Concert review
Flanders Expo, Gent, Belgium - 21 April 2001
By Kathy & Bea
What a day
Hectic times
After our Greatest Hits adventure in the UK, Kathy and I were very tired and a bit sad aswell. We had been looking forward to this trip for ages and now, it was over! Why does time pass so quickly when you are enjoying yourself? We had been moping all day long feeling sorry for ourselves. You are probably thinking what are they complaining about, I wouldn't mind travelling all over Europe to see Texas? And right you are! It is just that we were feeling that the end of the tour was coming closer and we didn't want it to end! So we planned a day on the couch with lots of comfort food and all those wonderfull Texas memories. Suddenly the phone rang. After a long discussion whether we were going to answer it or not. I (Bea) volunteered to be the victim. We really didn't feel like talking to anyone. To my surprise the voice on the other side of the line introduced himself as Stijn from TMF. TMF, TMF I thought by myself? Why are they calling us? Stijn wanted to speak to Kathy. Suddenly I realised that both of us had entered this internet competition to receive a platinum record from the band after the gig in Gent on the 21st of april. All of a sudden I was deafened by this loud scream. Obviously it was good news cause they wouldn't call if she had won a CD or a cup, would they?! When Kathy put down the receiver we started doing this silly dance around the table shouting yeah yeah yeah! The neighbours must have been wondering what was going on. We couldn't believe our luck! Murphy's law had been bothering us a bit lately, but this time luck was on our side. Our moods changed instantly and instantly we found back the energy that we lost before! This was going to be the cherry on the whipped cream cake as we would say in flemish!
During our stay in the UK we had met these two totally crazy Texas fans Nicky and Julia. They had been to nearly every single concert in the UK. We had promised them that they could come and stay with us for the Texas gig in Gent. But no such thing cause unfortunately (for us then) the concert was sold out. We had to disappoint the girls. They were gutted cause it meant that for them the Greatest Hits tour was over. A long withdrawl period was about to start for them. But their luck changed together with ours! With the TMF price came the two extra tickets that we had been looking for everywhere! I wanted to surprise the girls so I called Julia. At first I could hear that she was surprised that I phoned her. Julia was rapped when I told her the news. She contacted Nicky who was still at work. After some consideration they decided that they would go for it. So the next day was spent calling travel agencies and mailing each other constantly. This was the day before the gig so you can understand that it was all a bit hectic. The girls found a flight so there was no way back! To their delight they would witness another concert!
Meanwhile Kathy and I had other worries. After all this travelling to see Texas we had neglected the housekeeping a bit. The house looked a bit like a tip! So after work we had a big cleaning party (of course with the right music in the background). We were up untill the crack of down vacuuming, dusting, making improvised beds... But hey, we didn't care cause we were about to have the best weekend ever!
Saturday 11h20 am. We got to the airport just in time. There were Nicky and Julia all excited about their unexpected trip to the country of beer and chocolates. We chucked their luggage in the boot and off we went. After having a drink at our place we set off to the Flanders Expo concert hall. The weather was fine. We even had the sun out, something that we hadn't experienced for a long while. As we all were very hungry we dumped the girls at the Expo and went to get some pizza. By the time we made it back, Dirk and his son Robin had arrived. They were already chatting with our english friends. Some of you might think that it must be very boring waiting outside concert halls for hours and hours but no way! It can be very nice actually, providing you have good company (and it doesn’t rain too much). As you don't have anything to do but hanging around, it is a good way to get to know your fellow Texas fans and find out that you are not the only crazy person in the world. We have made friends from all over the world thanks to Sharleen and co. The afternoon passed as if it had only been 5 minutes. We hadn't even noticed that by 6pm the place was already packed! People obviously were very keen to get in! 6.25pm Time to do a little warm up to prepare for the long sprint to the front row. We are never really worried not to make it to the front row, as Kathy has very long legs and always beats every other competitor in the race. As I (Bea) wanted to walk in and get the special passes that Kathy and I would need for the aftershow, I was stopped by this security guy. He told me that I had been bugging him all afternoon and that I would have to wait another hour to get in. I really didn't know what he was on about (what on earth had I done wrong?) but I decided to keep a low profile for a while. Obviously that was very difficult as I saw all these people enter the hall, so after five minutes I asked him very politely if I could please enter but he totally ignored my efforts. I decided that it was time for plan B so I went to the other side of the entrance. A nice man let me in straight away. Hey hey, what a relief. I felt like kissing him, but that would have been a bit over the top! I bet the other security guy thinks I am still waiting there! When I finally got in, I ran like crazy to join my friends. They had saved me a little place right in front of the microphone. Nice one guys! We managed to get places next to each other, which is very cool because often you get seperated from each other.
