2010 is almost over – this means it’s time for my annual concert summary!

Let’s start with the numbers – which are surprisingly low, compared to other years: a total of 42 concerts (at least it’s a nice number *g*), nine of these were festivals. Not counting the festival appearances, I saw five Skambankt concerts and three concerts each of Katzenjammer, Monsters of Liedermaching and Kaizers Orchestra (if you count the promo gig in Zurich) – so it was a rather mixed year this time, without real tours of one artist/band!

Geographically, Zurich was probably the concert furthest south – or no, not true, Portugal was further south of course, and at the same time the westernmost concert of the year. Xutos & Pontapés in Èvora, yay! In the east, I didn’t make it out of Germany this year, but in the north, I again crossed the Arctic Circle for three Skambankt concerts.

Even though there weren’t that many concerts this year, I won’t mention all of them here now; that’s what the reports on www.konzertjunkie.de are for. But of course I’ll point out the highlights!

Guess the first highlight was the Dúné concert in Karlsruhe. I went there with little expectations, was shocked during the first few songs, and afterwards, I was so enthusiastic that I wanted to see them over and over again. Unfortunately it worked out only two more times this year: at Schlossgrabenfest in Darmstadt and at Sonnenrot in Munich – both were wonderful gigs that left me absolutely euphoric. And gnaah… I’ll miss their tour now in January, so I hope they’ll return soon!

The next highlight was of course the Kaizers tour, or rather the two concerts in Stavanger and Oslo. The concerts were nice, but not special (the Demoner tour raised the bar quite a bit there), but overall this was another great concert trip!

Next up were very impressive concerts of Pétur Ben and the Monsters of Liedermaching – I knew Pétur Ben from his gigs as support for Kaizers, but I hardly remembered anything about his show. When I arrived, I saw that there were chairs set up for the audience – what the heck? But it was simply amazing! Within minutes, I remembered all his songs, and his performance captured me completely (COMPLETELY!) . Wow! Similarly with Monsters… Actually, I didn’t really want to go, because I’d seen them before, right? And seeing and hearing the same things over and over again … is GREAT! Their shows are so much fun, every time!

A few days later I found out once more that it is a good idea to buy tickets in advance. Otherwise I don’t think I would have gone to see the Fettes Brot concert. ‘Cause I really didn’t feel like it; but then, I had a ticket, so I had to go. And I was flabbergasted! Just like later on this year after their festival concerts at Mini Rock and Taubertal. They were SO amazing – but now they’ll take a break, too bad… =:-(

Next up were two Katzenjammer concerts, including the last concert at the old Substage. Oh, the memories …

And then it was time for the festival season 2010! This year, I saw lots of festivals. I chose those festivals that had a great line-up and got a press accreditation for some of them; and of course, I went to Norway again! In Norway, I saw Kartfestivalen (with, among others, Skambankt and Jethro Tull) and Rått og Råde, a new festival in Stavanger. Both were great! In Germany, I decided for Helfenstein Festival, Sonnenrot, Mini Rock festival, and Taubertal. The latter I enjoyed only because of the line-up. The weather wasn’t so great, the festival has become much too big, and my tickets was for one day only – so no, Taubertal definitely wasn’t perfect this time. Still, I was much more “festivaljunkie” than usual this year – and I actually enjoyed the various festivals. However, it was a bit too much this summer. After the festival season, I was quite glad that it was over, and I cut back on concerts for the next few weeks. =;-)

At least until the DÄOF Super Drei parties started! The first one took place in Berlin, featuring Rock Shoe (and two less interesting bands *g*), and the next one was in Stuttgart with a Die Ärzte cover band and the Monsters. Both parties were great, albeit exhausting. But I definitely wouldn’t mind repeating this! =:-)

After that, there was a little non-concert digression to WWE (it’s in my concert list, that’s why I mention it here, but I didn’t count it as concert *g*), a four-hour Monsters concert in Karlsruhe (AWESOME!) and my first live encounter with Bullet for my Valentine (which I had expected to be even better – but I guess I just wasn’t in concert mood), before my last Norway trip for 2010. Three Skambankt concerts in Northern Norway! And just like in 2007, it was absolutely gigantic! The concerts were getting better from day to day, with a fantastic climax in Bodø. And of course this is… well, perfect would be the wrong way to put it, but at least it’s the best possible way to face the upcoming live-break!

The last concert of the year was Sportfreunde Stiller in Munich then… well, it was okay. =;-)

If I had to elect THE concert of the year, I’d have to decide between Monsters in Karlsruhe and Skambankt in Bodø. Closely followed by Pétur Ben, Dúné at several festivals, and the whole Rått og Råde festival.

And next year? When I look at the list of concerts that are scheduled already, I get dizzy… =;-) Let’s see how many of those I’ll really see in the end. This is the current plan: First, there will be two Busters gigs (Karlsruhe and Tübingen, as always), then the Kaizers tour (first in Norway, then the entire European tour), and then I have to figure out how to fit in Katzenjammer, Itchy Poopzkid, and the Monsters of Liedermaching at the same time (because they are all on tour at the same time *grr*). In the summer, Bullet for my Valentine are on a festival tour, and the way it looks, Taubertal/Open Flair/Rocco del Schlacko will have lots of great bands. So I’m pretty sure that I’ll visit one of these festivals. *g* And then, at the end of the year, the Kaizers musical will premiere.

So much for “I won’t do that many concerts next year.” Yep, sure… =;-)