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UK/Europe Tour: Progress Live (2011) (with Take That)

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From

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/it...es-2800571.html

 

 

It’s all a matter of give and Take That for army of yummy mummies

 

 

By Edel O'Connell

 

Monday June 20 2011

 

LET'S call it an experiment. Take one venue, two nights, five handsome men and around 150,000 very excited women. Add plenty of cocktails.

 

The result? Controlled chaos.

 

There may have been a fair proportion of husbands and boyfriends in the 150,000 crowd, but their presence was overwhelmed by very excited women momentarily taking leave of their senses and threatening to spontaneously combust.

 

You would certainly fear for the lives of the five handsome men if they fell into this crowd.

 

Take That were in Croke Park over the weekend -- if you didn't know -- and trailing in their wake was an army of yummy mummies, grinning grannies and hyperventilating teens.

 

Men locked their doors and windows as trainloads of 30 and 40-somethings poured into the centre of Dublin, spilled out of restaurants and block-booked every hotel room in the city to catch a glimpse of their teenage heartthrobs.

 

Hen parties arrived by the busload yesterday bursting with outrageously dressed women sporting stensons, intense spray tans and sky scraping heels -- all waiting for the party to start.

 

Chatting to them it became patently clear there was only one member of the band they were there to see -- the prodigal son himself, Robbie Williams

 

"My father asked me this morning if I was going to the over-40s' concert," joked Anne O'Brien from Tallaght, sporting a massive pair of pink bunny ears.

 

"But I told him we were going to see our Robbie. We are all so excited we are wearing these bunny ears especially for him.

 

A-LISTERS

 

"This will be our first time ever seeing the band play and we can't wait," her friend Michelle McCormack chimed in, almost in unison.

 

Our experiment could also include an element of helping the recession momentarily disappear. Stretch limousines -- what else? -- were the mode of transport of choice last night with dolled-up fans doing their best to look like A-listers.

 

"We were always going to do it in style tonight, so we went for a limousine. This will be our sixth time seeing them play and we can't wait, it is going to be fantastic," said Wendy Stephenson from Ballybrack, Co Dublin.

 

Croke Park was transformed into a visual feast on a truly epic scale -- a jaw-dropping 60ft robot towered above the historic stadium, providing the perfect backdrop for what is being dubbed "the greatest show on earth".

 

The evening kicked off with a warm-up by the iconic Pet Shop Boys, whose scaled-down yet typically polished performance felt slightly incongruous set against the background of a performance by an ageing boyband -- or should that be manband?

 

When superstars Gary Barlow (40), Mark Owen (38), Jason Orange (40) and Howard Donald (42) burst on to the stage following an Apollo-style countdown they were greeted with a crowd noise like a thousand rockets being launched.

 

The suited and booted foursome opened with 'Rule the World', and last night you would be forgiven for thinking they did.

 

This was followed up with 'Hold Up', 'A Light', 'Patience', 'Shine' and 'Greatest Day', but despite the screams and squeals of delight it was obvious the crowd was waiting for its favourite member.

 

"We've got someone else joining us later," the band suddenly screamed and a huge roar went up.

 

Not even explosions of ticker tape, glowing stages, dancing trees, roller-skating bees, a towering wall of water or a bizarrely giant caterpillar could top the collective intake of breath when Robbie Williams -- 37 now -- finally appeared.

 

The ultimate showman belted out his hits 'Let Me Entertain You', 'Feel' and 'Come Undone' while being wheeled around the stage in a chariot pulled by dancers, effortlessly stealing the show.

 

Then came the moment when 80,000 broken hearts finally came back together -- the quintet stood shoulder to shoulder to perform their classic anthems -- 'Pray', 'Relight My Fire', and 'Back For Good'. But it was difficult to hear them over the screaming.

 

The previous night Howard Donald and Jason Orange arrived at Dublin's celebrity hangout Lillie's Bordello under garda escort in a fleet of chauffeur-driven cars.

 

They do like the dramatic entrance.

 

:D

 

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Popular Days

Tickets - check

Money- check

Sucky Sweeties - check

Brolly - check

Poncho - check

Camera- check

 

 

Guess where I'm going :w00t: :w00t: :w00t:

 

 

Tell you all about it tomorrow. If I haven't drowned of course... <_<

Tickets - check

Money- check

Sucky Sweeties - check

Brolly - check

Poncho - check

Camera- check

 

Guess where I'm going :w00t: :w00t: :w00t:

 

Wimbledon?

 

Kath

 

Is Robbie really that bad live?. I've heard his voice is far inferior to Gary's..........

