Robbie Williams – the best show ever!

Photo: Magnus

We reached the Berlin Olympiastadion at approximately half past 4. The gates opened at 3 already and the first support act was planned to hit the stage at 6. It was only later that I heard that the first lucky ones got a special entry to the fan zone, closest to the stage. But we did still pretty ok and took our places not far from the fence bordering the fan zone which means that Robbie was actually visible on stage and not only on the huge screens.

When I first entered the stadium, it took my breath away. The stadium itself is huge and pretty spectacular and the stage looked amazing and the anticipation of the upcoming concert suddenly hit me. Later, when Robbie got on stage and looked around, he too was amazed by the beauty and grandiose of the 1936 built stadium filled with his fans.

The weather was extremely hot and we had to refresh ourselves with several very nice cooling drinks, like mojitos and cuba libres and so on. So, by the time the first support act started we were already in a rather elevated mood. The timing throughout the show was tuned with German accuracy. The first act was Orson. I know only one song by them and they failed to impress me. The second act was Basement Jaxx and they really managed to get the crowd going. I’ve liked them for years now and they were as good as I expected them to be.

At 8.30 it was finally time for the “main man” to start the show. Robbie got me mesmerized from the moment he got on stage and I think I’m still under the influence a bit. At least one thing is 100% sure – I need to see him live again. Robbie for me is one of the very few artists who actually sounds better live than on the record. Add to that the way he acts on stage, how he can capture the audience and the jokes he makes, the way he talks to the people and the passion with which he sings, and you get a perfect live show experience. My favorite songs from this tour’s set list were: Tripping, Monsoon, Make me pure, Advertising space, Feel and the last encore song – Kids. For make me pure he had the audience to sing the chorus and only did the verse part by himself, that was amazing.

Only when the show was over, I felt the pain in my feet. Imagine standing and dancing for more than 5 hours in a row. The soles of my feet were hurting so bad that I actually took the shoes off and went all the way home barefoot, but I couldn’t care less after a show like that. Oh, and another thing, during the show Robbie and his friend Johnny Wilkes have a competition of who can kick a small signed football further away in the audience. One of these 2 balls landed in the hands of one of my friends, who was also at the concert. Imagine the luck! But she’s also been a fan for years and years, so I am only mildly jealous:)

Berlin

Greetings, Earthlings! Reporting from Berlin this time. This is where the whole Robbie Williams saga which started about a year ago, came to it's hapy ending. The concert was amazing, almost orgasmic. But i'll write a whole post about it a bit later.

Berlin has also been treating us well so far. The last time i was here about 10 years ago or so when i was just a teenager. Don't remember much of that time. And to tell you the truth, i didn't expect much of Berlin but now that i've seen it's different faces i think it's actually worth coming back here for another long weekend or so.

Yesterday a friend who's local, took us to the more alternative, more underground Berlin The whole area was filled with crappy little places, like for instance "fake beach bars" in the backyards of the buildigs with sand and beach chairs and fake palm trees. Working girls were standing at the side of the road, wooing the potential customers. Lots and lots of artist type people were chilling in the bars and on the streets and the air was thick with the smell of hemp. We were too tired to fully enjoy it but i think we'll be going back tonight. So, wait for new reports.

The perfect evening

July is the high season of holidays. Everybody’s out of town – people are trippin’, travellin’ and chillin’ in all the possible and impossible locations. For a while there we were just the 3 of us left in the city, 3 working people, 3 friends trying to make the best of the lunchtimes and the evenings. It seems to me we’ve done a pretty good job at it.

Like the other night, we went to the beach, it was windy and the evenings haven’t been very warm lately, but we brought our sleeping bags and there we were, laying down in the baggies (kotude sees;) our backs against a big stone, watching Snatch from my laptop (the little speakers were doing one hell of a job and managed to be louder than the wind), eating sandwiches (courtesy of Anni), drinking beer and smoking waterpipe. Que plaisir! We got loads of strange and surprised looks from people walking or jogging by and we managed to outstay everybody else on the beach and headed home long after the sunset.

It was a very lovely evening.

