By chance I bought the April issue of "Best", the monthly French Rock magazine (which has a glorious past but a very boring, mainstream directed present). Surprisingly enough it featured two sides about Kevin Ayers, an interview and even a colour photo: Kevin's face hidden behind sunglasses. After finished reading it, I turned hastily on the the gig side page, and indeed,there was a full list of French dates in April. The nearest from Basel, Switzerland, where I live , was in Strasbourg on Friday before Easter.

Until this moment I never thought to see Kevin Ayers ever performing live, but this was my chance ... But it wasn't that easy. A lot of work and trouble was waiting for, me. At first I had to make out the club where he shall play. After a week with three phones to FNAC Strasbourg I wasn't any further, as they didn't know anything. Surprisingly enough as "Still Life With Guitar" was released in France on the FNAC label! Still one week until the concert ... And Harald, a friend and Kevin Ayers admirer from Vienna/Austria has announced to come to Switzerland over Easter with this concert in his mind! Then I bought "Rock+Folk" the second French rock monthly (same past/same present as "Best"....) and confusing enough, they featured another date for the Strasbourg Concert: 3 days earlier. Which one was right?

I didn't know this until the morning of 14.4.92. The last couple of days I used to buy the Strasbourg based daily newspaper "L'Alsace" and this morning I was finally reading the long awaited, very small ad: Kevin Ayers A Schiltigheim au Cheval Blanc. There was even a phone number. Three hours later we were sitting in the train to Strasbourg (unfortunately without Harald, who thought it was three days later and I couldn't contact him... ) with the good feeling of reserved tickets.

To avoid more trouble we took the taxi from Strasbourg station to the Cheval Blanc of Schiltigheim. During the whole taxi-trip we never have seen any posters for this concert, only at the door of the Cheval Blanc was hanging one. It was a small theatre with a capacity of surely not more than around 200 people, but it was completely sold out with people even standing on the sides.

At 9, Ollie Halsall and the Band came on stage to play the intro of "Feeling This Way" and some minutes later Kevin was entering under big applause from the audience: "There's not a lot to say, when you're feeling this way and you don't listen anyway...". But this audience- mostly between 30 and 40 - was very willing to listen to him and his songs: old favourites like "May I", "Stranger In A Blue Suede Shoes", "Shouting In A Bucket Blues", "Didn't Feel Lonely..." alternating to some of the new album. The peak of the evening were, of course, the encores: "Why Are We Sleeping" followed by the rediscovered "Thank You very much" and the always beautiful "Two Goes Into Four". A great evening and worth all the troubles of the weeks before.

Happily we returned to station to catch the train back home.

Adrian Haegele