 

The person who wrote this article loves Robbie to bits... why would he imply anything about his vocal talents? <_< :lol:

 

Reunion or not people still have their preferences don't they?

 

''Greatest day is a decent pop miracle while Robbie's solo set are songs that were somehow-sometime hits and now irrelevant and boring''.

''Robbie's comeback offered only drama and fame to the band, because obviously musically the whole progress thing is the normal followup of BW and the Circus and completely distant to Robbie's style , a thing only the accomplished piano-Gary would write''...

''Desent Greatest day leads to 'oh what a beast oh what a man' , 'through talking head thak talk liberties the monkeys learnt to build maschines' , 'we'll get a five minute warning for divine intervention' doesn't it? And the desent Greatest day strings lead to the Kidz stombing and Underground machine electric guitar don't they?''

 

'Of couse they do', said old auntie Jo before taking the lunatic pill and going to sleep. 'And don't forget to feed the cows, they are afraid of cars and won't give us any eggs to sell at Monday's makret!'

Edited by 7heDreamer

The person who wrote this article loves Robbie to bits... why would he imply anything about his vocal talents? <_< :lol:

 

I think the writer did have it in for Robbie. The Irish gigs couldn't have been that different to the concert I saw in Manchester and Rob was excellent. Sure - he doesn't have the best voice in the world and yes if you analyse the vocals on the night Gary probably probably hit more notes on target - but I have to hold my hands up and say that Rob was the most exciting.

 

Kath

 

The person who wrote this article loves Robbie to bits... why would he imply anything about his vocal talents? <_< :lol:

 

Reunion or not people still have their preferences don't they?

 

''Greatest day is a decent pop miracle while Robbie's solo set are songs that were somehow-sometime hits and now irrelevant and boring''.

''Robbie's comeback offered only drama and fame to the band, because obviously musically the whole progress thing is the normal followup of BW and the Circus and completely distant to Robbie's style , a thing only the accomplished piano-Gary would write''...

''Desent Greatest day leads to 'oh what a beast oh what a man' , 'through talking head thak talk liberties the monkeys learnt to build maschines' , 'we'll get a five minute warning for divine intervention' doesn't it? And the desent Greatest day strings lead to the Kidz stombing and Underground machine electric guitar don't they?''

 

'Of couse they do', said old auntie Jo before taking the lunatic pill and going to sleep. 'And don't forget to feed the cows, they are afraid of cars and won't give us any eggs to sell at Monday's makret!'

 

I've heard people who went to the concerts saying that Robbie's singing was dreadful and that he had lost his voice:-). There must be some truth to it......maybe it's unfair because they compare his vocal talent with Garys vocal talent......

Edited by checkers

I've heard people who went to the concerts saying that Robbie's singing was dreadful and that he had lost his voice:-). There must be some truth to it......maybe it's unfair because they compare his vocal talent with Garys vocal talent......

 

To put this to some perspective vocal talent imo refers to the notes a person can hit. If he could hit them yesterday and does hit them again next week but he didn't today it has nothing to do with vocal talent. He has these notes we all know it and his recordings are always live-recordings not adjusted ones so that he can sing at the keys accurately. Did you listen to him singing the flood live the past months at all these shows? At some of them he actually outsang Gary you have to admit this.

 

It has nothing to do with vocal talent really but with how vocaly- fit is the singer at the time and how dedicated he is to singing during the show.

And yes Robbie is not the fittest singer (don't need to xplain why) and he is a showman -he doesn't always follow the track (and he has always been that way with his ups and downs). He hasn't lost his voice , he always had a quite correct (not perfectly) but HUGELY interesting voice. Hiting the keys and notes properly doen't make you a great singer, it is more of the colour, metal and character of your voice and he is great in that. As for Gary he is 100% more accurate and does have an interesting voice (though not as much as Robbie's imo) but he is fit and 100% dedicated to singing.

Plus, for the record Gary doesn't sing live-live some song of Progress (Kidz, Love Love...) same way the were not live-recordings but adjusted even in the album. It is easy to tell ;) .

To put this to some perspective vocal talent imo refers to the notes a person can hit. If he could hit them yesterday and does hit them again next week but he didn't today it has nothing to do with vocal talent. He has these notes we all know it and his recordings are always live-recordings not adjusted ones so that he can sing at the keys accurately. Did you listen to him singing the flood live the past months at all these shows? At some of them he actually outsang Gary you have to admit this.

 

It has nothing to do with vocal talent really but with how vocaly- fit is the singer at the time and how dedicated he is to singing during the show.

