Roxyrama Reviews Page
Roxy Music on the Road 2001
Rod Laver Stadium, Melbourne, Australia - 16th August 2001

Support Act:Michelle Bradford Jones
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, Avalon, Dance Away, Jealous Guy, Editions of You, Virginia Plain
Encores: Love Is The Drug, Do The Strand, For Your Pleasure

Review: - I'm grateful to Alan Scott for this personal review.
The Melbourne show was fabulous. Having flown to Brisbane last week for the first concert on Australian soil, I was certainly not surprised by anything that Roxy produced, but I thought that they enjoyed the crowd response much more in Melbourne. It was hard to gauge the crowd numbers....Rod Laver Arena was configured in a scaled down mode, so there was probably 6 - 8000. The band delivered the same set list as in Brisbane. My two kids thought the concert was awesome...my 16-year-old marvelled at Roxy's power. This was evident right from the start with a blistering version of Re-make/Re-model. The cut down version of Street Life followed and then came Ladytron with a more subdued guitar thrashing from Phil. The other highlights of the evening were Virginia Plain, Editions of You, Jealous Guy (very well received!), Dream Home and Both Ends Burning.
Bryan's vocals on Out of the Blue were reminiscent of his commanding style on Viva!...sensational. Over zealous security barred my way to the front unfortunately, so I moved to the first level at stage side for the encores. Even though this was behind the speakers, I was able to get a great view and a few pictures as the band retreated individually during For Your Pleasure. Despite the cold night air, my 14-year-old daughter convinced me to hang around after the concert for a glimpse of Bryan and the others.....although we couldn't get downstairs thanks again to the security personnel, we were able to see the stage door exit from the ramp above. We were rewarded with an appearance from Bryan and Andy about 50 minutes after the show finished....a cheery smile and a hello from Bryan and then a slow farewell wave out of the car window as they were driven off into the night! It was worth the wait. It was also terrific to catch up with Avalonian Shelley from Canberra...we met up prior to the show and then had a quick chat afterwards. A true Roxy devotee and a delight to meet!
The only down side of the evening was the fact that I was seated in front of a couple of morons who felt compelled to kick my seat (out of time) along with the music..... All in all though, this concert capped off a fantastic few days for me - seeing my all-time favourite band twice, meeting up with Avalonians in Brisbane and Melbourne, and being able to share the experience of Roxy Music with my kids. My son declared that this was the best gig he had been to. Life just doesn't get much better than this.

Review: I'm grateful to Jan Kent for the personal review:
On a cold, windy and at times drizzly, winter's night in August, my friends Garry and Jane Reed, my wife Jayne and I were fortunate to see and hear a band that confirmed their place as masters of their musical style and inventiveness. Roxy Music had reformed and were playing in Australia. We have been fans since the early '70s and Garry and Jane had flown over from Hobart (Tasmania) to see the concert. 25 years of listening to the original 12" vinyl albums with all the scratchy pops and hisses did not prepare me for the tremendous wall of sound that Manzanera, Mackay, Thompson and Zev Katz the bass guitarist, generated. The band was ably supported by Colin Good, Lucy Wilkins, Julia Thornton and Sarah Brown. The songs came to life with outstanding contributions from all the band members throughout the night. And the live versions provided a texture and immediacy that transcended the missing Eno. The addition of Chris Spending provided another layer of sound that complemented Manzanera's lead. Zev Katz the bassist, just never missed a note - his playing delivered the foundation for Paul Thompson's amazing drumming - and he never missed a beat ! A pretty phenomenal performance that would outclass many drummers half his age. A fantastic highlight was Lucy Wilkin's violin in Out of the Blue - a key track from the Country Life album - and she richly deserved the standing ovation from most of the crowd that night. However the undeniable centre and soul of Roxy Music's songs lie in Andy Mckay. He played in every song. He did not take a break. He literally breathed life into every song, providing the exact counterpoint required by Ferry's lyrics. And last, but not least, Ferry's singing cemented the aural imagery of the lyrics. We would have happily sat there and listened to that voice of Ferry's for another 2 hours, and then stayed to hear it all over again ! My personal highlights were the opening Re-make/Re-model, Ladytron, Out of the Blue, In Every Dream Home a Heartache, Oh Yeah. A spell-binding extended version of Tara that provided a bridge from the first set, that mostly came from the first three albums, to Avalon, Dance Away and Jealous Guy. And then the encores of Do the Strand and the band's farewell - poignantly sung and played through the words and music of For Your Pleasure. Others have written extensively and authoritively on the influence that Roxy Music had on bands in the 1980's and 1990's and that affect is undeniable and farreaching - do go to http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/jfiles/files/s340915.htm for a great review as it's worth the visit. I suspect at least half of the crowd that night came expecting the songs of the Avalon album and the sound that Roxy Music recorded and released in the 80's. And Bryan Ferry's well known solo career sound and song list after the breakup of band. But Roxy Music was the name of the act that night, and the Roxy Music sound was the heart of the concert's playlist from the early 70's were it all began. And for that simple act of being the band (and not a group of individuals), and delivering the Roxy Music sound, I will continue to play the self titled first album, Roxy Music, For Your Pleasure and Country Life, very very very loud and for many years to come.
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