More than a couple of years have passed since Udo Dirkschneider has left the German heavy metal band Accept. Ever since, he is on tour with his own band U.D.O., also playing heavy metal music. After years of touring, where Accept songs have been played on a regular basis, Udo Dirkschneider is tired and announced right at the beginning of this tour that it will be the last time U.D.O is playing Accept songs. Probably due to this sad but reasonable decision, a majority of this tour was sold out. On March 31st, 2016 U.D.O. came to Backstage in Munich where they played under another name, Dirkschneider. Supporting them were Palace and Anvil.
Palace
Opener act Palace from Speyer, Germany, began on schedule. Their sound was bombastic fight from the start. However, the bass guitar was so loud that the voice of singer Harald “HP” Piller got lost somehow during the first couple of songs. Still they managed to perform a great, classical heavy metal show. In between fast and majestic guitar riffs, melodic and mid-tempo passages resounded and encouraged some nodding. However, most of the people in the crowd seemed to be exhausted from their work or other duties as the overall good vibe was missing. It seemed like the crowd was fixated on where they were standing and unable to let their hair fly. Then again, it could have also been due to the average age which was clearly elevated. Palace was surely not to blame. They delivered a great show.
Anvil
Before the three rockers around front man Steve “Lips” Kudlow hit the stage, notably more people had found their way to the venue at Backstage. By then, it was almost 8 pm.
Just like their predecessors, Anvil began with full force. Again, the audience seemed to be in need of a longer warming phase as only a couple of heads in the crowd were nodding politely. Withal, the Canadians swept across the stage loud-voiced and made old school as well as new school metal hearts beat faster. One of the highlights of their show was the moment singer and guitarist Steve Kudlow took out a vibrator and played a vibrating solo. Clearly, not every guitarist is able to play so stimulating. Towards the end, the audience finally seemed to thaw and celebrated Anvil’s hymn “Metal On Metal”. The round of applause was well-deserved, the demand for an encore could unfortunately not be fulfilled. Damn time constraints. But let’s be honest: the majority of the audience wanted to see Dirkschneider, so why let them wait any longer?
Dirkschneider
When the lights went out, indicating the beginning of Dirschneider’s show, the hall at Backstage went completely quiet. The outlines of the musicians were visible even before the bright blue spotlight, followed by strobe light, opened the show. Almost heroic, Udo himself entered the stage and kicked off the performance. For the first time of the evening, the crowd was fully awake and burst into cheers and screams, undermining the impression that almost everyone was only there because of Dirkschneider - understandable, considering that this would be the last chance to hear Accept songs with Udo Dirkschneider. But back to their show. There are not many words needed to describe this evening: incredible, amazing, magnificent and gorgeous are enough. Musically, one highlight was followed by another so that the cheering and screaming barely stopped. As fantastic as the band and the songs were, it became hotter and hotter inside the venue with every second. Unbelievable it was still March. But despite the perceived 50 °C and all the sweat dripping from the ceiling, the fans were freaking out and could not be held back. Classics like “Princess of the Dawn”, “Restless And Wild” and “Midnight Highway” enthused everyone. In between the songs, there were several breaks during which the band members were able to show their individual talent.
Next to the outstanding musical performance, the incredible light show has to be mentioned. It accentuated the show perfectly.
Among other songs, the five metal heads around front man Udo Dirkschneider played “Metal Heart” during their encore, with a breathtaking guitar solo that was played on a zebra-guitar. What a song, what a performance! With “Fast As A Shark” the guitarists fired it up one more time and amazed the crowd with a synchronous solo. Of course, U.D.O. also played “Balls to the Wall” and mobilized the rest of their fans power towards the end of the evening. This show was a unique masterpiece with a metal legend on the microphone. There’s only one thing left to say: A fucking incredible evening where everyone can be proud to have been part of it.
Text: Conny Pläsken
Translation: Tanja Frank
Set list Dirkschneider:
• Starlight (Accept)
• Living for Tonight (Accept)
• Flash Rockin‘ Man (Accept)
• London Leatherboys (Accept)
• Midnight Mover (Accept)
• Breaker (Accept)
• Head Over Heels (Accept)
• Neon Nights (Accept)
• Princess of the Dawn (Accept)
• Winterdreams (Accept)
• Restless and Wild (Accept)
• Son of a Bitch (Accept)
• Up to the Limit (Accept)
• Wrong is Right (Accept)
• Midnight Highway (Accept)
• Turn Me On (Accept)
• Screaming for a Love-Bite (Accept)
• Monsterman (Accept)
• Losers and Winners (Accept)
• TV War (Accept)
• Metal Heart (Accept) (Zugabe)
• I’m a Rebel (Accept) (Zugabe)
• Fast as a Shark (Accept) (Zugabe)
• Balls tot he Wall (Accept) (Zugabe)
• Burning (Zugabe)
Toursetlist Dirkschneider:
- Starlight (Accept)
- Living for Tonight (Accept)
- Flash Rockin‘ Man (Accept)
- London Leatherboys (Accept)
- Midnight Mover (Accept)
- Breaker (Accept)
- Head Over Heels (Accept)
- Neon Nights (Accept)
- Princess of the Dawn (Accept)
- Winterdreams (Accept)
- Restless and Wild (Accept)
- Son of a Bitch (Accept)
- Up to the Limit (Accept)
- Wrong is Right (Accept)
- Midnight Highway (Accept)
- Turn Me On (Accept)
- Screaming for a Love-Bite (Accept)
- Monsterman (Accept)
- Losers and Winners (Accept)
- TV War (Accept)
- Metal Heart (Accept) (Zugabe)
- I’m a Rebel (Accept) (Zugabe)
- Fast as a Shark (Accept) (Zugabe)
- Balls tot he Wall (Accept) (Zugabe)
- Burning (Zugabe)
All upcoming dates of the „Back To The Roots“-Tour 2016:
Special Guest: ANVIL
Support: PALACE (March 11th until April 7th)
Apr 01, 2016 D-Burglengenfeld - VAZ
Apr 02, 2016 D-Memmingen - Kaminwerk
Apr 03, 2016 CH-Pratteln - Z7
Apr 05, 2016 E-Madrid - La Riviera
Apr 06, 2016 E-Pamplona - Sala Totem
Apr 07, 2016 E-Barcelona - Razzmatazz 2
Support: BURNING ROME (April 9th until April 12th)
Apr 09, 2016 I-Brescia - Circolo Colony
Apr 12, 2016 NL-Tilburg - Dudok
Support: I.C.O.N (April 13th until April 19th)
Apr 13, 2016 GB-Manchester - Academy
Apr 14, 2016 GB-Newcastle - Riverside
Apr 15, 2016 GB-Sheffield - The Corporation
Apr 16, 2016 GB-Buckley - Tivoli
Apr 17, 2016 GB-Norwich - Waterfront
Apr 19, 2016 GB-London - O2 Academy Islington
Support: DYING GORGEOUS LIES (April 21st until April 24th)
Apr 21, 2016 D-Hamburg - Markthalle
Apr 22, 2016 D-Heidelberg - Halle 02
Apr 23, 2016 D-Geiselwind - Music Hall
Apr 24, 2016 D-Berlin - Postbahnhof