Have fun at the gig, dylandog! :)

 

Thanks ,Milly, I did!

 

Review - Manchester 26th May.

 

An ostentatious, energetic, fun and visually stunning pop show. Leave any cynicism and music snobbery at the door and simply embrace the joy of their concerts as they always deliver a fantastic performance.

 

The show was very slick, professional and at times, frantic; perhaps too much so. A little more 'light and shade' would have off set the larger than life set pieces and would have provided some much needed respite between the big numbers. The opening to the show tried to emulate aspects of The Circus opening, but didn't quite have the creativity of The Circus and cutting 5 minutes off would have resulted in a slicker intro to the concert.

 

The lads were consummate performers and worked the arena incredibly well, making it feel quite an intimate experience. Mark was particularly energized and really engaged with the audience throughout. They really are a joy to watch and their love of performing simply shone through.

 

Highlights included RTW, Patience, The Flood, Shine, Never Forget, Pray, BFG, Greatest Day, Said It All, HUAL and from the newer numbers Flaws ( a rather touching part of the show) and to a lesser extent These Days. The crowd also loved CIBM, but I preferred the BW version) All these songs garnered a fantastic response from the crowd. In contrast there was a more muted response to newer numbers with Affirmation undoubtedly the low point.

 

From a visual perspective is was creative and imaginative, although the puppet element should have been kept throughout the whole of The Garden in my view, as it was far more inventive than the quite gaudy section to The Garden and UAN.

 

Was Jay missed? Yes, up to a point and this was most noticeable during RMF, Pray and CIBM, but surprisingly it wasn't a major issue which is testament to the band's performance.

 

On a purely superficial level - Gary is one stunning looking man!!

 

Rating - lll Tour 4 *

In comparison BW Tour - 4.5* ( the set list was better than the current tour) Progress a weak 3* The Circus 5* ( A quite brilliant pop concert; up amongst the best)

Very pleased you had a great time! Thanks very much for your review!

 

I'll post mine after I see them a week on Saturday!

 

How did the crowd respond to Portrait?

I had great seats and it's the first time I've been really up close. They actually mounted the bike /flying machine (whatever you call it) right in front of me and flew over us. Portrait actually sounds ok live, better than the video clips I've seen and the crowd received it quite well, but it wasn't the stand out moment in the show and it still isn't one of my favourites off the lll album.

 

I think they missed a trick with HTH and they could have fitted it into the set list. I absolutely loved Said It All- much underrated song in my view, but I wasn't so keen on the RMF rendition on this tour. RTW is just a fantastic song and the crowd participation does make me feel a little teary.

 

One thing I didn't mention was the poor sound quality. Gary sounded like he'd swallowed helium a lot of the time, but when I put my fingers in my ears he sounded wonderful! Can anyone tell me the reason for this ?

 

I hope you have a fab time, Jay. In spite of my criticisms it really was a lovely, enjoyable evening and their work ethic was phenomenal. Not their best, but still head and shoulders above most pop concerts.

It seems Affirmation is turning out to be the dull moment of this tour:

http://manchesterinnews.com/review-take-th...may-21-2015-35/

 

I wonder if they included it because they were set on having another song from Progress, aside from The Flood.

Progress is turning out only now to have been the worst mistake of their career; now they have a full album that they can choose almost nothing from because they were so generous as to let Robbie take the lead on most of them.

 

Actually they should have choosen Kidz - i love Kidz- instead of Affirmation...

 

The songs from III let me quite ...cold. But it happened also with Depeche Mode for me where i was to a concert and liked only their back catalogue instead of the current one. Circus was such a braight affair, III seems a little bit dark (thank you that is not so dark as Progress). At least they choosed to play UAN and HUAL, my absolutly favs from Circus album :yahoo: .

 

Sad that i cannot see them in cinema, wrong country at that moment :cry: .

 

 

I'm so glad you had a great time at the concert and thank you for the review.

Is it possible that Gary is more gorgeous in flesh than on tv? :P

 

More people have complained about the sound quality. Even in the yt videos, there's a noticeable difference in the sound quality depending on where the seats are.

Going by what you and other people who have been to gigs are saying, Flaws is getting a good reaction. It makes me actually sad that it won't be a single. Flaws and Higher than Higher had the potential to do very well with the public and should have been chosen as the 2nd and 3rd single.

 

What would you say was the standout moment of this tour?

Was there any sign that Gary was hurting because of the leg? He seems a bit cautious in the videos I've seen.

Edited May 28, 201510 yr by milly

Actually they should have choosen Kidz - i love Kidz- instead of Affirmation...

 

The songs from III let me quite ...cold. But it happened also with Depeche Mode for me where i was to a concert and liked only their back catalogue instead of the current one. Circus was such a braight affair, III seems a little bit dark (thank you that is not so dark as Progress). At least they choosed to play UAN and HUAL, my absolutly favs from Circus album :yahoo: .

 

Sad that i cannot see them in cinema, wrong country at that moment :cry: .

 

Sadly, Kidz is one of those songs that work better with the 5 of them, in my opinion. It was more of a statement song and it would be weird just for the 3 of them to sing it.

Don't Say Goodbye is one song from Progressed that would have fitted this tour, but it would have been another Gary lead and they obviously wanted to give Howard a song.

 

PS: May I ask how you came about to choose your username? I'm curious because it's a Romanian name.

