I thought I’d try to lighten the doom and gloom caused by the cancellation of BF’s December shows (not to mention those poor souls who pine daily for Colin Good’s return to the fold…) by belatedly reporting on last week’s cracking show in Amsterdam. Maybe it might even spur someone to do likewise for the Paris gig?
I made a brief pit stop at the venue’s box office, where a lovely lady kindly printed me a “proper” ticket as a souvenir to replace the print-at-home paper receipt I’d got from Ticketmaster; a promising start.
Off then to meet up with J.O’B in a nearby bar; he told me that there was a monument outside, but not that it was Sadie’s Boyfriend himself, who had been deputed to stand in the cold and scan the horizon for my arrival. I had feared that SB & I were destined to remain e-penpals, so it was great to finally meet the man mountain in person!
Inside the bar J.O’B introduced me to several of our Dutch counterparts and I could tell from their enthusiasm that it would be a good crowd at the Heineken Music Hall; lovely people!
The HMH had all the new merchandise available (Avonmore had yet to be released in Holland): about five different t-shirts (25 euros each); scarf (E20); black quilted jacket (E75); coffee mug (E15) etc.
The hall itself was spacious and well lit, with good sight lines and sound; my seat was 15 rows back in the stalls, but dead centre and a great view. It was several songs in before I realised that those in the other banks of stalls seats, to the right and left of our centre block (the Black Box!) had been on their feet from the start… but I’m getting ahead of myself.
The band was quick off the blocks with a rollicking Re-Make (good solos all round), before the (for me) more lightweight Kiss and Slave led into Ladytron and ITIS. It was great to hear Jorja’s tenor sound cutting through even the guitar solo during ITIS; in Roxy songs the saxophone was always, and should always be, a frontline instrument, rather than being there solely to decorate or supply light & shade…
Although BF’s voice sounded a wee bit hoarse at times, its maturity is perfectly suited to songs like Don’t Think Twice; a perfect & poignant duet with Mr Beard (good name in Movember…), whose contribution was plenty Good enough.
Next up was a wonderful Stronger Through The Years, with some absolutely stunning bass underpinning from Guy Pratt, who should have been allowed to take a bow at its conclusion. Loop was well received, despite its relative unfamiliarity, and led into a gorgeous Reason Or Rhyme, which has quickly developed into a modern day BF classic.
While BF disappeared to swap his smoking jacket for the royal blue suit he sported on Later With Jools, we sat transfixed by the latest sublime reading of Tara by Jorja on soprano, Quist (who had already played some snorting solos on electric) on acoustic & Mr Beard. Every time I hear this song, Jorja wrings more beauty out of it than I think possible.
BF returned for Take A Chance and another new song, Driving Me Wild, which were both well received, as was the semi-acoustic More Than This, with which many of the audience may have been unfamiliar. The almost obligatory Avalon led us to the closing knees-up…
Casanova, LITD & LST had everyone on their feet and there was some nimble footwork in the vocal corner, with Jodie & Bobbie clearly revelling in Fonzi’s presence as their new partner-in-crime. I think having a NY pro like him on board has made that corner of the stage slicker than ever and his sense of joy at being there seemed to be shared by the whole band, who clearly fed off the Dutch crowd’s energy.
Jealous Guy was a predictable encore, although Jodie & Bobbie both sound more confident and adventurous in their contributions now, and things were going well enough for BF to treat us to Virginia Plain too; an altogether more muscular version than the rather tentative one on Jools’ show.
BF seemed in good spirits (quite rightly enjoying the early Avonmore reviews, I hope) and it was nice to hear him introduce all the band members by their full names (it used to be forenames only for the girls, which risked diminishing their contributions).
Some will nitpick about the set list (a bit top heavy with selections from the debut album & Avalon) or say that the show could have been just a few songs longer (but maybe not, given what we now know about BF’s health), but it was tight & professional, joyful & extremely well received by a great audience.
I had a nightcap with J.O’B, SB & some of my new friends from the lowlands, before wending my way back to the city centre in a very satisfied state. Good music, good company, good beer (a dark Amstel Bock, just in case anyone’s interested…); I guess a guy could ask for more (and easily find it in Amsterdam!
), but I was very happy with my lot and looking forward to the next time…
