Koningin Elisabethzaal, Antwerp Belgium

we arrived in antwerp at 3 o`clock in the afternoon. (antwerp would win the first price in the contest of the ugliest town in europe, when there were not rotterdam and offenbach (the city i live in)) who choose this special unfriendly cities for david? (when you meet him, beat him!)
after searching for a long while, we found the concerthall. and we found the backstagedoor and we went through it. david was doing his soundcheck and we listend to his beautifull voice. he sang "the scent of magnolia". i asked someone named bart for a photopass and he told me, that the tourmanager didn`t arrive and i should come in two hours again.
at six we were standing in the hall again and waiting for bart. he came out of the backstage area and told us that taking pics would not be possible that night. i was sort of really disappointed and tried to ask him why, ect.
in the meantime, david was standing at the backstagearea door and staring at us (my sister, me and BART). he tried to understand, whats going on and he fixed us. but in the miment when he realized that we saw him standing there, he disappeared behind the corner...slowly...very slowly...
bart offered us, to ask the promoter for a photopass again. so, at the end, we were standing and waiting for two more hours infront of the hall. in that long time, i heared 4 phrases again and again, which seems typical for antwerpean people:
1. NO!
2. i can`t help you and i don`t know
3. that is all i can do for you
4. be patientced and wait
(here i want to give another bunch of barb wire to the promoter and unkind person named bart)
that made me very angry and sad and it was my basic feelings when i arrived almost late to the concert...
the concert started like all the others and the setlist was the same, i think. david was all in black with a yellow-golden tie. he seemed concentraded but in a good mood. he smiled a lot but tried to do his work ernest and serious. i don`t know, what some people expected and why they were disappointed about his show. this is how david is. he is a shy type and he is not running and dancing on the stage-how could he with that kind of music? and when there is a madMatt who is doing the show for him, more than you can stand it*lol...and don`t forget, he is not so young anymore (if you don`t believe, see his grandpa like black jackett and his moving from point a to b, sometimes it takes hours!!!)
okay, i was wondering, too, why he took madMatt as a keyboarder on tour (and i am sure, that david was asking himself too that night, when he shaked his head, smiling and looking irritated to matt, seeing him jumping-well said, like one of the muppets-on his keyboards and falling from his chair and dancing and jumping in songs like nightporter, like it is a disco version of a technosong. but i found him funny-although he killed the songs. but who let him kill them? the master himselve! so it is okay for me.
i enjoyed the concert very much. i enjoyed seeing keith lowe sleeping on his bass and the strange guy at the guitar timothy young (have you seen his homepage? *lol) and of course i enjoyed the beauty of steve playing his drums. everyone of them seem to love david and his music. and they tried to make the best of it. we should open up and let it in us-even when we love the original versions of the songs.
at the end of the first encore, i jumped from my seat (very good seat, in the center of the hall and the accustic was super good) and went to the first row, trying to shoot some pics. then when he began to sing bhajan i was sitting on the floor and he looked to me suprised and then he...smiled. for me everything bad in the world was forgotten that moment. i was endless happy and full of love in my very fast beating heart.
the third encore was red guitar, as you know and he was very relaxed-like the band, too. the crowd was happy... no, more than this. everybody was were smiling and there were tears of luck and everyone was dancing on the seats and singing and...i can`t explain...it was wonderfull! david was getting that emotions and power and he was smiling over his face and he looked really beautifull and very young at this moments.
my happiest moment was when i jumped to the stage at the end of red guitar and took my pictures infront of his feet and when he looked to me, smiling and shaking his head, like he was thinking "at least, you have got your pics, little girl. are you happy?" and he could saw, how happy i was. i am.
hope you are happy too, dear! see you again in 8 years?

anny öztürk