John Barrowman, Hammersmith Apollo, Sunday 13/4/08
Here we go, at last! The Barrowman at the Hammersmith Apollo, 13/4/08 :)
No pictures, I'm afraid, but 2000+ words of comment, review and glee :)
After my parents and I arrived in London, found our hotel, and had some dinner, we left for the show. I was wearing my long, grey wool coat. Complete with a blue Captain school badge pinned to it ;)
We walked to the Hammersmith Apollo, arriving about 6.45pm. I spotted jhava and friends stood outside, and accosted her, to say hello. We chatted for a couple of minutes, and decided that the London concert was certainly the one to be at, if I was only attending one, which I was. There was also a large group of people hanging around by the stage door, but it was too deep to see anything, so we went inside.
Purchases were made (programme, t-shirt, badges and keyring) and then we found our seats, row H of the circle. The programme is well worth buying, full of big, beautiful pictures from the album photo shoot and a whole load of family pictures.
Oh, and a Completely Blatant Centrefold of that Abercrombie and Fitch photo ;)
***
A lot of people nearer the front of the circle stood up, a few minutes before the show started. It later became apparent that this was because the Nancy girls had arrived (thus proving the results show, unlike the main show, and as I suspected, isn’t live live live - yes, that is a technical term for music broadcasts), along with Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori, Denise van Outen and Lee Mead. (If you didn’t know, Denise is going out with Lee.)
I noticed John's parents arrive, pointing them out to my mum. At a fair distance, I saw Scott stand up to greet them. John did publicly acknowledge his mum and dad’s presence during the show, saying they’d been to every concert.
***
The concert got underway just a little late, and John arrived on stage to screams and applause! He was wearing a black shirt and dark grey suit (the jacket soon came off). It Had Better Be Tonight was a fabulous Michael Buble Latin opening number.
Then it was straight in You’re So Vain, in which “all the girls dreamed that they’d be your partner” got its own cheer.
After The Bum had also received its own cheer.
We then got a story about Carly Simon singing the song down the phone to him.
Then it was Milly Molly Mandy, with the accompanying Glasgow story and, “I bet you never thought you’d hear Milly Molly Mandy sung at the Hammersmith Apollo.”
After that The Coat came on, and it also received its own cheer, as did Jack’s name. After bowing to The Coat, “we’re not worthy!”-style, John told us how much he loves playing Jack, and how it’s changed his life. With Burn and Naoko in the audience, there was also, at some point, “I’m sorry you’re dead! F*** ‘em!”
Someone shouted from the audience, “Changed mine, too!” Which was greeted with a typically smutty reply ;)
So many people also shouted out, “I love you, John!”
They all got, “I love that you love me,” in reply. Some also got, “Doesn’t matter if you’ve got a high voice or a deep voice.”
And on that note, there was real range of people there; kids, thirtysomethings, slight older theatre fans, women and men, straight and gay.
In the next story, a mention of Wicked got its own cheer (it is brilliant), and then John sang the incredibly sweet The Wizard Doctor and I, in which defabricate, “TV’s favourite team” and “a celebration throughout time that’s all to do with me” also got their own cheers.
Weekend in New England, a Barry Manilow song, was dedicated to Gavin (Barker, JB’s friend and manager), because he’s a Manilow fan and “a big gayer.”
And we giggled, at that, and so many other things. Because John was giggling.
I've been to shows and concerts in theatres, pubs, clubs, 10000-seat capacity enormodomes (it sounds like those kind of venues might be on the cards for next year) and fields, and I have never before heard the audience, well, corpse quite so spectacularly as we did at this concert. Seriously, 3500+ people, giggling, in response to John's giggling. Though very lovely and very sweet, that many people giggling was rather bizarre.
After one of the huge cheers, John told us, “If I’d known I was going to get this response on this tour, I’d have done this years ago.” He also thanked us for the last few years, at some point.
Also, unsurprisingly, there were several instances of:
JB - says something suggestive
audience - did he really say that? OMG, he did! Oh, John! *facepalm*
JB - just grins and says something even more suggestive
One of these was a “remedy for piles.” Yes, he meant exactly what you think he meant. And copious swearing was accompanied with promises of no more swearing. So, of course, we did get more swearing.
