Last November Graham Bonnet and Alcatrazz played in Essen and now the same agent brought John Waite on tour - and a show at Essen's Turock was scheduled. The former The Babys and Bad English singer was out to present a best-of of his solo stuff and the hits of his former bands.
On a Sunday night not too many rock fans found their way to Essen, a pity. Especially as with opening act Bert Heerink (ex-Vandenberg) it should be a night of high class rock.
Some fans of the Dutch singer came to support him and his band. When Bert Heerink entered the stage at 8 PM about 100 fans were gathering. The Dutch entertainer kicked off with Shame On You, a track off Voices Of Rock High & Mighty. With Back On My Feet he presented the first Vandenberg tune. It was obvious that the guys enjoyed being on stage, in the touring band Bert Heerink welcomed drummer Guzz Genser, Vengeance bassist Barend Courbois, ex-After Forever keyboarder Joost van den Broek and guitarist Cyril Whistler. "Glad I'm back on the rock stage after all these years!" Mr. Vandenberg announced and they headed into Who's Side Are You On of his latest solo album Better Yet... But then it was time to travel back in time... "You know Jan Akkermann? He was in a band called Brainbox and he's a good friend. Here is Doomsday Train!" With Your Love Is In Vain they had another Vandenberg tune on the set list, but focused on Better Yet... And after introducing his band they closed the set with Vandenberg's Burning Heart. Unfortunately the sound wasn't the best, Heerink's voice was almost drowning in the music... Anyway, not just the Dutch fans enjoyed the show!
A quick change over and John Waite and his band kicked off with Change of Ignition. The last album of John Waite was Downtown Journey Of A Heart and released in 2006 via Frontiers. But it only had 2 new songs, 3 overdone classics and some re-recordings - and so a best-of set was what he offered. Next in line a track from The Babys - Back On My Feet Again. Unfortunately the sound hadn't improve, partly it seems even worse then before depending on where you stood... Guitarist Luis Maldonado was doing a great job, but some solos drowned as drums and bass where way too loud. A pity. For the Bad English hit When I See You Smile John Waite picked up his semi-acoustic guitar. A bit later they presented All Along The Watchtower, the only cover song in the set. After Encircled, How Did I Get By Without You and Mr. Wonderful he introduced the band. At Suicide Girl Luis Maldonado get another chance to shine and the following track, the melancholy New York City Girl was one of the highlights beside Bad English's Best Of What I Got and Missing You. "I only played this one twice since 1977..." Mr. Wonderful announced and they headed into If You Got The Time. But it shouldn't be the last one of The Babys! At the end they presented a medley of Midnight Rendevouz and Head First incl. a short passage of Led Zeppelin's Rock And Roll.
Then it was over, the band took a bow and left the stage. The fans wanted some more, but John Waite and his mates didn't returned.
Anyway, it was a night full of great music, even if the sound wasn't the best... I noticed in the past that when a band didn't bring their own light tech, the local one didn't changed the normal setting, partly the audience got more lights then the band! But well, it's good to see the artists like John Waite and Bert Heerink live! Hopefully more rock fans will show up next time around!