2.7.15 Q+AL Frankfurt

My recap from the Frankfurt concert - sorry it got a little bit long

Queen & Adam Lambert, 07.02.2015 Frankfurt

What should I expect from my fifth QALconcert after 2x Hammersmith 2012 in London and 2x Hardrock Cafe, The Joint in Las Vegas? Because all of these 4 concerts were breathtaking, mind boggling and sensational. Would Frankfurt stand comparison?

For the first time I would see them on my home turf and the Frankfurt audience is known to be one of the best regarding clapping, singing and even stomping along – So I really was more than excited before the concert.

I was so lucky that I could share this experience with one of the most beautiful souls there are, with Dinka from Croatia. We met 2012 at Hammersmith and as so often in this amazing fandom it just clicked and we became very dear friends (skype is a wonderful invention!!!).

So my adventure started early in the morning on saturday as I went for my 2 ½ hour drive to Frankfurt, but smart as I was I updated my navigation system just the day before. A really bad mistake, because something went wrong. I wanted to fetch Dinka from her hotel at the Frankfurt airport – she flew in for just one day from Zagreb, crazy huh?!? - but suddenly my navi just couldn't find the street of her hotel. Which resulted in me driving like a maniac by, through, around and maybe even under the Frankfurt airport, and I was thinking if I passed that police station at the airport once again, the police would have started to wonder what evil intention this blond, little middleaged woman has...
But finally I saw with a big relief the sign of the hotel and when I went inside and met Dinka it felt like we hadn't been separated for more than one minute.

We immediately headed for the venue „Festhalle“ because we wanted to queue early for having a good place. And Dinka and I had a blast driving around the Festhalle for about 10 times because my brilliant navi couldn't find that location either.... With about 50% of my nerves left we managed to get to a mall near the venue at last and parked there.

We had a wonderful meal at an Italian Restaurant in the mall and from there we had a beautiful view at the Festhalle and the people queueing outside in the cold. For a long time there were only a few, maybe 20 people . At 4 p.m. we decided to join the waiting line. There weren't many people there, even as the doors opened at 18.30 I guess there were only 200 people waiting to get in. I was startled because I knew that the Festhalle had been sold out for a long time. But boy those who waited really wanted to get first row – they were all running like manicas with their hair flying and their heavy wintercoats swinging when the doors opened. Like a wonder Dinka and I managed to get a place in the second row directly in front of the thrust – yeah!

We waited patiently, the hall was slowly but steadily filling up with the rest of the audience and then the tension slowly began to build.... background music was playing and around 8 p.m. you could feel the audience was getting nervous. And for me it started getting surreal... there I was in the middle of more than 10.000 people and Adam, Brian, Roger would be in spitting distance every second now. I had to pinch myself sometimes and sometimes even poor Dinka...

There was so much anticipation as they really started late. At about 8.15 the lights went out, the lightspot was on the curtain, the music began, you saw Brians shadow, the curtain rose – and then all hell broke lose.

The atmosphere was FANTASTIC from the very first second on – the audience was the best I've experienced at a QAL-oncert or maybe even at any concert ever. The audience just LOVED Queen and they loved and adored Adam. There was so much passion in this hall and so much love floating around.

As soon as they started with the first song „One Vision“ I realized that Adam was sweating heavily almost immediately – that's when I thought, oh – maybe he's a little feverish? But at first I didn't hear anything in his voice so I thought it was just because it was extremly warm in the hall.

As the concert went on I really got the feeling that something wasn't quite right – he wasn't going for the glory notes, he seemed to lack some of the sparkle and some of the wit. BUT – and this is just the plain truth, people that hadn't seen all the other concerts of the tour on youtube and don't know as much about him as we Glamberts do, didn't know that there was something missing. Because, let's face it – even sick and with a severe bronchitis he sings circles around almost every other singer there is. He still sounded fantastic!

Of course Dinka and I were speculating that there was something going on, because we'd seen the instagram pic he posted and we both saw that he looked a little bit strained and exhausted, and when he skipped WWTLF it was clear that he must be sick.

While listening to the concert which seemed to fly by in an instant, I felt something like a mixture of great thankfulness that he didn't let us down and fear that he would damage his voice by singing this concert. And I also felt a kind of strange fascination about what we got – we got pure and raw Adam. Without the circles, without the extras, without the runs and it felt as if we could get a glimpse of the „real“ Adam Lambert, not the showman and entertainer. Maybe you can't hold all your shields up when your sick.
But I don't have to tell you that pure and raw Adam is something so extraordinary and unique and something that really touches your soul. He is just too good to be true!

The other band members were of course brilliant and you could feel that they were taking care of Adam. Brian was humble and funny (as always) and Roger was humble and funny (as always) and Rufus was... they all were so likeable and so real. And Neils dimples...*sigh*

But back to the music: it was overwhelming, loud, wonderful and brilliant. The sound wasn't especially good, sometimes a little bit tinny, but the singalong of the audience compensated that very well.

When Adam went into the audience in „Radio Gaga“ I held my hand over the barricade so that we could high-five, but suddenly I just pulled my hand back before he passed me, because I was so afraid to touch him, I still have to figure out why. Maybe it has something to do with his special and strong aura.

At the end of WATC when we heard him sing „of the world“ we felt pity for him but we were also unbelievably relieved, because you could feel what a weight fell off him, because he made it through this concert til the end.

When the concert ended the people seemed to be really fully satisfied, I haven't heard one bad word from people around me – all were aware that they witnessed something really special. A lot of AFL going on but still he won every one of them over in an instant.
He had them at „One man “...

Dinka and I had the time of our lives and although she is in Croatia again right now, there's nothing that connects you more than sharing such an epic experience.

We both go with Chris Colfers saying „I think Adam is my favorite Demi-God“!!!
Yup – he is!

PS: Oh and I'll go with my 11 year old daughter to the QAL Stuttgart concert on Friday... I could cry happy tears because life is so good!

What a wonderful recap, augenpoesie! Made me feel I was there right next to you...


...strangely enough I totally understand your hesitation in touching Adam... for some reason I don't want to have a picture with him (and I never took one although I had an opportunity on a couple of occasions), I don't want to have a conversation with him, I don't want to touch him....I don't quite know why either... may be, for me, he is like an exquisite work of art to be admired but not touched... not sure...

Thanks for the wonderful recap, augenpoesie!  Truth:  recaps are never too long. 

augenpoesie.... LOVED LOVED LOVED YOUR RECAP!!   It made me feel ridiculously happy that you got to experience the whole thing with your dear friend Dinka!!