Thomas Anders & MT Band in Bucharest

Saturday evening, 27 June 2015, our “Gentleman of Music” played a long-awaited gig in Bucharest, this time not in the Palace Hall as it should have been in November (delayed and in the end cancelled), but in a small park, to the delight of those who lived nearby. The show was organised by the local mayor and, apart from Thomas. There were six other Romanian acts which played in the beginning.

The park is indeed really small, and not many people from Bucharest know about it, so it was a little hard to find for those who didn’t live in its proximity. At first, I thought the stage would be small too, but once I saw it ready, I knew the show would be a big one. At around 3 PM, Lars, Nick, Jörg and Bernd went up for the soundcheck, playing songs like You Are Not Alone, Ready For The Victory, You Can Win If You Want or Stay With Me – with the main vocals, while Thomas was not there – provided by Bernd (I had no idea he can sing so well, I loved it!) and some german childish tunes, just to check the sound is okey. Meanwhile they got down the stage and talked to the few fans cheering for them, whom they also took pictures with. About one hour later they left the stage for the hotel, which, as far as I heard, was far enough from the gig location..

All in all, in a wonderful sunny summer weather, the gig started at 6 PM with the Romanian acts, and cause the show was free entry, the park got filled with happy people, looking forward to having some fun during the evening. Everything went well, but in the backstage there were rumours that Thomas’airplane is delayed. In the end he arrived at the stage at about 20:15, 45 minutes before the planned start for his show. He walked on stage at 21:10, starting his show with Why Do You Cry, to the delight of the about 4000 people that came to see him performing live. Unfortunately, in Romania this kind of open-air concerts are not allowed to last over 22:00 in the evening, so Thomas’ show was a little shorter than most of the fans expected, but this was not a problem. Everyone felt great – the audience was in extasy, singing and dancing to the thrilling Modern Talking tunes, and Thomas and his band proved to also have a great time on stage, making jokes and receiving flowers from his fans.

But after about 45 min, at exactly 22:00 o’clock, Thomas and the guys played You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul and waved goodbye, to the sound of the fireworks that had started right after the last chord of the song.

Thomas started his show with Why Do You Cry, after which followed (in this order): Last Exit To Brooklyn, Geronimo’s Cadillac, You Can Win If You Want, You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul (unplugged with Lars at acoustic guitar) Jet Airliner which crossfaded to Atlantis Is Calling, Cheri Cheri Lady and You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul.

All in all, Thomas Anders’ concert was electrifying and “recharged the batteries” of his audience, proving once again to the Romanian public that he is one of Europe’s best entertainers, a real showman and a true “Gentleman of Music.

© photos and report:  Alexander Emanuel Avram (Bucharest)