Review: From Roxyrama Webmaster Chris Turner

With the spectre of the terrible events in the USA still fresh in our minds, it was always possible that Rotterdam would be something of a damp squib, particularly with so many Roxy members who have strong New York connections. There was even the possibility that the gig would be pulled. Thankfully the show went on. The doubters reckoned without an enthusiastic Dutch crowd, who responded to a sparky performance by the band, who reciprocated the crowd's affections in the predominantly standing arena.

Only slight technical niggles (Phil's guitar cut out during his spotlight solo during Ladytron for example, Bryan introduction of him was accompanied by a grin) and a slight mid set lull (sloppy versions of Avalon and More Than This, which continues to be problematic ) detracted from a fine set of performances. Chris Spedding's trademark solo on My Only Love is now honed to bluesy perfection, and both Phil and Andy produced great sets.

The others are now a tightly drilled unit, and the chants of 'Lucy, Lucy, Lucy' that followed the divine Ms Wilkins solos confirmed her place in recent Roxy folklore. Ferry himself was imperious, strutting and posing magnificently, and while he clearly saves his voice at times, it has stood up to the rigours of a demanding tour extremely well. He's always a joy to watch, communicating with his audience superbly, and taking the trouble to ensure that no-one is left out of the party.

The setlist is fairly unchanged from earlier in the tour, so it's nice to see some innovation in the arrancements, Spedding has added some nice fakey sitar to Dream Home for example. At the back of the hall Colin Good creates his rhapsodies almost unnoticed, whilst the Great Paul Thompson delivers crashing rhythms, whilst sitting impassively like some rock Buddah. The girls are more than mere baubles. At times their contribution might be sidelines, but they are integral to the Roxy 2001 sound.

With Yanick Etienne still in New York and Sarah Brown indisposed it was new recruit Vicky (Ferry amusingly abbreviated her rather convoluted surname to Vicky A for her curtain call) who rescued an otherwise undistinguished version of Avalon with her fine voice, and her contributions were clear and accurate throughout the evening, although crowd-pleaser 'Mother of Pearl has apparently been dropped because of her unfamiliarity with the song.

By the end of the evening, my ears were ringing with the cheers of the crowd, the response even better than the previous high of Glasgow. Bryan took the trouble to say 'It's so good to be back in Rotterdam' (heavily emphasising the 'so') and subsequently repeated his words, clearly showing how moved he was by the response.

It's a little hard to be happy at the moment, with so many souls lost in the US, but Roxy raised our battered spirits that night in Holland, and we thank them for that.