And yes Robbie is not the fittest singer (don't need to xplain why) and he is a showman -he doesn't always follow the track (and he has always been that way with his ups and downs). He hasn't lost his voice , he always had a quite correct (not perfectly) but HUGELY interesting voice. Hiting the keys and notes properly doen't make you a great singer, it is more of the colour, metal and character of your voice and he is great in that. As for Gary he is 100% more accurate and does have an interesting voice (though not as much as Robbie's imo) but he is fit and 100% dedicated to singing.

Plus, for the record Gary doesn't sing live-live some song of Progress (Kidz, Love Love...) same way the were not live-recordings but adjusted even in the album. It is easy to tell ;) .

 

Robbie himself admitted what an outstanding talent Gary has and that his voice his inferior to Gary's. Even music critics got the same opinion on that matter.

 

My question was whether Robbie's voice got weaker in the last couple of years? He seams to scream his songs during the tour and if you listen to youtube clips you can tell his off note too often.

  • Author

Jups has phoned me this evening

 

I listened to Pet Shop Boys

 

Take That

 

 

and then just now.....................

 

Robbieeeeeeee :wub: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

 

It was definately louder when I listened to Robbie, the crowd sounded like they were going mental (and that was just Jups ) :lol: brilliant atmosphere! It was so loud when Robbie was on, I had to hold the phone some distance from my ear :lol:

I bet she's having a great time at Hampden :dance:

 

 

Jups has phoned me this evening

 

I listened to Pet Shop Boys

 

Take That

and then just now.....................

 

Robbieeeeeeee :wub: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

 

It was definately louder when I listened to Robbie, the crowd sounded like they were going mental (and that was just Jups ) :lol: brilliant atmosphere! It was so loud when Robbie was on, I had to hold the phone some distance from my ear :lol:

I bet she's having a great time at Hampden :dance:

 

I can definitely concur with what Jupiter says.

 

When were were in Manchester - Pet Shop Boys - very happy reception from the crowd (although it did appear that only those of us over a certain age were able to sing along with all their songs). Take That 4 - very rousing reception and good (if subdued) performance from Take That. Robbie's appearance - the crowd went ballistic. It was great watching it from where we were because we could clearly see the crowd, as one, jumping up and down. I honestly didn't notice any really bad vocals (a bit hoarse probably - but still in key) and it didn't matter - as you expect Robbie to howl out LMEY and Rock DJ (probably one of my three fave moments of the night). Only Angels for me was a 'no-mentioner' as I went to the bog when that was on (hate, just hate the song).

 

The reception for Robbie was only matched/bettered by the reception of all five TT together.

 

It is such a pity though that Rob and the guys didn't get their willies out for us at Manchester.

 

Kath

I'm just home. I've never been so soggy in my life :lol:

 

It rained non stop but the atmosphere was brilliant. I really enjoyed the whole show. :w00t: :w00t: :w00t:

 

 

** Still not sure whether the water cascading down the set of The Flood was courtesy of TT or courtesy of the Glasgow heavens.... ***

 

Anyway, I'll give you a full review tomorrow. But Robbie def got the loudest screams all night. And not just from me. ;)

 

 

Night.

 

x

Robbie himself admitted what an outstanding talent Gary has and that his voice his inferior to Gary's. Even music critics got the same opinion on that matter.

 

1) I'll tell you again Robbie is the kind of person that is overenthusiastic; you shouldn't take him too serious sometimes. Didn't Robbie know about Gary's great vocal talent when he was bashing him over and over some years ago? Robbie says Gary is his boss... but well when Gary was the boss Robbie left the band ;) And Mark Owen said they woudn't have done Progress without Robbie not to mention thanking him in tears during the Brits (as well as said it is great to have two huge voices in the band). They are all friends now thats why they are all too good at each other (in a ridiculous way sometimes). You do not believe Robbie feels interior to Gary in any way really, do you? If he did he would have never returned to the band I can assure you. From the fab5 it is Robbie who is the sentimental-mental one and Gary who is the 'clockwork' one (THAT was really a gentle way of saying it :lol: )

 

2) As for the so called outstanding Gary's vocal talent hold your horses. He is more accurate than Robbie but he is no Mariah Carrey, no Leona Lewis (a million love songs rings any bells? :rolleyes: ), even no Adelle. I know these are women but if you only care about vocal range and accuracy there are much more impressive singers than Gary (and LOTS of them). Plus I am pretty sure you could find a lot of weak singing from Gary around the BW era online.