Texas in our hometown
Reef had been the support band at all the concerts we attended. At first we thought of them as just another band. We didn't really appreciate their efforts and couldn’t wait for Texas to begin their set. But we were wrong and we soon realised it. We really started to enjoy their music and even started to sing along. The singer has such a wonderfull versatile voice, the songs are great and Gary Stringer does this funny little dance! We were a bit sad that we would have to miss the Reef boys today. But hey, Das Pop deserved a chance too. After all we were a little proud that a belgian band got the opportunity to open for Texas! As they came on stage, they looked like a bunch of weirdos all wearing this silly t-shirt. We were curious to hear them play. As they were doing their set, I was thinking who does this singer remind me of and then Julia told me that they obviously had a big Bowie influence! Yeah that was it! Ziggy Stardust had come to life again right in front of our eyes. Some of their songs were very enjoyable. Very different. Their synchronised gymnastics on stage were very entertaining. We enjoyed their concert!
After seeing Sharleens dad running from one end of the front stage area to the other end, several times the lights went out and here we went again. To us this concert was very special because Gent is our hometown. We were proud that they had chosen to play here. The band made their way to the stage and we noticed that there was something different this time but we couldn't exactly make out what it was. Was it the lights, Johnny’s woollie hat or Tony's guitar? No, those seemed pretty much the same as before. Then Kathy spotted the change and told us all to have a look at Ally. He must have made a trip to the hairdressers that day, cause he had this flashy new haircut. It was pretty wild. His hairs were determined to stand up the whole time! The band were laughing out loud. Poor Ally! This new haircut suits him fine! It is very hip! Our favourite songs were played one after the other and we all went totally out of our minds. Sometimes it looked as if we had a bit of a competition going on. Who can jump the highest to songs like Black Eyed Boy, Halo and Summer Son. I have to say that Julia and Nicky are hard to beat. Must be all the exercise they got following Texas all over the UK. Belgian crowds are a bit like diesel cars. They have a slow start but once they get going, there is no stopping them! People were so enthusiastic that they didn't want “Inner Smile” to end so they kept on singing “yeah” “yeah” “yeah”! Sharleen had to put an end to that party, otherwise we would still have been there! (not that we would mind) Did you know that there nearly hadn't been a Texas gig in Gent that day? As Sharleen is a big fan of our belgian designer
Dries Van Noten, she made a trip to his shop in Antwerp that day. As the band made their way to the Flanders Expo there was this big traffic jam. The tourbusses tried to get through but this one woman was determined to block their way. The driver had to get out and tell her to let them through. No go! She wouldn't shift. She said that she was in a hurry to get to a Texas concert! Luckily for thousands of people, after some persuasion the woman was prepared to let them in! Oef! Belgian people can be determined to get their own way sometimes! As the final notes of “Say What You Want” came through the boxes, Kathy and I felt the tension rising. In no time we were going to meet Sharleen. That would be our dream come true, but it also was a bit of a scary thought! What would we say to her! You can read all about our encounter with Elvis in our separate report!
Tired but satisfied
12.30 am.The tourbusses left and we made our way back to the car. We said goodbye to Dirk and his boy Robin and tried to find the car parks exit. Suddenly we saw Dirk and Robin standing there like they were planning on staying there for a bit longer. At the Expo you have to pay for the car park but apparently the wardens had already gone to bed and for a second it seemed that they would have to spend an extra night in Gent! Luckily they found someone to let them out! Queueing before a gig is OK but spending another night at the site, no that didn’t sound very appealing!
After our analysis of the concert and a much deserved cup of tea we decided that we had had enough excitement for one day! We all went to bed with a feeling of great satisfaction. We had lived yet another perfect Texas day! Great friends, good music and the chance in a lifetime to meet Sharleen! Seemed like we had been dreaming!
Early start
As Kathy and I were going to our last concert in Paris we had to wake our friends very early. We offered them breakfast and then dumped them at the train station (sorry girls!). So much for our hospitality! It is a shame that you couldn’t come with us. We could have repeated our wonderful Gent experience!
Bea and Kathy
back to the articles page
If you dont see a toolbar on the left then please click here