A lovely Time after Time followed, preceded by a story about a friend of John’s who had to tell his Southern USA parents he was gay and HIV positive. The friend’s dad let the song say what he hadn’t managed to.
The fabulous Mexican version of Every Little Thing She Does is Magic was next, which John dedicated to his niece, Clare. That was met with “aww”s. He told us about singing that on “Strictly...” Then he told that he’s on TV for most of BBC One’s Saturday night schedule.
Which is true. It’s him, David & Catherine (and him, at some point) and then him again. And the results show on a Sunday. And video clips on the BBC’s Who site (Captain Jack’s Monster Files).
Anything Goes followed, with the story of how John got that part, all the way back in 1989, and how thankful he is to Elaine Paige and Bernard Cribbins for looking after him, and teaching him so much, on that show. And tales of drinking lots of very expensive champagne in Cannes, as he got to go the film festival, for De-Lovely, the Cole Porter biopic, in Robbie Williams’ (allegedly stoned) place.
Then, after, mentioning Maria and Joseph, we got, “I’m currently looking for a Nancy.” And we giggled. Again. And, “I know so many jokes, and so many Nancies. Are any of them here, tonight? I’m not talking girls, I’m talking Nancies!”
A lovely Where is Love, from Oliver was next, because John’s not a “Fraulein Maria”, and Jack’s greatcoat is better than the Technicolor one. He said he couldn’t really do any of Nancy’s songs. And then proceeded to sing part of As Long As He Needs Me. In a Cockney accent.
Another Latin number, Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote) followed, accompanied with some brilliant moves from John. He said he wants to play that character, some day, because they’re both a little crazy.
And that was the end of the first half.
***
The second half opened with a big, show-off Feeling Good. John was off-stage until “it’s a new day”. And the light used as the sun for that line kind of blinded me, it was so bright, and coming from centre back of the stage. Very effective, though.
He was now wearing a white shirt under a black suit. Again, the jacket soon came off. Straight into Moondance, in which the sax player was excellent, and John threw himself around on the stage.
The whole band was excellent, and later, when John was introducing them, they all played a little of Play That Funky Music.
Then it was time for the guests: Daniel, Ben and Keith from Joseph. John introduced them by saying, “Fancy a threesome?” More cheering. “If Denise can have one Joseph, why can’t I have three?” Or words to that effect, at least. After John also told us what the boys were currently starring in, ie Avenue Q, Hairspray and touring Joseph, respectively, they appeared on stage.
They sang Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl first, with Ben taking the lead. He spoke afterwards, and was full of praise for John. Daniel then took the lead for Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now, as featured in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.. Keith took the lead for the last song (there were “aww!”s), You’ll Never Walk Alone from Carousel/Liverpool FC. They were great!
John came back on, and hugged each of them in turn, before they left the stage. He then said, “I’m so proud of those boys.” The Nancy & Oliver girls got, “You’ve got all that to come, girls.”
I think it was at this point that John did a little soapbox bit about music education in schools, saying it tends to (unfairly) miss out on funding. “Music is food for the soul,” he told us, and that got a cheer.
John then told us the terribly sad story of Sandie Gill, Scott’s sister, and her children. You must have read that in the book by now. I wonder who those kids are living with, now, having lost both of their parents. Please Remember Me was dedicated to Sandie’s memory, with the song saying what he thinks she would want to say to her kids.
This part clearly affected him quite considerably, as he had his head resting against his hand when the song was finished, and was still kind of crying when he went into Moon River. The mood was lightened afterwards with a request for a tissue, a comedy nose blow and “£600 on ebay,” to the person who’d offered the tissue.
And then the Elvis jumpsuit from Dancing on Ice arrived on stage, on a mannequin, rather than the dressmaker’s dummy The Coat had arrived on. John explained why he’d done Dancing on Ice (being taught to ice skate by Torvill and Dean). Oh, he’s still so bitter about being voted off half-way through. Catty remark re Robin Cousins. We got a bit of The Accent, here, with that story about The Osmonds that John first told on Al Murray... Gran didn’t have enough sequins, so he was 38 by the time he got his Sparkly Jumpsuit. He held the mannequin’s hand at one point, saying, ”Friday nights are never dull at my house!” More giggling, from him and us.
