Concert Review: Gateshead, UK - October 11, 2011
Andrea Lucas:
The concert itself started about 7.35. We had very good seats almost in the middle of the second row, thank you Jacqueline! A lovely view as Chris sang “My Hearts’s Surrender” which is one of my absolute highlights of every show. Again the stage was very low and from the front row it was just about a metre to the stage. It was obvious we wouldn’t get out, so for the dancing part we simply got up and with the four people in front of us staying in their seats, we had a perfect view!!! It was actually quite funny, as the guy sitting next to me was trying to be nice and friendly and started talking to me. At first I did not understand a single word!!! His dialect!!!! I explained I would come from Germany having problems to understand him. This did not stop him from talking to me, just the contrary. After a while it got better and Jacqueline took also part in our chat, but still I’m afraid I only understood half of what he told me. He was 77 years old and had promoted Country and Western bands. The tickets were a kind of gift for him and his wife, because someone else couldn’t go. And of course, the only song he knew was?????? Yep, “Lady In Red”. After the concert was over, he told me that indeed he recognized other songs as well. At the end of the concert, as Chris like usual wished us safe trip back home, “especially those who’ve some a long way”, he shouted out “Stuttgart is a long way!” Isn’t that nice? He knew where I come from, because as we started talking he asked where in Germany I would live and I had said “Stuttgart”. We had told him about the dancing part, but he’d pointed out that he had a walking stick. Still he (and his wife) enjoyed the show a lot. He sang along with “Those Were The Days” and for “The Snows Of New York” he took my hand and we “waved” together. It was indeed lovely to meet him! As we said good bye after the show, he even kissed my hand!!!! And we agreed that whenever Chris goes back to Gateshead we would meet again… Well, back to the concert… Obviously there wasn’t much of a change in the songs… What surprised me was that at the beginning of “Spanish Train” nobody yelled or shouted. Usually there’s always a few people doing this, as soon as they recognize the song. For sure with my Canadian friend Stéphanie around, there would have been loud screaming… The solo part started with “In A Country Churchyard”, then “Lonely Sky”. Then Chris asked if the Newcastle Town Hall (not quite sure if that’s the right name…) would still be there and he said “Aah, those were the days…” and he sang that song. Lots of singing and clapping from the audience. What a nice surprise! The next song was “A Spaceman Came Travelling”, but of course without the Christmas market chat we are used from the German concerts and “Where Peaceful Waters Flow”. For the first half I thought that the audience was very quiet. But after the break it felt to me as if someone had pushed a button. Still nobody was getting up early, which I actually enjoy and for Chris it might be quite a big change that he can go round for his “Lady In Red” walk without having to push his way through the fans. As always his walk was very much appreciated and people LOVED it!!! Especially those lucky ones getting a hug or kiss. It’s nice to be able to watch him on his walk and see how much fun people have. But then, as he was up on stage, beginning with “Africa” and inviting people to get up, many got up. As there wasn’t much space directly at the stage, we just got up from our seats. It was great!!!! I sooo love this part with “Africa” and “Everywhere I Go”!!!!! Those songs were followed by “Don’t Pay The Ferryman”, “The Getaway” and “High On Emotion”. Again no “Say Goodbye To It All”. What surprised me was that for “The Snows Of New York” almost everyone sat down again – not me… - but then they got up again. The last song was as always “Go Where Your Heart Believes”. As Chris said hello to the audience after the first few songs, he mentioned that people in Gateshead would of course be completely different from those in Newcastle. I guess there’s some rivalry between the towns who are only separated by the river Tyne. Later during the evening he mentioned their football team (or teams??? I’m not familiar with that…), but said right away that Liverpool would beat them! While singing “Missing You” he again replaced the word darling by “I’ve been missing you Schatzi”. Aah well, I could imagine he did it for me (probably being the only German in the audience) as I really like that, but more likely it was just out of habit… Before coming to the UK I was wondering what Chris would tell the audience about the song “Seven Bridges”. Like in Liverpool he said that it was originally from an East German band and that every song had to pass a “test” before the band/singer was aloud to sing it. The lyrics had to be approved by a board and that for this song, those board members misunderstood the text, otherwise it wouldn’t have been approved. They had thought it was just about one man having a bad day, but indeed it was about millions of people having a very bad time in the GDR. I really love his version!!! The reaction of the audience wasn’t as strong as for example in Dresden or Erfurt, but I guess that’s only natural. Especially for towns in former East Germany the meaning of this song is much, much stronger. Again “S.O.S” was very good too. In my teenage years I was (actually still am) a huge ABBA fan, but I really like Chris’ version with Al playing the guitar at the beginning. Another one of my personal highlights is always “Why Mona Lisa Smiled”. Chris explained about his song writing with movies going round in his mind and of course he also mentioned the inventions of Leonardo da Vinci. I like the video for this song which is shown in a frame, it’s really nice. And I think it’s in this introduction when Chris tells about hearing a ghost in his hotel every night, but then discovers it’s David looking for his room… Poor David, but still funny! Chris didn’t get much gifts. Matter of fact, I can only remember a little girl sitting in the front row giving him a letter. He asked if it would be a birthday card and it was. He said that October birthdays would be the best and asked if somebody else would have his/her birthday in October. Of course there were some people, one even having his birthday on this very day. So Chris sang him a spontaneous “Happy Birthday.” Sorry, this is definitely not in the right order and hopefully not too confusing, but I just wrote down what came to my mind. Off to grab a bite to eat now and then the last show of “Moonfleet” in the Bridgewater Hall. Take care, Andrea