Life is richer with stories, like the one where a Hollywood star wants £35 for a programme, or the support act is a Clyde One DJ whose theme song should be Queen's Fat Bottomed Girls from my viewing position if I was allowed to suggest such a thing in today's modern society.
I was a little apprehensive if Wolverine would be able to entertain me with a microphone, some show tunes, an orchestra and some dancers.
I needn't have worried. He was bloody brilliant! (Actually, no blood - this wasn't Logan - but there was a little sweat).
The Glasgow audience had already taken him to their heart with his trips around the West of Scotland meeting the people and sampling the local delicacies, such as a pizza crunch and deep fried Mars Bar. He is a star but he's also down to earth and a decent bloke and this showed in his warmth.
He's also a gifted storyteller, with a great voice, bags of charisma, a wonderful self of humour and a talent to perform. And, at 50 years of age, he is in great shape, still capable of pulling a Wolverine body rage. (Kind of makes me think, where did I go wrong? Never mind. "This is me".)
The interactions with the audience were delightful, especially when he danced with Mary, who didn't want to let him go. We were treated to a solo song from one of his backing singers (Queen's "Somebody to Love") as she's from Glasgow fulfilling a dream she shared with her dad (who was in the audience) to sing solo at the Hydro.
There were surprises and spectacle and even a tap dance to ACDC. The night was special and unique, a story for the audience to tell their friends about how great it was. If you've got tickets for one of the other nights, you are in for a treat.
Set List:
Set 1
The Greatest Show (Pasek and Paul cover)
Come Alive (Pasek and Paul cover)
Gaston (Alan Menken cover)
The Way You Look Tonight (Jerome Kern cover)
I've Been Everywhere (Geoff Mack cover)
You Will Be Found (Pasek and Paul cover)
Somebody to Love (Queen cover) (Performed by Jenna-Lee James )
Soliloquy (Rodgers & Hammerstein cover)
This Is Me (Pasek and Paul cover) (Performed by Keala Settle)
Valjean's Soliloquy / I Dreamed a Dream / One Day More
Set 2
Not the Boy Next Door (Peter Allen cover)
Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) / Don't Cry Out Loud / I Honestly Love You / Quiet Please, There's a Lady on Stage / I Go to Rio (Peter Allen cover)
Tenterfield Saddler (Peter Allen cover)
A Million Dreams(Pasek and Paul cover)
Luck Be a Lady / Singin' in the Rain / I Got Rhythm / Steppin' Out With My Baby / Sing Sing Sing
Tap Dance & Drums Medley: 42nd Street / Thunderstruck / September / Takin' Care of Business / Jump
Nomad Two Worlds - Art Song
Nomad Two Worlds - Inhibition
Over the Rainbow (Harold Arlen cover)
Die Moritat von Mackie Messer (Mack the Knife) (Kurt Weill cover)
From Now On (Pasek and Paul cover) (with Keala Settle)
Once Before I Go (Peter Allen cover)
Before I get onto the main act, I'll start with the support. Dressed in Converse trainers and a sharp suit, hair quiffed tall, I could be describing the Tenth Doctor but this was Rick Astley, the Eighties legend, who made a comeback a few years ago with a couple of strong albums and singles. He's comfortable on the big stage, has a strong voice and a memorable back catalogue. He did himself proud for the time he had (just under an hour). The worst I could say was the font of his logo is dull and his backing singers looked like they were dressed by the costume designer from seventies Top of the Pops.
This was Take That's Greatest Hits Tour, celebrating thirty years in the business. The audience was predominantly female, over forty and well up for a party. They lasted well which speaks wonders to the benefits of HRT. I'm kidding. This was Glasgow. It was alcohol that fuelled them tonight.
Gary, Howard and Mark gave us two hours without a break trawling through their best tunes, reworking a few to better suit them as a threesome, bringing along the usual dancers, updating the costumes and adding a few gimmicks, like a trio of stationary motorbikes that steered from side to side. Not that exciting really.
The stage was dominated by a sphere that doubled as a performance area and a screen (and an occasional Pac Man lookalike, but there were no power pellets so the band were safe - shame because I would have enjoyed it if the band turned ultraviolet and were chased around to the classic 'wagga wagga' tune).
The concert was good but I felt it wasn't their best. Gary's energy seemed off at the start, his voice growing stronger as the show went on. Howard was better than usual, more confident in leading a couple of songs, the best of the three when it came to the dance moves. Mark had an odd moustache, the kind only a mother could love and even then would still want him to shave it off because it makes him look stupid. Bits of the show looked cheap, with dodgy fizz fireworks and low-level grill flames. When Lulu joined them on Relight My Fire, she wasn't the atomic bomb she usually is. Her voice was lost in the sound mix. She still has a great presence on stage though.
I think the problem was the band have set the bar for their stage productions so high I expected better. This show not only didn't quite match their previous efforts it felt short of what other performers are doing: Kiss's lights and pyro drama, Kylie's screen vistas and choreography, McCartney's musicality are all better. If they want to last another ten years, they'll need to lift their game again.
So, overall, a good show but not a great show.
Setlist
Greatest Day
It Only Takes a Minute (Tavares cover)
These Days
Could It Be Magic (Barry Manilow cover)
Everything Changes
Out of Our Heads
A Million Love Songs
Sure
Love Ain't Here Anymore
Spin
Cry (Sigma cover)
Said It All
How Deep Is Your Love? (Bee Gees cover)
Patience
The Flood
Back for Good
Get Ready for It
Everlasting
Giants
Shine
Never Forget
Relight My Fire (Dan Hartman cover) (with Lulu)
Babe
Pray
Rule the World
