Awesome Diamond Amazes Antwerp!

29 May 2008
The Sport Paleis, Antwerp. Belgium;

On stage; 8.15pm
Off stage; 10.03pm
Concert time; 1hr 48mnts.

Neil wore; Dark jacket with Black satin pattern on cuffs, Black shirt with Gold & Maroon pattern on collar, cuffs & shoulders, Dark trousers with Black pattern down sides.

In an amazing maiden performance in this beautiful city renowned as an International Diamond centre the brightest Diamond of all ensured that his historic first ever concert in Belgium tonight at the magnificent Sports Palaise will live forever in the memories of those lucky enough to witness this superb show.

The pumped up audience were stomping, clapping and calling for Neil well before he made his entrance at the back centre of the fantastic stage strumming his guitar and delivering the first few lines of One more bite of the Apple. The warmth of the welcome for Neil clearly seemed to excite him and as he quickly changed gear into Holly Holy he had already stolen the hearts of this wonderful audience. Neil said "Thank you Belgium" before talking of the beauty of the city and joking about the weather and the frequently ringing Cathedral & church bells!

It was abundantly clear that just about everyone in the arena either owned or had access to the superb Beautiful Noise album as there was instant recognition for the gutsy Street Life. Neil then talked fondly of his home city the unique noises and included the noise of Church bells as he introduced Beautiful Noise that had everyone up and dancing. Lady Oh sparked a near communal hug-fest as husbands & wives, partners and maybe just friends got close and swayed gently to this tender song.

Before there was time to draw breath Neil was sending out his invitation to rock & roll and the early classic Cherry Cherry simply raised the party to a higher plain. Once again this amazing band of musicians who have so loyally supported Neil over several years demonstrated their considerable talents before the heat was turned up even more with the superbly re-tooled Thank the Lord for the Nighttime

The Jazz Singer classic Love on the Rocks received thunderous applause, and it was especially exciting to see the many younger audience members who could scarcely have been tiny tots when the movie was originally released giving such backing to the classic.

The Arena was extremely warm and the atmosphere was one of the best so far!

The segment from the inspiring new album, beginning with the title track Home Before Dark, was cheered long and loud, suggesting that at least 80% of this wonderful audience already owned the superb collection of new songs; Don't Go There, reminds me a little of Can anybody hear me? and proved to be as popular, while Pretty Amazing Grace, remains an inspired choice as the promotional single from the album. Again Neil made use of his amazing moving island to deliver this segment.

Once again as soon as Neil talked of The Greek Theatre and the historic Hot August Night album there was a sense of huge expectation and the infectious Crunchy Granola Suite certainly brought nostalgic joy in waves to so many.

Yet again the superb autobiographical trilogy of Brooklyn Roads with its unique Diamond family video coverage, the gigantic I Am.. I Said.. which brought tears of joy to many and the stylish Solitary Man proved to be a compelling mix, the crowd so loving this sixties favourite that Neil had to stop to take applause before he could finish the song.

I'm a Believer showed its perennial appeal with dancers aged 8-80 rocking along, to be left breathless at the end, and thankful for the relative calm of the superlative You don't bring me Flowers , a song that remains a statement of quality with Linda & Neil stunning in their individual and dual performances. Song Sung Blue was again performed sing-along style (is there any other way?)with Linda supporting Neil, and Maxine & Julia also joining in the fun as it fashioned the biggest happiest swaying mass of humanity in Europe.

The restored Forever in Blue Jeans continued the swing-along sing-along for a little while more!

Man of God was classy yet again while the hugely impressive Hell Yeah continues to grow in stature and deserved the standing ovation that followed after Neil performed it with & without guitar and also sitting.

As Neil did his first walk off the applause was deafening. When he reappeared he was wearing a great maroon shirt with darker maroon patterns across the back of the shoulders, collar and cuffs. He went straight into Sweet Caroline that had simply everyone up and dancing, before closing out another top-drawer performance with the peerless Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show.

Neil left out If you know what I mean, Hello Again, Done too soon & Cracklin' Rosie tonight, but restored Forever in Blue Jeans..

Another superb shirt worn by King tonight too, the colours of my favourite football team!!

