Unlike Pianoman I'm afraid I don't feel up to the task of writing a review of my own, unfortunately I wouldn't even know how to express most of the things I'd like to say in German, let alone in English
So it's just a couple of random notes from me.
It was a wonderful concert in Hamburg, everybody was in top shape, the audience was cheerful and welcoming. The
(link) setlist was almost identical with that of the Munich show, except the titles had been a bit mixed up - as Pianoman mentioned on facebook: stirred, not shaken. Everybody got up from their seats and started dancing at the beginning of Re-Make/Re-Model, which was number 14 on the setlist - for a Hamburg crowd that is record-breakingly enthusiastic - because, as you possibly know, we "fishheads" have a bit of a reputation for being utterly cool, distanced and standoffish.
There were quite a few "younger" folks in the audience, "younger" meaning people under 40, some even seemed to be under 30
It was the first time Bryan played at the Mehr! Theater, as his regular venue, the CCH is currently being renovated. Honestly, I was not very happy with the venue.
We had very good seats, exactly in the center of the fifth row. Unfortunately whoever designed the interior of that venue thought it was a bright idea to have all seats in one continuous row without any aisle in between, so actually sitting in the center of a 50-60 seats wide row felt a bit like being trapped, a sentiment that was also shared by our neighbours. Fortunately none of us needed a bathroom break, otherwise about 30 people would have had to stand up and let us through as we would have had to step over (not on) their feet in the dark.
And, worse than that, I wasn't really happy with the acoustics. The concert was very loud, the bass was very loud and so strong I could feel my entire body including my diaphragm vibrating in its rhythm, which I don't mind, however the sound of the bass was not clear at all. Maybe we were too close to the speakers, but it wasn't the first time I had a seat in the front section at a BF concert and I've never had that problem before. During most of the songs the sound of the bass was just too blurred or "mushy" to distinctly follow the bass lines. Which was a shame, as Neil Jason is a wonderful bass player and I like his hard and funky style. I would really much rather have perceived his play with my ears instead of my entire body. At the same time, unfortunately, it was my impression that the medium frequencies were much too low/quiet. I had the impression that the musicians, most of all Bryan, were frustrated they couldn't deliver the sound they wanted. Nevertheless they delivered a fantastic show and the audience was cheerful and happy anyway, even though from an audiophile point of view it was not the magic carpet ride that Bryan normally provides for his fans. I just hope that next time he'll be back in the CCH.