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 Post subject: Re: Bryan Ferry on tour 2018
PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 11:52 am 
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Posts: 46
SPOILER ALERT: SHORT REVIEW!

for all those not in hibernation ahead of their respective shows, a few short observations on last night's grand opening in cardiff...

* disappointing setlist. as discussed previously, very little change from last year's offering. one can only assume that because he did precious few UK dates last year, he has sought to replay what he did then for an audience that, for the most part, is unlikely to have heard it.

* spedding on lead guitar - it's been a while. seems interesting that a man deemed fit for only third guitar (or fourth if memory serves, glasto?) in recent history has been elevated to top brass. personally, i've no problem at all with that, but the band missed the extra verve of a third hand IMO. particularly evident on tub-thumpers like re-make/re-model, which sounded somewhat subdued and a weird cross between the roxy original and later ferry reincarnation.

* jorja on top, top form. the standout musician by a distance. some might not find that surprising, but she shone even brighter last night. brought a new polish to mamouna and the like, also.

* ferry on solid form. for a season's opener, it appeared that he didn't want to overindulge on certain lyrics and was 'breaking himself in gently'. warmed up as the set progressed. plenty in the bank, i'd wager.

* BF stayed on stage the whole 1hr 35m - minus a VERY brief walk-off for encore. in all of my 16/17 shows, i've never seen him go straight through, sans break.. and no Tara! impressive stamina for a man of his age, although the piano was drawn upon for lengthy periods during the middle stages. i don't blame him! still, perhaps a short break 'out back' midway through wouldn't hurt... only he knows i suppose!

* slightly tired set but never tire of dreamhome. a typically brooding performance and, with mamouna, my pick of the night. the latter was a nice surprise - but not necessarily as you might expect it. scaled back in the style of more than this, a whispy, paced vocal over spedding and a nice outro on sax. arguably better than the original and a nice addition.

* despite the guardian review, thought where or when weak. there are so much better in that ilk in the ferry/roxy back cannon. smoke gets in your eyes/ just like you/ even a dylan number would have been preferable.

* interesting looking at john's notes the replacement band leader, entering half-way through the tour. seems odd. got me thinking - is this a patched-up, make-shift band? a hastily put together tour with little or no time for practice? no third guitar, a change in personnel midway through, no fonzi, same set etc etc... just a thought.

* no grand master! i do hope windswept was in company when news of colin good (or not) filtered through. would have been great to see the old team back together, but it wasn't to be.

* bizarrely, despite having heard it many, many times before - quite enjoyed the end of the show. avalon/ LITD/ LST/ EOY and, in particular, jealous guy - all sounded vibrant and fresh. the whistle particularly so! perhaps allowing to the fact it's been 3 years since i last heard them live...?

* couple of lengthy 'quiet moments' in the dark in between the odd song - teething problems, sure to be ironed out as the tour progresses. similarly, spedding seemed to miss a few bars here and there - then again, he's in a completely different role to which that he is used. stronger through the years suffered for it if i'm being hyper-critical. sure this will come, though.. sped is definitely more natural a player than his predecessors (quist etc) - putting his own slant on album interpretations. others before him have been more inclined to replicate. does make things more interesting for the trained ferry ear...

* took until LST for the crowds to flock to the front of ferry's shoes. didn't leave them long to get a wriggle on. c'mon cardiff, wake up!! all seemed to enjoy it when they got there, but was potentially half a dozen songs too late...

* weirdest - and slightly untactful - moment of the night came during ITIS, when a lady of maturing years thought it appropriate to walk up in front of BF and take a selfie while at the piano. got her couple of photos and returned to her seat. no-body else on their feet at that stage. must have been ever so slightly unnerving for the main man! ever the professional, he didn't flinch.

* but hey, all that said - we can't grumble too much. our man is 72 years of age, still puts on a spectacularly entertaining show and provides much joy and excitement to a great deal of us. there aren't many of his era still performing, for so long, to such crowds - and we should be very grateful he still has the will and desire to get back on stage right across the country after all these years... (NB cardiff was a bona fide sell-out)

i'd have wanted (and hoped for) little-played oldies, buried deep in the vault - but to the casual fan (i was with two first-timers), he went down a storm. "didn't recognise many of the first half, loved the second" was the immediate feedback. so, i guess the connoisseurs among us should be grateful for what we've got...

see you in bristol, and oxford.

viva BF!

gaz


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 Post subject: Re: Bryan Ferry on tour 2018
PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 12:21 pm 
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Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2009 6:30 pm
Posts: 30
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/ ... ll-cardiff


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 Post subject: Re: Bryan Ferry on tour 2018
PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 12:26 pm 
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Joined: Sun May 29, 2011 7:23 pm
Posts: 1568
Gazrox wrote:
SPOILER ALERT: SHORT REVIEW!



* no grand master! i do hope windswept was in company when news of colin good (or not) filtered through. would have been great to see the old team back together, but it wasn't to be.

gaz


Hedonistic Hipsters & Hopeful Hepcats,

A great review from Gaz but Windswept did need the salts to bring him around when he saw that there was no Goodster and that the set list is basically the same as last year !

