25/09/06 - HARTWALL, HELSINKI

Review by Maria:
The drummer of the warm-up band that was supposed to be there has dislocated his shoulder (ouch!), so they had pulled in a totally unknown Finnish duo at the last minute. The set was okay, jazzy pop and the singer's voice reminded me of Björk, and they got a decent response for braving the fray at such short notice. However, a rockier band would probably have gotten the crowd warmed up a bit better. Never mind, Bryan did that no problem!

The gig last night was absolutely awesome, and I'm still hoarse from all the singing and hollering. As far as I can tell, the setlist was exactly the same as in Stockholm on the 23rd. The first four songs and the encores were certainly the same, and I can't remember any song not on the Stockholm setlist.

Bryan and the guys rocked, and I really love the new version of Room Service. I liked how he'd refreshed some of his older songs with new arrangements. Keith Scott's totally awesome as well, he's just so brilliant it's a joy to watch and listen to him.

Bryan picked out a girl from the audience as usual, this time it was a confident young woman called Amanda, who was good enough to sing lead while BA backed. Truly a night to remember for her, and she got a thunderous round of applause and lots of catcalls at the end of the song.

Bryan got the crowd singing along to nearly every song, including Lowlife, which I suspect most of the crowd hadn't heard before. I really wish Bryan'd rework the song a bit and release it on his next CD.

The encores were great, and the acoustic set at the end with just Bryan on stage was the perfect finish to a fantastic night. Bryan said it was the best reception he'd ever gotten in Helsinki. I certainly hope we don't have to wait another four years for the next gig!

Setlist:
Room Service
Somebody
Open Road
18 Til I Die
Let's Make A Night To Remember
Can't Stop This Thing We Started
Back To You
I Think About You
Summer Of '69
Everything I Do
Cuts Like A Knife
When You're Gone
Lowlife
It's Only Love
Hearts On Fire
Heaven
The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You
Cloud #9
Run To You
Please Forgive Me
When You Love Someone
Straight From The Heart
All For Love

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