If this review of the first Reykjavik gig morphs into something like my extended Paris report of last summer, those of you with a low boredom threshold might want to abandon ship here!
Mrs Smudge and I had a wander in the Sunday afternooon sun before settling at an outside table of one of the bars in the square overlooked by the stylish Hotel Borg (as recommended by Windswept).
No sooner had she wondered out loud if BF might be in residence at the Borg, when he emerged on to the balcony of the middle one of its top floor (presumed) suites! As I was being supervised by an adult, I resisted the urge to stand and salute our leader!
We subsequently saw Jade (dancer) & Sewuese (backing vocalist) lunching outside another bar by the hotel, so a post-gig drink in the Borg's bar became a racing certainty...
We got to Harpa at 20.15 for the 21.00 gig; it was all very relaxed and low key and we saw Ollie having a walk round. Nothing much new on the merchandise stand; the programme was as per the London gigs in December, i.e. a different cover (black & white photo of BF in a spotlight, rather than the Olympia shot of Kate) and maybe a dozen pages changed to reflect personnel changes since the spring/summer gigs.
The staff were very friendly and suggested that we went upstairs for a view from the balcony while the hall was empty. We were suitably impressed by the time we took our seats downstairs, just off centre in the front row.
When the band took the stage, BF was barely ten feet away* to our left, with Spedding directly above us, Sewuese only slightly to our right and Jorja on a platform behind them. To the other side of BF were Ollie & the other singers, Bridgette & Shar, with Colin Good on a platform behind them. Bassist Paul Turner took the "Meehan ground" behind BF and in front of the central platform which housed TGPT & percussionist Cherisse. Dancers Jade & Marie were on podiums in the back corners and were the only members of the ensemble not clearly visible to us.
*"Trousergate" theorists will be pleased to learn that Mrs S - a dedicated follower of fashion - viewed the length of BF's troosers and the degree of bunching at the shin to both be perfectly stylish & acceptable; normal service has been resumed as soon as possible!) 
By comparison with the late 2011 gigs, the setlist dropped The Main Thing, Oh Yeah, Boys And Girls & You Can Dance (the last three of these being good choices to omit, IMHO). There was likewise no Sign Of The Times or What Goes On; additionally If There Is Something, Bitter Sweet & (the surprise omission) Let's Stick Together were not restored until the second night.
Opening salvo was therefore I Put A Spell On You, Slave To Love & Don't Stop The Dance; Mrs S was quite happy already, as she knew these and (unlike me) was hoping BF would keep to something like a greatest hits package...
A Dylan trilogy followed: a crackling Tom Thumb's Blues (great trading of licks between BF's harmonica & the two guitars), another moving rendition of Make You Feel My Love (BF's mature voice just perfect on this number every time...) and the welcome return of one of my favourites, Don't Think Twice (on which the Good piano was very good indeed).
A nice blast of Casanova made Alphaville seem comparatively limp, but Reason Or Rhyme got things back on track. The last number before an unexpected interval (last year these only happened at the USA gigs, I think?) was a storming Like A Hurricane; I watched Spedding's solo wide eyed and open mouthed - as close to perfection as any mortal should dare get!
After a break of at least 20 minutes the trio of Spedding, Jorja & Good returned for Tara; although I'll always consider it Andy's song, I must confess that he couldn't hope to improve on Jorja's version. Spedding's acoustic guitar solo was quite simply an understated masterpiece; this trio has turned the song into a little piece of chamber brilliance.
BF & Ollie joined them for Carrickfergus, before the surprise of the setlist: the return of Chance Meeting. My only quibble would be the absence from this number of TGPT; Cherisse took over the drumkit for this song only. That said, it was a cracking version of the song, with the original brooding, almost film noir-ish piano & bass parts faithfully reproduced by Messrs Good & Turner.
The prominence of the bass lines in Chance Meeting might be seen as a fitting epitaph to the imaginative contributions of Graham Simpson to the early Roxy numbers, while the piano lines, which were once viewed by some as evidence of BF's own instrumental limitations, seem so perfect for the song, even when played by a gifted & trained musician like Colin Good.
More Than This, Avalon & My Only Love (great Ollie solo on the last mentioned) livened up the sedate Icelandic audience more than a bit. Watchtower was a slightly surprising choice (Let's Stick Together was surely in everyone's expectations), but led into Love Is The Drug & a rollicking Editions Of You, followed by a standing ovation (at least by those of us in the first few rows!).
There followed a sort of encore - BF had left the stage briefly, but the band had stayed resolutely in place - of Jealous Guy & Hold On, I'm Coming. At the start of Hold On, BF motioned us all to our feet, but only the first couple of rows responded briefly, before a comic "domino effect" of sitting down in pairs; a bit like a Mexican wave in reverse! It should be noted that the last two people to belatedly retake their seats were a certain middle aged couple from north London!
There was a better attempt at a standing ovation thereafter and BF looked justifiably happy; the audience filed out at some speed, though, and it was left to me alone to snaffle a couple of setlists from the stage floor!
I would rank it right up there with Paris as the best BF solo gig I've attended.
Back at the Borg later on we saw a few of the band (Jade & Marie, Bridgette & Ollie) dash in, drop stuff off, then dash out again. We had a brief chat with Bridgette and a drink in the hotel bar, but there were no sightings later on.
I texted the setlist to J.O'B, who, knowing (a) my favourite "missing" live songs and (b) that I wasn't allowed by Domestic Management (Mrs S) to attend the second gig, tried to convince me that Beauty Queen & Strictly Confidential had been added to the setlist for Monday! He must have been worried that I'd work myself into a coronary, though, as he soon confessed to his evil lies!
Monday was spent doing Mrs S' choice of touristy stuff (e.g. blue lagoon, geysers, waterfalls etc.), but she did agree to a late drink in the bar next door to the Borg... Just when I was giving up hope, the band's mini-bus arrived to drop them off, then returned 10 mins later to collect those who fancied a later night of it.
I went into full Stagedoor Johnny mode, with programme & marker pen and got the personalised pages autographed by almost all of them: I didn't see BF or Shar and I failed to catch up with Paul Turner or the two dancers, so I think that left me with a signature score of 8 out of 13.
I had a couple of mins chat with each of Colin Good, Ollie & TGPT, all of whom were very friendly. TGPT vaguely remembered me from SB Empire and knows that I'm a friend of J.O'B, so he was hugely amused to learn of the "ghost" setlist that John had texted me! The band seemed a very happy group & TGPT said they'd been out to sea doing some whale watching on Monday afternoon.
One person whose tenure in the band will have at least a temporary hiatus is Jorja, as it was clear from her first appearance in Sunday's spotlight that she's quite heavily pregnant. She told me during our brief chat that her baby's due in August and that she'd miss a couple of gigs as a result (perhaps the pair of dates announced last week?).
It'll be interesting to see if Jorja's role is filled by another saxophonist or if the setlist might get revised to accommodate, for example, the return of Anna Phoebe. That's all for another day, though...
I suspect that Guilfest might be my only other 2012 opportunity to catch up with BF live, but on the evidence of Sunday's show, I would heartily recommend everyone to get to one of the summer gigs if they can.
It was great to hear that you got some other perks on the trip though and got to meet some of the band again. 
