Concert in Prague (Czech Republic), Dec 2009

[wii]

Review by Paul and Jan (UK)

Well we have finally recovered from the concert and the trip to Prague and now it seems a distant memory, but what a great one and here are our thoughts.

Prague-We spent a day before and a few days after the concert sightseeing and what a beautiful city it is with it's historic buildings, sense of history and small bars and restaurants. We visited all the main places, Petrin Hill & Tower, Castle, War Memorial, TV tower, Charles Bridge etc etc. If you have not been then it?s a must do!

Hotel-The hotel was a lovely old world one that was well placed on the tram route, a good price (with a kitchen!) and near to some great bars and restaurants (thanks Dreamroom for the choice). Only bad point was that there wasn't much of a bar. We did not see too many other fans, except at breakfast as we were out sightseeing so much.

Concert-On the afternoon of the concert we visited the Zofin Palace set in a small park on an island in the river and heard the band practising and it was making the windows shake!! This was the first concert we have been to since the legendary Tipi in Berlin (5 years ago) and we were very excited. Got there just before 8pm, so only had a little time to have a quick drink. When the show was announced we went into the hall (to the rocking opening of Golden Feeling) and it was packed (500-600?), we were shocked as we had in our minds that there would only be a few people there as the tickets were very expensive. Everyone was tightly packed in but we found a good spot on the right hand side at the front (but too close to the speaker). The concert experience was strange as although the show was over two hours long it seemed to go very quickly. The band started with all the well known songs first and then into a few surprises (see Willys videos). The songs that we really remembered were the ones we have not heard live before, Carry your Flag (sounded brilliant, our all time favourite), Lassie Come Home (so atmospheric), Fools, Golden Feeling, Caroline (dedicated to the lady of the night he met in New York who was an Alphaville fan), Leben Ohne Ende (good to hear a German song). The two new songs were very good, Gravatation Breakdown (uptempo dance song) and Handful of Darkness (very good synth lines and atmospheric). We were glad that I Die for You Today was played as it is a favourite of the new material but it seems to have lost some of the synth sound. Biggest surprise was Karel Gott, as everyone was expecting him to sing Love Will Find a Way but he sang the start of Forever Young in Czech. And then with two encores and the perfect ending (?This is the end of the show? ? Apollo), it was all over.

Afterparty-We went downstairs in the very historic Zofin Palace and we thought it would only be a few people who would have paid extra for the party, But we were wrong again, nearly everyone who was in the concert was at the party! There was one room with a free bar with beer, wine, cocktails and orange lined up on the bar and a small buffet with bread and cheese with plenty of tables to sit and talk. Next room there was a disco playing 70's and 80's tunes and another bar and coffee and cake. There was a lot of people dancing including Martin Lister! They should have played Alphaville all night (and the promised new album!) and then everyone would have been in the room!! After about an hour we went out in the corridor and discovered that we had missed two rooms at the back! The first room had the band, Bernard Lloyd, Marian at a table with a massive queue, more food with chefs preparing sausages and risottos and a marquee with even more food. We were amazed at all the free food and drink and wished we knew it was going to be more than a buffet (poor information on the web site)!! There were even plates of canapés, chocolates and little glasses of orange liquor that people came round and re-filled.

People-We met so many people it was difficult to remember them all (too much free beer!). Martin and David from the band (they were pleasantly surprised to hear English voices and Martin said how nervous he was singing on Handful of Darkness), Willy (how many 80's cd's have you got), Peter (nice t-shirt), David (can't wait for the new Antillies material), MikefromBoston (singing ?Sometimes I wish I was Dead? after a night out at the nightclub), Clare (glad you made it after your long journey), Collette, Russ, James and wife, Fishbones and husband (good to see so many Brits so far from home), the Swedes from Helsingborg (why haven't you heard of Milton Keynes, it's where Marshalls amplifiers and the MK Dons are from!!) and hello to all the other people we spoke to and have not named (the party went on to 3am but still was not long enough!).

Best and strangest experience-When Lassie Come Home started we were really enjoying the long instrumental opening and then someone tapped us on the shoulder. We turned round and there was Marian smiling, who said "Hi" who then stood in front of us and listed to the opening of the song in the crowd before racing back to start singing (we just managed to get a short video otherwise we would not have believed it really happened!).

