Bit of a (late) concert recap so those who don’t like can scroll now…not sure we do this anymore but… hey…
Royal Albert Hall. Was meant to be away on holiday this week and managed to withstand the Adam pressure until late in the day!
But in one of my fantasy seat buying moments I saw fantastic and inexpensive seats, directly from the Albert Hall Box office so…
Tips for next time: seat ‘owners’ (they lease seats for a number of years at a time) can sell their seats through the box office only and often when Ticketmaster sold out. Our best stalls seats x 3, near stage were £65 each and appeared two weeks to show time.
Also…the Hall is famous for its boxes. I’ve been in a few of them in years gone past but they can seem a little remote for a solo act.
Noticed front row stalls very low. Restricted by standers in arena floor.
The Hall is a perfect venue for Adam. Smaller and more intimate than appears on televised events, it curves round and hugs the stage. It’s high so floor area is contained and Adam would have been able to see almost everyone in his audience…which is something he loves and responds to in his performance.
Benedict as opener played to a 90% full house and they gave him their whole attention and appreciation. We soon discovered we were behind a large group of his family and friends and they stood and cheered and danced when no one else did. They were so proud of their boy and I wanted to hug his emotional Mum but settled for a ‘well done’ instead. Benedict did a great job with a beautiful voice and a wonderfully gentle, lyrical style that lulled the room.
Which is probably what contributed to the impact Adam made the second he took the stage! Chalk and cheese. All seats full. Instant Superstar in charge.
The place erupted.. and from the first note it was clear that the sound quality was magnificent. His voice was ringing and stronger than ever.
He knew he looked wonderful and sexy and his confidence and swagger were riding high.
The audience demographic was as diverse as could be. Lots of men, lots of straight men, couples of all ages, lots of young women and boys, and older girls of course - but not in high proportion as in earlier years and the whole was a wonderful mix. I don’t know how to phrase this really but the audience was ‘classy’…like Adam. A little dressed up and no one constantly in and out to the bar etc.
The first two songs (FYE and HOFAH) were perfect openers. Mood set. It made me smile to see Benedict’s parents sitting like stones, as if stunned!
(Benedict later joined them)
The heart-warming thing was the juxtaposition of unreachable dynamic rock star and adorable (gay) boy next door* between songs. (*His description) His banter was, at last, genuinely relaxed and funny…and it was so cute that he had to pull his trousers up between almost every song. I’d worried he’d put on weight in Cannes but he’s clearly lost more as this was (?) the suit he wore to sing there.
No one could have guessed at that set list but the audience loved it all…except perhaps when Adam went into wanting ‘to fxxk like an animal’. Struck an unnecessary note and it wasn’t just me! We noticed that hands waving in the air went down and the applause was rather muted.
As soon as Believe went into disco mode we knew what was coming! He brought the house down saying that he’d been recording for 15 years and he’d gone viral for a nursery rhyme. It was a moment when I thought that if people had never seen him before they would be loving him now. (Young couple next to me confirmed that).
By the time he did the last song (You Make Me Feel…) the whole place was up dancing and partying. But then he said goodnight and left. No encore.
Oh well, leave them wanting more! And it was a great place to leave it after a long set.
So glad we were there. The essential Adam is back. I say that because to me, his weight and subsequent styling has meant adapting his performance in recent times. Now he’s back to full power - for himself as well as for his audience.
A week painting in the Scottish Highlands or 90 minutes with Adam? No contest.
