Great set list. Very brave. Is this the first time Remake Remodel has been performed on a solo tour ?

Looking through the tour set lists it appears to be the first time.

I was surprised to see the main man looking a bit under dressed next to the orchestra in their tuxedos. I thought we might at least see the return of the dickie bow that he has been sporting in recent interviews and publicity shots. The return of the white tux would be a nice touch. Perhaps there is something new on the way making with someone stitching away as we speak.

I too thought about the lack of visuals but then thought perhaps they might distract from the orchestra & band? Maybe certain songs would work more than others. If there will be no video backdrop then some kind of set dressing would be nice.

Great "dress swooshing" by Bobbie & Jodie!

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Cher Roxy,
I think you have it nailed. Doubtless the A&S senior cutter's hands are bleeding as we speak.
I do hope he's hard at work on an off white shawl collared tux — they only three guys on earth that could wear them were/are Bogey, Ferry and Connery-the rest of us just succeed in looking like ice cream vendors. It would be the perfect rig out for TJA set and would complement the band perfectly.
Beyond that, we have to have "The Flappers". Our hero has form in this area so may be under some sort of domestic restraint but we must insist he breaks free and warms the cockles of this old hipster's heart by giving us a gaggle of swooshers.
From a visual perspective, I think we should have the back drop video playing when the BFO are doing instrumentals and bring "The Flappers" on when we move into vocal mode.
Oh, and whilst I think about it, lets have a great tour brochure that surpasses the excellent ATGB offering.
The set list is perfect!
Regards,
Windswept.
Ps. Come to think of it, I once saw the late, great Bobby Short perform at NYC's Cafe Carlyle and he looked damn cool in an off white tux too, so maybe I'll give it another try, but not for the Brighton gig!

I'm probably alone in this but the spectacle of BF doing a cover of 'Back to Black' doesn't really inspire. His choices of covers either for recorded output or occasional inclusion within a set-list are usually more classical / inspired / eclectic. Inclusion of something as recent as this seems to run counter to what we have grown to expect and while doing something that surprises is no bad thing, it all has a rather lame cabaret feel to me. Maybe by the time the tour gets underway properly in the UK this Autumn I'll feel differently but equally if it's been dropped by then I'm unlikely to feel cheated. Were this to be a part of the upcoming album I'd have very similar reservations but equally find it hard to believe some magic won't be worked.

Looking forward to Manchester. Funnily enough I'm sitting on a spare ticket at the minute as the only one who will come along to anything BF/Roxy related is not a lover of this Jazz Age stuff....... still, plenty of time to weave my magic one way or another...... [/color][/quote]

Cher Helen,
Unbelievable that your friend doesn't like the BFO and has dipped out — quel bordel!
It has to be said, seldom has an album been so polarising.
By and large, the critics loved it. My 86 year old mother in law adores it and went into a jig. Our youngest son, who is too cool for school and who claims to be the oracle on all things musical and who can't get past the first four Roxy albums, loves it. Yet Mrs.Windswept doesn't like it. Verdict - there's no accounting for taste!
In fact, I'm currently having problems with Mrs.Windswept. I've bought tickets for TRAH and Brighton and she is currently saying that she will do TRAH but not Brighton because she doesn't want to see the same gig twice — can you believe it? Doesn't she realise it won't be the same gig? For starters, the ambiance will be completely different. We will have the Royal pageant of the Albert and then the ultra hip Dome. There could be set changes. We may even have a different drummer and in any event, it will be an opportunity to revisit things we didn't understand the first time!
Of course, I'm quite sure Mrs.Windswept will change her mind in a heartbeat and become the biggest lover of Jazz going if only she can have one of those Gucci "Flapper" dresses like the good Mrs.Ferry.
All in all, I'm sure you'll work your magic before the big day and my wallet will work mine.
Good luck and regards,
Windswept

Didn't he do Adele's someone like you at one of his corporate gig things a few weeks back? I'd be interested to here his take on that.

Is it just the lyrics that put you off, Helen?

How do you feel about It's My Party, which was also on the Berlin setlist? This is obviously a female specific lyric yet I have never been particularly uncomfortable with Bryan singing it without altering the wording - which he did with (at least) one other song from These Foolish Things i.e. Erma Franklin's Piece Of My Heart.

I used to wonder why Bryan wasn't consistent on this front. My conclusion was that the latter still made sense with a few redrafted words whereas just swapping around Johnny for Judy and vice versa didn't work given the remainder of the lyrics on It's My Party - and getting it to work would have involved a serious re-draft of the lyrics which would have detracted from the song's charm.

Did he? It would be interesting to know more about that!

I understand what others are saying about BTB and whether it suits Bryan or not. I wonder if he kept to the lyrics in the first couple of line as the youtube clip starts further into the song.