Post by kumiko76 on Feb 16, 2008 20:51:28 GMT
I realised I never posted my review here...
I don’t even know where to begin.
After the week I had, almost not going, and then at the last minute I made it thanks to Catherine and Jaidi, saving my butt.
I’ll start by saying I had a perfect view of everything, sitting in the tiers. It meant that I was almost level with the stage, so I could just look out across the Arena and there they were, dancing and singing their hearts out. And what amazing voices they have!
You probably already know the song list by now if you are reading the reviews so I won’t bore you with details of each one, suffice to say that everything they did was 110% and I can’t imagine them being able to top that, but they better, next tour (hint, hint).
My highlights were:
‘Patience’. The audience participation made this song extraordinary. With it being a fantastic song already, I wasn’t sure it could get much better but I could feel my heart beating ten to the dozen. The atmosphere was amazing.
Then their little chat, Mark announcing Jay had email, Howard had a punctured lung, Gary bought the Bullring, which he denied and so Mark corrected himself by saying he bought Birmingham.
When they started talking about ‘Star Stories’, I was in bits. Howard did a fantastic Chewbacca impersonation and that set me off. I wasn’t expecting that at all and died laughing and then some when I saw Gary laughing, clutching his stomach the way he does. Then they went on to sing I’d wait for Life, another song I had been waiting to hear. It was perfect. Nothing compares to seeing them singing live.
My mind is a bit fuzzy, but I know somewhere they did ‘Relight my Fire’, and I have to say this is the best version to date. I loved the theatrics, and Lloyd singing Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’ was fantastic addition to mix with the interlude.
After that ‘Rule the World’. And like, ‘I’d Wait for Life’, I really wanted to see this live and my dream came true.
This led them to the B stage where they tested us on hits from their first album. We all knew ‘Do What you Like’ and proved it when Howard led us in, we were able to reciprocate with our arms hitting in the air and a little gyrating of the hips. Wahey!
And no Markie – ‘Red, Red Wine’ wasn’t on the first album. I may not have been a fan the first time around but I still know this!
‘Back for Good’ and ‘Everything Changes’, both classics and I was so glad I knew all the words so I could sing along with the audience. Both Gary and Howard made me smile with their little dance routines. Anyone that says Gary can’t dance needs to get their eyes tested. He was definitely dancing that night, and singing all at the same time!
I know this is out of order but I am writing as I recall it. I was never a huge fan of the song ‘Could it be Magic’, but Gary’s version was faultless, I still can’t get it out of my head. It was so powerful, and when he pounded those keys out on the piano, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to feel the hairs on the back of neck stand on end.
It was great to see them walk back through the audience again. Though I wasn’t fortunate to be close enough to shake their hands, it was great to see the smiles on their faces over the big screen as they made their way back to the main stage. I giggled when Gary arrived first and was wondering where his friends were. He must have shot through there like a bullet.
What can I say about ‘Give Good Feeling’? I will probably be reiterating everyone else but for me it was probably my favourite part, although the whole show was nothing short of spectacular. Howard’s little DJ bit fitted so well. I was so impressed with the arrangement, with how they brought it all up to date and again the dancing was extraordinary.
When they introduced the dancers, I think I was the only one around me that cheered when Jason announced Dawn Barlow. She’s a fantastic dancer in my opinion.
I still can’t get over how they did ‘Never Forget', after seeing some of the spoilers. I’d love to know whose idea it was. As I’ve said before, I really enjoyed the theatrics in this show. The arrangement for ‘Never Forget’ is just one example of why they are the best boy-band or man-band, to date.
‘Pray’ caused me to giggle again when I watched as Mark joined Gary on his microphone. Mark snatched it off him to carry the backing vocals, and then Gary snatched it back to sing the lead. This went on a couple of times and it was such a lovely touch to the whole thing. It’s those small things that give it extra value, seeing how relaxed they are on stage and how they interact with each other and the audience.
It certainly is a Beautiful World with Take That in it, and I for one don’t want this era to end. All I could say is roll on Tuesday.
