Rockhouse Brothers
in Köln, MTC
I should get used to it: For me it's not possible any more to watch a Rockhouse Brothers gig without somebody recognizing me. It happened in Hamburg, in Berlin and now even in Cologne. No, I have not lost my way as Jamie says. I'm standing in front of the MTC waiting for the doorman to let us in. The club is situated in the basement of the building and soon the first fans are sitting in front of the stage waiting. Taking pictures with flash is forbidden if you don't have the permission of the tour management. Luckily Sonja and Tina are there...
The three guys enter the stage during a rather long medley so we all can watch them standing there without any movement before they finally start. The intro of "Blow your house in" is sung perfectly! Cologne obviously is Germany's a cappella capital. When Joe plays his guitar solo he gets a round of applause during the song. "Are you ready, Jamie?" - "I was boooooooooorn ready, Joey!" This announcement gets a lot of laughter. Most people seem to be at their first Rockhouse Brothers gig and so they don't know all the jokes yet. We clap our hands all the time during "I'm ready" so Joe says afterwards: "They got rhythm tonight!" The choreography of "Devil in disguise" receives a lot of laughter, too. The night will be hot so the guys take their jackets off before they go on. Jamie says: "This is gonna be a fun night! Joe, what do you think?" He's absolutely right. Everybody is in the mood for a great party and of course the undressing boys increase the heat. Joe thanks the Wise Guys for lending them their fans tonight.
When he announces "I ain't gonne be your monkey man no more" some people instantly start to shout: "no more, no more, no more..." and Jamie asks them: "How do you know that in Cologne?!?" Before the cowboy version of "Be my baby" it is not really our decision, if Jamie shall sing the song even though Joe asks us. "I was going to anyway!" is grinning Jamie's reply. During "Diddely Daddy" we learn, that "Jamie is cute but the Wolfman is pretty". And of course the Wolfman is a talented circus monkey. Unfortunately the machine has been lost on the last gig so Wolff gets his gumball out of the carton box. He catches the first one and they start to play "Everyday".
Did you know, what some people say when they have a clown for breakfast? They say it tastes funny! Today's Corn Flakes must have been filled with clowns... After "The Israelites" Jamie warns us: "That happens, when you play with candles!" - "Jamie! It's 'The Israelites', not 'the ears are alight!'". They go on with "Don't you forget about me" and "Help". Wow, it sounds like everybody is screaming and shouting through the whole song. Forget the Beatles. The only band who gets more screaming are the Wise Guys as Joe says. "Basket Case" and "20 Flight Rock" are the next two songs. Again I don't manage to take a picture of Wolff playing on the rim of his bass drum. Some day I will get it! Jamie's career as a ballerina in a pink tutu dress makes the crowd howl with laughter. And of course the Rockhouse Brothers dance gets smiling faces, too. The last song before they take a break is "Suspicious Minds".
Jamie wants to take just ten minutes as a break, but Joe wants 15. The reason is easy to understand: We will listen to the new album of Pay-TV: "Everything is happening" during the break. Joe explains that the Rockhouse Brothers have an alter ego band called Pay-TV. Exactly in that moment the www.rockhousebrothers.de banner falls from the wall and again we are convulsed with laughter.
The break is really quite short. The second set starts out of the ordinary with "Twist and Shout" just before it is time for the religious part. Wow, the people from Cologne totally rock the house during "I'm a believer". Instead of stopping to clap during the verses and letting the Wolfman motivate us again, we don't stop. It looks funny, when Wolff stands up and claps with his drumsticks but you can't hear him because everybody around is clapping. The perfect chance to drink a beer for the redundantised drummer... Next we need Jamies deepest voice for the "Unknown stuntman".
Then Joe tells us a very sad story. Normally nobody smiles at him on their gigs because the girls all want Jamie and smile only at him. But a few weeks ago there was a pretty girl standing in the corner of the room and smiling directly at him! He really would have liked to meet her again. Perhaps giving her his phone number is a good idea? That way she could decide if she wants to see him again. So Joe asked Jamie and the Wolfman what he can say her. They told him just one sentence: "Darf ich eine Nummer schieben bitte?" He still doesn't understand, why she ran away... Luckily Jamie and Wolff taught him the right verses of "99 Luftballons". Just the last line is a bit different from the original. Instead of "Denk an dich und lass ihn fliegen" Joe sings "Darf ich eine Nummer schieben?".
Okay, Joe's right. The girls don't smile at him but at the camera...
The crowd is in high spirits, we all sing and dance and seem to be unstoppable. The Wolfman rocks us with "Highway to hell", then they take off speed a bit for "Wicked Game" and go on with all the cowboys and cowgirls in "Folsom Prison Blues" and "Ghost riders in the sky". I reach the point, where I stop taking notes and just write down the titles of the songs. But that's the best proof that the gig is intoxicating. Can anybody please take all these people and move them to Hamburg? The party goes on with "Tainted Love" what is followed by "A little less conversation" (of course plus "Ice Ice Baby") and "Mrs. Robinson". Suddenly it's time for the last two songs "Surfin' USA" and "Surfing Safari".
Ladies and Gentlemen. Ooooon guitars tonight:
It's Joeeeeeeeey the Saaaaaaaaaaint!
But we don't let them go without some encores. "Wipe out", "So lonely", and "I feel fine" are the first set. But we want more! Suddenly three topless young men enter the stage and play "Mojo" with "Get down". The audience is not only listening, they seem to be like another instrument the Rockhouse Brothers know to play perfectly. They all get down on the ground and do what Joe wants them to do. Back to "Mojo" Jamie climbs onto his bass speaker. That looks really dangerous and rickety and so Joe shouts: "Risking his life for us: My little brother Jamie!!!". Luckily no serious danger is done to anyone or anything and Jamie thanks the sound engineer. "It looks easy, but try to mix a couple of monkeys like us!" The very last song is announced: "Should I stay or should I go". The answer is easy: because the guys totally forgot to play a Christmas song they have to go on with "Last Christmas".
"Goodbye, we are the Rockhouse Brothers, see you again next time!" Hihi, forget it... Suddenly I feel like stuck in a football stadium. Some boys start to shout "WOLFMAN!" and clap three times after the name. We join them and shout "JOEY!" A third group starts to shout during our clapping: "JAMIE!" So all the time you hear one of the names and a lot of clapping. Will we have success? Well, all musicians are addicted to applause and so they come back again and play "Summertime Blues" and "C'mon everybody". Then the gig really is over.
"CeeDees - CeeDees for sale!"
It hurts to admit it, but in Hamburg I have never been on a Rockhouse Brothers gig with such a great atmosphere!
THANK YOU, COLOGNE!!!
Competition: Find the one with the funniest face!
Blow your house in
I'm ready
Devil in disguise
I ain't gonna be your monkey man no more
Be my baby
Diddely Daddy
Everyday
The Israelites
Don't you forget about me
Help
Basket Case
20 Flight Rock
Suspicious Minds
Twist and shout
I'm a believer
Unknown Stuntman
99 Luftballons
Highway to hell
Wicked Game
Folsom Prison Blues
Ghost riders in the sky
Tainted Love
A little less conversation
Surfin' USA
Surfing Safari
Wipe out
So lonely
I feel fine
Mojo
Should I stay or should I go
Last Christmas
Summertime Blues
C'mon everybody
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