Sorry for the long post but it was an amazing night and sorry to the people who didn't make it, I'm sure there will be more good nights to come.

Paul & Jan (UK)

---------------------------------------------------

Golden Feeling
MENHa4zjkng

tNh73VZZJbQ

Sounds Like A Melody
WKkOC9FbAqc

I9yXuenBoQE

Rx7e3-RBn0A

bDe5orsB4KQ

Wishful Thinking
44X3mVlbzl8

qwHVwJ2ZIb0

Dance With Me
SWxDB0hnii8

gTNACcLVR4Y

Lassie Come Home
gdLcygSsVH0

rIf-sDVWld4

E62b2y-ToV8

Carry Your Flag
2QksXUApLw0

njQSvH2M64c

Gravitation Breakdown
SKwZadhg24I

A Victory Of Love
gbI8Ubip8p4

61xFnUh4lL8

tEzF1frZmt0

Euphoria
_lLfC-fZqWU

xxf7MQkkw4o

Caroline
RL055YtcVPI

BL8OCiDm7VA

_4fUMJzEWhI

Return To Paradise
Cnizj9XyT0A

Fools
qFrxdZPkEGA

1mesvG0qdvY

Monkey In The Moon
Mvez9fAz87E

I'll Die For You Today
XUUhh-tMnac

Handful Of Darkness
FIjh-dAchWI

Jerusalem
QPDuOo5T1ao

Jet Set
twV7yzjXjmo

Big In Japan
Yp_lUflJY6M

Forever Young
9Og9UrCKWuE

CvX-62S5rPE

fbOoPw5LBdg

Sweet Dreams
6tYlaA5-gEI

Leben Ohne Ende
Byqhi6Zyigc

Apollo
IaDr9MFOFVs

The Fans
vE5gldMoDGY

[alphaandre]

you mean "return to paradise" :-) :-)

[wii]

Ups, thanks

[Alphaanni]

'Return to Prague' ...

LOL

[wii]

Just looked at all my files, Handful of Darkness is complete, I have the entire song on video, still uploading....

[FallenAngel]

Wow, quality is great! Thanks! [beer]

[Mateusz]

yeah, quality is COOL, so i can't wait to hear and see SLAM!

[wii]

Almost done, there will be 39 videos in total, 2 songs are complete: "Return to Paradise" and "Handful of Darkness" - the rest you could call samples, and wanted to enjoy the show and not just record the entire night, but it gives a good impression how it was [wink]

[Alphaanni]

aaahhh ... HoD is only 3:17mins long... [bigeyes] where are the other 4:xxmins with Martin singing and the big chorus????

[a]

[wii]

Hmm, sorry if it's not complete...

[Alphaanni]

@wii:

I can't believe that....

[angry]

[weeping] [weeping] [weeping]

[wii]

Next time, I will hire someone to record the entire show [smile2]

@wii:

I can't believe that....

[Alphaanni]

Next time, I will hire someone to record the entire show [smile2]

yes please

[smile2]

[jetset]

Wii, thank you so much for this !
By the way, the quality is very, very good (HD) ; what kind of camera do you own ?

[wii]

Yeah, amazing little camera - Panasonic TZ7:

http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/Products/LUMIX+Digital+Cameras/Super+Zoom/DMC-TZ7/Overview/2032049/index.html

Wii, thank you so much for this !
By the way, the quality is very, very good (HD) ; what kind of camera do you own ?

[Apolla]

Thanks!!!
I want more :)

[TheMoonBoy]

aaahhh ... HoD is only 3:17mins long... [bigeyes] where are the other 4:xxmins with Martin singing and the big chorus????

[a]

It sounds very promising though! The next Inside Out maybe [smile]

[Richani]

One of my big favorites was AVOL for sure. What a power !!!

[Aubanio]

here is a longer one, 2 Songs on 1 video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hadNw-gR4M

[Alphaanni]

Thats right AVOL was very powerful! Loved the version :)

[Aubanio]

including the "I feel love" part original by Donna Summer was a nice idea...

