Men Among the Ruins Tour--Moscow

Page 6

MOSCOW

Sunday, November 20: The train ride back to Moscow was good though the compartments were a bit too warm by morning which made it difficult to sleep, especially in the upper berths but it was still a grand adventure. Upon our return to Moscow they were also having their first snowfall of the winter. We took the subway system to our lodging that morning, and from there we were free to do whatever we wanted until it was time to travel to the venue later in the day for our sound check.

Speaking of the subway system, I had heard about it from our friend Albin but until I saw it for myself, I couldn’t believe it. Each subway station under Moscow looks like a room in a palace. Each in a different motif, with artwork, chandeliers, and sculpture, it was like entering a different world. Here are only a few of the images from the many different styles to be found. [Images from my souvenir postcard packet]

I had wondered at first, why the two cities in Russia seemed so “foreign” compared to European cities that we had visited. Of course, one of the reasons is that the Russian alphabet is quite foreign to an outsider, but I also noticed that directory signs in, for example, the subway stations were not bilingual at all and if one didn’t understand Russian it would be very difficult to navigate. Fortunately, though, in the subway, the different train lines were color-coded which made it a bit easier.

We would be performing in Moscow on Sunday evening but would also be staying through Monday to do some sightseeing, leaving on Tuesday. Gerhard, Jörg and Balazs would stay one additional day and return on Wednesday.

As evening approached it was time to travel to the venue for our performance. Though it snowed the entire day it was never extremely cold there. We traveled in separate automobiles and converged at the site. The club was great with ample standing room in front of the stage but also a surrounding balcony with tables and chairs where the audience could view the performances from above. Upon arriving we met with the absolutely great people of the first act, Neutral. Not only marvelous musicians, but very good people. Most memorable before the performance was that we gave a copy of the Fire of Life songbook to the violinist of the group and he sight-read the music and performed for us a melancholic version of the song “Fire of Life”. It was fantastic.

During each of these performances, there were images projected on a screen behind the performers and though the images had been prepared previously in a random fashion, I marveled that there were many times that the images seemed to be in perfect sync with the music. These projected images in Moscow and the lighting, acoustics and sound engineering in both St. Petersburg and Moscow were excellent.

Neutral gave a marvelous performance and of course the audience was very enthusiastic with their show. Again, their virtuosity was very captivating to listen to and to watch.

Next up was Allerseelen. Here again as in St. Petersburg, the crowd was ecstatically gyrating to the beat of their music. Their beautiful melodies combined with the heavily syncopated drumming puts one into an almost hypnotic state. Gerhard’s delivery of his great lyrics commands the theatre from the time he steps on stage until the final note resounds. They again gave a spectacular performance, very dynamic with Gerhard’s stage movements, Jörg’s animated stage presence and Balazs’ fantastic drumming. They “brought down the house” with enthusiastic cheering and applause. [Photo below right ©Kveldulfr]

We followed Allerseelen and I must say this was a very enjoyable performance for us to present. In honor of Moscow's first snowfall of the season following the opening medley, “Embarkation/Sailor’s Song”, we performed a “snow” song, “Sweet Eve”, which on this tour usually had been performed as part of the encore. This was our sixth performance of the tour and we just had a very good time at this one. Gerhard told me that I had “apple cheeks” since I was smiling frequently due to the way we were received by the audience here. Additionally since there was no train to catch, here we were delightfully able to complete our entire set plus two extra songs.

Robert had been coming down with a virus for much of the tour and was always on the verge of laryngitis, but he was a trooper and was able to sing well during all the concerts even though sometimes feeling very bad. The day after this final concert of the tour he lost his voice completely and was still feeling miserable when he arrived back in the States. Fortunately, I didn’t have this problem while touring but about four days after my return home I caught a similar virus where I lost my voice and had the symptoms of a bad cold that lasted for about one entire month.

Monday, November 21: One of the highlights of this extra day was that we had a photo-shoot with an excellent photographer. Due to the fact that Robert and I live hundreds of miles from each other and just get together for our performances and recording sessions, we have very few photos of the two of us together. It was very kind of Kirill to ask his friend to photograph us. These photographs were taken at a monastery not too far from our lodging. [These fine photographs were taken by Cranio Bart]

Later in the evening following dinner, we were able to visit Red Square. I had seen television footage of many a May Day parade as a youth during the Communist régime and knew how big the "square" seemed as they paraded their huge armaments through it. However, I was still awestruck while standing in the middle of this huge area paved with red bricks which was about four city blocks square. To the right of where I stood to take this photograph was the huge structure of Lenin's tomb.

Enough cannot be said of Kirill and his friends for not only showing us the sights but who were always right on schedule and their efficiency and punctuality made everything work seamlessly. Also, I would definitely be remiss if I were to fail to exhibit the excellent flyer that Kirill and Indiestate created for this performance.