Well that was quite a ride. I should first say that with the exception of two nights at the Emirates (London) in 2008 this was my first multiple show experience within a tour. If I calculate correctly 83 songs over the three nights, 60 of them different, and four firsts for me. Just a few observations, maybe not very well structured so excuse my ramblings.
First night - for me was great from a song selection point of view, with several highlights topped by the acoustic Blood Brothers. We had the opening political statement and hard-hitting selection of tracks followed by the Greetings and WIESS songs. However from what I could see, outside of the pit there did seem to be a disengagement with a lot of the crowd which never really got going until the encores. Whether it was due to that, the increase in temperature or whatever, the second night was a dramatic change with the band going at an intense pace from the start, at times I felt too rushed, and never letting up. No talking and major increase in crowd engagement.
Which brings me onto night 3 and personally one of the best shows I have seen. I know on paper it may not look particularly special but the structure and pacing of the set and the sheer energy drew you in from the start. Again very little talking apart from the intro to Saint In The City and saying this was where it all started for him. Finally got Drive All Night, which was wonderful, and for me only the second Backstreets. The band in great form and, as in night 2, Steve seemingly much more involved than I have seen before. Yes, it would be good to shake up the later part of the set and encores a bit – Seven Nights was a welcome change and Shout and The Rising could do with a rest, but even though I have heard it multiple times as soon as the drums start in Badlands you feel that extra gear kick in and are carried along to the end. The set length was similar to night two which maybe suggests this is how it will be going forwards.
Overall more stripped down than previous tour, no signs, no Sunny Day, just relentless music! I also haven’t mentioned how good it was to be back in an arena after the vastness of Wembley. Stadium shows may have their place but smaller venues are so much better. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the tour develops. For the sake of others I hope he does go back to playing more of the early stuff but I guess this will be in moderation. I’m sure that I’ll get envious of setlists from time to time but just feel privileged to have attended these three shows. As he was singing at the end of Backstreets – “Forever friends – that was how it was meant to be”.