From: Jan Bagger 
Sent: Monday, July 17, 2000 11:45 PM
To: DioZine {KEN}
Subject: Hello from Denmark


Hi Ken !

Thanks for your mail - and yes, I was so sorry for not being able to go to the Swedish Rock Festival. However the two other guys that I was suposed to travel with did make it, and they told me that DIO rocked the place - Well, I'm not suprised - I saw the DIO Show last year at the same festival, and Ronnie are always 110% THERE on stage. Actually the festival "magazine" wrote that it was the fans from last years festival that demanded DIO back to this years festival - great !

DIO played in Denmark twice on this years tour, at "Train" in Aarhus, Jutland (Jutland is the "tip of Germany", and at "Amager Centre" in Copenhagen, Sealand, 35 km. to where I live (Sealand is an island - well Denmark is all islands, apart from Jutland). It was more expensive for me to go to Jutland than to go to the festival in Sweden, so I picked the Copenhagen and the Sweden DIO shows - DAMN, because I got the flu after the Copenagen show and therefore only had the pleasure of going to ONE DIO show on this tour, and DIO was AWESOME at "Train". Our biggest national morning paper has a review from "Train" and DIO got 6 "stars" out of 6, which naturally is a top grade show. I'll translate it at the end of this mail - read it and enjoy the nice words from an old heavy rock dude, Steffen Jungersen, who are doing all rock reviews for that paper. And he is not easy to impress !

And my review from Copenhagen would also be 6 stars:

Me and two of my friends came to the venue "Amager Centre" around 8:00 PM -Thursday, June 8th. The stage are quite wide, and the sound usually are good - it is the place in Copenhagen to do rock concerts these days. It can hold like 1000 people and the DIO show seemed to be sold out.

We met the former bass player from King Diamond, Hal Patino (real name is Hasse Patino) and his girl friend, who I know through the drummer in my band Flemming (drum tech for Lars Ulrich, Metallica since 1986). Hal has just been out in the rearsal room were King Diamond/Mercyful Fate were preparing for the Sweden Rock festival. So the entire band would also come and see Ronnie. I also saw other well-known Danish singers....probably trying to find out how he's able to sing witn such a powerful voice I figured.

Around 9:45 P.M. DIO entered the stage - In earlier review from the tour some one wrote the sound were not especially good (due to the venues PA speakers etc.) but I must say that the sound in Copenhagen were TOTALLY GREAT right from the first song, and the band were SO tight. Ronnie were singing like a dream and he really seemed to enjoy himself. It was one of the best shows I have seen with DIO, I wished it would never stop. Craig were playing GREAT, and it was nice to hear him again doing the guitar solos on the older stuff. His sound did not use to be SO powerful on CD and live, but I must say that this time is was - and he played SO well.

The set list were like the other European shows with Sunset Superman, Invisible, Stand Up.. All The Fools, One Night In The City, all the Magica songs apart from Turn To Stone etc. etc. - and they had to come out two times to play encores.

So DIO rocked Copenhagen once again, and the crowd were REALLY having a great time - GREAT SHOW !!! - amazing where Ronnie get the enthusiasm and power after so many years, so many tours/shows - He must be in truely love with his music.

And one thing strikes me here - Ronnie said in the mid 80's (Behind Closed Doors Show on the tape I've got from you, Ken) that he had no reason to think that his success would go on forever. And surely he is not selling tickets and CD's these days, like he did in the mid 80's, but his is still making music and touring around the world playing smal events/clubs...... OHH MANN, do I respect that man !! - he is genuine and a true rock star.

When the show were about to finish, I got fever and felt bad, and I had to drive back home, so I did not get a chance to meet Ronnie and the band, like I did on the Inferno tour - DAMN !! - But I expected to go to Sweden Rock Festival on Saturday, June 10th. But guess what, I was ill for ONE week and had to cancel the trip to Sweden, so now I REALLY cannot wait for the next DIO tour.

Before and after the show I talked with the guy selling T-shirts, posters etc. etc. A very nice guy - he told some stories from "the road" with DIO - I purchased a T-shirt and gave him a Danish beer, and he gave me a great DIO "Magica" poster - awesome !!

He asked me if I had read the US second leg tour dates on the Internet, but they were not listed yet. Then he told med, that he had heard rumours that Ronnie will be doing something with Deep Purple during August/September/October - that sounds very exciting as a side-project, I think - as long as DIO band continues forever !

He also told me that the reason why Jimmy Bain were not playing in Europe were problems with his VISA or passport or so - can that be true, I mean the guy's from Scotland, so he should be able to travel to Europe, right ?