Edited May 28, 201510 yr by milly

I didn't see any noticeable change in Gary's dancing, but then he's not the most light footed! Mark on the other hand - a natural mover. Howard - still supple and obviously a good dancer.

 

Can't think of one specific stand out moment, but for me Said It All and Rule The World. The sound from the crowd was deafening all the way through and I love both songs, so those would be my choice. You would think that Portrait with the flying machine would be the highlight but most people were silent throughout this, waving and taking photos so the atmosphere was muted. That said everyone had a smile on their face as it was quite funny looking at them in that contraption.

 

Progress was quite a dark and cold feeling concert in terms of atmosphere. This one was more in the vain of other TT concerts - fun, engaging and warm. The audience spanned generations from 5 or 6 years olds up to 70 plus years, although I would say the majority of people were in 30 - 50 age bracket. There were also far more men in the crowd than I expected to see.

Reading the reviews here is very enjoyable and anyone who has went to the tour has come home happy so i am delighted for you all.

Sadly, Kidz is one of those songs that work better with the 5 of them, in my opinion. It was more of a statement song and it would be weird just for the 3 of them to sing it.

Don't Say Goodbye is one song from Progressed that would have fitted this tour, but it would have been another Gary lead and they obviously wanted to give Howard a song.

 

PS: May I ask how you came about to choose your username? I'm curious because it's a Romanian name.

 

I am Romanian :wub: .

I am Romanian :wub: .

 

Well, hello there :)

I thought I was the only Romanian "trolling" the TT threads :) Nice to have company now :)

Edited May 28, 201510 yr by milly

Thank you very much for the review dylandog. Good to see that you enjoyed the show :)

 

It will be my turn this Saturday. Really looking forward to it!

Hope you have a fantastic time Cat62. Enjoy every moment because it goes so quickly.

Let us know how you get on Cat! Hope you enjoy it!

Have fun, Cat!

Looking forward to the review.

Thank you all. I had a brilliant time! I just got back home from Manchester and tomorrow it's back to work again, I will try to post my review in the coming days.

Here is my review - sorry about the delay.

 

Manchester Saturday 30 May.

 

This was my first visit to Manchester, it's always nice to experience new places. We arrived in a very windy and chilly Manchester on Friday evening. We stayed at a hotel quite close to the arena, only about 7-8 minutes walk, so Saturday we first went to the arena just to check it out and to find out about the entrance etc. It was a little confusing, I think we went several laps around the arena before we were sure where the actual entrance was :D . We were seated so no queuing for us. Did some shopping and had an early dinner.

 

We arrived at the arena at about 7.30. We had seats in the upper tier so not so close to the stage. We had a good view, but I would have liked to sit not soo high up, and to have been a little closer to the stage. But still, it was ok.

 

The intro was a bit too long in my opinion, but I liked the music they played during the intro. Then finally TT came on stage and I loved the start with I Like It and Love Love! Such a great start! Also loved their colourful suits. I Like It has been stuck in my head ever since the show - it just won't go away!

 

Other highlights for me included Rule The World, Never Forget, Shine, Up All Night, Relight My Fire, These Days. And Hold Up A Light - it's so good live! It was a great atmosphere and the crowd was really enthusiastic all the way through the show, singing and dancing along to most songs. Affirmation was perhaps not received with the same enthusiasm, some people went out during that song. I'm not too fond of that song either, but it was better live than on the album I think. I also found the Flood somewhat weak. And I still don't like Portrait :P I'm probably alone here by thinking this, but from III I would have loved them to do Into The Wild, I think it could have been great live.

 

I think Flaws and the dance routine worked very well and it was a beautiful moment of the show.

 

I agree with dylandog about the sound quality in the arena, it was pretty bad and Gary's voice sounded kind of sharp a lot of the time. Odd!

 

All in all I really enjoyed the show and the time just passed too quickly. It was a very professional, energetic and at the same time happy and colourful show, just pure entertainment! I left the arena with a big smile on my face. You could argue that there are too much stuff going on, but it's also a joy to see such an extravagant and lavish show. I wish I could go to more than one show, it's so much stuff going on so it's impossible to take it all in at one time. Sadly the show will not be shown at cinemas here in Sweden, that would have been great. I know that Sweden is not a very good country for TT but I wonder if one reason for not showing it here is also the date for the viewing, 19 June. 19 June is Midsummer Eve, which is one of the biggest holidays/feasts here and lots of Swedes leave town to go out in the countryside. I can't see many people wanting to go and sit inside a cinema that evening.

 

I also have to say, it's so nice to visit the U.K, people are always so friendly and polite :)

Edited June 4, 201510 yr by Cat62

So glad you enjoyed the concert and trip to Manchester. We appear to be quite similar in our opinion of the concert. Flaws was, as you say, a rather sweet section in the show and a lovely contrast to some of the more upbeat numbers. We also seem to have a similar view of Affirmation as one of the weakest parts of the concert and Portrait. HUAL is undoubtedly a song that is stronger live and Mark commands the stage really well during it.

 

I thought the problems with the sound would have been addressed by now, but obviously not. I'm sure someone with knowledge of sound production would be able to explain the issues. Gary did sound sharp, almost nasally, but as I said when I put my fingers in my ears his voice sounded rich and warm, so I can only assume the balance wasn't quite right.

 

Never seen TT before but they put on a great show last saturday in Manchester. The visuals were good - particularly for the garden and let in the sun. I also like the bit when they were riding on a bicyle in the air. They sounded really good too and was a great party atmosphere.