[pekurovsky]

Here is full HoD
eo0Tffbf-_Q

[Mateusz]

Here is full HoD
eo0Tffbf-_Q

pritty good song,... amazing, amazing, amazing, but this fragment is the best HAHAHA ;)
fbOoPw5LBdg

[iSynth]

hey Willy! great videos, though it's still lodged in my memory in the best quality evah!
been nice to meet you in body, and the burf queen yeaaaaaaaaaaah lolz :)

[jetset]

The second new song , Gravitation Breakdown :
7hadNw-gR4M

[Ramydbg]

Thanks to all !! [smile]

[wii]

I took this picture for Krapplund [wink]

[Kaz]

Cool picture!

[Ramydbg]

I agree! :)

[Krapplund]

@wii: thanks for that!!! [love]

[Apolla]

"The second new song , Gravitation Breakdown"
The song is super!! I like it!!

A handful of darkness is a beautiful song! I have an easy shiver because of its wonderful light!! Mmm...

[wii]

The Fans [wink]

vE5gldMoDGY

[pekurovsky]

[QUOTE=wii;189265]The Fans [wink]


Cast.
--------

Main Heroes.

Richani.
Cup of Beer.


[tonque]

[wii]

No need to copy the video again, the image will improve once YouTube finish processing the video.

[Richani]

My crap-ass face to been seen by everybody now, THANKYOU WII [laugh] [laugh] [laugh]

yeah that beer was very very tasty [wink]

[Marina Orchid]

[spin] Richani, nice to make the acquaintance of you, my dear! [laugh]
[beer]

[pekurovsky]

Richani has so funny voice... OMG! Totally makes my day here! [laugh]

[colette]

[wink] Me too - Richani shouting 'I want Letty in the picture' makes me laugh!!!

[Richani]

Yeah I seriously thought that it was just a picture to be taken !! [laugh] ohhhhnoo ! [laugh]

[pekurovsky]

Well, sorry for a little [offtopic] but I write here now to inform you that being so frustrated after my sudden not-coming to Prague that I've made a deal with myself - to visit some AV live somewhere in Europe at any cost. No Prague-substitute, but anyway.

Somewhere around May I suppose. Germany, maybe (good reason to visit my granny btw) but who knows. Would be nice to meet some of you if there are some willing to :).

[wii]

I've embedded all the videos to the first post, it takes a while to load, but much easier to use the videos this way, I think.....[bigeyes]

[poul e]

Well, sorry for a little [offtopic] but I write here now to inform you that being so frustrated after my sudden not-coming to Prague that I've made a deal with myself - to visit some AV live somewhere in Europe at any cost. No Prague-substitute, but anyway.

Somewhere around May I suppose. Germany, maybe (good reason to visit my granny btw) but who knows. Would be nice to meet some of you if there are some willing to :).

There's an 80s festival in southern Denmark (Esbjerg) June 5th where Alphaville has been announced as the first band to join. My guess is that Willy, David, Peter (Krapplund), Lisa, Trond, myself and probably about 10 more hardcorefans will join. The event is fantastic if you love 80s music! Alphaville will probably play a full concert (90 minutes). More names to be announced soon.....I will update the topic "Esbjerg Rock Festival" when there's any news!

[Lisa]

Poul E, you're right, I will probably join the festival next time :)

Regarding the party in Prague this is for sure the best Alphaville event I've ever been to. Not only the concert and the after party, but the whole weekend. I must say this has been one of the best and funniest weekend for many years. Thank you so much everyone that I met!

Love,
Lisa

[davidhorizon]

Yeah the whole weekend was great. The 80's video nightclub we went to on saturday was fun.

[wii]

.....and 90's, remember this ?

smcRzA-4GxQ

[Lisa]

[QUOTE=wii;189335].....and 90's, remember this ?

Yeah, that place (well... thanks to you crazy alphavillians) was really fun! [smile]

[Antirio]

Check out the following link showing AV (Marian and Jakob) in the live broadcast of the Czech TV "Óčko" during their visit to Prague before the gig in Mělník in September.
http://ocko.stream.cz/ocko/inbox/369031-inbox-alphaville

[Marina Orchid]

.....and 90's, remember this ?


[offtopic]Hah, Willy, thank you so much for posting this! It has recalled me my first discotheques, first love... Such nice warm memories [smile2][smile2][smile2]. You've made my day![smile]

[wii]

Well, we had a special dance to "Be My Lover", maybe someone took a pic [?]