Tonight's playlist;
#1;One more bite of the Apple/Holly Holy; #2; Street Life; #3; Beautiful Noise; #4; Lady Oh; #5; Cherry Cherry (part band intro/instrumental); #6; Thank the Lord for the Nighttime; #7; Love on the Rocks; #8; Home Before Dark; #9; Don't go there; #10 Pretty Amazing Grace; #11; Crunchy Granola Suite; #12; Brooklyn Roads; #13; I Am.. I Said..; #14; Solitary Man; #15; I'm a Believer; #16; You don't bring me Flowers; #17 Song Sung Blue; #18; Forever in Blue Jeans; #19; Man of God; #20; Hell Yeah; WALK-OFF; #21; Sweet Caroline; #22; BROTHER LOVE'S TRAVELLING SALVATION SHOW; Final walk-off Band Walk-off

PS; I don't usually have the chance to reply to questions to my concert posts simply because this is a hectic time travelling around and currently in cities and countries that are not always familiar to our group. Also my posts are there not for personal satisfaction but to bring a little bit of what we are experiencing to others who are not at the show but would like to know what has taken place.

Those people who have taken the time to respond or to reply to my personal email address I promise I will return your messages as and when I am able, probably at the tour end or when we are "home" at the London shows.

However a number of fans emailed me in respect of a reply to my post made after my Munich review by a fan who also attended that concert. And asked me to respond, well here goes!

First, I am happy for people to criticise/react to my posts in the way they see fit, if you choose to post a review or comment on any subject then you have to be prepared for this, it is fine with me!

To the fan who posted their personal response to my MUNICH reviews, thanks for taking the time and interest in my reports, and I respect your viewpoint.

Your salient points regarding the Munich show are;

#1. I did not mention empty seats and the concert not being sold out.

I prefer to mention the many thousands of seats that were sold, and continue to be sold around the world by one of the greatest live performers of this or any other generation!

#2. It seems I was too positive for your liking, I did not mention that many people did not stand up, especially during the up-tempo sing-along numbers.

I prefer to mention the MANY people who DID stand up. Also I am aware that there are many reasons people may not stand up, perhaps age, infirmity, tiredness, or because we are all different and enjoy different experiences in different ways! Oh yes, I saw 3 who did not stand up, have never stood up and continue not to stand up!! Naughty boys Tom Hensley, Ron Tutt & Alan Lindgren, please stand up next time in the up-tempo shows!!

#3 Apparently my mention of Neil's "moving island" may have disguised the fact that Neil was not in great physical shape to move around so much?! (sic)

I prefer to mention that Neil Diamond is a class act, who at 67 years of age still takes the time and trouble to fly many thousands of miles to entertain US!

This at a time of life when most people want to slow down and relax a little. I have no personal knowledge that Neil is anything other than in GREAT shape, certainly it looks like that to me. I am sure he gets tired at times, especially after a long show with no intermission where he always seems to me to give at least 110%! He certainly tires me out and I am 14 years his junior.

As far back as 1991, a full 17 years ago, Neil performed "In the round" and then, as now, he commanded the stage as well as anyone could hope for from any performer! In my opinion he is doing so now, with the assistance of this wonderful new stage and IF there is more economy of movement and it permits Neil to feel more comfortable and perform even one extra song now and again then GREAT!

However I will NEVER change the style of my personal reviews. I have never been critical of Neil because he gives so much, what is there to be critical of?

From my own personal experience, in all the times I have seen Neil perform live in concert since 1971 (tonight was show #168 for me, and incidentally the 37th anniversary of my first ever shows; I know there are fans out there with many more shows than this under their belts, and I do not claim to be any kind of expert or bigger/better fan than anyone else) he has given 110% every single one of those times, even when on occasion he has been a little off colour or sometimes very unwell himself, THAT IS TRUE STYLE GUTS & PROFESSIONALISM!

I stay back at the arena for as long as the constraints on time allow after every show, and all I ever see as fans are leaving are happy smiling radiant faces, from everyone, be they standees, sitters, or dancers!

When I attend a Neil Diamond show my glass is never half empty, it is full and overflowing and so are the glasses of many thousands of others. If there is an occasional lyrical lapse, or Neil leaves out a particular song, so what? It is his show; for the most part he writes the songs so he can sing as he chooses! IF he left out my own favourite song, - BLTSS, as he has done on very rare occasions, sure I would be disappointed, but I still would be happy that he was there performing so many other great songs for everyone rather than just for me!

So thanks for your points, you are entitled to your views as am I.

Here is a health warning to everyone.

Anyone looking for a "glass half empty" review should avoid my posts,

And to borrow some of Neil's lyrics for a second, will I continue to emphasise the MANY MANY positives in Neil's shows, like making people feel good, being happy and forgetting any cares and woes we may have, while ignoring minor things that may make my views seem less objective to others?

HELL YEAH I WILL!

Ian Graham.