A friend of mine for nearly 40 years called me the other day, and offered me one of the seats he’d won from a local radio station to see this show. Remembering that it was my birthday, which is an occasion I have not celebrated for years, he thought it would be a great birthday present, and he was correct.
The venue was an intimate one (NYCB Theatre at Westbury, LI, NY), which I much prefer to large halls. We had seats almost next to the house mixer location. Despite this location, it seemed that the featured lead vocalist was, at times, unintelligible, due to either microphone problems, or some other technical difficulty.
Although near the edge of the venue, we had an excellent view of the stage.
The show opened with Watcher of the Skies, and ended, naturally, with a Los Endos medley mixed with some other themes (preceded by the requisite Firth of Fifth). The texturing throughout the set was superb. Steve hit a few off notes, which few likely noticed, since they were very few and far between. I couldn’t believe it when the music started and I heard, “Walking across the sitting room…”. I think the entire crowd was in disbelief at that moment. And, yes, they pulled it off most beautifully, with a chorus of wanna-be Peter Gabriels (including yours truly) singing loudly at the end, “and it’s hey babe, with your guardian eyes so blue…hey my baby, don’t you know our love is true? I’ve been so far from here, far from your warm arms! Now, I’m back again, and babe it’s gonna work out fine!”
It was a great show, with great performances, all around. Steve has assembled a crack unit of music loving musicians to reproduce some of the best music ever written. He started the show by saying that he still plays this music because he still loves it. Well, we loved it, too, Steve. Thank you. Great music never dies.
Oh, and one last thing: never forget to remember the day you were born, and take that day to celebrate everything that is you. Whether you are successful, or struggling (like most of us), remember that you are unique. If you don’t celebrate your own uniqueness, then who will?
Cheers.