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ATTACK!! Tour Reports 2
Home | Biography | Discography | Downloads | Equipment | Fan Club | FAQ | Gallery | Links | Merchandise | Music | News | Reviews | Tabs | Touring
ATTACK!! Tour Reports 2
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APRIL 14, 2003 -
GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN From Leif Thorstensen : Norwegian-based www.Menslounge.net got an invitation from the friends at www.getmetal.com to attend to "happening of the year" for all heavy metal fans. We were about to experience our hero from the 80's, Mr. Yngwie Malmsteen himself in Gothenburg at Tradgarden. Of course we could not refuse this. Full of expectations and with photo permit in the luggage we got on the train to Gothenburg. For a big event as this, a genuine heavy rocker always makes sure he's prepared. Therefore, team www.getmetal.com were extended with knowledge on several areas; a railroad engineer - to make sure we'd get there in time, a Physiotherapist in case of neck injuries, one local up-and-coming guitar hero to check out Yngwie's skills, and finally one representative from the hairdresser business to evaluate if Yngwie's hairdo is intact. We were definitely ready to rock ! A four hour journey is easily shortened by consuming beer. Chatting lively and intensively on the subject of Heavy Metal and recapitulating Yngwie's career probably was not that interesting to the other passengers, but who cares? Quite a few hours and beers later we were finally at Tradgarden, where the concert was taking place. We had never been here before, but it sure looked good. Simple architecture with no furniture or other things that "eat the sound". The atmosphere where electric. At 21:00 it took off. Despite we were a little disappointed about the fact that the arena were not crowded, The Man himself entered the stage. Support or warm up away, this is Yngwie's night. Full focus on Yngwie. Opening act "Rise Up" showed us immediately that this will be a night to remember. By the third number "Stronghold", which is probably one of the best live numbers ever, the audience was ecstatic. Halfway thru, Yngwie's fingers were warmed up, and one fantastic solo after another completely paralyzed the audience. The Yngwie-experts among us, said that he was much better in Leningrad years ago, but we ordinary people thought this was perfect and concluded that he still is God. Halfway thru Yngwie got his well deserved break and his disciples get each and one do their solo's. Our highlight was of course when Mick did his Grieg-inspired solo. Grieg is as you should know a famous Norwegian composer. As the only Norwegians present, it's allowed to feel so and be a little proud of our small country. The concerts highlight all together, was maybe "You Don't Remember......", where Yngwie halfway thru does the Van Halen-classic "Ain't Talking 'bout Love". What a show ! After about 2 hours and 15 minutes and three extras, the session is sadly over. The night round up with "Rising Force" and the night the show is complete. Personally I would really like to hear his Abba cover of "Gimme, Gimme", but I really don't care at this moment. Probably one of the best concerts I've been to. One thing we don't understand is why Yngwie seemingly is more popular in his home country. In our eyes he's so good that he should be able to fill a football-stadium. This fact is probably caused by the problems the metal-genre is facing with lack of popularity here in Scandinavia. Therefore; To all you metalfans in the Nordic countries - Stand up and fight for metal. This music is the true meaning of life. Tell the others that ! Rock on, Yngwie ! We love you ! Please check out our photos in the gallery section, courtesy of Mr. Robert Tenold. Leif Thorstensen - for www.getmetal.com and www.menslounge.net From A. F.: Set list for show at Tragarden, in Gothenburg: I really would like to know what instrumental songs Yngwie played in his solo parts. If anyone knows, please respond.
