Concert Review: Istanbul, Turkey - May 24, 2008
Necip Tiynak:
Hi All, After the fan-meeting we went to our seats. Me and Nergis were at 5th row, just in front of the stage. And what a surprise, Feyzullah, Aylin, Fatih, Umut and Gamze were at 6th row just behind us. We were all together. During the concert, CdeB saw us and make a joke about it. He said 'I will take you as a backing vocal chorus on stage next time ' The fan meeeting ended at 20:30 and concert would start at 21:00. But because of the traffic jam, many people were late, and the concert started at 21:15. Firstly all the lights were turned off and 'The Storyman Theme' started. After that Cdeb came to stage all by himself with his guitar and began to sing 'The Road to Freedom'. Everybody was very excited, cheering and clapping hands. Then he looked at the paper in his hand and said ' I am very happy to be here in Turkey once again' in Turkish and his pronountation was very good indeed. He was in a very good mood, his voice was great in tune and he never failed to sing any part of any song, also he made jokes and the audience were very happy. The first part of the concert was solo and he played and sang Sailor, Always On My Mind, Borderline, Natasha Dance, Where Peaceful Waters Flow. For example I think it is very hard to sing Borderline live and solo, but it was a real success that he sang perfectly. When he was singing Natasha Dance, a couple who were late for the concert were standing and still trying to find their seats. Suddenly CdeB saw them,stop singing and said 'You haven't missed anything' and everybody laughed. What a shame for that couple! And after the solo show, he wanted his special microphone for singing and walk-about, and make jokes about Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. Then he began to sing 'The Lady In Red' with his guitar and danced with the beatiful ladies in red between the audience. In the song, he sang like 'Your husband will kill me' and 'Nobody here,just him and you' he said and everybody laughed. Then he danced with Aylin and she sang with him. Her voice was sweet indeed, she was a musician too. (And you are right, she had taken part in the fan's tribute CDs.) That walk-about part was a great success for CdeB too, because everybody were standing and everybody were affected by him very closely like a magic. Then the band part started. The first song was 'Where We Will Be Going' like the previous concert in 1992. Then they started to play 'The Traveller'. I stood up and turned back 'Let's stand up'. We were clapping hands in the air, then I saw that everybody stood up and all the hands were in the air. Maybe it was the strongest reaction in the world for CdeB to this classic song. He was very happy and thanked us. Then they played 'Missing You', 'Sailing Away', 'A Spaceman Came Travelling'. Feyzullah and Aylin danced just in front of the stage, bodyguards didn't know what to do, CdeB allowed them to dance. He also sang 'One World', 'My Father's Eyes' and 'The Spirit' from the last album. Most of the audience didn't know these songs, so it was the most silent part of the show. Then The Leader trilogy began, a perfect performance! Al Vosper's electroguitar solo was excellent. By the way, in my opinion, this band is much more better than the previous Canadian band. During the elecroguitar solo of 'Whart About me' CdeB left the stage and had a rest for a couple of minutes. The last part of the show was dancing to the rhythm part. 'The Words I Love You', 'Bal Masque','Living In The World'. He said 'Good night' and went. Everybody began to tempo 'I love you Chris,I love you Chris!' Then CdeB and his band turned back to the stage and he allowed people to come closer to the stage. Now that everybody were standing, dancing, cheering, clapping hands and singing. 'Say Goodbye To It All', 'Don't Pay the Ferryman','High On Emotion'. His second and last bis were 'The Snows of New York' and 'The Lady In Red(original version)'. He thanked to the audience and said that 'You are one of the best audiences all over the world. I enjoyed this concert very much. I hope you enjoyed the concert as much as I did.' Everything was really fantastic like a dream. He perfectly showed to everyone what a great star he was. Necip.