- Cam Project in their early 1990ies line-up: Frank, Alex, Roman, Andy, and Burki.
In September 2008 Micha Eisele achieves what nobody thought possible: for one night and to celebrate his 50th birthday he re-unites the rockbands Blind Ocean, Cambala, and Cam Project decades after they had last performed.
Almost all the musicians and many fans show up. Of course I did not hestitate to fly in from New York. Blind Ocean and Cam Project have re-grouped and rehearsed for live performances. This would be filstal rock history in the making...
Motto of the evening is "A Hippie Turns Fifty" and everyone is dressed fittingly in what ever they have left of their seventies outfits. Bellbottoms, peace signs, tie dyed shirts, long haired wigs - you name it.
- The Cam Project reunion Allstars on stage.
And so the evening starts with Cam Project playing together for the first time in 15 years.
Roman's guitar strumming delivers the same driving groove. Alex appears to play the drums in his sleep and still in perfect synchronicity with Burki's bass. Behind his keyboard rig Andy paces from side to side like a tiger in slow motion. Frank's guitar adds both understated sparkle and melodic solos. And when Roman starts singing the Cam Project trademark sound comes alive again, and I am taken back into the early nineties when I had last heared them play.
- The original 1978 cast of Blind Ocean with Micha, Joe, Nägi, Thommy and Wolfgang .
- Micha - birthday-boy and host of the happening - with Nobbi delivering the background vocals to "Sympathy for the Devil" from the Stones.
Cam Project deliver three songs, effortlessly re-generating the band's typical feel. Even in disguise - Roman wears a traditional Indian outfit and Frank is sweating under a wig - Cam Project is easily recognizeable and the fans reward them with roaring ovations.
Highlight of the evening are Blind Ocean, who reach back twice as far as Cam Project - almost 30 years. They play together in their 1979 line-up, the way they did just before I joined as the successor of their guitarist Thommy.
Blind Ocean have prepared two songs from their 70's repertoir: "The Flight of the Wizzard" and "Message". They deliver both in their original sound and feel. In contrast to Cam Project's short guitar solos, Blind Ocean indulge in long improvisations and each song gives both guitarists amble opportunity to show what they got. And boy have they still got plenty.
Micha plays his unmistakable convention-defying style. Just like back in the day there seems to be nothing that can break his cool. His solo will be over when it's over, not a beat earlier. Thommy's guitar initially can't be heard when he starts his solo. Frank rushes over to krank up his amp - and Tommy's SG starts singing full throttle.
Nägi bought a new bass guitar just for this gig and he is thumbing along just as he used to. Joe even fits in a short drum solo at the end of "Message", featuring his trademark double-tom beats.
And although the vocals of Nägi and Thommy are not always in perfect harmony there is no denying that the fire of this band is still burning. The audience is ignited, too, and responds with heartfelt applause.
- Udo - on a short break from his sound-man duties - with Ute.
- "Bassbär" Nägi and "Winnetou" Walli.
Three other bands play during the course of the evening. The Jumpin' Jacks - a band of teenagers - deliver fresh millenium punk, Gound Zero thrashes "drop-d style" heavy metal, and - as the last performance of the night - Micha's formation Lichtstreifen from his time at Lake Constance pairs projected images with free improvisation of percussion, synthesizers, and classical guitar - defying convention again.
In the early hours of September 21, with the live performances completed, tables and chairs are pushed aside to make room for dancing and the music is turned over to the DJ. The band members trump each other with requests of seventies favorites and the music of all-time greats rocks the house. From Zeppelin to Status Quo, from Queen to Purple, from Styx to the Stones, and even all the way to Sweet and the Bay City Rollers singing "I dont wanna be a yesterday's hero". Well, who cares, everyone is a rockstar tonight!
Dancing, the crowd chants along with the eternal monster hits of the seventies, and raging rock solos are air-guitared acrobatically down to the last tricked-out riff.
And while along the dance floor old friends are catching up on the last 20 years in conversation, it is the music, dancing, and exuberance, which brings us all back to our wild and crazy Rock'n Roll Days.
Thanks Micha for making it happen!
- Frank air-guitaring on the dancefloor
- Joe, the drummer of Blind Ocean and Cambala
- Burki and Micha
