A bland review, IMO, and then there is the google translation:

Frankfurter allgemeine:

Heartbreak in the dream house.

Bryan Ferry delivers a sweeping career overview when performing at the Alte Oper.

Bryan Ferry likes to cultivate contradictions. Born in 1945 into a working-class family in northern English Washington, County Durham, the singer, composer and lyricist is still considered the epitome of the style-conscious British dandy. An aristocrat of nobility, luxury, subtlety and art. Or are the former art teacher with the well-groomed exterior adhering to those image projections only for an eternity?

Also at the start of his sold out since weeks Germany tour in the Alte Oper Frankfurt Bryan Ferry remains faithful to the familiar image. In the melee with his audience, the now 73-year-old, dressed in the finest twine singer just goes with his early work presented in slow motion "In Every Dream Home A Heartache". The picture of the connoisseur and bon vivant between luxurious penthouse, cottage and bungalow ranch is caricatured in an almost absurd way: from an inflatable rubber doll, the man of the world, who already has everything, just does not have a close relationship to a human being. And so he projects his misguided emotional world onto the life-size vinyl model ordered by last name. When the song appeared in 1973 on the second Roxy Music album "For Your Pleasure", both the text and the arrangement with the striking blanking were pure provocation.

Enthusiast storms with Roxy Music fans

In the crowded Great Hall Ferry's inimitably coiled, twisted Artrock around a lifeless Betthupferl but closed to that part of the followers, Ferry discovered only in the eighties and thus as a supplier of some lifeless electropop songs for themselves. For enthusiasm storms, however, provides FYY's choice of the opening song on the other hand, the Roxy Music fans. The singer can also rely on a considerable number of less sure-ful younger fans who have his complete work, without resentment against individual phases of his work, in the field of vision. When Ferry finally broke away from Roxy Music in 1983 after a previously temporary breakup to become a soloist with precious metal, those younger admirers were not yet born.

To cater to all camps, master of ceremonies Ferry, who confidently switches between microphone and electric piano, and occasionally adds crunchy blues on the harmonica, takes up a trick: Edgy Artrock by Roxy Music such as "If There Is Something" and "Out Of The Blue, "he delivers true to the avant-garde, but a little less biased as in the original.

Once immaculately polished by the phrase "Slave To Love", "Boys And Girls" or "The 39 Steps" he adds an unprecedented sharpness. The top-notch nine-piece ensemble is responsible for the splendidly arranged course corrections. As a stylistically immensely flexible proves not only long-distance companion Chris Spedding on electric and acoustic guitars. Spedding is assisted by Belgian guitarist Tom Vanstiphout. Marina Moore on the violin and Jorja Chalmers on soprano saxophone, oboe and synthesizer are all multi-faceted accents. In the two virtuoso ladies embodies the primal spirit of Roxy Music.

Hand kisses distributing Bryan Ferry

With the dancefloor filler "Tokyo Joe" Bryan Ferry then leads into the active part. From the medley "Love Is The Drug / More Than This", the security staff releases the previously closed to the audience space in front of the stage - the disadvantage of the buyers of expensive tickets for the first parquet series, the "Avalon" and John Lennons " Jealous Guy "with Ferrys Lakonisches Pfeifsolo might have rather dreamed undisturbed.

The finale is followed by a dynamically dried-up street dude: Bob Dylan's protest song "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" is followed by Wilbert Harrison's "Rhythm-'n" ​​blues "Let's Stick Together" and "Shame, Shame, Shame "By Jimmy Reed. As the gentleman, who is usually always in the limelight, dances in the limelight, he plays the air guitar, lost in thoughtful tunes. In the end, a friendly and kissing Bryan Ferry with "Editions Of You" brings out another highlight of Roxy Music's early experimentation and everyone is happy.

Thanks for posting that, le freak. A detailed review from a quality paper.

The Essen setlist included Same Old Scene and Shame Shame Shame but neither Prairie Rose nor Running Wild . Why?

Elegantly Ageing Hipsters,

The ever insightful Pianoman poses a good question - why indeed?
Honestly the fact that this is reverting to 50% of last years show is not good news and is taking the sizzle off the sausage.

What’s more, W2 doesn’t know any fan who is dying to hear ‘Shame, Shame, Shame’. It’s a pretty average song to start with albeit it holds huge nostalgia for BF. Wouldn’t it be great to hear the likes of Johnny & Mary, Tender Is The Night or Alphaville instead ?

The Penshaw prayers continue mais nous voir ce que nous allon voir.

Salutations,



Windswept

He looks very happy at the Essen show, but the review doesn`t say anything new this time either. For those of you that understand German:

https://www.waz.de/staedte/essen/bryan- ... 80203.html

Google translator can come up with some very provocative phrasings. This one seems particularly on point:

"Or are the former art teacher with the well-groomed exterior adhering to those image projections only for an eternity?"

Only for an eternity... The never ending tour plows on...

On another point, I agree with W2 that SSS is filler at best given the rich depth of the BF catalog. The musical equivalent of empty calories...

These google translations remind me of Stanley Unwin. Very irritating at times.

From Facebook (BF & RM @ networld):

Setlist for "BF @Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, Germany, May 30, 2019"
(Very special Thanks to toshio! )

01: In Every Dream Home A Heartache
02: Out of the Blue
03: The Space Between
04: The 39 Steps
05: Slave to Love
06: Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
07: Oh Yeah!
08: Boys and Girls
09: Can't Let Go
10: My Only Love
11: Take A Chance With Me
12: To Turn You on
13: Tokyo Joe
14: If There Is Something
15: Dance Away
16: Love Is The Drug
17: More Than This
18: Avalon
19: A Hard Rain's A - Gonna Fall
20: Same Old Scene
21: Jealous Guy
22: Let's Stick Together
23: Shame Shame Shame
24: Editions of You

Bryan Ferry in Hamburg:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzdWAHUORVY

Looks like at the beginning he’s annoyed with the drummer. Turns around and points his finger up. Fortunately, he only used one finger.

Perpetual Procrastinators,

Is it only Windswept who is confused by this whole set list hiatus ?

The Hamburg setlist shows ‘Oh Yeah’ at 07 and ‘Same Old Scene’ At 20 yet the video posted shows them following each other - does this mean they missed out 08 thru’ 19 ?

No wonder poor old Luke is getting the finger. He probably hasn’t a clue which song he’s supposed to be playing !

Salutations,

Windswept.