There were three uses of The Accent, actually, all applauded; that one, a, “Go on, yersel’!” and a comment his mum had made, “I don’t understand why all these people like you!”
Is This The Way To Amarillo? followed, complete with audience participation on the hand claps, and fake skating from John. But we weren’t loud enough! “That was s***!” we were informed. Then he said he was kidding ;)
A quiet and controlled I Won’t Send Roses was next. After a muttered, almost nervous, “Exposed!”, and gesturing from himself to us, John said, “Scott says this describes me to a T.”
For I Am What I Am, a Sparkly Jacket of Awesome was donned. Fabulous, show-stopper performance, cheered when people saw the jacket and recognised the song. And a rightly deserved standing ovation, when John finished the song.
After Fake End Of The Show Is Fake, John came back to the stage. We got another soapbox-y bit about how family’s family, whatever your family happens to be, and that his parents taught him that. Telling us how long his parents have been married (53 years) and how long he and Scott have been together (about 16 years) got applause.
“This song says how my parents feels about each other, how I feel about Scott, and I hope, how Scott feels about me,” John then said, before singing a very quiet, sweet and tender, Heaven.
Another big, loud, show-stopper, That’s Life, was the last song of the night. We gave John another ovation. He came back to the stage a few times, before finally leaving us, with, of course, a Jack-style salute.
***
The whole show was absolutely brilliant; we laughed, we cried and, oh yes, we facepalmed ;)
Several things were very apparent, during the concert.
1. John’s a real showman, and he was clearly having a whale of time, entertaining us, like he says he was ”put on this planet for.” But he can bring it all the way down, and the quieter songs were done as well as the big, ballsy, show-stoppers were.
2. He’s also an excellent storyteller, whether the story’s happy or desperately sad. And he’s a terrible giggler ;)
3. John loves his whole family so very much. He’s so incredibly vocal about how much he adores his Scott (and vice versa).
4. Despite an audience of 3500+ people, the show was really very intimate. I hope that’s still the case if next year’s tour is in the likes of the Birmingham NIA. We’ll definitely be going!
No pictures, I'm afraid, but 2000+ words of comment, review and glee :)
After my parents and I arrived in London, found our hotel, and had some dinner, we left for the show. I was wearing my long, grey wool coat. Complete with a blue Captain school badge pinned to it ;)
We walked to the Hammersmith Apollo, arriving about 6.45pm. I spotted jhava and friends stood outside, and accosted her, to say hello. We chatted for a couple of minutes, and decided that the London concert was certainly the one to be at, if I was only attending one, which I was. There was also a large group of people hanging around by the stage door, but it was too deep to see anything, so we went inside.
Purchases were made (programme, t-shirt, badges and keyring) and then we found our seats, row H of the circle. The programme is well worth buying, full of big, beautiful pictures from the album photo shoot and a whole load of family pictures.
Oh, and a Completely Blatant Centrefold of that Abercrombie and Fitch photo ;)
***
A lot of people nearer the front of the circle stood up, a few minutes before the show started. It later became apparent that this was because the Nancy girls had arrived (thus proving the results show, unlike the main show, and as I suspected, isn’t live live live - yes, that is a technical term for music broadcasts), along with Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori, Denise van Outen and Lee Mead. (If you didn’t know, Denise is going out with Lee.)
I noticed John's parents arrive, pointing them out to my mum. At a fair distance, I saw Scott stand up to greet them. John did publicly acknowledge his mum and dad’s presence during the show, saying they’d been to every concert.
***
The concert got underway just a little late, and John arrived on stage to screams and applause! He was wearing a black shirt and dark grey suit (the jacket soon came off). It Had Better Be Tonight was a fabulous Michael Buble Latin opening number.
Then it was straight in You’re So Vain, in which “all the girls dreamed that they’d be your partner” got its own cheer.
After The Bum had also received its own cheer.
We then got a story about Carly Simon singing the song down the phone to him.
Then it was Milly Molly Mandy, with the accompanying Glasgow story and, “I bet you never thought you’d hear Milly Molly Mandy sung at the Hammersmith Apollo.”
