting the huge, larger than life gong must have been heard way past the stadium walls as the band treated the fans to a crowd pleaser:
'Tokyo Nights'. Followed by
'Fire', both from the 1980 release Metal Rendez-Vous. I'm sure I was not the only one that had chills running down their spine as the band continued with 'Screaming In The Night' from the 1983 Headhunter album. This was the most popular song of Krokus in the USA and still is played regularly by Classic Rock Stations all over America.
Another magic moment of the evening was when the crowd sang along to 'Rock'N'Roll Tonight' from the 1988 album Heart Attack. Without break, Krokus played a rocking 'Heatstrokes', also from the 1980 Metal Rendez-Vous release. The official set was closed out with 'Easy Rocker' from the 1981 Hardware release. What an end to the show! With open mouths the audience took it all in as Freddy Steady on drums and Chris Von Rohr on percussion duelled back and forth. For many of us this was the climax of the show. [Note: In case you were surprised how well Chris Von Rohr plays the percussion instruments, please be reminded that he started out as the drummer of the band on their first self titled album Krokus in 1976. Then he switched to vocals on their 'To You All' and Painkiller albums (with Freddy joining in) until Marc Storace joined them on Metal Rendez-Vous].
But the crowd wanted more. And the band obliged. 'Bedside Radio' from the Metal Rendez-Vous album was the biggest Krokus hit in Europe and the fans thanked them with huge applause. And they still wanted more. And the band was willing to do so. However, the city of Bern was not as co-operative as the band, since power gets shut off at 11:45 PM. That forced the band to drop the planned gems 'Night Wolf' and 'Backseat Rock'N'Roll' from the set list. Instead they ended the show with a sing-a-long cover of
STEPPENWOLF's 'Born To Be Wild'. And the fireworks lit the skies as a perfect evening ended. Watching them play on stage, one had to observe how relaxed and yet professional and focused their performance was. You could tell that they were comfortable with each other, nothing staged - just pure, simple solid grooving rock. It felt as if time stood still and the return of the biggest rock export of Switzerland left no question open, that they still are a force to be reckoned with. At the end of the show everyone in the stadium had to conclude that there is nothing better than the "original". About 250 people attending the after show VIP party echoed that sentiment as well.
I'm convinced that most of us will never forget the groove and feeling that Saturday evening in August of 2008. A perfect evening indeed, starting with the weather, followed by the band's powerful and straight forward performance and the ever so responsive audience. I for one have it "locked in" in my heart and soul. It was pure "magic" and if you weren't there, you missed one of the greatest concert performances I've ever seen in my life.
Krokus worked hard in preparation for this concert. Rehearsals at Solothurn's Kofmehl hall took place almost daily for weeks prior to the show. That proved without a shadow of a doubt clearly that the band was serious to show the world once more that the "originals" have not missed a beat and that there is only one original line-up. The one featuring
Marc Storace on vocals,
Fernando Von Arb on lead guitar,
Mark "Koki"
Kohler on rhythm guitar,
Chris Von Rohr on bass and last but not least
Freddy Steady on drums. They did not sit on their laurels just because they have sold over 11 million records, toured successfully the United States, Canada and South America and once subscribed to the '80's lifestyle of 'Sex, Drugs and
Rock'N'Roll'. And that's impressive. Musically they proved with their set list of this evening that their travelling back to the past was free of false nostalgia. The
"originals" proved that a "breakup" does not always mean "the end". It was just an extended longer pause. For Marc, Fernando, Mark, Chris and Freddy it's a new beginning. The re-birth of a legend!
You can also hear a podcast interview with Marc and Chris of Krokus and DJ Badslayer of the Hard Rock Radio Live show. Click on this
link and enjoy:
Swiss Radio DRS3 did some short interviews by phone with Chris Von Rohr and Fernando Von Arb and provided you speak Swiss or a little German, you can copy and paste the following links:
here and
here.
For incredible photos of the event click
here.
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