Of course, first timers and corporate n'er-do-wells always fall immediately under our heroes spell but the fact that a stalwart like Gaz enjoyed it gives W2 hope.

The key question in W2's head is how does it compare to ATGB, Frantic, Dylanesque, Olympia and AEWBF ? All great shows that boasted distinctive set lists and unique staging. That will be the acid test nest-ce-pas ?

W2 will keep his powder dry until after London.

Bon Fandango a tous.

Windswept


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 Post subject: Re: Bryan Ferry on tour 2018
PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 5:19 pm 
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Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2011 4:32 pm
Posts: 305
Chers amis!

Thank you very much Gazrox for an excellent review. Let's be positive. This ensemble is fantastic. Except for the sad abscence of Colin Good, I can't ask for more. It is, though, surprising with only one guitar - but who knows BF:s music better than Chris Spedding?
Créme de la créme apart, BF has to think about the audience, and Mme Oberon is pleased that Oh yeah! is back. The set list in Switzerland was fabulous - please make a cd of that! - but a tour is another story. Glad that the section Wasteland/Bête Noir continues, a highlight for me.
Salutations à tous and I hope we will all have great BF experience this year!


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 Post subject: Re: Bryan Ferry on tour 2018
PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 8:14 pm 
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Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2011 8:11 pm
Posts: 57
I haven't been on here for a while and whilst hubby is watching the footie I have indulged in some catching up . Whilst I very much enjoy everyone's posts and opinions, I have over the years always sided with Windswept's point of view and feel the same as him on this thread. Indeed sir, it is a great pity for BF to be without the great and mighty Good . We are seeing BF in Oxford ( for about the 6th time in recent years ) and I am certain that Mr. G only lives up the road . Maybe he could be persuaded to drop by :D It is good that BF keeps touring at his age but then we are also going to see the Rolling Stones in June and methinks that will be a far more energetic affair ! Anyway I shall try not to expect too much and hope that I am pleasantly surprised.


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 Post subject: Re: Bryan Ferry on tour 2018
PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 9:16 pm 
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Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2010 7:13 pm
Posts: 553
I’m disappointed by the stasis that has set in here on Ferry’s part.
I thought he’d be keen to do something really new for this tour given that there is no new album to tour with and he’s been lugging many of these songs around for the past six/seven years. This set list looks like the one he did two years ago at the Palladium, now sans any Avonmore tracks, and few from those classic years of the early to mid 70’s solo canon. Well, we’ll never meet minds, but hey , I’ll draw down on what’s gone well.


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 Post subject: Re: Bryan Ferry on tour 2018
PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 10:40 pm 
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Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2009 1:26 am
Posts: 1118
Many thanks to Gazrox for his excellent report.

I thought the setlist was too "safe", but maybe BF will have some surprises up his sleeve for us before summer kicks in. Good to hear that he was on form, despite the Guardian reviewer's reservations.

As for the diminished guitar section, well, those of us who have felt that Spedding has been seriously under-used in the past have had our prayers answered by default, I guess! I hope he's been to the same boot camp as BF, though, as it'll be a heavy workload for a man nearly a year older than our leader and I don't want him to run out of steam before his own London show on 29th June to celebrate his 50 years in the business!

While Quist's absence came as a surprise, Fonzi was perhaps an even more notable omission from the line-up; I hope his experience won't be as sadly missed as I fear it might...

The fact that Colin Good isn't on the tour, even despite the mid-season change of MD, suggests that either he has other commitments himself or he's further down the pecking order than his fans here realised. Personally I've always thought him more suited to the jazz and acoustic numbers (unsurprisingly, given his musical background) than the rock ones anyway.


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 Post subject: Re: Bryan Ferry on tour 2018
PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 10:56 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:58 pm
Posts: 1029
I think a_e's reference to stasis is an appropriate word choice. Stagnation seems too strong, but clearly the set hasn't evolved much from last year, or from tours going back to 2015...

While there's no need for BF to "reinvent" himself every night, one might think there needs to be a bit more variety to keep things fresh. But maybe not...


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 Post subject: Re: Bryan Ferry on tour 2018
PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2018 1:25 am 
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Joined: Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:44 am
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Quote:
interesting looking at john's notes the replacement band leader, entering half-way through the tour. seems odd. got me thinking - is this a patched-up, make-shift band? a hastily put together tour with little or no time for practice? no third guitar, a change in personnel midway through, no fonzi, same set etc etc... just a thought.


I'm confused, Christian Gulino was the MD for all of the 2017 tour.....where was there a change in personnel midway through?

8-)


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 Post subject: Re: Bryan Ferry on tour 2018
PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2018 10:49 am 
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Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2009 1:26 am
Posts: 1118
I'm confused, Christian Gulino was the MD for all of the 2017 tour.....where was there a change in personnel midway through?

If you look at the VRM 2018 tour page, it seems that Christian is only in the band for this week, after which he will be replaced by Richard Cardwell.


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