Estoril Casino Portugal - Thu 6th Jun
Estoril Casino Portugal by NUNO GALOPIM With raised arms, saying the last goodbye, giving a smile (which he had during the entire show), Bryan Ferry left the Preto and Prata stage of the Estoril Casino on a high. An hour and a half of songs with history and a great stage presence showing great form assured the dignified return of one of the most celebrated singers in the history of pop to a Portuguese stage. In spite of frequent personal visits and of timely promotional campaigns for his record releases, Bryan Ferry had not performed in front of a Portuguese crowd since 1994. That visit to us was the memorable show in the Coliseu dos Recreios, where the night was divided between recent songs from Mamouna and a series of vintage memories from the 70s. This time, eight years later, Ferry returned to clearly insist on the "keyness" of the 70s. Of the 17 songs comprising the very strong line-up of the concert, ten of them were diverse picks from the 70s, among them songs recorded on solo Ferry discs and the inevitable classics of Roxy Music. Curiously, from the recent Frantic (an album clearly bearing the mark of memories of the 70s), he performed only three numbers. They were It's All Over Now Baby Blue - a version of an original by Bob Dylan included in the album which was finished only a few weeks ago, with which Ferry opened the evening. Also from Frantic he performed Don't Think Twice (another Dylan tune, a magnificent exercise for voice, piano and harmonica) and Fool for Love. The meat of the concert was made-up, thus, by memories, many of them found in the deepest collections of the "live" past of Roxy Music. Virginia Plain, Do The Strand, Love Is The Drug, Out Of The Blue, Both Ends Burning... Among them, songs from Ferry solo albums crossed paths with those memories: Sign of the Times, Can't Let Go, Let's Stick Together, Hard Rain's Gonna Fall (still another from Dylan's "quill") From the batch of the 80s, there was still time for evoking Oh Yeah, Jealous Guy (Lennon original, one of the largest ovations of the night), Dance Away, Slave to Love (the most applauded of these)... Whenever two of the back-up singers would assume the role of dancers in the back of the stage, the show was transported to the glamour that always characterized the covers of Roxy Music albums. In great form, Bryan Ferry was the man in front of a complete band, which wasn't lacking for virtuosity in the violinist and a guitarist who was a curious cross between stereotypical rockabilly and a pose of David Lynch in a western outfit. In the room where the formalities were convened, the intensity which Ferry brought to the show (and they say that the set-list in the Casino Estoril has the same as that of his present tour) obligated many to leave their seats and give themselves up to dancing, more than anything the majestic ending of the set. The desire for "more" hung in the air. Maybe next year, in a possible second tour of reunited Roxy Music, and, why not, in a large hall in Lisbon?