Having the opportunity to see Brian May and Kerry Ellis couldn’t be missed – and with their final show of their UK wide tour they certainly went out with a bang.
Arriving at the venue (the Bath Forum) at 6.45pm there were already queues around the block, all the way back round by Avon Street car park and to the back of the Future Publishing building – we knew that people were looking forward to the concert and though there might have been a little wait, the staff at the Forum got everyone in pretty much on time for a 7.30-7.45pm start.
After a quick warm up by rock and soul band ‘Vintage Trouble’ the audience were ready for what they had come to see…
The man himself, of Queen fame, Dr Brian May came on stage to a round of applause after a stunning piece of lighting effects, some of the best we have seen at the Forum, all encouraging the stunned audience of 1,700. Though his dress sense could be questioned; some kind of kaftan-esque piece, his love for his music and audience couldn’t be missed. Ellis came on stage taking the centre of attention from the man himself, before kicking off with the first tracks from her album ‘Anthems’ which the tour was used to promote.
Having spoken to a few people who were in the audience on the night, a small consensus was that the Forum wasn’t an ideal venue for such a rock concert; a few niggles with sound were voiced though they can probably be put down to the size and build of the venue and not down to the set-up by the sound engineers. Though some of Kerry’s vocals were lost during the first few songs of the concert, once settled and having sung a toned down version of ‘Only The Good Die Young’ they improved a lot, and the concert took off.
A set of Queen songs helped get the audience in the mood for the legendary guitarist; May produced Kerry’s album for her and see’s her as his protégé. The way the night played out was an entire run through of the new ‘Anthems’ album, May commented on the strange formatting for a concert to take in this aspect, but the songs worked together and the backing singers and May’s band helped to make the night special. The drummer for May’s band is Roger Taylor’s son himself – Rufus Taylor. His enthusiasm for the music that his father helped create really showed with a very energetic performance by the 20 year old.
Audience participation was really what Kerry and Brian wanted, encouragement throughout the concert to join in with clapping or a little sing along hit a climax at the end, a large number of the audience got up from their seats to join in with ‘We Are The champions’ and ‘We Will Rock You’ – songs esteemed to be some of Queen’s greatest work.
Aside from the technical niggles of the night, the performance by Brian May and Kerry Ellis was superb, it couldn’t be faulted. With such a quality band providing the support for the two, including Rufus himself, gave the night a feel that could only ever be re-created with the memories it provided.
[If you have any pictures from the night, please send them to us to add into this review – [email protected] or tweet us @NOWBath – thanks!]