“Oh it's such a perfect day, I'm glad I spent it with you…” - Lou Reed “Perfect Day"

This is my church...

Lots of stuff has been happening, and it’s been fun, amigos! I just need to jot everything down so when it’s December I can remember all the fun I was having this summer. Estonian summer’s been good to us. Like Mr. Svenne pointed out on the beach on Sunday afternoon: “Take a look at the sea and sun and heaven and beach and the moment…and remember it…for December.” And so I did.

But last Friday there was a birthday party to celebrate (also known under the name of “F*ttslem reloaded” – don’t even ask the meaning, it comes with a story:). Where else than in Estonia….that you take a container of helium as a birthday present and you see a group of grown-ups inhaling the helium, talking with cartoon voices and laughing their asses off. Kids out there, I’m telling you this ...you don’t need no drugs when you’ve got the company and a bit of helium:)! I have a feeling the neighbors didn’t quite like us though (but why?!?)…but then again, a good party actually should have a visit by the police, or no? Anyway….loads and loads of fun it was!

What else, oh, yeah, as from Saturday I’ve got wheels and at least for a while being I can drive around and enjoy the freedom a car provides. (Not enjoying the rising gasoline prices that much, though.)

Sunday was exactly like it was supposed to be – zoom out and just chill. Religious people go to church on Sundays. With good weather, the beach is my church, so that’s where I need to go. Swimming, sunbathing, dozing off, smoking the waterpipe…all that in the excellent company of 4 men – tell me if that is not paradise. If church was like that, I tell you I’d be going on a daily basis:)

"This is my church. This is where I heal my hurts..." - Faithless "God is a DJ"

I’ve got hate inside of me

Bad things are happening to good people. And lots of things have been happening lately. With me it’s all the bodily accidents – there were the 2 broken bones in my arm, then there was the leg injury from the football game, let’s not forget the getting hit in the face on the beach by a stupid volleyball (when I was just lying there, minding my own business) and all the smaller bumps and bruises which are not even worth mentioning.

With the people close to me, it’s the “police news” accidents. I’ve told about the 2 break-ins in N’s place. Now we have a new victim - Mr. Acorn. Some bastards broke into his car yesterday, smashed the back window and took his laptop while we were having an after-work swim. How many times do I have to say this…”Get a job, bastards and earn money to buy your own stuff!” Why would anyone go breaking into a 1986 Opel Corsa is still beyond me – it surely doesn’t look like there could be anything to steal from it. Now, finding a new back window for this car is gonna be tricky.

And just to be 100% clear about this – I hate thieves!

"Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is like expecting a bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian." - Dennis Wholey

Pic 1

Just because i like this pic.

Lithuania

I had a good weekend, again. Lately, one of the main keywords has been “expect less, get more”, for whenever I’ve had low expectations (or none at all) of some event, it has turned out to be really fulfilling. Another keyword of this summer’s events has been “everything connected with sea” – beaches, ships, waves, fish etc…I’m trying to read the signs here, but I don’t get it. Should I become a fisherman? Or marry a sailor, or what? As also proven in one of the conversation of the weekend…reading signs can be real difficult.

Anyways, this last weekend we went to meet our company’s Latvian and Lithuanian partners who were a lot nicer than expected. We all met up in Lithuania and staid in an absolutely amazing place by the Curonian lagoon (Kursio Marios), where the host and hostess were taking excellent care of us. The 200 kg weighing chefs prepared us delicious meals and the local beer and cold rosé wine were perfect for washing it down and cool us in the 34 C degree summer heat.

The little lagoon is almost a closed body of water and was too warm to provide any kind of refreshment. So, we took the boats to cross the lagoon and check out the sand dunes on the peninsula and chill a little bit on the beaches of the Baltic Sea, on the other side of the peninsula. And in the evenings we talked, we bonded, we partied, we made speeches, we sang, we ate, we drank, we laughed, we cried and we made new friends. And it was all worth the 22-hour drive there and back.

Paris

Last night i dreamt i made out with Paris Hilton....
I don't like Paris Hilton....
Analyse that...my shrink friends....