Long time one has been waiting for a Manu Chao Concert

When you’ve been waiting for a thing  for a very long time, your expectations get high till eventually they become a reality.

15 years I wanted to see a Manu Chao concert – a time span that helped lot build up a lot of expectation.

So when Festival Guide made it possible to see and shoot the concert at the Tanzbrunnen in Cologne,  shivers hit.

The best thing is – as it was when I saw the amazing Die Antwoord live last year – ALL expectations are more than fulfilled. Feet stomping, bodies moving and faces smiling.

After the Beatburners did heat up the crowd, Manu and his friends hit the stage with a 2-hour pedal-to-the-metal concert.

Yes, everyone is getting older, but neither while shooting the first three songs real close, nor afterwards when dancing in between the positivly hypnotised crowd we got the feeling that the musicians did get old, that the music and the vibe did get boring. Further more, beeing allowed to shoot the first three songs only is great, if you like the band…. you put away the equipment and get into the vibe with friends.

Unfortunately, strict noise rules stopped the concert at 10 p.m. 

Despite of the 15-minutes chanting by the crowd. It was over!

Nearly…

With the help of friends from Six Nation, Riot and the photographer ended up backstage and had wonderful, tasty tequila with the band until quite late