National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, England

On stage; 8.21pm
Off stage; 10.07pm
Concert time; 1hr 46mnts.

Neil wore; Black jacket with satin type pattern all over (Cannot recall seeing this before) Black shirt with Gold pattern on chest

Neil Diamond thrilled Birmingham for a 2^nd consecutive night as another great crowd at the National Indoor Arena enjoyed a feast of hits both old & new!

The party mood of the boisterous crowd was obvious before the start as a Mexican Wave swept around the arena and thunderous foot stomping greeted the band and Neil’s imminent arrival! As Neil appeared every seat was vacated, and his walk with attitude was greeted with thunderous roars!

Kicking off again with One more bite of the Apple and changing into top gear for Holly Holy he soon had the crowd as hot as an August night.

Beautiful Noise followed and recognition was instant, and the singing dancing response inevitable! Hello Again allowed a little time to rest and reflect on the beauty of the song, then a powerful performance of Love on the Rocks that would have put Keith Lennox firmly in his place brought the house down!

Cherry Cherry has been an inspired choice to introduce the band members, and again we admired their great contributions as each produced a wonderful cameo of their superb talents, and Neil didn’t look too rusty either!. Neil divested himself of his jacket and roared on, Thank the Lord for the Nighttime was a perfect following companion and upped the tempo ever higher!

The haunting Home before Dark again oozed class and was generously acclaimed while Don't Go There continues to delight and the now well established Pretty Amazing Grace has the knowledgeable crowd standing in unison to cheer its quality.

The great opening from Hot August Night is again perfectly replicated and the more familiar Crunchy Granola Suite is again partnered by the clever and hugely popular Done Too Soon. to underpin the Greek Theatre connection.

Brooklyn Roads kicks off the wonderful autobiographical section in style as Neil talks with great warmth of his early days and his family; I Am.. I Said.. continues to be perhaps the most popular song across the Neil Diamond worldwide fan community and the ovations before, during and after the great anthem is testament to its massive and enduring appeal, with the de rigueur pause for ever louder approbation before its conclusion! Solitary Man proves that it can still have everyone up and dancing as it did way back in 1966.

Ever the master of the surprise, as an audience member shouted for Blue Jeans Neil said “we’ll get to that” and promptly treated us to the classy Kentucky Woman that really hit the spot for this crazy crowd!

Forever in Blue Jeans could make even a statue get up and dance and smile, and prepares everyone perfectly for Sweet Caroline and even those first time attendees at a Neil Diamond show would very quickly learn the ropes as they are put through a strenuous though fun aerobics session on this most singable of all audience participation songs! You don’t bring me Flowers brings quality and emotional conflict once more, climaxing in a romantic dance and mass approval for both Neil and the magnificent Linda.

Again Song Sung Blue shifts the emphasis back to full on audience participation, and with Linda joined up front by Maxine & Julia to encourage the crowd, who need little coaxing, the result is mass joy; that situation prevails, only at a faster pace as the 3 ladies support Neil and the all standing arena through I’m a Believer.

Man of God is as good as it has ever been, and that is simply class, while everyone now anticipates with relish the stunning Hell Yeah that stands out like a magnificent beacon towering over this sumptuous feast of such quality!

The deafening applause as Neil leaves is truly something and when he returns with the great maroon shirt and slightly darker chest pattern it is even noisier as he races into the fabulous Cracklin’ Rosie and everyone bounces around an arena that seems suddenly lit by a zillion lights! Neil looks unbelievably fit, as though it were true that “we still got all night” and then the superb lights do come on in an explosive combination, quite breathtaking, as the preacher takes over and delivers us into the safety and security of that ragged tent with the invincible Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show!

Then once more it is over. A simply magnificent 2-show engagement in this great city is done too soon and the crowd drifted out into the cool night as the rain began to fall softly. Yet again the one constant is the sea of happy smiling excited faces, as people chatter excitedly and commit to memory the treasured time spent with the greatest entertainer of our times!

For those who have mentioned the Play list, maybe I should have made clear at the start of the tour that I produce the play list as it unfolds for the show just seen and it is shown at the foot of each review. Any changes either additional songs or to the position on the play list are shown for the night in question only and I do believe I have identified those; however a quick check on the previous show’s playlist will enable comparisons for those who want them.

As for the questions some folk may have on lyrical glitches; well I ask myself, do these tiny things affect the enjoyment of the show for me and thousands of others present? The answer is a resounding no! Neil is constantly doing lots of stuff in the course of a fast paced and hugely enjoyable performance, like moving from one side of the stage to the other, bantering with fans, band members, checking for guitar positions, taking water, playing guitar, and all the other stuff that contributes to his great showmanship and professionalism; all the time he must have a zillion different lyrics rushing around inside him as he sings one song while mentally ensuring he is ready for the next one, a feat that few would want to take on, let alone manage with his great style. And for 40 plus years he has done a fantastic job of it, so that is why the focus is on all the great things he does.

Everyone has a different perspective, I am simply trying to bring a little of what our group is experiencing to those who are not at these shows; we all see the fantastic things that Neil brings to his performance, and also the happy smiling faces before, during and after the show, so tiny lyrical glitches don’t get featured here! Just a reminder folk, this is a fan’s review for other fans and not that of a “professional” critic; if people want to read critical stuff then these posts are not for them!

#1;One more bite of the Apple/Holly Holy; #2;Beautiful Noise; #3; Hello Again; #4; Love on the Rocks; #5; Cherry Cherry #6; Thank the Lord for the Night time #7; Home Before Dark; #8; Don't go there; #9 Pretty Amazing Grace; #10; Crunchy Granola Suite; #11; Done Too Soon; #12; Brooklyn Roads; #13; I Am.. I Said..; #14; Solitary Man; #15; Kentucky Woman; #16; Forever in Blue Jeans; #17; Sweet Caroline; #18; You don't bring me Flowers; #19 Song Sung Blue; #20; I’m a Believer; #21; Man of God; #22; Hell Yeah; WALK-OFF; #23; Cracklin’ Rosie; #24; BROTHER LOVE'S TRAVELLING SALVATION SHOW; Final walk-off Band Walk-off

PS; I hope someone else remembered to post, but I forgot to mention that on the merchandise stands last night, and selling like hot cakes, were black tote bags featuring the covers of Neil’s various albums and a couple of singles, the Bang release of Cherry Cherry and the USA promo of Pretty Amazing Grace. Also next to the Headed for the Future album is a pink & blue image that I cannot quite identify but it looks very similar to one of the early alternative pieces of Cracklin’ Rosie sheet music by Charles Hansen that were issued in the early 70s. Whatever, this is another must buy item!