Concert Review: Dublin, Ireland - May 27, 2011
Chris Raymond:
When the Moonfleet overture began little did we know quite what a night we were in for… Chris appeared and the place erupted as everyone stood cheering loudly to welcome him. To get such a response just walking on to the stage must have been very special for him. The set list was much the same as for the previous concerts. The smugglers’ outfits looked great as did the stage set with barrels, ships rigging and all. The light show and video footage was superb. There was much laughter about not talking about aeroplanes as Rosanna had been in Court all week contesting Ryanair for defamation of character. We heard that C de B’s “darling mother” was present and everyone cheered! Much was made of the smugglers’ greeting, “Arrrr!” especially as Chris was born in Arrrgentina and lives in Irrrland! There was an amazing response following Borderline - Chris stepped forward from the piano saying, “WOW!” then “Thank you!” That didn’t stop the applause – it went on for ages with everyone up on their feet! Several gifts were taken to the stage – flowers, chocolates, cards and wrapped gifts. A fan presented a scarf from Volendam and Chris told of his Benefit concert and the special relationship with his fans there. There was a problem with the playback of When Winter Comes – it stopped and started a couple of times but didn’t matter as everyone knew that it was time for the second part of the show. During the solo slot there was lovely surprise… Those Were The Days ! The audience was almost “out singing” C de B! He certainly went to town amongst the audience for TLIR - weaving here and there and getting hugs from many fans, even a bloke! It being a special night Chris said that he would sing an extra song, a quiet one before we went home… Well! Of course they launched into Patricia! The roar from the floor was something else! A couple of us were prepared with bras which we lobbed onto the stage! Chris hung them on the end of Dave’s guitar with a great deal of flourish! It went down a storm, for sure! All too soon the reprise of Go Where Your Heart Believes began and afterwards C de B shook hands along the stage, went for a short “bath” in the audience and left…. The boys played us out…. Afterwards there was a gathering in the foyer to present Jason (Merchandise) with a beautiful cake and card for his birthday. He seemed to enjoy our singing of Happy Birthday and we joked that he has his own Fan Club! Then we had to leave and many fans headed for The Ferryman pub nearby – where else would we go?! There was much chatting and showing of videos and photographs as everyone raved about the concert! Several fans posed for photos under The Ferryman sign before setting off on their separate ways! It really was the very best concert ever!