[pekurovsky]

There's an 80s festival in southern Denmark (Esbjerg) June 5th where Alphaville has been announced as the first band to join. My guess is that Willy, David, Peter (Krapplund), Lisa, Trond, myself and probably about 10 more hardcorefans will join. The event is fantastic if you love 80s music! Alphaville will probably play a full concert (90 minutes). More names to be announced soon.....I will update the topic "Esbjerg Rock Festival" when there's any news!

Thanks, Poul! Will check what's visa situation with Denmark for me, the idea is nice![smoke]

[Krapplund]

YES what a great and special dance!!!! [love]

Badly I did´nt hade the chance to take any picture, I was on the elevation point and did structure the dance [laugh][laugh] Everyone that was there...know what I meen [wink][laugh][laugh]

Well, we had a special dance to "Be My Lover", maybe someone took a pic [?]

[Krapplund]

Handful Of Darkness

Badly with bad sound....[sad]

MBSfkBmvhxI

[alphaandre]

pics from german fanclub "golden feeling"..more will follow.... :-)

click here:

http://gallery.alphaville-fanclub.de/16821-1/4167515276_e385df1492.jpg (http://gallery.alphaville-fanclub.de/Tour/2009/Prag/)

[av2k9]

I heard the entire concert was recorded and will be played on Czech Television, will anyone be able to record it on tv?

thanks

[wii]

We will find a way, where did you hear this?

I heard the entire concert was recorded and will be played on Czech Television, will anyone be able to record it on tv?

thanks

[av2k9]

i saw it on a youtube comment from the video poster, from what it looks like, i think the poster removed that comment in the "more info" section, if i find it though ill let you know.

[JaJaJa]

Thanks wii for all the work! Repeating others but I have to mention too that the quality of your films and
sound is extraordinarily great! Well, Leica...[smile2]

Nice to see many known faces again... Richani easily could be recognized by her eleven piercings...[smile]
Her voice sounds completely as expected...[smile2]

I estimate Krapplund to be a kind of easygoing guy, but stealing his beer is something I'd regard as dangerous...[smile2]

[Richani]

Nice to see many known faces again... Richani easily could be recognized by her eleven piercings...[smile]

Now only 10 [smile2] the tongue piercing got lost somewhere there [smile2]

[Mateusz]

We will find a way, where did you hear this?

i heard something similar, but thing look like :::
"one fan from Czech Republic sent e-mail to TV, and they said they don't know about any video-records, so maybe the people from video-cameras were taken by AV?"

[av2k9]

yeah that too could be a posibility, i really dont know (heh i cant stop listening to the Live Caroline clip, it sounds amazing)

[wii]

Thanks, it was the first time I really used the camera for video recording at a concert, and I was amazed by the quality, specially when you think about the 12x optical zoom I was using while holding it handheld, also the low light was well handled, I took some pictures around Prague without flash at night, which are surprisingly good for a compact camera, no wonder this camera won all the tests in 2009.

Thanks wii for all the work! Repeating others but I have to mention too that the quality of your films and
sound is extraordinarily great! Well, Leica...[smile2]

[Adiville]

It was a perfect weekend of AV, new & old friends, parties, alcohol, great music.......
WE HAD A GREAT TIME !!!!!!!!!!!
Uploading photos to facebook now...

[av2k9]

im working on a little project rite now, im remastering some of the youtube videos (the audio) and im going to try to put together a cd that sounds like decent quality

[Mateusz]

im working on a little project rite now, im remastering some of the youtube videos (the audio) and im going to try to put together a cd that sounds like decent quality

interessting....

[jetset]

Wii, looking at the excellent quality, at first I thought you had filmed with a real camera, not with a photo device (english language uses the same term for both, so I dunno what do you call it). My Sony "photo device" can shoot photos or movies, but not in this quality ! I had a look at the specs thanks to your link, it gives me some ideas for my next purchase... Just to know, is the device greedy for memory ? I mean, how many Gbytes do you need for a 1 hour shoot in this HD quality ? And what about the battery life time for this ?

[Apollo]

Hello everyone,
just wanted to let you know that it was really exciting to get to know some of you on the concert. Not everyone unfortunately and I talked way too little with those I met, but hey, there's gonna be a next time I hope.
From me as well congrats! to the camera master.