 

Now I come to think of it is it me or has Robbie actually sung more difficult songs than Gary? I mean Come Undone (could be the toughest one), I will Talk and Hollywood will Listen, Love Somebody, Tripping and there are even more... As a whole I think Robbie's repertoire is a difficult one. Even his progress solo setlist is a tough one. He pulls out a good show but yes the singing is frequently not flawless.

Edited by 7heDreamer

OMG it was so wet! :lol:

 

I really admire the lads for singing and dancing about in that monsoon. We were all taking bets on how long it would be before one of them fell over (wee Mark did come close a few times with some unintentional pirouettes).

 

Honest to God, as Robbie says in his Blog today, when they sang Back For Good it was just like the video!

 

Anyway, I really loved the show (I was ensconced in my cosy seat - behind the obligatory big fat man but he stayed sitting all night so my view was fine when I stood up). I even loved the 'Robbieless' bit at the start but obviously I got much more excited when the Main Man made his appearance.

 

Apart from Robbie's solo stuff (of course), my highlights of the night were Love Love, Never Forget, Pray (loved the original dance routine), Relight my Whatnot, SOS, Kidz, Rule the World (very understated but lovely). Oh and I did like the TT song Kath mentioned and which I'd never heard of.

 

As I said when the tour was announced, I was very worried that a lot of the crowd would be against Robbie but nothing could be further from the truth. He was getting the biggest cheers of the night and he did keep everyone's spirits up with his mad antics.

 

The Pet Shop Boys were really good as well. I missed the beginning of their set due to traffic jams :arrr: but enjoyed what I heard.

 

I've got a few (very distant) photos to post. For once I was so glad I hadn't managed to get standing tickets :lol:

 

Oh and one more thing. Because it was so rainy, the sky was so dark. So all the stage lighting and pyrotechnic stuff looked amazing. See, there's always a positive! :P

Robbie's Blog about last night in Glasgow

 

 

From

http://www.robbiewilliams.com/news-blogs/i...o-keep-you-warm

 

"I hope we managed to keep you warm..."

23 Jun 2011

Blog Author:

Robert Williams

 

SAT IN BED AFTER THE FIRST NIGHT IN SCOTLAND...

WHAT A BATTLE....

 

-IT ABSOLUTELY PIS2ED IT DOWN...NO,REALLY PIS3ED IT DOWN....

THEN THE FOG DESCENDED .....IT WAS LIKE THE BACK FOR GOOD VIDEO

BUT FOR TWO HOURS....

I'VE NEVER DONE A GIG LIKE IT IN MY LIFE...

 

I SAID TO THE LADS ONE NIGHT IN MANCHESTER ( WHEN THE HEAVENS OPENED )

''WELL THAT'S AS BAD AS IT'S GOING TO GET AND WE STILL PULLED IT OFF''

I WAS WRONG....TONIGHT WAS AS BAD AS IT GETS.....

 

SOME HOW IT GALVANISED THE CROWD AND IN TURN

THAT TRANSMITTED TO THE STAGE.....

 

THE HAMPDEN ROAR WAS STILL INTACT.....

 

IF YOU WERE THERE ...

 

I HOPE WE MANAGED TO KEEP YOU WARM...

WE WERE AS DETERMINED AS YOU WERE TO NOT LET IT

SPOIL YOUR OR OUR ENJOYMENT.....

 

I PRAY TO GOD THOUGH THAT THAT WAS THE LAST OF

THE BAD/BAD WEATHER ......

 

I SELFISHLY WANT TO EXPERIENCE

THE HAMPDEN ROAR AT LEAST ONCE BEFORE WE LEAVE

UNHINDERED BY THE ELEMENTS ...

 

AND IF YOU WERE THERE

A BILLION BLESSINGS FOR

YOUR PASSION THE SMILES AND YOUR ENERGY.....

 

''WE WERE BORN TO BE MAGNIFICENT''

AND EVEN IN THAT PISH WE/YOU WERE .............

 

I AM VERY PROUD TO PERFORM FOR YOU

SEE YOU TONIGHT!

 

XXX

 

 

Oh and forgot to say, Robbie does in fact fall backwards off the stage at the end of his solo slot at every concert. On purpose. :lol:

I'll post some photos (no close ups I'm afraid :cry: ) but I did the best I could considering the distance to the stages and the ongoing monsoon.

 

Robbie missed a trick last night. He should have sung Monsoon.... :w00t: :w00t: :w00t:

 

 

I better post a few at a time. I got a wee bit carried away. :blush:

http://i56.tinypic.com/21dpgtu.jpg

 

 

http://i55.tinypic.com/2dc6a2v.jpg

 

 

http://i54.tinypic.com/a1o4er.jpg

 

 

http://i53.tinypic.com/zwm915.jpg

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