Review Text
The Rockpalast performance of June 21, 1998 at the Loreley is a significant example of the first international phase of success. It was Tito & Tarantula's third concert in Germany and it shows that their musical reputation did not crumble to dust in broad daylight at all.In the following years, Tito & Tarantula released albums in changing formations and touring regularly on our continent as well. The included bonus concert recorded in 2002 in Sarajevo certainly is one of the more unusual gigs in a musician's life. Originally intended to be a club show, the band attracted a far larger crowd than expected. The concert had to be moved to the streets and made a virtue of necessity, transforming it into a spontaneous open air show.The Rockpalast performance from fall 2008, recorded at the Harmonie, Bonn, is documenting Tito & Tarantula no less unforgettable and in their probably most natural habitat: In atmospheric dim lights the hot and muggy climate is practically palpable. The band is playing a hot blooded set with songs of their, at that time current album titled 'Back Into The Darkness' (containing the track 'Machete' which film friend Robert Rodriguez would again enjoy). In 'After Dark' parts of the audience come and dance on the stage, being part of an early established tradition as Tito explains: 'I do remember a show we did in Hollywood, in the early days of Tito and Tarantula. This young woman came up on stage and began to dance as we played 'After Dark'. She proceeded to take her clothes of, and by the time we were done she was completely naked! It was pretty wild and the crowd went crazy. Later we found out she was celebrating her birthday and wanted it to be special. Today audience members have either been invited by me or just volunteered on their own to express their inner 'Santanico Pandemonium', if you will. It's the fun part of our show, because we get to break down that invisible wall between performer and audience.'