[Richani]

Everything there was so BOMBAAAA!!! [love2][love2][love2]

[Sappy]

Seems to that you all have had a good time in Praque....exellent music and cool video samples Wii...... Just heard 'Big In Japan' in the speakers this evening at the restaurant we were eating at.....awesome track!! Bringing back memories.

[wii]

You are right, the Panasonic TZ7 is a photo camera first of all, but Panasonic have put a lot of work into the video feature, read much more here: http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/compact/zs3_tz7/ia_movie.html

The files are big, the largest file which is a little over 3 minutes long, is about 400MB, but it's worth it [wink] - battery life is ok, but always a good idea to have an extra if you take a lot of video.

Wii, looking at the excellent quality, at first I thought you had filmed with a real camera, not with a photo device (english language uses the same term for both, so I dunno what do you call it). My Sony "photo device" can shoot photos or movies, but not in this quality ! I had a look at the specs thanks to your link, it gives me some ideas for my next purchase... Just to know, is the device greedy for memory ? I mean, how many Gbytes do you need for a 1 hour shoot in this HD quality ? And what about the battery life time for this ?

[fishbones]

I had a really great time at the concert. It was lovely to meet alot of people here, at long last i got to meet other AV fans.

[wii]

I really think this was the best song at the concert, I love it:

FIjh-dAchWI

[jetset]

I do agree, Wii, I love this song, I have listened it many times since.
Thank you for the detailed info about the Panasonic , and the link ;)

[babble]

I agree Willy! A Handful Of Darkness is true brilliance in its purest form!

[Richani]

tears coming up again.... beautifull !

[Kaz]

I'd like to hear it all before I make up my mind...

[Clare]

I love that song, the live version was spectacular. I wonder what the CD version will be like?

[davidhorizon]

"A Handful Of Darkness" was defently a highlight of the night. Very powerful! I did enjoy the new version of "A Victory Of Love" the most though.

[Krapplund]

Yes AVOL was very powerful, and before the music started someone did scream A VICTORY OF LOVE!! [wink][wink]

[Krapplund]

By the way....someone that want to write a review for the gig, it´s not that fun if I always do it....someone [?][?][?][?][?]

[FallenAngel]

"A Handful Of Darkness" was defently a highlight of the night. Very powerful! I did enjoy the new version of "A Victory Of Love" the most though.

I listen to it now... Wow... [bigeyes]

[jetset]

By the way....someone that want to write a review for the gig, it´s not that fun if I always do it....someone [?][?][?][?][?]

.... and especially the after-party, because we had little feedback about the meeting with the band.

[wii]

Ok, I will write the afterparty section of the review, if someone can write the concert review [wink]

[Marina Orchid]

Still can't watch all this great stuff without problems. The sound and the videos are as if "hiccup". Don't know why.

[wii]

If you have an older computer, HD videos can be a problem, try to view them at YouTube directly and make sure you click HD off, so you just view them in normal quality, that should work, even my small netbook can handle this [wink]

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Alphaville+Concert+in+Prague

Still can't watch all this great stuff without problems. The sound and the videos are as if "hiccup". Don't know why.

[Marina Orchid]

O'k, thank you, Willy, I'll try [smile].

[Starman]

I wish I could have been there! [cry]

[Richani]

Next time youll be there and have as much fun as we did !!! [wink] never say never !

[Krapplund]

So.....someone that will write the concert review [?][?]

[wii]

Yes, I received a review from Paul (UK), I will add it asap.

[Krapplund]

Great!!! I will add some photos...

[wii]

Wait, I need to prepare the gallery, so we can have them all in one place.

Ready, upload pics here:

http://www.alphaville.org/gallery/browseimages.php?c=69

Review is on page 1 [wink]

A little video from Paul

tN-OJ5eDJWI

[Alphaanni]

ha, I was wondering what Marian was up to when he came down... he wanted to see Martin playing. He must be a big fan ;)

[a]

[JaJaJa]

Thanks for your great review, Jan & Paul!
Nice to know you've had a good time, also generally in Prague.
And as I'm sitting in front of a Marhall combo, I'll be reminded of Milton Keynes forever. Don't forget
the great records of Great Linford Manor btw.... [smile2]
Next time I'll make it, I promise. [beer]

J.