And what did I read on your great page yesterday - Have all your commercial CD's been stolen ?? (hopefully not some of all the rare stuff you have traded with some of the other DIO fans ) - what an asshole did that - have the police got him ?

I also read that you need CD copies of some of the Black Sabbath you listed on the site, I have some of them - Perhaps we could trade with some DIO stuff from your HUGE stock of music CD's/videos - let me know if you want to do something, OK ?

Have you ever seen the show with Ronnie (from lst year I think) was is called "Where are they now" and what is all this talk about Ronnie jumping up on a chair etc. on a TV show at VH1 - News are not travelling so fast hear in Denmark !!!!

And talking about your site - I think the smaller label are much nicer, since it leaves more space to the erea were I can read all the exciting DIO related stuff. I LOVE you lay-out and all the great info you have on that site - PLEASE keep up the great job. For people like me, you are the "life line" to the world of DIO, and all his band mates etc. etc. - BTW. why have Tapio not updated his site since Feb. - Hopefully nothing is wrong !! - When I'm on the net, I always goes to the official DIO page, yours and Tapios.

And the pic of Ronnie on your main page are AWESOME - how old is it ? - can you send it so me as a jpg-file or so, so I can create my own DIO-background for my computer ?

With the risk of sounding too old and sentimental, my son has started up a self defense / karate-like sport called CAPOEIRA - A sport from Brasil, were they are dancing to "jungle rythms" and doing all kinds of acrobatic stuff - he is pretty good at it, and at the Roskilde Night in September (to celebrate our towns 1002 year birhtday) he might do a "show" somewhere in town. His trainer asked me las week, if he could participate in it, and Christian went wild - he is very excited about it. So I said OK - I'm a proud father !


Ok, my man - all for now, hope the mail were not too long and boring..... but you can wake up now, Hey KEN, WAKE UP - Well It can't really be boring when it's about DIO, right ?

Take Care - and write me soon !

Jan

"DIO at "Train", Aarhus - 6 "stars" out of 6 possible

Headline: DEVINE

Review in B.T. by Steffen Jungersen: (Almost an entire page and with a big picture of Ronnie behind the mic. stand, with both arms up in the air doing the "sign")

Several important things has happend in the career of American Metal Master singer Ronnie James Dio during the last year. First, the dramatist with the huge voice has got back Craig Goldie from one of the fine 80's Dio line-ups. Second, and very crusial, DIO - the man and the band - has released the album "Magica", which is their best album for more than 10 years.

And that's exactly the reason why we - at "Train" last night - could expect even more than the 20 years old classic hits DIO has been touring with for so long time.

But no one really dared to hope for THAT much. However a totally uncontrolable, in top form, Ronnie James Dio and his incredible band gave it to us. Still we got the classic songs, but GOD DAMN - it was a serie of monumental master pieces, that we have not heard live for a long time.

Just to mention the first 4 songs - "Sunset Superman", "Invisible", "Stand Up And Shout" and then THE song that I only in my wildest and coolest Feaver Dreams have hoped for "All The Fools Sailed Away" - these songs ROCKED the place totally, and DIO layed down the crowd for his feets. Grown up men, with tears in their eyes and for a while, all us fools sailed away on a pink cloud to the place were you are playing music just for the sake of the music - and because you love it.

And after the great songs from "Magica" for example "Challis" (in truth one of the best hard rock songs ever written in many years), DIO played some of the true classics like "Rainbow In The Dark" and "Holy Diver". At that time I looked at my note book to check out my notes for this review. And what have written until now ? - nothing but WAAAAUUUWWWW. Well, not likely the review that will go over in the history as the most intelligent review - but if I should say it myself - it was the best way of descriping the best DIO concert I have ever been to... and believe me, I have been to many DIO concerts !

The "main man", who is close to 60 years old as far as I know, was better than ever and the band was tight as a Camels ass in a sand storm. Ronnie James Dio is not exactly a humble man, showed by the artist last name DIO, which means GOD in Italian - but nobody bothered to discuss it, because he WAS god that night. Aarhus is the "City of Smiles" in Denmark, and the smiles were spreading out wider than ever in Aarhus that night at "Train".

And DIO WAS devine. And one of my colleagues who often use and truly love just that word, pulled up the word MAGIC for his review of this DIO show. Big words from that guy.

OKAY, OKAY - Now I know that all the "age fascists", who these years are to busy telling us all that rock 'n rolls reliability is a matter of how old you are and how good you are looking, will tell me that I can not give 6 stars to and old dude like Ronnie James Dio.

But well... do you know where they can stick up their opinion ? - yeah, I guess you know !

So Ronnie ! - RESPECT - God damn Ronnie - RESPECT for you....and rock n' roll !

Dio are playing in Amager Centre, Copenhagen tonight" - (the show I went to)