Bob Geldof - Gig Review

"Happy Halle(o)ween"

31 October 2002

Written by kindly submitted by Connie

It was one of these days when you know something could happen but it wouldn't as you cannot bother yourself to leave the house... it was the same with me on this rainy 31 October 2002. I knew they would be in Halle early and I knew it would not be too difficult to find them somewhere as Halle has not too much to offer, well anyway, save the best for the last!

I reached the Easy Schorre by 7 p.m. Not too many people were there yet, just a hand full. Luckily the only reason for this was that the ticket said the doors would open at 7 p.m. but they only did at 8 p.m. Perfect with this weather.

First I had a drink and sat down close enough to the stage so that if anybody would approach the stage I could still be quick enough to be in pole position. This strategy worked out perfectly.

To make it even worse for my back, a support act entered the stage which I hated. They seemed so unprofessional and noisy that I was very close to practise my "bad depeche mode fan behaviour" which is to turn my back to them and to present my ticket that shows who I really wanted to see - guess I would have been the only nasty person doing this, so I rather tried to think of nicer stuff and kept on hoping for their last song to come soon.

Then they finally came on stage !!! There he was, with the pin striped suit, the famous fly agaric shirt and a wonderful smile in his face. He looked gorgeous. As usual they played the Great Song Of Indifference first which caused big relief to my ears and as always before I have enjoyed every second of his performance.

After three songs he spoke for the first time, never got this grin out of his face... He said: Happy Halloween !!!! Halle. Well, you know I come from Ireland, and there we learn that Halle(o)ween actually comes from Halle. And they tell us at school, that people dress up all that funnily on Halloween, like witches and stuff and with these masks, because everybody in Halle is so fucking ugly!!! He caused the biggest laugh I ever heard on a concert and he made it even worse by looking across the crowd when saying this.

It was the best opener he could have thought of. The concert went on very well, all through the set list. I think that everybody was with him, and the band reflected the mood of the crowd by giving their best.

For all songs with a "story" he told us an "extended version", especially for the Mary Of The 4th Form. This never seemed to end. First he explained that schools were departed into "girls only" and "boys only", so that you never got fucked (only by the priests). Then he described her beauty and her looooong legs and this night out with her, to add that we may have already noticed what a "great dancer" he was, and that Mary must have thought the same. Although he has tried hard to convince her of the opposite, she must have watched him in disgust for 2 hours. As we all know, he was asking for more then, but she would not let him and gave him the famous 50 pence! This time he added that he begged her desperately, please please, just let me in that little (he showed it with his fingers), just a bit in and out - then he said: it wouldn't have been a problem - I'd be finished in seconds anyway....Then he continued to tell that Mary (who is Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of Ireland now) has shown up on his Dublin concert about 6 months ago(she was still a babe - but brought a husband). She still wouldn't fuck him, but he did not give her back the 50 pence neither. I almost died from laughing. I think if there was anyone taping the concert I must be on too... He spoke with such an innocent voice that this story became double fun !!!

What I liked all through the show was that he made it very East German customised, with a lot of respect and interest. He talked about these days in November 1989 when he was travelling the "East" anyway, and that they were in Poland the week after the wall had come down. Described that he felt all the hopes and positive vibes but also the fears these days brought to the people's hearts. He said, that we made the history, and he only watched it, actually travelled through it. This gave me the creeps, since I'm an East German girl who was 18 when the wall came down, I do remember the spirit of these days very well... For me it was so good to see again, how interested he is in these things and how well he understands them. I like that very much about him.

Also the Room 19 story wasn't missed nor was it the sad Soft Soil tragedy. To me it always seems that even he's living so fast - he doesn't miss the smallest detail of what's going on in this world.

He must have developed a new hype for German Schlager, he brought that one up and said that "country and western style" was American Schlager. But before the "End of the World" he brought me to tears from laughing again. He was standing there in front of me, singing something he called German Schlager and had his eyes widely open (I did not know he could open them so much) and stared at the crowd and moved funnily - Oktoberfest-like and moved his head from the left to the right. Somehow the crowd must have picked it up and did the same thing... (later, when I told him how funny I found him then, he said it was even more funny to see the crowd moving this way too !!! ha, ha)...In the concert he said: Yeah, Yeah, you like this kind of stuff - Germans - what a culture! (we all should bring him a Gartenzwerg (garden gnom) next time - for revenge !!!)

Also in Halle he offered to play songs "on request". People wanted to hear Rat Trap, Neon Heart (which he couldn't remember), and Someone's Looking At You, which they did like a rehersal - it was fun to see how they showed each other the next chords to come...Soon after this the main part ended with Rat Trap and they disappeared for a few minutes. 3 enchores were finished with a fantastic Great Song Of Indifference "firework", which drove everybody crazy for more... but unfortunately it was true - the lights went on.

A great show was over and some people stayed at the bar and / or in front of the back stage door, which were luckily next to each other so I didn't feel too stupid being there. I sat down there, had a drink and pretended not to wait for him J

I had brought him a little present, it was a small Trabant in memory of 1992. He came out of the backstage room soon after the present reached him - I was sorry, as I wished I could have given it to him personally, I just didn't wait patiently enough. I guess he knew whom it was coming from anyway. Fans were excited to meet him personally and there was a guy, who could hardly speak English but he managed to explain to Bob that he made a Live Aid tribute BBQ party for about 100 people in his garden, in 1985, back in the GDR. Bob obviously liked this story.

People who make the bobgeldof.de were also there and surprised him with the existence of this fan page. They also took pics of him and everybody who wanted to. (thanks so much !!!) I actually never wanted to bother Bob with that request again, but I could not resist in the end and now I have a new pic with him - 10 years later...

Halle was not only Happy Halle(o)ween !!! It was the perfect night out !!! Thanks to Bob and the band. You were fantastic !!! The ugly people from Halle will never forget that you Irish man claimed this Celtic tradition to come from Halle... THANK YOU... this leaves some questions open, i. e.: where do the ugly people really come from ...???

Set list
(I have taken this set list from bobgeldof.de, as Sabine was standing next to me during the show writing every song down, so she guaranteed for completeness)

Great Song Of Indifference
Too Late God
The Chains Of Pain
A Gospel Song
A Sex Thing
Walking Back To Happiness
One For Me
Mudslide
My Birthday Suit
I Don't Like Mondays
Room 19
Inside Your Head
Soft Soil
Someone's Looking At You
Mary Of The 4th Form
End Of The World
Rat Trap
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Pale White Girls
Diamond Smiles
Great Song Of Indifference

Written by Connie in November 2002