What a scorcher! Having seen NO at least 7 times before, this ranks alongside GMEX 88 and Reading 93 as my one of my favourites. As with any NO gig there were high and low points- but there were some outstanding moments. For instance, after all the bad publicity, RTS during the encore was magnificent. No Bobby Gillespie (THANK gOD?) AND Bernard's guitar and vocals were supreme. Gillian appearing for Blue Monday was a godsend too!
Phil as a replacement was admirable and he certainly did justice to many of the songs.
bY TRACK:
The show started off very well with Crystal and a wonderful version of transmission. 60 MPH was well received too as was Regret. I think the low points were BLT - which was not as sharp as it should have been, and Slow Jam which was not well received by the audience. However, all was forgiven with a sparkling mix of True Faith, and posssibly the best Live Temptation I have ever heard. Bernard and Hooky were audience pleasers, and Phil played to the crowd as well. Steven was outstanding on drums, but kept in the background.
The JD songs were superb, but if my hearing was correct, Barney promised not to play Atmosphere again.
As mentioned before, the encore was cracking. Ruined in a day went down well with everyone, and RTS was brilliant. Blue Monday was predictable, but certainly my appetite has been whetted for the rest of the tour. Well done, NO are back!