APRIL 15, 2003 -
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN From Mattias Westgård: I heard Yngwie yesterday at Berns in Stockholm. I just have to tell you what a great show that was. That man's musicality is absolutely brilliant! The thing is that he's a funny guy too, flirting with the audience and really showing off. That certainly adds some extra fun to it. He seemed to enjoy being back in his hometown. Unfortunately the sound quality was poor. I was wearing ear plugs but still I could hardly pick out the different instruments. Luckily the guitar sound came through well though. To be honest, the rest of the band is quiet pale without HIM on the stage. They all had their own solo part but it was boring actually. Again, the poor sound quality could be part of that impression, but still, he's on another playcourt than the rest of the band. Well, except for the singer. Strong, powerful voice that goes well together with the guitar. Anyway, I just wanted to tell….keep up the good work! Sincerely, Mattias. Stockholm, Sweden APRIL 13, 2003 -
Malmo, Sweden From Micael Andersson: Sunday the 13:th was the big day when God entered the stage of "Kulturbolaget" in Malmoe!! What can I say, a fantastic evening!! Great songs, great performance & great musicians!! The songs Yngwie played were mostly picked from "Attack!!". The only thing I missed was songs from "WTEAW", "Alchemy", "Eclipse", "Magnum opus" & "Facing the Animal". I took a friend with me to keep me company at the consert. He had never heard Yngwie before so, after the gig he was completely floored!!! He was in "FANTASY-LAND", he loved it!! There you go, Yngwie... you´ve got yourself another fan!! Fantastic consert...can´t wait til´next time, especially the live album which will be released later this year!! Best regards: Micael Andersson APRIL 5, 2003 - HANNOVER, GERMANY From Frank van Vliet: Hi Anne , visited the two concerts in Holland (Tilburg and Hardenberg) and yesterday (April 5) in Hannover, Germany. What can I say, just good shows with a lot of songs of the new album. Highlights too many to mention. Dougie is a great singer and show-man. This is what a band needs. He get all the space to do his thing and even improvise... My favorite moment was in Hannover when Yngwie did the drumming and Dougie did his improvisation during "You Don't Remember" ! cheers, Frank van Vliet, Holland APRIL 3, 2003 -
LONDON, ENGLAND From Dan Palmer: I just wanted to give my feedback on the above show. This was the first time I have been to see Yngwie, and I had been looking forward to it for some time (I booked my ticket on 6th January!) .Yngwie and the band certainly didn't disappoint! They played just about all my favourite tracks from Attack!, and Yngwie also did some other good stuff including "Fugue" from the Concerto Suite. I managed to get within about 10 feet of the Great Maestro himself, which was great. Even with his cut thumb his playing was awesome, and I am very glad to hear his thumb's OK now (I was very worried since at one point he had to go off for a few minutes!). It was very loud, but the sound quality was good and you could hear Doogie's vocals OK. The audience was also very loud! I particularly enjoyed "Mistreated", "Ship of Fools" and "Rise Up". Thanks to Yngwie and the band for making it a really great evening! Best Regards, Dan. From Andy Sedgley: My ears are still ringing to the (very loud) sounds of the maestro! I have never seen Yngwie live before although I have been buying his albums since 1990, including the live recordings. What an experience! Last night at the Mean Fiddler in London I was standing at the front within 6 feet of the man himself with a fantastic view of his performance, and what a performance that was. Truly the guy is a great showman who puts his all into his stage appearance and certainly holds nothing back from his fans. I just hope his right thumb holds out for the rest of the tour as he apparently cut it during the show and it seemed to be giving him some trouble? I just had to send something to say how glad I was to have seen my hero in the flesh. Quite a bit of flesh too these days as Mr Malmsteen seems to be putting on a few pounds! Thanks to your excellent site I knew this concert was taking place. I hope it will not be too long before Yngwie makes it back to the UK. Having experienced his show for the first time I can certainly say it will not be the last! Best wishes, Andy Sedgley From Chris Trigg: Hi Anne. My name is Chris Trigg. I saw Yngwie last night in London and it was an amazing concert. Yngwie's playing was out of this world, even though he cut his thumb after the first song. The all-round performance was great, and Doogie White's vocal was perfect. Here is the set list........
APRIL 2, 2003 -
HARDENBERG, THE NETHERLANDS From Remco: I'm Remco from The Netherlands and went to see Yngwie this week in Hardenberg on the 2nd of April 2003. He signed my guitar there, and I made a lot of pictures during the show. He even wrote my name on my guitar and told me to ''play loud''. APRIL 1, 2003 -
