KARLA TALLAS - REPORTS WITH GOTTHARD IN JAPAN | Page 39

is one of GOTTHARD’s biggest classics, “Top of
The World,” and afterwards there’s a place for
another new track “Remember It’s Me.” As Nic
announces it’s the first one they wrote together.
This is the special song which started the new
GOTTHARD era. The next 2 songs are probably
my favorites in the set. “Sister Moon” is one of my
all-time favorite GOTTHARD songs which reminds
me of early WHITESNAKE and the whole band is
performing this one incredibly live, and “Fight” is in
my opinion one of the highlights of the new album.
The Joe South cover “Hush” can’t be missed at any
GOTTHARD show and offers the chance for the
audience to sing along with the band. An old friend
and GOTTHARD ex-guitar player Mandy Meyer
is joining the band to jam together for “Hush” in
Hiroshima. The audience can enjoy the exhibition
and improvisation of the 3 guitar players and go
back in time in their thoughts to when Mandy
was a band member. Some really great diversity
for the last night. The most emotional moments
are coming after with the ballad “One Life, One
Soul” which is dedicated to the great singer Steve
Lee, who is not with us anymore. The band is
leaving the stage and now it’s time for keyboardist
Ernesto Ghezzi and singer Nic Maeder. During
this song everybody is struggling hard to keep the
tears out of their eyes. All the audience is silent,
singing along with Nic only a little and very quietly,
enjoying these special moments their own way,
dedicating their thoughts and memories to a very
unique person and singer like Steve Lee whose
spirit will always be with the band and their fans.
The audience is also fully concentrating on the way
Nic is performing this song, who deservedly gets
great applause for the incredible potential this
singer has without a doubt. The second ballad in
the set and the song I mentioned that the band
played on all the shows except for Tokyo is the
beautiful “Shine” which is a new one as well as the
following “The Story Is Over.” The great finale starts
with the undying GOTTHARD classic and another
one which will probably never leave the setlist,
“Mountain Mama,” leading into “Right On” to the
last one from the new album “Firebirth.” The end
of “Mountain Mama” and the break between these
2 songs is the time for guitarist and showman Leo
Leoni, who attracts the attention of the audience
by his special addition using a vocal-instrumental-
unisono effect: Leo’s voice is distorted by a  hose
attached to his microphone and mixed with the
sound of the guitar. Only the 2 last songs are
missing and the show concludes with the big hits
“Lift “U” Up” and “Anytime Anywhere.”
It was a big honor for me to get a chance to get
closer to a band as great as GOTTHARD. The
members of the band completely fit each other,
and it’s working perfectly in every way, but they are
also one of the most cultivated bands I have ever
met. It was definitely an unusual experience to be
a part of the tour in the land of the rising sun.
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