I don’t even know where to begin.
After the week I had, almost not going, and then at the last minute I made it thanks to Catherine and Jaidi, saving my butt.
I’ll start by saying I had a perfect view of everything, sitting in the tiers. It meant that I was almost level with the stage, so I could just look out across the Arena and there they were, dancing and singing their hearts out. And what amazing voices they have!
You probably already know the song list by now if you are reading the reviews so I won’t bore you with details of each one, suffice to say that everything they did was 110% and I can’t imagine them being able to top that, but they better, next tour (hint, hint).
My highlights were:
‘Patience’. The audience participation made this song extraordinary. With it being a fantastic song already, I wasn’t sure it could get much better but I could feel my heart beating ten to the dozen. The atmosphere was amazing.
Then their little chat, Mark announcing Jay had email, Howard had a punctured lung, Gary bought the Bullring, which he denied and so Mark corrected himself by saying he bought Birmingham.
When they started talking about ‘Star Stories’, I was in bits. Howard did a fantastic Chewbacca impersonation and that set me off. I wasn’t expecting that at all and died laughing and then some when I saw Gary laughing, clutching his stomach the way he does. Then they went on to sing I’d wait for Life, another song I had been waiting to hear. It was perfect. Nothing compares to seeing them singing live.
My mind is a bit fuzzy, but I know somewhere they did ‘Relight my Fire’, and I have to say this is the best version to date. I loved the theatrics, and Lloyd singing Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’ was fantastic addition to mix with the interlude.
After that ‘Rule the World’. And like, ‘I’d Wait for Life’, I really wanted to see this live and my dream came true.
This led them to the B stage where they tested us on hits from their first album. We all knew ‘Do What you Like’ and proved it when Howard led us in, we were able to reciprocate with our arms hitting in the air and a little gyrating of the hips. Wahey!
And no Markie – ‘Red, Red Wine’ wasn’t on the first album. I may not have been a fan the first time around but I still know this!
‘Back for Good’ and ‘Everything Changes’, both classics and I was so glad I knew all the words so I could sing along with the audience. Both Gary and Howard made me smile with their little dance routines. Anyone that says Gary can’t dance needs to get their eyes tested. He was definitely dancing that night, and singing all at the same time!
I know this is out of order but I am writing as I recall it. I was never a huge fan of the song ‘Could it be Magic’, but Gary’s version was faultless, I still can’t get it out of my head. It was so powerful, and when he pounded those keys out on the piano, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to feel the hairs on the back of neck stand on end.
It was great to see them walk back through the audience again. Though I wasn’t fortunate to be close enough to shake their hands, it was great to see the smiles on their faces over the big screen as they made their way back to the main stage. I giggled when Gary arrived first and was wondering where his friends were. He must have shot through there like a bullet.
What can I say about ‘Give Good Feeling’? I will probably be reiterating everyone else but for me it was probably my favourite part, although the whole show was nothing short of spectacular. Howard’s little DJ bit fitted so well. I was so impressed with the arrangement, with how they brought it all up to date and again the dancing was extraordinary.
When they introduced the dancers, I think I was the only one around me that cheered when Jason announced Dawn Barlow. She’s a fantastic dancer in my opinion.
I still can’t get over how they did ‘Never Forget', after seeing some of the spoilers. I’d love to know whose idea it was. As I’ve said before, I really enjoyed the theatrics in this show. The arrangement for ‘Never Forget’ is just one example of why they are the best boy-band or man-band, to date.
‘Pray’ caused me to giggle again when I watched as Mark joined Gary on his microphone. Mark snatched it off him to carry the backing vocals, and then Gary snatched it back to sing the lead. This went on a couple of times and it was such a lovely touch to the whole thing. It’s those small things that give it extra value, seeing how relaxed they are on stage and how they interact with each other and the audience.
It certainly is a Beautiful World with Take That in it, and I for one don’t want this era to end. All I could say is roll on Tuesday.
