Presented by Rockfact Music Club & IRON-T21

Rockfact Music Club, Münchenstein,  Switzerland – 15.10.2022

Finally this event took place after a couple of postponements caused by covid. A joy for the organizers and fans because Bad Ass Romance is a great band. It consists of Krokus original member Fernando von Arb en vocals and guitar, bass player Dan Grossenbacher (2Bad, China) and drummer Peter „DeeDee“ Kaufmann (Whole Lotta DC). Meanwhile they have two other guitarists with Pat Tschäppät (Brainholz) and ex-Krokus member Mark Kohler, who alternately give the sound af more hardness at the shows. Fishing With Dynamite from Basel was announced as support act. A great package with a concentrated charge of rock music and action promised to become interesting and participating was a holy duty to me. In the uncertain times we’re living in, such bands don’t visit every

region and that’s why organizers and bands should be supported with presence at the concert. The band Fishing With Dynamite had the honor to open the evening at 8:35 pm. They were unknown to me and I was eager to see their performance. It exists since 2010 and the four-piece felt happy to warm up the audience. With heads held high, they strode onto the stage and kicked off with "Beam Me Up." A concert can't start better with a Starship Enterprise influence. Captain Kirk and Scottie would’ve enjoyed it. Singer & rhythm guitarist Sinisa Zaric worked flat out and shone with stage presence and a lot of movement. The vocals were partly dirty, partly rough and were alternately shared by him and his two comrades-in-arms guitarist Maurice Haug and bassist Dominik Chiavero. Worked properly. The mix of rock, punk and alternative blew out the speakers and provided a lot of fun. With "Baby Shabby Blue" a hit of the band was played, which made the feet bounce. Was well received because of its catchiness. Afterwards it became special from my point of view because a song in Serbian was presented with „Sidro“. The band classic "Spaceman" ignited the fire and was even more fun than the previous songs. The 50 minutes of playing time passed quickly and they were on the home stretch when the last number "Father's Son" was announced. Well, watching the guys was a pleasure and that's why some spectators wanted to hear an encore. This was granted with "Filthy Secrets" and Sinisa introduced the band to the audience. After that he, Maurice Haug, Dominik Chiavero and Robin Eschbach left the stage. They were adopted with a warm applause and were a worthy opening band. It would be a pleasure seeing them live again. Setlist Fishing With Dynamite Beam Me Up Ringmaster Osaka Baby Shabby Blue Astronaut Sons Spaceman The Trial Gold When the man offers you a ride Father’s Son Filthy Secrets A short interruption occured and the stage was modified for the headliner Bad Ass Romance. The perfect moment to wet the throat with liquid and mental prepararation for the upcoming event. It was necessary after the energetic opening band. The wait didn't last long, as Krokus veteran Fernando von Arb with bassist Dan Grossenbacher (2Bad, China), guitarist Pat Tschäppät (Brainholz) and drummer Peter "DeeDee" Kaufmann strode on stage at 9:45 pm and started their performance with a Led Zeppelin intro of "Moby Dick". Looking closer, you could see a white, black duck with bright, white eyes on DeeDee's drum kit, which turned out to be a joint in its beak. Cool outfit and fits perfectly. Main vocalist and bassist Dan Grossenbacher with his cap turned upside down made a good figure behind the microphone and guitarist Fernando von Arb convinced with his dexterity. Thanks to the addition of guitarist Pät, the sound got more punch and was a notch harder than the last performances at Rockfact Music Club. This wasn’t just amazing, but also sounded accordingly through the musical mix of band sound engineer Mike Rüttimann. The stage side was changed by the members Dan and Pat in-between and guitar duels between the Dan, Pat and Fernando followed. Here was a winning team, where not only everything was finely tuned to each other, like a Swiss Rolex watch, but here was also played cleanly and the fun factor reached galactic spheres by the inclusion of the audience, who had to wait twice for this great moment. What lasts long becomes good, and it definitely happened that night. During "Stay Awake All Night" from the 1983 album "Headhunter" and during "Hoodoo Woman" the whole audience sang along, because this hit always works. The focus was on songs by Krokus, but other interesting works by Jerry Lee Lewis, KISS, Judas Priest, Def Leppard or Kenny Wayne Sheppard found their way into the set, which was presented with a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Unfortunately, the course of time could not be stopped and in a rush they approached the supposed end with "Heatstrokes". The audience disagreed and demanded encores. These were granted with "Butterfly" by Kenny Wayne Sheppard and with "Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor Doctor)" by Robert Palmer Fernando jokingly hinted and wanted to sneak off stage. Immediately there came a "no no, it's not over" from audience members in the front row and he turned around to honor this classic worthily and not to shock the late Robert Palmer. "Bedside Radio" by Krokus was the final song and rounded off the great performance of Bad Ass Romance. This was a 90 minutes ass-kicking rock'n'roll spectacle like you don't experience every evening. Freddie Mercury would only say "It's a kind of magic". Setlist Bad Ass Romance Intro Moby Dick – Led Zeppelin Are You Ready – Thin Lizzy Long Stick Goes Boom - Krokus Down The Drain – Krokus Man Enough – Def Leppard Bad Boys Rag Dolls – Krokus Stayed Awake All Night – Krokus Hoodoo Woman – Krokus Tokio Nights – Krokus Fire – Krokus Great Balls of Fire – Jerry Lee Lewis Whole Lotta Shakin‘ Going On – Jerry Lee Lewis Easy Rocker – Krokus Legs – ZZ Top Rock’n’Roll All Nite – KISS Living After Midnight – Judas Priest Heatstrokes – Krokus Butterfly – Kenny Wayne Sheppard Bad Case Of Loving You (Doctor Doctor) – Robert Palmer Bedside Radio – Krokus This evening was magical and you could linger in the Rockfact Music Club after the performances and at 1 am its doors closed. Thanks to Jerry Thomas Ferrat and Mike Rüttimann for the great sound behind the mixing desks. Furthermore, it was impressive to see how the usually reserved Swiss audience partied hard. I‘d like to have more of that. Livereport by Dominic Latscha