A Few Berlin Shows in 1998

review by Paul K

11/13/98

I wanted to relate a few of my personal opinions regarding some of 
their latest concerts, and thank Terri for being such an incredible 
performer.

I have always been a Berlin fan, being mostly captivated by Terri's 
lead vocals.  The first time I was able to see Berlin was the September 
98 House of Blues performance.  (I tried in the 80's at Magic Mountain's 
Showcase Amphitheater, but they were sold out).  I think the opening 
band was called 'Water" and they were OK, reminding me of Nirvana.  When 
Berlin came on stage, the place went nuts!  The band was tight and the 
sound was very loud but reasonably clean.  My clothes were flapping to 
the beats of the kick-drum!  They performed a wide range of their material. 
They even including a Depeche Mode cover. 

I was standing in about the fourth row from the front of the stage and what 
struck me most was the connection Terri made with her audience and her 
stage presence.  Their more popular songs like The Metro and Masquerade 
were excellent, but what absolutely penetrated to my very soul was Terri's 
mesmerizing delivery on songs like "You Don't Know" and "Take my Breadth Away". 
Terri's stunningly smooth and powerful vocals are better now than what I have 
heard on her Berlin recordings or when I was standing outside the Showcase 
Amphitheater concert in the 80's!

My buddy and I enjoyed the show so much, we decided to find the next show we 
could reasonably attend.  So we headed to Vegas to see them perform at the 
Fremont Street Experience on October 16.  Again, Berlin put on an excellent 
show, performing two sets as part of a Rocktober Fest.  Terri's performance 
was again nothing short of spellbinding.  This time I was in the second row 
and was fortunate enough to get about 15 seconds of "No More Words" sung to 
me with direct eye contact.  The power in her voice was louder than the PA, 
which was only about 6 feet to my right at the corner of the stage.  As I was 
standing there completely blown away from the vocals, the beauty, intensity, 
and what looked to me like a combination of elation and affection in her blue 
eyes also were a major part of her incredible delivery.  I am also a fairly 
hard core Missing Persons fan having seen them somewhat recently at Club 
Caprice (they were excellent), and although they were playing on another 
stage two blocks away, I just had to stay for Berlin's second set.

As in the House of Blues show, the rest of the band was also very good 
exhibiting Dallan's solid guitar work and vocals, some very driving, 
Berlin-style drumming, and Ray's keyboard work.  I didn't think the band was 
at all lacking compared to their recordings.

At this point, I want to thank "The Berlin Page" for pointing me to the 
Harry O's show on November 8th as my third Berlin concert in about 6 weeks.

Never having been to Harry O's, I wasn't sure what to expect.  My buddy, RW, 
who lives in the area, decided to check it out.  He reported that the stage 
was very accessible and it was a nice, small venue. (My favorite kind!) I 
was so eager to get to the show, I left my credit card at a local restaurant 
(haven't done this in 20 years of credit card use), but it was again worth 
it.  I managed to get there early enough to be in the front row.  There was 
all of about 3 or 4 feet of stage depth for the band to work in since the 
stage was only about 1 foot above the floor and the crowd was right at it's 
front edge.  I had some very eager female fans behind me making sure my toes 
were pressed into the front of the stage as far as possible.

Terri and the band (with new drummer) were again fantastic.  It was thoroughly 
impressive to see them play with the audience practically on the stage.  As 
Terri commented, it was a very intimate performance.  The sound was excellent, 
at least from my perspective, with much of it coming directly from the 
instrument amps, drums, Terri's voice, and the stage monitors.  The venue had 
quite good reinforcement and acoustics also, having the back walls of the stage 
and part of the ceiling covered with Sonex.

The way Terri involved the audience, and me personally, was something I doubt 
I will ever experience again.  I was standing toward the right side of the 
front of the stage, from the audience perspective.  At times, Terri was so close 
that when she started rocking out and rotating her head, her braidlettes (I may 
not have the correct terminology here) flew away from her head and brushed me 
in the face! Talk about being involved in the performance!

Terri also brought a dedicated fan on stage whose birthday it was and danced 
with her for a while.  Terri said that she had been to every Berlin concert 
for the last 15 years that wasn't in Alaska.

After I was standing there completely in awe for most of the show, I finally 
decided it was now or never and slowly raised my left hand while Terri was in 
front of me.  She raised her right hand in front of mine and then started 
moving it back and forth.  I followed hers for a few seconds while she was 
singing and then she placed her hand against mine.  After a few more seconds, 
she pressed her fingers between mine and we held hands for a while as she sang. 
UNBELIEVABLE!!  I have been to a lot of performances that I thought were quite 
intimate, but never have I experienced direct contact with a performer during 
the performance.  Especially one whose singing is as moving as Terri's.  Thank 
you, Terri, for making it such a memorable experience for me!  I felt every bit 
as appreciated as the birthday fan who got to share the stage with you. (If 
anyone behind me got a picture of this, I sure would appreciate being able to 
get a copy!)

I hung around after the performance, hoping I could get my "Best of Berlin" liner 
notes autographed.  I had a very enjoyable conversation with Ray, the keyboardist. 
When he found out that I had been to the HoB and Vegas shows, he was genuinely 
appreciative and stuck out his hand to shake mine asking my name and saying "Glad 
to have you on board".  He was also so modest that he didn't feel comfortable 
autographing the liner notes.  I wanted to hang around longer to see if I could 
get "the real star", as Ray offered when I asked him a second time, to sign my 
liner notes.  Unfortunately, I have to work for a living (I had to get up at 6:30 
the next morning), my buddy was asleep on his feet from his tennis matches that 
day, and the opening band was set back up again so we decided to leave.  We met 
Ray on the way out at the door and he invited us to the next show. 

While I was talking to Ray, several fans came up to examine my liner notes.  Most 
of them didn't realize Berlin had a best of CD.  (Maybe they need to review the 
complete Discography on "The Berlin Page").  Some fans that came in late thinking 
that Berlin was on later asked how the performance was and how Terri's singing was. 
By now, you can probably imagine what I told them!  They were really disappointed 
that they missed the show.

I look forward to seeing more Berlin concerts and getting the new CD when it's 
out, and I wish Terri and her band nothing but the best wishes for success that 
completely dwarfs their popularity in the 80's.

A Devoted Berlin Fan,
Paul K.