Ottawa Sun - September 29th, 1996

High on emotion

De Burgh enthralls Civic Centre during 3-hour set

Copyright (c) 1996, Rick Overall 

IN AN era where unplugged seems all too
commonplace, it's wonderful to experience
someone who does it right.
Chris de Burgh is one such performer.
You could feel last night was going to be a
special night just by the reaction that greeted
the Irish star as he softly began the opening
chords of Carry On.
In his five previous appearances at the Civic
Centre de Burgh had been surrounded by an
envelope of hard-nosed rock musicians and the
flurry of production that goes with it. Last night
he was on his own.
Almost immediately, it became perfectly clear
that this was to be a evening that was both
intimate and interactive.
As de Burgh launched into his third song,
Sailing Away, the crowd began to sing along
with him -- raising their voices higher with each
chorus.
It was to be that way all night long.
With each familiar melody the 5,000 in the
Civic Centre Theatre sang along with him,
bolstering his version of Lonely Sky and lacing
A Spaceman Came Travelling with a choir of
fan support..
Between the songs there was a side of de
Burgh that we were not used to -- his playful
sense of humor.
It was used often and effectively through the
show. But no where better than the hilarious
story he recounted about watching a member
of the local paparazzi fall off a totem pole and
right onto his long lens. 
Turns out it was a tremendous lead in for
Spanish Train.
Through his extended three-hour concert, de
Burgh rolled through his massive discography.
He served up the romance, the mystery, the
intrigue and the wide arc of his social issues
that have been a trademark of de Burgh songs
over the years.
The exceptional thing about this performance
was that a goodly portion of the songs were
indeed requests from the crowd.
After each song, they'd pepper him with titles
and he would roll off the favorites, with rarely a
blip.
You've got to have solid control of your music
to pull off something like that.
De Burgh even dabbled in a little karaoke,
allowing a couple of fans to actually duet with
him on a live microphone. It was a potential
recipe for disaster, yet we got a good laugh out
of one and pretty good version of In A Country
Churchyard from the other.
After an hour and a half and 17 songs, he
took the concert on another path. Joining on
stage was the Hungarian String Quartet and a
pianist.
The lushness of the strings added the creme
de la creme to the show.
Delving into the his "smooch factor," he used
the last part of the show to showcase tracks
from Beautiful Dreams -- including In Love
Forever.
It was at this point that the audience joined
him again.
As the singer sang the velvet lyrics for The
Lady In Red, the audience gently joined him.
De Burgh has one of the best voices in pop
music, and the drama he adds to a
performance is palpable.
With that in mind, one wonders why he would
add a selection of soft rock tracks in the midst
of this.
Roy Orbison's In Dreams, Willie Nelson's
Always On My Mind and The Eagles'
Desperado, were all performed well, but
somehow the cover tunes seemed pointless in
an evening that was already a triumph.
Thankfully that little sidetrip was quickly
erased from memory with a rousing Patricia
The Stripper, High On Emotion and Don't Pay
The Ferryman.
SUN RATING: 3.5 OUT OF 5