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28/03/05 - THE AHOY, ROTTERDAM Review
by Robin Los:
Just past 9pm the lights went out and the crowd went wild as
usual. The adrenaline pumped through my body the way it should and then suddenly
I could see the guys. Keith started that weird Room service riff that isn't being
played on the album and then Bryan hits it off with an A-chord and the show is
on it's way. Room service was good and was followed by Open road. Could be just
me, but I missed Bryan's harmonics. The ending solo by Keith was pretty bad cuz
his guitar volume was way too low. I could barely hear it (this got fixed during
18 till I die). I could clearly see the banner by the summerof69.nl guys which
they showed bryan with their request.
18 and let's make a night followed, nothing
really special, but good as usual. Can't stop really had the crowd going. People
started jumping and the atmosphere was getting better and better.
After Can't
stop Bryan came up to the microphone for his usual chat. He whist us all a happy
easter. Then the most funny moment of the show came: somebody threw a little easterbunny
with a letter attached to it on stage. Bryan picked it up and opened the letter
(which was more then a page long actually) and read out loud something like "dear
Bryan, I followed you all around the world, could you please hand this to Keith
cuz he is so amazing". Bryan looked offended which he of course didn't really
meant and it was funny as hell. Keith raised his shoulders and forward to collect
his present. 
Kids
wanna rock followed, but without the solo intro by Bryan, he just hit it off right
away after stating that this was his 25th anniversary. Kids was great and should
never ever be dropped out of the setlist again. The crowd went absolutely wild.
The guitar battle between Keith and Bryan was fun and Bryan came actually close
to winning it this time I must say. This version of Kids didn't came close to
the one 6 months earlier in Rotterdam though.
Back to you followed and just
wasn't as good as usual. There was no 'back to you bounce' although I did my best
to make it happen. Keith's guitar was a bit too low on the volume again here,
so the solos weren't that clear. Gary had some nice solos on the keyboard though.
After Back to you the moment we've all been waiting for, but unfortunatly
Bryan didn't listen to the 69 guys and played his usual acoustic intro to the
summer fo 69, which still rocked, but it really should be changed to the full
rock version. Bryan had his usual chat about Everything I do which all the die-hard
fans can dream. It keeps surprising me that the people never know what song is
coming after that talk. Even when he strums the first chord they don't have a
clue, they all go wild when Bryan sings the first line. Keeps amazing me. Keith
played some good solos during this one and the crowd sang it's lungs out.
Cut's
like a knife is a song that I never really appriciate (in concert everything is
great, but at home I usually skipp it), but tonight it rocked and might have been
the best song of the night actually. Bryan played his usual thumb-game to make
the crowd sing louder and it worked cuz the "nananana's" were all over
the place.
Bryan picked his When you're gone girl, but another girl came on
stage then he picked. I didn't notice that right away and was really surprised
that Bryan picked a short haired pretty old girl cuz he always picks nice looking
girls. He sent the girl back and let the real girl he picked come on stage, which
matched the usual profile. She was Mireille from Roermond (which Bryan couldn't
pronounce, but it was funny as hell to hear him try it several times). She didn't
know the words to the song at all, but was enthousiastic and did the best she
could.
After When you're gone we finally got a song that was diffrent then
6 months earlier. Bryan picked up his RS guitar and played nowhere fast, which
was really good even though 9/10 of the crowd didn't know it. FOr me as a die-hard
it was great to hear a song I never heard in concert before. Nowhere fast was
follwed by the traditional version of Heaven with again Keith playing some very
good riffs and Bryan showing his class on the vocals.
At this point in the
show I stated to my friends that Bryan should really play It's only love now,
cuz he skipped that one the last time he visited our little country. Then I saw
Keith with his classical guitar, so it wasn't time just yet. They played I'm ready.
Sounded really nice. Keith's guitar was nice and clear and again Bryan sang with
a lot of feeling. The enitre crowd seemed to know this song, which kinda surprised
me cuz they didn't really seem like a die-hard crowd to me.
After I'm ready
finally the moment I had been waiting for, Bryan started talking about Tina Turner.
He told a story about his first time playing Rotterdam and a woman sitting on
the front row during this entire song without moving. The story didn't reall make
any sense, but that didn't matter. It was time to really see Keith in action.
An astonishing version of It's only love was played. Now I can't say wheter it
was better or worse the the previous versions cuz they're all diffrent, but I
can tell you that it rocked the house. Keith was purely brilliant. It surprised
me that he played it on a Fender instead of a Gibson, but it gave the song a nice
new sound. The song was followed by a great ovation and they boys hit of the only
thing that looks good on me is you. It rocked as usual, nothing special, just
great as always. Bryan introduced the entire band and they left the stage.
After
a minute the band returned to play cloud no. 9. Which didn't worked out too well.
The crowd just stood there and did nothing. Some people tried to make the waving
start, but they failed completely. Run to you was great and Bryan and Keith rocked
great together. I even saw them exchange capo's half way during the song.
Run
to you was follwed by The best of me, with Bryan shaking hands in the crowd, taking
pictures and giving a hand to the people on the first row.
The band was thanked
again and then left the stage, leaving Bryan behind with his acoustic. Bryan played
Flying, All for love and the straight from the heart on which he used his harmonics.
The songs sounded great, but didn't gave me the chills like they did last time.
Bryan ended the way he started the show with Room service. He then thanked the
entire crowd and left the stage.
All together it was a good concert, but nothing
more. It lacked that little extra he had the previous two times he visited us.
Maybe it was because it had only been six months and it was the same tour and
therefor same setlist. For me just hearing Kids and It's only love was worth it,
and the rest were 'just extra's'. On a BA scale I would give this concert a 7-/10,
on a all-concert scale it would be a 8.5/10 cuz Bryan still has what it takes
and really rocked, but like I said, it lacked that little thing which could've
made it a 9.5 or even a 10 which he had the previous time.
Setlist:
Room
Service
Open Road
18 Til I Die
Let's Make A Night To Remember
Can't
Stop This Thing We Started
Kids Wanna Rock
Back To You
Summer Of '69
Everything I Do
Cuts Like A Knife
When You're Gone (with Mireille
from Roermond)
Nowhere Fast
Heaven (original version!)
I'm Ready
It's
Only Love
The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You
Cloud #9
Run
To You
The Best Of Me
Flying
All For Love
Straight From the Heart
Room Service | | |
