Home Free in Cologne, Germany

Well, not just Home Free, Jeffrey East as well of course, because to me this tour has become as much about him as it is about Home Free. I find myself singing his songs as much as I sing Home Free's songs, but I think you already know this. I think Jeffrey himself is starting to understand the fact that he has gained some true fans in a lot of us Euro Fries. .

As you know the last 2 shows I've been to were standing shows, but the show in Cologne yesterday was seated. The guys of Home Free has clearly shown us during this tour that they love it when we dance, sing and clap along to their songs and we sure have done that at those standing shows, so it would be interesting to see if we could get the energy going for a seated show.

I didn't have VIP for this show, but some of my fellow Euro Fries did and they told me before the show started that the Guys had asked us to help them get the audience up on their feet - have them follow our lead - and who are we to disagree, right? There were 10 of us that have been traveling in different constellations to different shows and countries over Europe, meeting up before shows for dinners and some quality friends time, and we were seated on the first 2 rows on one side of stage with ail in the middle. When Take Me Home Country Roads started playing we picked up the sing along to it, as the traditions has become, and when Jeffrey came on at the end of the song we cheered him on. It was obvious from the beginning that we would have to work harder to get the audience going at this show than at the previous shows. My fellow concert goers felt reserved and we felt the looks in the back of our heads when we cheered, clapped, stood up and sang along to Jeffrey's songs. Who are those crazy and annoying people up front? While the audience certainly seemed to like Jeffrey and his music and jokes this crowd didn't show it as much as other audiences have during the shows I've been to previously this tour - reserved and held back was what the 10 of us taught they felt like. Having said that we did get support from a few other groups in the 400 people big crowd and at the end of Jeffrey's set he did get a lot of applause and cheers from all around the venue. Jeffrey is, after all, amazing at getting the crowd to like him and to sing along to his songs.

Then Home Free came on and we, the 10 of us and a few more, got up on our feet again to cheer them on. Just as we thought it did take some hard work to get the audience started, but with the encouragement from the band to follow our lead and dance and sing along more and more got up, and before the show ended most people were up dancing, singing and clapping and all the guys were beaming with joy.

Now, we didn't stand from beginning to end, for some songs we sat down - when it felt appropriate and the guys allowed us to. Yes, there were one or two occasions when we sat down and one of the guys questioned it, like for Adam's beat box solo; when the lights went out and the rest of the guys left stage we sat down, but as soon as Adam noticed it he asked us; "Why did you sit down?". When Adam speaks we listen. The rest of the audience followed our lead and got well into his number, cheering, hollering, clapping along, more than I've experienced at any of the other shows I've attended, and this was my lucky number 11.

I think this show was important because it was a seated show that turned into a mostly standing show, and because it did so the audience got more engaged, and an engaged audience creates better memories for both themselves and the artists.

Most people have experiences with memories being triggered by music. The reason those memories are triggered is because of the emotions connected to the music at the time the memory was created. When we add physical movement we also add muscle memory to the music and the emotion and it will make the memory even longer lasting. That is why being engaged by singing, clapping and dancing raise the energy and why it makes the standing concert a more memorable and more joyful event. This is how it gets deep into your heart and soul and into your bones. The adrenaline and the happy hormones produced when engaged both emotionally, physically, visually and auditory helps with saving the memory as well as creating it. This, I imagine, is what the band gets from the audience when they stand up during their shows rather than just sitting down in their seats. This is what you want to take with you from a concert.

I liked this show because the energy was higher than a full seated show, but my feet and body didn't get as tired as after a full standing show. It was, in a way, the best of two worlds combined. However, if I had to choose between a full seated or a full standing show I would without a doubt choose a full standing show. Memories, remember.

After the show I had the pleasure of having a chat with Jeffrey East again, there is a Facebook fan group for him in the makings and I will be interviewing him for the blog. I can not begin to tell you how much I like this guy, for his personality as well as for his musicianship and I am very excited to be able to give you a bit more of him soon, so stay tuned.

I also had the pleasure of meeting a fan of my blog after the show. Thank you, B, for telling me how much you like what I do here. It meant the world to me and your words made my already amazing day even more amazing.

When walking through the signing line I could sense the gratitude coming from the guys for the help with getting the crowd up on their feet. I also heard of other audience members thanking other Euro Fries from our little group for getting the energy up. Yes, both the guys and the crowd appreciate the energy, the greater memory that comes with engaging more fully.

If you ever wonder whether to do something, to go for something, that could make your heart jump of joy, that has the possibility to bring a smile to your and other people's faces, that has the possibility be full of love and joy stop wondering and just do it. Give it your best focus, pour your heart into it, love every moment of it - because those are the things that make you feel alive. Doing things like that is part of my everyday life, by choice and deliberation, and I truly believe it is what makes my life so amazing. These Home Free experiences with everything it involves, especially spending time with some of the most amazing people and friends I have made along the way, only adds great things to my daily life experiences, and it also creates all these amazing memories for my olden days. To me that is what life is all about. Have fun now, and enjoy the memory of it later.

So, don't let fear hold you back. Dare greatly. Step out of the normality and your comfort zone from time to time. Live. Love. Laugh. Smile. Sing and dance your way through life. Because you're worth it.

Love/
Carina