Let’s start off where we left at last time (in part 2 of our stories about the little girl). This is when the dream came true and the connection was made. At the Gig of the Century. In a small club in London called the Underworld. The date is 5 March, 2014.

This is no longer fiction. This is a fan concert review which our little girl has put together to show her appreciation of her favourite band. For those prone to criticism, please note that none of this is professional by any means. It is written by a fan, true and emotional, who also happens to love writing about her favourite music.

This is about magic in rock. Created on stage by five men:

The band – Royal Hunt

Andre Andersen – composer, songwriter and keyboards:

DC Cooper – Front man/Lead vocalist:

Jonas Larsen (lead guitar) and Allan Sorensen (drums):

And Andreas Passmark (bass guitar)

Let’s not forget that this is (not a regular, but still) a tall blog – so here is the tall connection: all band members (apart from their drummer, a truly lovely man) are gorgeous tall men. Height on photos above is compared to the little girl’s height of 193 cm (6’4″).

The Tour

The gig was part of the European leg of Royal Hunt’s 2014 World Tour, following the release of their 2013 album ‘A Life to Die For’. A short fan review of this album is published on Amazon.

The band toured 17 countries and each one of their gigs was just as magical as the one in London. Fan videos flooded YouTube and Facebook. Excitement was building up with each gig, and the band’s army fans kept growing.

The Gig

As with most venues the band played at, this one was fairly small. It only holds a few hundred people, but when these are true fans, that’s more than enough to fire up the place. It also made the gig a truly intimate experience. Any of the fans could get as close to the stage as they wanted to (the little girl at some point sat on the stage, to give her legs a rest). No limits or restrictions. No barriers either:

Everything facilitated the band’s close contact with the crowd. Not as much physical, as emotional.

This is where the mystery comes to play. The little girl has been in touch with other fans around the globe, and all of them share exactly her same feelings for the band and their music. They are all a grateful, dedicated crowd. Completely under the spell of the band’s charisma. How does this happen? Is it the music? Or the immaculate professionalism of this selection of fine musicians? Or their personal charisma? Or their openness to their fans? Well… this is something most bands have to offer nowadays anyway.

I don’t know. All I know is that the magic exists and all fans are part of the big Royal Hunt family.

Set List

Double Conversation, One Minute Left to Live, The Mission, Tearing Down The World, Hard Rain’s Coming, Running Wild, A Life To Die For, Cold City Lights, Time, Clown In The Mirror, Half Past Loneliness, Last Goodbye, Message To God

Encore: Hell Comes Down From Heaven, Instrumental Mix, Epilogue

The set of songs was compiled in Royal Hunt’s usual way: a couple of  new songs, a number of their best ever tracks and some old songs. A journey through the band’s history, from their first successful album ‘Moving Target’, through the conceptual ‘Paradox’, to their latest material from ‘Show Me How to Live’ 2011 and the new CD.

The set list has been put together thoughtfully from start to finish. It started with an instrumental track (‘Double Conversation’), ideal for warming up the audience, patiently waiting for the front man to appear. The emblematic long explosive intro of  ‘One Minute Left to Live’ was perfectly chosen to build up the excitement in anticipation of DC Cooper’s appearance. There he was standing in the doorway, jumping with the beat, waiting to make an entrance.

Front Man – The Voice

Once DC Cooper was on stage, there was no stopping him. Two words can describe him: pure energy. His immaculate vocal abilities captured the audience and could win even a sceptic:  ‘Man, he can sing!’ His stage behaviour was a mixture of well planned gestures and phrases, as well as non-beatable charming spontaneity. A truly world-class front man – as simple as that.

The culmination of the gig was his intimate acoustic interpretation of the band’s emblematic song ‘Clown in the Mirror‘ (from their second album, 1993). Numerous versions of this song went viral on YouTube and Facebook. Another song which set the crowd on fire was ‘Message to God’ – one of the band’s best tracks ever.

If you have never heard of this band (but still did make it to the end of this article, somehow), do have a search for them – you may find that you become a fan too.

P.S. All photos used in this article belong to the author and are part of her album of photos taken at this gig.