[Richani]

Great to see the first pics here !! [smile2] I love them

[wii]

More pics uploaded, thanks Richani [wink]

[MalilaM]

Great pictures!! [love2]

[fishbones]

Hmmm yeah nice pictures. Interesting to see a couple of pictures from my camera on here without me knowing. [banghead][banghead]

[JaJaJa]

Hmmm yeah nice pictures. Interesting to see a couple of pictures from my camera on here without me knowing. [banghead][banghead]

That's sad.

[*ariAna*]

Look at this wonderful pictures!

http://www.fotozajda.cz/koncerty/alphaville/galerie3.html

[Richani]

Gorgeous !! [bigeyes] and what a great quality pics.. Thanks so much for finding this Ana !!

[fishbones]

Wow, those pictures are great. Thanks for posting Ana. [smile]

[Katrin]

Thanx Ana!
Can anybody save this pics? Its not possible or I´m silly?

[MalilaM]

@Katrin: you can't save them with the mouse, but they're stored in your internet caché folder. [wink]

[Katrin]

I don´t know, where I find this "internet caché folder".

[Mateusz]

I don´t know, where I find this "internet caché folder".

wait a moment....

[Mateusz]

So... here is one way to get these image:
1. copy this adress to web-browser " http://www.fotozajda.cz/koncerty/alphaville/slides/Alphaville_01.jpg " (now you can to save image on the computer)
2. To find next photo, change the number of photo, so next will be " http://www.fotozajda.cz/koncerty/alphaville/slides/Alphaville_02.jpg "
3. First photo is "01" .......
4. Last photo is.... "53"
5. I'm doing it now, so if you have no time, send PM, and you will get it (all)

[Apolla]

Mateusz (http://www.alphaville.org/member.php?u=1532), thank you, it's very nice this photo!

Mmm, I like photos #17 and 49. :)

45 - ^_^

[*ariAna*]

You're welcome! [smile] but honestly it was my friend who was with me in Prague who found the site and mailed it to me ...

You shouldn't post samples here, I guess all the pictures have a strict copyright. Saving on a private computer is okay but posting this photos in a forum can get our dream keepers into trouble!
Sorry for playing dream keeper myself, it's just for safety's sake. [smile]

[wii]

I agree, don't post others pictures here without permission.

[Alphaanni]

I agree, don't post others pictures here without permission.

or at least with source where photos found...

great photos [smile]

merry xmas to you all...

[a]

[smile2]

[Mateusz]

yeah, i was too fast, wasn't thinking about it, btw it was only one ;) (just sample...)

[Krapplund]

@willy: please move the live-photos to the prague section....

www.alphaville.org/gallery/index.php?

[Krapplund]

PAAAAAAAAAAAAAARTY!!!!!! [party][party]

.....and 90's, remember this ?

smcRzA-4GxQ

[wii]

Looking through the files I found lots of small videos I did in Prague, here's Jarl and David "singing" Alphaville [smile2]

IceM4bIbYzo

[Antirio]

A few days ago I sent an e-mail to the Czech TV asking them about their plans to broadcast (a part of) the recording made during the 25th anniversary concert in Prague. They said the exact date had not been decided yet, however it was scheduled for the first half of this year. The 2nd channel of the Czech state TV regularly (every Sunday, early in the morning around 3 a.m.) presents ca. 60-minute long excerpts from various concerts, which took place mainly in Prague. I will keep you informed.

[Krapplund]

Thanks for information....

[wii]

Here's the only one that I missed recording (I was at the bar at the time):

gactr9bxdN0&hd=1

[colette]

Thanks for posting Wii - I was able to get near the front for this one thanks to others going to the bar!

[Richani]

Thanks Wii ! Same as Letty, also got near the front [laugh] So beautifull <3

[fishbones]

I got near the front too, it was fantastic. Seeing this topic alive again reminded me of the photo's i took in Prague. I still haven't really sorted them out yet, but if anyone is interested some can be seen here http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=129315&id=667668223&l=0bc40e7014 [smile]

[Pitesina]

Nice pics Sharon! Thanks for sharing!

[*ariAna*]

[laugh] Great pics, Sharon!

[colette]

Very happy memories - thanks for sharing Sharon (thanks to you I met Marian as well!) x