Nottingham Concert March 05

Both MadCat and I finished work early to go home and get ready (that's one hour for me and 4 for MadCat!!)

We hit the road around 4pm, me driving, OpalGirl navigating and the 'giggly' sisters chatting away!

Got in to the centre of Nottingham around 5.45pm only to find that the local council had re-arranged the entire City Centre, blocking off roads, adding trams, etc much to the confusion of 'Christopher Columbus' sitting next me. After several times going around the same roundabout and a 'slight' disagreement with another driver we made it to the Royal Centre.

The venue is superb (shame the same can't be said about the local 'clubbers' out in the centre at the same time!! Sry Nottingham). We made our way to the restuarant and met up with Christine, Angela Marshall, Diane and Dad. Being 'fashionably' late we skipped starters (well actually we shared OpalGirls) and waited for the main course.

While waiting, Angela passed over a bag and said this is from everyone on the site. I opened the bag and found a wonderful card inside (signed by RWUK members) and a box containing a lovely pair of silver cufflinks. I put them on straightaway, they matched my outfit perfectly (I was wearing a silver thumb ring). I was totally overcome by this, it made me feel very lucky

Again I want to thank those involved with the prezzie

Main course came (and went) and while waiting for the 'call' to go to the theatre, suddenly the waitress was standing next to me with a large box. She opened it and inside was a cake, no ordinary cake, but one with a little computer on it and the words 'Many thanks Tony from everyone at RWUK' (well from what I can remember, we've eaten that bit ) - if only I had an internet connection, I would of tried to plug it in

What another lovely gesture, I can't say how much I appreciate it

Anyway the 'call' went out to move to the theatre, the staff said they would set up an area for us to give out pieces of the cake during the interval. We moved quickly to our seats, the place was heaving!

There was a real buzz in the air. We were on the fourth row from the front, but it seemed like we were on the stage. I turned around and saw the place was packed, wall to wall Russell fans (it was nice to see that in front of me was a lady that had brought her grandson (maybe 7 or 8 years old) - he looked as excited as the rest of us). We sat with Diane and Dad - OpalGirl, Christine and Angela were on the second row 'dead' centre and from there they could of reached over and played the piano!!

The lights went down, members of the orchestra came on (including Mike Moran, Russell's musical director and conductor) and then one by one Russell's backing singers came out. I must say that I have NEVER heard a group of people sing so perfectly in harmony as those backing singers, they worked so well together and you could tell they really loved what they do. Bowled over by their performance I can't remember how Russell appeared, but he was suddenly there!! The crowd applauded for ages and Russell loved it, and the audience loved the fact he loved it!!! It was quite sureal, after all this time seeing Russell's face on the site and talking about him, there he was in the flesh! 'Suited and booted' (dark grey suit and white shirt and tie) he certainly looked the part and he had a 'presence' about him - full of confidence, everyone was in aura of him.

Now being a 'virgin' to a Russell performance, I can't and won't go in to detail of each song and the way he performed them, but I will say about how I felt during the whole event. There was a strength and passion that filled the place, people hung on every note, eager for the next. You could tell that Russell loves to perform in front of an audience, he seemed to draw energy from them (and boy were they giving him energy!!). I was totally blown away by the power and sound of Russell's voice, just when you think he has hit that note, he goes on further until you think he is not going to stop. I am not a great fan of aria's but I found myself staring at his mouth and being hypotised. The real pleasure for me was the renditions of the Freddie Mercury song 'Who wants to live forever' and the Joe Cocker's 'You are so beautiful'. I don't normally like covers, as they are normally done badly, but Russell managed to add a certain 'edge' to both performances that I'm sure both Freddie and Joe would be proud of.

We stopped for the interval, managed to find our way to the RWUK area and found other members there - it was great to put faces to names (even nicer to think that RWUK may of helped pull people together). After all the excitement of the meetings, I started to cut the cake, posed for the arbitry photo and managed to take a swig of orange juice before we were bustled back in the theatre. This time I was eager to get back in!!!

The second part started, but this time it was different. Much more audience participation - Volare was a great hit, everyone was really getting in to it - so much so, I think the guy behind me though he was Russell Watson (although he did have a good voice!) I even felt myself do a little 'jig' in my seat and believe me that doesn't happen very often. After every song it seemed that Russell got a standing ovation - mostly started by the 'three amigo's' in ROW 2. For some reason it seemed that 3 spotlights had been focused in on OpalGirl, Christine and Angela nad everytime I looked in their direction, they kind of glowed. I will say that it was great to see Russell acknowledge them, everytime they jumped to their feet, cheering and waving white scarves, Russell would bow in front of them, make eye contact, wink occasionally and thank them (probably because they were more or less on the stage with him and lit up like angels (hmn) on a Christmas tree!). Of course he also rewarded the rest of the audience aferwards with the same gesture but I can't but help think that he appreciates the extra attention he gets from some of his fans (and rightly so).

Russell would perform a couple of songs, leave the stage and have a break (it was tiring me out just listening - so it must be VERY tiring for Russell). Both Mike Moran and Russell's backing singers did FANTASTIC performances during the little breaks that Russell had. The backing singers worked perfectly in harmony and Mike Moran, not only being Russell's musical director, conducting the orchestor, playing the piano (superb) I also saw him serving behind the bar in the interval (joke) - he really is multi talented!

The show finished, Russell came back out a couple of times and then he was gone. I was left feeling fulfilled, Russell had met my expectations and more. The band cleared away, we waited for the crowds to dispurse and I took the opportunity to meet with Mike Moran. I introduced myself and asked if we were allowed to make a page on RWUK for him, he said yes and once I have received the info from him I will post the page.

Well, what has March 18th done for me? I finally got to see Russell perform live. What did I think? Brilliant! I now understand why you feel the way you do about him. I started the day thinking how great to spend time with my family and to enjoy a live performance - I finished the day by knowing that Russell Watson changes peoples lives, attitudes and brings people together, so I guess my family just got a little bit bigger!

Added: January 28th 2006
Reviewer: Bubble.oO
Score: