Birmingham NIA - Saturday

[Moderne]

What an amazing experience! It's hard to express how enjoyable this concert was for me. I feel incredibly lucky that 30 years after I first saw The Shadows live (in 1979 at the Hammersmih Odeon - I was 15) I've just seen them and Cliff put on possibly the best show of their career. What impressed me most was the vocals: the harmonies were just fantastic throughout. Cliff was great - sounding even better than on the CD...the Shads were superb...Hank is a genius. I'm so glad I'm seeing them again in Wembley on Oct 23rd. If Warren or any of the guys are reading this...thanks for the most amazing show imaginable!!

Clive

[Risky]

Wow

I agree completely with Moderne. I have seen the Shads / Hank many times but never Cliff. He put on a terrific show and (despite the fears of my wife) his voice was strong and it kept going - although it was maybe getting a little husky towards the end.

I'm glad we had seats above the "dancing queens" - we had a brilliant view of the stage from the side. My suggestion to all concert promoters is that if you think that there will be dancing, don't put any seats on the flat part of the arena. This was the way they arranged the NIA for Queen and Paul Rogers and it worked for all concerned.

We've still got Billy Elliot and Bill Bailey to come this side of Xmas. If they are half as good as last night we will be pleased.

Well done to the magnificent seven on stage

p.s. Hadn't heard Sea Cruise before - it was terrific.

[stevewiley]

great concert,cliff in fine voice.shadows were immaculate,but was it me or was the bass guitar sound rather muffled?

[Mark Burton]

Well - I was disappointed with Sunday ........ I'm going to be honest here as many of the reviews I've read don't seem to offer an objective stance.

Firstly - I'm not a Cliff fan, never have been, never will be - just not my cup of Twinings everyday.
Secondly - I'm not a fan of the NIA - every gig I go to there, I swear I'm not going back

So why did I book to see Cliff and the Shads at the NIA ??? Well I figured it was my final chance to see the Shads together so off I went with the wife who had never seen either Cliff or the Shads before.

My overall impression from the back of the NIA was that I was watching a DVD ...... The screens and the graphics were distracting and occasionally extremely annoying. The sound was poor - far too quiet, bass and mids were muddy, Bruce was quite often lost in the mix but I think that's largely down to the venue rather than the sound guys. Vocal harmonies from Hank & Bruce were very very good.

Without doubt, The Shadows stole the show - the applause they generated was thunderous compared to the polite clapping after vocal numbers. Their first set seemed to lack energy but their second set was far more energised and there were occasional hints of a good old Hank sound coming through. As you would expect, performance was virtually faultless and the guys seemed to be enjoying themselves which was good to see.

I bumped into Ian McCutcheon during the interval and he was quite happy with the sound etc - so it could have been me expecting too much but at sixty odd quid a ticket, I would have expected better.

To all those who decided not to go to the Arena venues, I think you made the right decision

now where's my tin hat ............

Mark.

[dogbender]

I was there last night ............ are sure you were'nt at the NEC by mistake 'cos you sure as heck were not at the same concert that I was and, I was also in the tiered seating at the back.
This was the 3rd time that I have seen Cliff, the first in 1962, and about the 25th time I've seen the Shads.
Last night was one of the best that I have heard them.
Pete.

[Mark Burton]

Glad you were happy with it

[bob t]

These are my thoughts on the Thursday show at the NIA which I posted earlier in another thread
It would appear from other posts that it depends where you sit at the NIA whether the sound is any good or not.
We were sat in the middle on row 4 so no problems soundwise but it seems that the further back you are the sounds seems to disappear at this venue

Bob T

[Risky]

I think Mark has a point. The further you sit back at these arenas (NIA, NEC, Wembley) the worse the sound mix gets. I was sat just above stage left on Saturday and the sound mix was the best I've ever heard. All of the instruments came across loud and clear.

A few years ago I watched Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry in the Wolverhampton Civic and the sound mix was the worst I've ever heard - despite the fact that the mixing desk was just 5 yards in front of me

[Amanda]

Hi,

Much the same remarks as the topic about Saturday, unfortunately stuck
behind the "Cliff Standers", noticed they were videoing the show.

Strange how they all sat down when Cliff went off!

I thought that show moved up a gear when the Shads did their solo
parts, they looked like they were having fun!

I didn't notice any 34346 replicas from where I was sitting though, Hank seemed to be using
"signature strats" apart from the "newspaper" one, (now that would make a good
limited edition strat!) and the green Burns 12 string.

As for Bruce apart from a short burst on his Mick Johnson Sunburst Strat,
he used 34346 all night when he wasn't on acoustic!

We left as "Move It" started, a) to avoid the rush and b) because I'd heard it several
times at the Midlands club that afternoon!

I thought the sound was good from where I was sitting "Block E"
and I could hear Bruce in the mix!

Amanda

[BobGreg]

Here is my reply to Mark based on Sunday at the back upper tier rear right of centre from the stage - Sound fantastic.

Copied from Sunday input page:

Was there on Sunday too - nearly missed the show though - held up for 3, yes three hours on the M40 - managed to park nearby at the hotel and pick up keys and dashed to the NIA just across the road at 19:30! Fortunately some of the high priced packages comming via coach had rung ahead and the concert was delayed 15 minutes, so managed to see the whole show, which was absolutely superb. Even my long suffering wife (has a name for us saddows!) enjoyed it too.

Having seen the pirated O2 videos I knew roughly what to expect but to actually experience the event was something really special. The first time I saw Cliff and The Shadows was 50 years ago and my haven't they improved! Their performance was so slick and professional and having seen The Shadows on their final tour, they were on an even higher plain - partnering Cliff - they just oozed confidence and perfection and clearly gave Cliff a platform from which to excel. Paired together I realised just how much they were all at the very pinacle of their skills and just how much we have missed since they went their separate ways.

I've run out of superlatives to express my emotional experience - as I said you really do had to be there to believe what you are seeing and hearing.

I briefly met Bungle Flint (Maurice) sitting in the audience behind me at half time for a very brief chat on my way for a pit stop - my criticism of the NIA is that they need more male loos - I even kept my wife waiting this time round - this has never happened before! The seats are also not designed for anybody of normal and above sizes either! Heard these complains many times over in the time I had to queue for the loo - ladies you have my sympathy!

For those of you deciding to miss the event, your are missing the best experience of Cliff and The Shadows show of a lifetime. Fortunately although seated high at the back was not inconvenienced by the "standuppers" in the front - at least the staff had put barriers in place to stop those on the ground level from surging to the front from the back to impede those near the stage - however, not much you can do for those in the seats getting up in front of you. At least the huge screens let those at the back get a clear view of the performers and the very clever camera switching gave a superb view of Bruce, Brian and especially Hank's playing technique. The amount of clever fingering and string pulling if captured on the DVD will be a master class lesson in it's own right - superb coverage.

Sorry for going a little over the top but it was a brilliant experience - one which I'm unlikely to ever experience again. So if you get the chance to pick up a ticket then do so - you won't regret it!