Concert Review: Birmingham, UK - December 9, 2000
Andy Haynes:
I'm not aiming to do a proper review but here are a few comments after Saturday nights concert.
At most venues getting out is the hard part. At the NEC they make getting IN as complicated as possible!
Chris was on top form. His voice was even better than usual if this is possible.
He had the audience eating out of his hands from the first minute. Audience participation was excellent throughout.
Why weren't the songs on Quiet Revolution recorded with the same amount of energy as they have when performed on stage? You might say that "live" is bound to be different to a studio performance but I don't think that you notice the effect as much on any other album.
The "requests" section: I'm sure that he knows exactly what he's going to sing before he even asks for requests. That didn't stop me shouting out for "The Tower" which he actually played :) Someone asked for "Every Drop of Rain". "Are you the same person who asked for it last night in Glasgow?" A positive response. "I still can't remember it properly but I'll try to fit it in before the end of the UK tour. Which album is it off by the way?" How do people find the time and money to follow him around like that. Glasgow to Birmingham is 350 miles!
Highlights: All the usual suspects!! Revolution (of course!), Oh My Brave Hearts, All the solo section but especially The Tower and Country Churchyard, A section in the middle when the band formed a circle and played mainly acoustic guitars. This included an unexpected Golden Oldie. I won't spoil the surprise by telling you what it was :) To be honest it was all a highlight!!
Chris and the band seem to enjoy performing as much as we did listening. They have an excellent rapport on stage and they seemed to be egging each other on for their solo's. Chris is eager to show that it's a team effort. There is no evidence that he wants to take all the credit.
They finally left the stage almost exactly 3 hours after they started. There were no breaks apart from when they left the stage before the encores. A thoroughly excellent and enjoyable evening. The shortest 3 hours I know!