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Author:  jeanjean [ Sun Jun 16, 2019 7:52 am ]
Post subject:  Brussels

Set list : https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/bryan-fe ... 1d918.html
Bryan was at the top: his voice was perfect, and he was very dynamic an happy.
Strange stlist: The Space between and The 39 steps were nearly boring. But the final was great, as usual.
Musicians at the top too.
Great concert !

Author:  le freak [ Sun Jun 16, 2019 2:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Brussels

Finally a serious review. I`d rather prefer Albert Speer to origami inspired architecture, though:

"Ferry mumbled more than he sang, but his fans were remarkably forgiving."

"the Master of Good Taste"

"in the past Bryan Ferry has proven everything there is to prove"

Bryan Ferry in Bozar: the King of Cool drops stitches ★★★ ☆☆

Bryan Ferry is one of the last major crooners of his generation. As a style icon he is always tight in the suit and he still knows how to fill large halls. But in Bozar it turned out that the man, at the age of 73, has more past than future and that his voice is cracking over the years.

His career has been going on for almost half a century and during that time he managed to work his way up from working in Northern England to a prominent member of the rock aristocracy. It is not for nothing that Bryan Ferry bears nicknames such as The King of Cool and The Sultan of Suave: he has survived countless style wars and the legacy of his art-rock band Roxy Music between glam and prog includes eight classic full-length players, while his parallel solo discography is clocking in at sixteen titles.

Ferry has sold more than 30 million records worldwide. So he is doing well in the soft laundry and no longer needs to tour to boost his bank balance. Yet his blazon has not remained entirely intact. Like more affluent, conservative country gentlemen, he is a proponent of the fox hunt and he makes a controversial statement that scratches his image. When he spoke lyrically about the Nazi architecture of Albert Speer or the propaganda films of Leni Riefenstahl in an interview and he described his own studio as "der Führerbunker", he had to go deeply into the dust.

However, Ferry's music is still standing, although the Brussels Center for Fine Arts showed that the artist's highlights are now far behind the horizon. The most recent song on his set list was already twenty-five years old and more than half of the songs played date back to his period with Roxy Music, between 1972 and '82. Bryan Ferry was assisted by an excellent nine-member band, in which guitar legend Chris Spedding was allowed to follow Phil Manzanera's footsteps and saxophonist Jorja Chalmers had to forget the masterful honking of Andy Mackay. Other eye-catchers in the group were violinist Marina Moore and Belgian string miracle Tom Vanstipthout, who now also has the opportunity to present themselves on international stages. The decor consisted of a few hanging geometric figures reminiscent of origami and, due to the sophisticated lighting, cast off whimsical shadows.

The spectators, mostly middle-aged, gave Bryan Ferry a warm welcome and ate from the first note out of his hand. The evening started promptly with some early Roxy classics. The ghostly ballad 'In Every Dreamhome a Heartache', about a man who tries to fill the emptiness of his life with an inflatable doll ordered by mail order ('I blew up your body / But you blew my mind'), sounded as repetitive as it was uncomfortable . Also "Out of the Blue", "If There Is Something" and "Editions of You", in which the elderly singer met his 26-year-old alter ego, had not lost any of their original tension. The same goes for "Virginia Plain" (key phrase: "Got to search for something new"), which sounded just as unique and exciting as in the early seventies.

Nevertheless, the audience reacted much more enthusiastically to the material from the second, somewhat smoother period of Roxy Music, when the group scored hits with radio-friendly but brushed-down pop songs such as "Oh Yeah", "Dance Away" light in thousands of small spots), 'Take A Chance With Me' and 'More Than This'. In "Avalon", Ferry mumbled more than he sang, but his fans were remarkably forgiving. And when the star dropped vocally, which happened more than once, there was always black soul singer Bobbie Gordon to stop the holes.

The sound in Bozar was rather muddy, which often came at the expense of the relief in music. The drum sound in particular left something to be desired. However, the spectators did not care: during polished solo hits such as 'Slave to Love', 'Don't Stop the Dance' or the 'Just Like Tom Thumbs Blues' borrowed from Bob Dylan, with Ferry on a smoelschuiver regularly up out of their plush seats to worship the Master of Good Taste with a standing ovation.

We ourselves were more enthusiastic about lesser-known but tingling songs such as "The 39 Steps" and the dark but finger-snapping "Boys & Girls" that gnawed at you like a rat and even contained a vague dub component. When the band finally launched the funky "Love is the Drug", it was blown into the distinguished Bozar party time. Even the spirit of the late Henry Le Boeuf put it on a swing unrestrained.

The final, with John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" - even the whistling, the Cassanova of pop music didn't go so well anymore - and Wilbert Harrison's "Let's Stick Together" was a bit too predictable for us. Especially in the latter, the wear and tear on Ferry's vocal cords was so evident that it would certainly have caused him some penalty points at the car inspection. Was it the age? The tiredness of touring? In any case, the set in Brussels was shortened with two numbers. Well, the songs and the band were great and in the past Bryan Ferry has proven everything there is to prove. Perhaps it is better for his reputation that he now rests on his laurels for good.

Author:  Sentimental Fool [ Sun Jun 16, 2019 2:52 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Brussels

Perhaps it is better for his reputation that he now rests on his laurels for good.

This last sentence summarizes this tour perfectly. In fact, I concluded this already years ago...

Author:  jeanjean [ Mon Jun 17, 2019 3:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Brussels

Superb pictures in Brussels !

https://focus.levif.be/culture/musique/ ... 1560785029

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