After that The Coat came on, and it also received its own cheer, as did Jack’s name. After bowing to The Coat, “we’re not worthy!”-style, John told us how much he loves playing Jack, and how it’s changed his life. With Burn and Naoko in the audience, there was also, at some point, “I’m sorry you’re dead! F*** ‘em!”
Someone shouted from the audience, “Changed mine, too!” Which was greeted with a typically smutty reply ;)
So many people also shouted out, “I love you, John!”
They all got, “I love that you love me,” in reply. Some also got, “Doesn’t matter if you’ve got a high voice or a deep voice.”
And on that note, there was real range of people there; kids, thirtysomethings, slight older theatre fans, women and men, straight and gay.
In the next story, a mention of Wicked got its own cheer (it is brilliant), and then John sang the incredibly sweet The Wizard Doctor and I, in which defabricate, “TV’s favourite team” and “a celebration throughout time that’s all to do with me” also got their own cheers.
Weekend in New England, a Barry Manilow song, was dedicated to Gavin (Barker, JB’s friend and manager), because he’s a Manilow fan and “a big gayer.”
And we giggled, at that, and so many other things. Because John was giggling.
I've been to shows and concerts in theatres, pubs, clubs, 10000-seat capacity enormodomes (it sounds like those kind of venues might be on the cards for next year) and fields, and I have never before heard the audience, well, corpse quite so spectacularly as we did at this concert. Seriously, 3500+ people, giggling, in response to John's giggling. Though very lovely and very sweet, that many people giggling was rather bizarre.
After one of the huge cheers, John told us, “If I’d known I was going to get this response on this tour, I’d have done this years ago.” He also thanked us for the last few years, at some point.
Also, unsurprisingly, there were several instances of:
JB - says something suggestive
audience - did he really say that? OMG, he did! Oh, John! *facepalm*
JB - just grins and says something even more suggestive
One of these was a “remedy for piles.” Yes, he meant exactly what you think he meant. And copious swearing was accompanied with promises of no more swearing. So, of course, we did get more swearing.
A lovely Time after Time followed, preceded by a story about a friend of John’s who had to tell his Southern USA parents he was gay and HIV positive. The friend’s dad let the song say what he hadn’t managed to.
The fabulous Mexican version of Every Little Thing She Does is Magic was next, which John dedicated to his niece, Clare. That was met with “aww”s. He told us about singing that on “Strictly...” Then he told that he’s on TV for most of BBC One’s Saturday night schedule.
Which is true. It’s him, David & Catherine (and him, at some point) and then him again. And the results show on a Sunday. And video clips on the BBC’s Who site (Captain Jack’s Monster Files).
Anything Goes followed, with the story of how John got that part, all the way back in 1989, and how thankful he is to Elaine Paige and Bernard Cribbins for looking after him, and teaching him so much, on that show. And tales of drinking lots of very expensive champagne in Cannes, as he got to go the film festival, for De-Lovely, the Cole Porter biopic, in Robbie Williams’ (allegedly stoned) place.
Then, after, mentioning Maria and Joseph, we got, “I’m currently looking for a Nancy.” And we giggled. Again. And, “I know so many jokes, and so many Nancies. Are any of them here, tonight? I’m not talking girls, I’m talking Nancies!”
A lovely Where is Love, from Oliver was next, because John’s not a “Fraulein Maria”, and Jack’s greatcoat is better than the Technicolor one. He said he couldn’t really do any of Nancy’s songs. And then proceeded to sing part of As Long As He Needs Me. In a Cockney accent.
Another Latin number, Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote) followed, accompanied with some brilliant moves from John. He said he wants to play that character, some day, because they’re both a little crazy.
And that was the end of the first half.
***
The second half opened with a big, show-off Feeling Good. John was off-stage until “it’s a new day”. And the light used as the sun for that line kind of blinded me, it was so bright, and coming from centre back of the stage. Very effective, though.
He was now wearing a white shirt under a black suit. Again, the jacket soon came off. Straight into Moondance, in which the sax player was excellent, and John threw himself around on the stage.
The whole band was excellent, and later, when John was introducing them, they all played a little of Play That Funky Music.
