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Roxy Music on the Road 2001
Madison Square Garden Theater, New York City, NY, USA - 23rd July 2001
| 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, In Every Dream Home A Heartache, Oh Yeah, Both Ends Burning,
Tara, Mother Of Pearl, Avalon, Dance Away, Jealous Guy, Editions Of
You Encores: Love Is The Drug, Do The Strand, For Your Pleasure |
| Review
1: - I'm grateful to L Nayman for this personal review If you would have told me a year ago, when I was on my way to a Who concert, that in 2001 I'd be seeing Roxy Music, I would have been a bit suprised. The question is...why? Why not 10 years ago? Why ever? Well, whether we owe the pleasure to a crazed airline passenger, unfinished business, nostalgia or simply empty bank accounts is anyone's guess. But without a doubt, this traveling theme park of the 70s was an unforgettable event. You all know the songs and the setlist by this point of the tour...probably better than me, and I just saw the show! All I know is, they poured it on, playing hit after hit. Were they hits? Well, probably not on the charts, in the U.S. at least, but they were certainly hits in my dorm room in college in 1994 as I finally listened to "For Your Pleasure," a record I took from my dad's dusty bin because I liked the cover. Other Roxy songs soon made there way from yard sales to the smoky confines of my lava lamp lit dorm rooms and apartments...and onto NYC in Jluy 2001. It seemed that they played every Roxy song I could possibly want to hear. Every song was given a gorgeous treatment...rocking when it needed to (thank God Paul Thompson is back) and soulful or emotional otherwise. It was only later on that I remembered I would have liked to have heard Virginia Plain. But no matter. It was all ear candy. The band seemed to look very old (Spedding looked like a member of Jerry Lee Lewis' band), but that was offset by the inclusion of several very attractive young women in the band...good move Bryan! And the show itself was amazing. I remember when the tour was announced they promised an innovative stage show..."the kind of thing fans expect from Roxy Music." I remember wondering how they would pull it off. Well, maybe it's the very good acid I was on talking, but the light show was the best I'd seen since Pink Floyd, my first concert, 8 years ago. Beautiful hues of blue and pink and purple and so on blended into each other effortlessly, reflecting of of the band members and the songs themselves. It was is if the stage breathed with the music. The monotone projections of the band onto the band itself was a sight to behold, and the lava lamp and fire projections on the band made for quite a spectacle. And the dancing girls...why the hell not? The stage show was indeed something new, and I'm glad I was in the dark about it going in. And the sound was simply the best I have ever heard at a show. Crisp, not too loud but ridiculously fluid. The Theatre at Madison Square Garden, a place as yet unsullied with a soft drink or internet company in its title, got it all right. Everyone had a good time, from the burned out old hippies next to me who saw Roxy in 1976 (who were ordered to put out there joints from security, surely a first at a rock show!) to the yuppies behind me. This wasn't a show I felt I NEEDED to see, like when I heard the Who were coming around again. But without a doubt, I'm glad it happened. I'll never forget it. Review 2: - I'm grateful to Maggie Curran for this personal review Walking down 7th Avenue, I could see the brightly illuminated MSG marquee announcing "Roxy Music Tonight at 8:00." I could feel a rush of adrenaline at that moment. Stopped to take a quick snapshot. The Theater at MSG has art deco ceiling lights, so appropriate to the Roxy aura. Rufus Wainwright is on-stage shortly after eight o'clock. At 8:45 the lighting guys have climbed their ladders. There are four lighting specialists hoisted high near the ceiling. This is a big show. Shortly after nine o'clock we could see activity behind the Roxy Music Imperial Eagle curtain. Chatter, chatter, chatter. The curtain was drawn and Roxy Music was in full assault mode with Remake/Remodel. Lucy Wilkins is tweaking the heck out of the knobs on the original Roxy synthesizer to replicate the authentic Roxy sound. We first see Phil and Andy at center stage and Bryan in back on keyboards. And TGPT is there on drums. They are ably supported by Chris Spedding, Zev Katz, Julia Thornton Lucy Wilkins and Colin Goode. Bryan announces "This Is Roxy Music." Indeed!!! Sounding better than ever. Looking great too, these veteran rockers dressed to the nines in long jackets and Bryan in a black leather suit. Bryan will change from black leather to white dinner jacket to silver lame suit to properly define the musical periods being played. At the end of each song, the stage goes black. No time for bows. Before you can blink an eye, Roxy has moved on to the next song. The lighting geniuses are at work. Phil's solo guitar on Ladytron was simply stunning. He played as if his life depended on it. One wonders what that guitar ever did to Phil to get him so worked up. We knew we were in the presence of a Master. Lucy Wilkins toook command of Out of The Blue with a melt-down ferocity that brought the audience to their feet in sheer wonderment. Stroke of genius bringing Lucy on board. Stroke of genius having TGPT on drums. Andy had his moments of real glory on saxophone and oboe with the haunting Song for Europe and the exquisite Tara. Bryan was in fine voice through- out. Never heard him in better form than tonight. Bryan's piano enhanced the Sarah Brown/Chris Spedding duet on My Only Love. The New York audience would not leave with half a loaf. Mother of Pearl had not been expected and was definitely one of the evening's highlights. And wonder of wonders, there was Yanick Etienne singing Avalon. Although the Avalon, Dance Away, Jealous Guy segment of the program was more mellow than the earlier segments, it must be said that Jealous Guy was given a most heartfelt treatment by Bryan and it was probably one of the evening's most appreciated songs among the audience at large. What can I say about Both Ends Burning except that it is one of the all-time best rockers ever written? Tonight Roxy delivered a fast and sassy rendition which was further enhanced by the dancing girls. This was camp theatricality! The Lido dancers appeared for Do The Strand which won wild audience approval. People down front were on their feet dancing and singing. Couldn't see the back of the room. Adoring fan approval and thank-you's were exchanged. Then we heard the unmistakable chords of For Your Pleasure and we knew we would have to watch them walk away. End of a performance remarkable for the quality of its music, staging and unbridled passion. Thanks Roxy Music! Viva Roxy Music!!! |
| External Reviews: - The New York Daily News here The New York Post here Village Voice here |