| Support Act: Rufus Wainwright - see details here |
| Setlist:- Re-make/Re-model, Street Life, Ladytron,
While My Heart Is Still Beating, Out Of The Blue, A Song For Europe, My
Only Love, Oh Yeah, Both Ends Burning, Tara, Avalon, Dance Away, Jealous
Guy, Editions Of You, Virginia Plain Encores: Love Is The Drug, Do The Strand, For Your Pleasure |
| Review
1: I'm grateful to
Ray Mitten for this personal review: I waited 23 years to be able to see Roxy Music in concert, and this show was my first experience. It was everything I could have ever imagined. The band looked and sounded incredible. Before the show I found out for the first time that Paul Thompson was back...that alone was exciting news. There was a lot of energy in the place, from the minute the curtain opened and "Remake Remodel" all the way through to the fabulous ending of "For Your Pleasure". Two of my personal favorites were played immediately..."Remake" and "Ladytron". It was an amazing thing to see Phil and Andy trading licks (Andy on Oboe of course) during "Ladytron", and they were both enjoying themselves immensely. Another early highlight came with "Out of the Blue", which featured a blistering violin solo at the jam at the end of the song. The middle of the show was of course the later period stuff. I was hoping for "In Every Dream Home" but unfortunately "Avalon" was played in its place. Still, the later period stuff sounded really good, and faster and louder than on record. "Oh Yeah" was almost celebratory rather than the meloncholy mood the studio version invokes. "Dance Away" was another highlight of the middle of the show. During one period Andy took center stage with "Tara", a really nice way to give the other members a break and a clothes change during the middle of the show. The ending of the show built to an amazing climax. After the later period stuff, a synth wail let out and the band broke into "Both Ends Burning" which was faster, louder and more immediate sounding than the record. Suddenly, dancing girls appeared at the back of the stage dressed like 1966-era go-go dancers. Then the one-two punch of "Editions of You" and "Virginia Plain" left the crowd in a frenzied state of bliss. The concert-proper ended with the crowd shouting the last two words of Virginia Plain back at Bryan, which left him smilling. Clearly the crowd knew everything and was particularly enthusiastic for the early material. The band fed on this energy. The encores began with "Love is the Drug" which Bryan did with passion. Then came "Do The Strand" with the go-go girls back, this time dressed as Las Vegas show girls performing the various dances mentioned in the song. Then....the closer, one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed on the concert stage. "For Your Pleasure". Bryan did the vocals wonderfully....sounding exactly as he did on record, only better. The place was stone quiet during the "old man" section. Then, as the instrumental passage took place Bryan took his final bows and left. Then Phil. Then Andy. One by one all the musicians left the stage...Paul being the second to last and the other keyboardist being last. The show faded out like the record. It was quite an amazing end to an amazing show. I have seen Bryan solo perform some of these songs before but never like this. There is an incredible magic with Roxy that must be seen to be believed. The Roxy sense of style was there in the clothing as well, with Bryan changing between a black, white and silver suit during the show (its hard to imagine Bryan doing "Your Painted Smile" in that silver suit!) Andy looked great in a purple suit and Phil was dressed in an off white suit, with a scarf donned for the second half of the show. The band were smiling the entire time and really into the show. Paul was a fan favorite of course and was dressed in black but very visible throughout the show as well. The band looked older of course (after all those photos from For Your Pleasure are nearly 30 years old now!) but the years have been kind to them. And they rocked. Boy, did they rock. Review 2: I'm grateful to Peter K Reilly for this personal review: Sitting outside the Tweeter Center on the Delaware river waterfront with my wife prior to the show, I had a sudden bout of concern about the show. I had been psyched about the show since getting tickets weeks before, but seeing the age of the crowd ranging from the 30's up to the 50's (I am in my late 30's myself) made me suddenly concerned that maybe the band might mirror the inherent decline in enthusiasm that you might expect from an older more affluent music crowd. No worry was necessary as the crowd and the band seemed to be trapped in a time warp where everyone was 20 years younger. This Roxy Music concert, my first, was truly a great evening. Perfect? No. But great enough for me to come home that night and look at the Roxyrama web site to where they were playing next and could I drive there within a reasonable time! I am not going to bore you with a revue of the basics of the show, other reviewers have done a great job of that and it would only be redundant. A smattering of observations would be better. The night was gorgeous. Rufus Wainwright was pleasantly intriguing and I was happy that I had actually heard some of his music on the local college radio station WXPN. The crowd was enthusiastic from almost start to finish and you could tell the band appreciated it. In fact seeing this enthusiasm 20 years after Roxy's last tour made me wonder how close they really had been to cracking the States wide open when they hung it up? Those possible pasts.... Bryan Ferry was amazing. His command of the stage is unprecedented. He looks and acts in a way that is so cool but if you tried to do it people would laugh. The band was crisp and powerful. Paul Thompson was a revelation and one of my friends in attendance who grew up worshipping Hendrix remarked that Phil Manzanera was one of the best guitar players he had ever seen. The sound quality varied. Ferry's vocals were consistently under mixed and this was most severely felt on A Song for Europe which going in was my choice for the highlight of the show. Instead it turned out to be Oh Yeah (on the radio) which was the highlight in my opinion. When music moves me a get goose bumps. I was in a state of CONSTANT goose bumps for the first forty minutes of the show. It got to the point where I was sweating on a cool pleasant evening. I don't know whether Roxy moved everyone in the way they did me, but I can't help but think that there were many others. The show was too short. I understand these guys are old but I am greedy and wanted more. Having seen Ferry do In Every Dream Home a Heartache on a solo tour years ago I was disappointed that they dropped that from the set as it is a great live song. While it was clear that For Your Pleasure was the end of the show I found my self in a fantasy world like that of the concerts I went to in the 70's. The world where if every just stayed put and continued to scream for more that eventually the band would be FORCED to come back for an encore. Alas maybe the age of the crowd did ultimately show because the fantasy ended and people shuffled out clearly satisfied with the butt kicking Roxy had just administered. |
| External Reviews: - Philadelphia Inquirer (can't please everyone I suppose...) |