Then it was time for the guests: Daniel, Ben and Keith from Joseph. John introduced them by saying, “Fancy a threesome?” More cheering. “If Denise can have one Joseph, why can’t I have three?” Or words to that effect, at least. After John also told us what the boys were currently starring in, ie Avenue Q, Hairspray and touring Joseph, respectively, they appeared on stage.
They sang Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl first, with Ben taking the lead. He spoke afterwards, and was full of praise for John. Daniel then took the lead for Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now, as featured in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.. Keith took the lead for the last song (there were “aww!”s), You’ll Never Walk Alone from Carousel/Liverpool FC. They were great!
John came back on, and hugged each of them in turn, before they left the stage. He then said, “I’m so proud of those boys.” The Nancy & Oliver girls got, “You’ve got all that to come, girls.”
I think it was at this point that John did a little soapbox bit about music education in schools, saying it tends to (unfairly) miss out on funding. “Music is food for the soul,” he told us, and that got a cheer.
John then told us the terribly sad story of Sandie Gill, Scott’s sister, and her children. You must have read that in the book by now. I wonder who those kids are living with, now, having lost both of their parents. Please Remember Me was dedicated to Sandie’s memory, with the song saying what he thinks she would want to say to her kids.
This part clearly affected him quite considerably, as he had his head resting against his hand when the song was finished, and was still kind of crying when he went into Moon River. The mood was lightened afterwards with a request for a tissue, a comedy nose blow and “£600 on ebay,” to the person who’d offered the tissue.
And then the Elvis jumpsuit from Dancing on Ice arrived on stage, on a mannequin, rather than the dressmaker’s dummy The Coat had arrived on. John explained why he’d done Dancing on Ice (being taught to ice skate by Torvill and Dean). Oh, he’s still so bitter about being voted off half-way through. Catty remark re Robin Cousins. We got a bit of The Accent, here, with that story about The Osmonds that John first told on Al Murray... Gran didn’t have enough sequins, so he was 38 by the time he got his Sparkly Jumpsuit. He held the mannequin’s hand at one point, saying, ”Friday nights are never dull at my house!” More giggling, from him and us.
There were three uses of The Accent, actually, all applauded; that one, a, “Go on, yersel’!” and a comment his mum had made, “I don’t understand why all these people like you!”
Is This The Way To Amarillo? followed, complete with audience participation on the hand claps, and fake skating from John. But we weren’t loud enough! “That was s***!” we were informed. Then he said he was kidding ;)
A quiet and controlled I Won’t Send Roses was next. After a muttered, almost nervous, “Exposed!”, and gesturing from himself to us, John said, “Scott says this describes me to a T.”
For I Am What I Am, a Sparkly Jacket of Awesome was donned. Fabulous, show-stopper performance, cheered when people saw the jacket and recognised the song. And a rightly deserved standing ovation, when John finished the song.
After Fake End Of The Show Is Fake, John came back to the stage. We got another soapbox-y bit about how family’s family, whatever your family happens to be, and that his parents taught him that. Telling us how long his parents have been married (53 years) and how long he and Scott have been together (about 16 years) got applause.
“This song says how my parents feels about each other, how I feel about Scott, and I hope, how Scott feels about me,” John then said, before singing a very quiet, sweet and tender, Heaven.
Another big, loud, show-stopper, That’s Life, was the last song of the night. We gave John another ovation. He came back to the stage a few times, before finally leaving us, with, of course, a Jack-style salute.
***
The whole show was absolutely brilliant; we laughed, we cried and, oh yes, we facepalmed ;)
Several things were very apparent, during the concert.
1. John’s a real showman, and he was clearly having a whale of time, entertaining us, like he says he was ”put on this planet for.” But he can bring it all the way down, and the quieter songs were done as well as the big, ballsy, show-stoppers were.
2. He’s also an excellent storyteller, whether the story’s happy or desperately sad. And he’s a terrible giggler ;)
3. John loves his whole family so very much. He’s so incredibly vocal about how much he adores his Scott (and vice versa).
4. Despite an audience of 3500+ people, the show was really very intimate. I hope that’s still the case if next year’s tour is in the likes of the Birmingham NIA. We’ll definitely be going!