Second Night (Dublin)

[Scath]

Well I was there last night too-dont know capacity of this upgraded venue but it was packed out-great atmosphere.I will not give too much away and concentrate on positives.
Firstly The Shadows for me stole the show.They were just great.Few little glitches which will be ironed out.I am a big Hank fan and was so impressed with him the whole show.Great assurance and playing and singing.Bruce was excellent-great rhythm player and harmonies and quite a spontaneous wit..on at least 2 occasions brought great laughs from audience.
The videowall was superb.showed great closeups of each one and some of the facial expressions during and after songs added so much..had to check myself several times to watch them rather then the wall.
Now I have a question.I reached the big 60 several months ago and I know that physically there are some aches and less energy etc then there used to be ...so...I want to know immediately what these guys are on..I want some of it.The video showed Brian Bennett working so hard and superbly for something like 2.30 hours.How the hell does he do that at his age??Incredible.

Finally as someone else said..I just hope Cliffs voice holds out for this tour.I found myself actually worrying in the first half particularly that he would not make it.Seemed to be pushing himself more then the rest.Heres hoping.

Oh final mention to Warren Bennett.Multi Instrumentalist and valuable addition.Keyboards,Harmonica,some Percussion and Bell..oh and possibly some vocals.Great.

And a final Finally...Thank you for the music gentlemen over the years.

[bgohara]

Philip - I enjoyed your review - which was spot on - the o2 is just vast isn't it? I would disagree with you though re cliff's voice - obviously he needs to be careful - but I thought he was singing very well. his 'mature' voice is quite different to what it was even 20 years ago.

I thought all the band were playing very well and there was some great banter.

it was a great atmosphere - amazing for such a large venue - and the screens and whole presentation is very professional and impressive.
I thought the crowd really appreciated the shads numbers too - and brian's drumming got the crowd going on at least a couple of occasions - amazing stamina as you say!

[bgohara]

ps did you spot warren on guitar...and accordion as well! I thought hank was joking when he mentioned the accordion on the first night - but I saw it for myself last night!

[brianbluedays]

testing again 2

[gogarrio]

I can't wait to hear "On the Beach" with Hank on 12-string. How could it get any better than that? Well, maybe if Susan Hampshire joined in.

[kittycph]

Thanks for the reviews. Can't wait to Friday.
I'm off to London tomorrow morning. TheO2 Friday night.
I wouldn't count on tickets in Europe. Copenhagen was sold out same day.

[gonzales]

I have just heard from a friend who was there last night, who although is a Cliff fan, had to admit that The Shadows definately stole the show. They certainly seemed to receive the most applause for the numbers they performed, particularly Foot Tapper,with Brian getting pretty much a standing ovation. Both Hank and Bruce changed guitars frequently, with Bruce usung acoustic / electric pretty much equally. Hank , apart from using Strats,used a green Burns 12 string on a couple of numbers, and also a Strat decorated to resemble newspaper headlines "Cliff and Shads 50th" or similar. (not my description!!) Brian played what looked like, and again not my description, a gold sparkle kit with a possiibly 22" bass drum, 10" high tom and 14" 0r 16" floor tom. The video wall was impressive but the shots of brian seemed a bit out of synch.
My friend said that Cliffs voice did not seem as strong this time,and that he didnt think Cliff looked too well, but he certainly "went for it" , especially on the early hits(and some near misses!!).
Overall he reckoned the show was excellent, and the balance of Cliff and Shads / Shads songs was about right. Shads fans wont be disappointed!!

[gogarrio]

All these reports are very encouraging, I can't wait to get to the O2 on Monday.

[brianbluedays]

Well I was knocked out by the performances of these true proffessionals at the Dublin 02 on Monday night. I thought they might just be going through "the motions" of a final tour.

This new venue is like a vast Roman amphitheatre [9000 seats plus]. From the opening visuals to the final number some two and a half hours later these guys were superb. Cliff's vocals held up well. It was the backing harmonies of the Shadows and accompanying musicians which gave these sixties songs a new freshness. Both Hank and Bruces's guitar tone were excellent with Brian and Mark really driving the band - this place rocked !

The overall sound,screen and lighting was excellent. The banter was good and minimal. I agree with previous posts - I thought the Shadows really stole the show and the audience really warmed to the instros. Cliff's foot work was good too !

Minor quibbles - the keyboards on Atlantis and Wonderful Landwas a bit muted otherwise top class. The 12 string on On the beach a tad flat - it could have been twangier.

Really hard to believe that this is another "final tour" - the freshness of this show is unbelieveable. Dont lose your tickets folks you are in for a real treat. And if it is a final tour lads - thanks for all the memories !

Brian

[RUSSET]

I always enjoy the gig for what it is as it's very negative to sit there thinking about the guitar sound not being 'like the record' - it rarely is when anyone plays live. I'm looking forward to it, if my tickets ever arrive . . . .

Well said Dave. Unless you have some very clever electronics, you will never get the same sound LIve as you get on a recording, because the studio uses lots of little 'magic' tricks that only studio engineers know about, to get particular sounds on recordings. Those of us who have gigged live know very well that you rarely get the same sound twice as you play in different venues, all of which have their own unique acoustic characteristics.

Tony.