TILBURG, THE NETHERLANDS From Henk van Schijndel: By the way, it was a brilliant gig in Tilburg. What a guitar player! Rockin' regards, Henk From Zorz: Wow, what a show! Yngwie played a long, dedicated, and inspired concert - it was a great pleasure to see the maestro in such a good mood and see him play with such gusto and power. The '013' concert hall where the band played is a huge venue (it's an ex-cinema play) and it fitted perfectly the band of this stature and concept. I understood it was just a couple of tickets short of sold-out, which is not only an achievement in itself - it's a victory, given the amount of airplay and 'hype' Yngwie's music get these days. The band was very tight, really on the money, and the sound was good, loud and powerful. I thought Dougie White did rather well. I was a bit suspicious when I heard he was the new singer (the show I witnessed 7-8 years ago with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow was everything but impressive), but tonight his singing was nothing short of fantastic - technically he's very able singer of course, but more importantly, he sang with great feel and emotion. I was particularly impressed during 'You Don't Remember, I'll Never Forget' - which is still a showstopper - White hit all the high notes, never losing his voice. Good work. As for the star of the show - he was every bit his old stunning self - the dexterity intact, the drama, the show pyrotechnics - it was all there. For the first time, beside the faster-than-thou licks and his immaculate trademark arpeggios, I've noticed something else: the rhythmic element in Yngwie's playing, which was rather surprising and really fresh. During "I'll See the Light Tonight" he played some short rhythm breaks with his wah-wah pedal and it sounded so different from what he usually plays. Man has the imagination and skills to boot. Still probably the best guitar player around. One tends to forget how exciting a rock show can be, especially these days. This one was as good as it gets. A great evening. MARCH 30, 2003 -
DUSSELDORF, GERMANY From Torsten Anlauf: Hello, Anne. My name is Torsten Anlauf and I'm the publisher of the german Heavy Metal magazine DARK TALES. I hope you enjoy my latest Yngwie pictures from March 30 in Düsseldorf, Germany. The concert report and photos are HERE. MARCH 21, 2003 -
VENICE, ITALY From Magrisca: COMPLIMENTI PER IL CONCERTO FATTO A VENEZIA IL 21 MARZO 2003. SEI SEMPRE IL NUMERO UNO, SALUTI DA RENATO 62. MARCH 19, 2003 -
FLORENCE, ITALY From Ray Campolo: Here's the review and tracklist from Firenze. Yngwie in Florence!! Concert was in a discoteque, Tenax, that was full!! There were people of all ages! Sound was incredible, as the feeling with fans. Yngwie is always the best, but the band is powerful too. As every Yngwie concert, there was a guitar-picks rain!! Here the tracklist:
MARCH 18, 2003 -
MILAN, ITALY From Alessandro: Concert in Milano: - one more word: FANTASTIC! From Riccardo: Yngwie's back to Alcatraz! It was great to see Yngwie once again in Milan. Italy loves him, and adores the Ferrari stickers he got on every guitar! It was great to listen to Yngwie saying all the night "Ferrari, Ferrari!". Yngwie played at "Alcatraz", a place that I thought he would have never filled up. There were instead a lot of people, much more than the last concert in Milan, and I really appreciated the choice of the place where to play the show. The night started with some songs from Attack!, like Ship of Fools, Stronghold, Razor Eater, but the real climax was reached when Yngwie played his masterpieces: Far Beyond the Sun and Trilogy Suite. The crowd exploded enthusiastically, while I felt frustrated. For people who play guitar it is frustrating to see Yngwie playing that way, doing all the tricks he does and listening him making his guitar cry and whisper at the same time. Really exciting also was the solo action of Joakin on the keyboards, Mick on the bass and Great Big Patrick on the drums. The crowd went really crazy listening to his solo!! When Doogie announced that they were recording live, the audience exploded (already anxious to know when the Live album will be published!). At the end of the show the audience started saying "Rising Force, Rising Rorce", and Yngwie did not disappoint us: great performance of one of the best Maestro's compositions! The band played for less than two hours; we would have expected something more; another great moment of the evening was when Doogie started dueting with the audience on the chorus of You Don't Remember, I'll Never Forget. The volume went slowly down til Yngwie entered again with his six strings, and all of us started singing again! Incredible surprise: Yngwie, at the beginning of his career, played in a band called Alcatrazz (everybody knows that); well, he played one of the pieces he wrote in that period: Hiroshima Mon Amour, and incredibly all the people around me knew that song! Milan has never been rocked this way before!! [webmaster's note: see Riccardo's photos HERE.] MARCH 16, 2003 -
BARCELONA, SPAIN From Héctor Langarita: Hello everyone at the Yngwie' s fan club . OOOOhhhh ! the concert in Barcelona was great! . Two years ago Yngwie came to Barcelona and the show was O.K. , but he came with another band different than the musicians that have recorded the album and played on the American tour; all people who were there were happy to see Yngwie , but he didn´t play like he does usually... But, this year the concert was unbelieveble, with a serious and determinated Yngwie playing perfect all the songs, even all the notes (millions of notes), and that made the concert something wonderful to see and to hear. All the guys played very well and Yngwie was a monster ... a perfect monster of playing guitar... Thank you Yngwie for return to Barcelona. Much better than two years ago and you showed us who you are and how you can play, and, thank you for your music and the way you play the guitar... I send you some photos for the concert... Good bye and... sorry for my English ? MARCH 14, 2003 -
MADRID, SPAIN From Jose David: Yngwie played in Madrid for the eighth time (and I was always there). Around 2000 people attended in Macumba, a disco in the north part of the city. Official start time: 20:45. Real Start Time: 21:00. Dougie White was the "master of ceremonies" introducing the songs. Track list:
(The first time that Yngwie doesn´t play in concert two classics: Far Beyond the Sun and Black Star!!) Total concert time: 1 hour 45 minutes. Yngwie, thanks for your music! Enjoy the tour!! |
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