Concert Review: Basel, Switzerland - November 11, 2001
Sheila Gardner:
I travelled to on Saturday with my friend Miriam arriving in Zurich at around 3pm and then travelled by train for just over an hour to Basel, then it was 5 minutes on the tram to Messe Basel. When we arrived we were in the middle of a fairground. Our hotel was just 2 minutes walk and we was delighted that the venue for the show was opposite. After checking in we went out in the evening to have a look around. There was a huge fun fair in front of the Avo Session Hall and surrounding, and there was every fairground ride you could imagine from the Dodgems, the Big Wheel to Free fall rides. There must have been at least 50 different ones. It was open from midday to midnight. We had plenty of time the next day before the show to see some sights in Basel. Everyone was let into the venue at 6.30pm and then we were handed a brochure which had a list of the different artists who had performed at the Avo Session from the 2nd November to 11th November 2001. THere was a stall which was selling just about every one of Chris's albums. At 7pm we were let into the main hall and as we had standing tickets we took a place centre in front of the stage. There was seated places only in the back of the hall and each side there was tables and chairs but they would have not have given a very good view of the stage. We met a few friends who joined us at the front and sat and chatted until 8pm when the show began. There was a barrier in front of the stage and in between was a sliding platform for the video camera. The first act on stage were called Pop Monster and they were a group of 3, a female vocalists and guitar player, a male guitarist who did some vocals too and a drummer. They were a very good rock band in my opinion and reminded me of a group called Texas. They performed for 45 minutes and went off stage to loud cheers.
Then there was a 15 minute break while the drums were taken off and Chris's piano, which was a very large one, was brought on and Chris's 2 guitars. Chris appeared at 9pm to very loud cheers, whistles and clapping. He stood for a moment smiling and then went to the piano and performed Carry On and Here Is Your Paradise. The next was Sailing Away followed by A Woman's Heart and then back to the piano for a parody of Elvis before Always On My Mind. I think that here was as far as some of you could see on the Internet but they did video the whole show. Was lucky that being standing in front of Chris I could see as they used the video camera from the side angle so not in spoiling any of my view of the show :-))
When Chris went to the piano one time he commented that it was a very large one like a swimming pool and when he went towards it, he made swimming arms - very funny it was :-) Another funny time was when Chris went to get himself a drink of water. The cup was sitting on a grey flannel and when he went to pick it up, the flannel was stuck to the bottom and stayed there while he drank and he said that he was a magician. He tried the trick later on but it didn't work this time :-)
Chris was on stage for 2 and a half hours and I think I can remember most of the songs he did but they may not be in exactly the right order but close to it. He performed Natasha Dance, Borderline, Lady In Red and Without You at the piano, and mentioned the awful tragedy in New York on Sept 11th before singing Let It Be. Then back to his guitar and performing The Same Sun, In A Country Churchyard and asking for requests I shouted for Carry Me which to my delight he sang. Next was A Spaceman Came Travelling, Spanish Train and Patricia The Stripper. Then to my delight, he sang American Pie and Pretty Woman. This was the first time I had seen Chris perform these 2 songs and the first was done so very fast and rocky and the whole place came alive to it! Chris went to the piano and sang Say Goodbye To It All and then followed that on the guitar with The Snows Of New York. Missing you came next, followed by Don't Pay The Ferryman and then Chris said that he needed help >from us in performing High On Emotion as he hadn't the band with him and we gave it our best shot, singing and clapping to it loudly and it went down very, very well :-)
The final songs were When I Think of You, Where Peaceful Waters Flow and Hey Jude. By now the time was 11.30pm and Chris left the stage to a very happy and elated crowd cheering and showing how much they had enjoyed the show. This show had been a rare treat with just Chris and his guitar and piano. On leaving the venue everyone was handed a red rose by Mastercard, one of the sponsors.
Myself, I left feeling high on emotion and looking forward so much to the tour next year :-))