You Tube clips from Ahoy Rotterdam
24/05/2008 Report
Flawless Diamond rocks Rotterdam.
The Ahoy Arena, Rotterdam. Holland;
On stage; 8.15pm
Off stage; 10.//pm
Concert time; 2hrs 09mnts.
Neil wore; Dark jacket with white stitching on cuffs & lapels, Dark shirt with
Maroon patterns & understated sparkles.
Dark trousers with white stitching down sides.
After an absence of 9 years the legendary Neil Diamond backed by the greatest
band of musicians on the planet returned in triumph to Holland tonight and
stunned the wildly enthusiastic crowd with a sensational show of old & new hits
that rocked this famous Arena to the rafters.
This was a return journey for me also, having last seen Neil perform here way
back in 1984, and on this night of a zillion highlights Neil made it so special
for each and every fan inside the arena.
Few would have won a bet on the opening song; as the house lights went down the
band took their places and then we became aware that, as so many times before,
Neil appeared from the rear centre of this extraordinary stage strumming his
guitar and singing One more bite of the Apple; As Neil approached the front with
the crowd already on their feet cheering and clapping he changed gear into Holly
Holy.
The incredible stage then moved the various sections of the band around as Neil
tore into Street Life and then while we were still trying to take in all these
wonderful happenings he talked proudly of where he came from and followed up
with Beautiful Noise and then 2 more classics from that fabulous album, the
breathtaking Lady Oh and the magnificent If you know what I mean. Neil then
asked "are you ready to rock" and took us charging into Cherry Cherry. The band
were fantastic as Neil let them do part of the song as an instrumental and he
gave special praise to Tom, Alan, Linda, Maxine & Julia & the Horn dogs as they
all strutted their stuff. Then a wonderfully fresh Thank the Lord for the
Nighttime after which Neil threw off his jacket and reacquainted us all with the
Jazz Singer era by delivering Hello Again and Love on the Rocks; every song was
cheered massively by this great audience but it was clear that for many these
were 2 special favourites. Neil then moved to the right side of the stage as
seen from the floor and talked a little of his new album before magnificently
presenting the superb title track Home before Dark, the cover of which had been
highlighted on the 2 giant screens either side of the stage. Then Neil rocked
into Don't go there that had everyone stomping again and while we tried to catch
breath he quickly went on to the hugely popular Pretty Amazing Grace.
All the band members were really having fun, and Doug & Hadley were simply
awesome on their guitar work, just normal for such a class act, while Linda
Maxine & Julia could easily take charge of a class for aerobics and still have
energy to burn!
Neil then talked about the wonderful Hot August Night album before launching
into Crunchy Granola Suite in true Greek Theatre style and then stunned us all
with a truly sensational Done too soon. Someone will no doubt correct me if I am
wrong, but I have not heard Neil perform this masterful song in concert since
the early 70s, a truly special moment on a night of many special moments!
Not for the first time over many decades Neil was displaying unbelievable energy
levels and did not let up as he had every single person in the arena singing
along with Forever in Blue Jeans, and it was nice to see a number of the Arena
very audience-friendly security staff singing along as well!
Another old friend then returned as Neil sat on his stool and sand the beautiful
Brooklyn Roads, complete with some wonderful Diamond family archive video
material on the 2 giant screens. The next surprise followed immediately as Neil
continued with I Am.. I Said.. in a new position in the set and he had to stop
before his closing lines as the audience, singing along as always to this most
famous of anthems burst into thunderous applause before Neil was able to
complete the song to even more of the same appreciation and yet another richly
deserved standing ovation.
Then it was back to the 1960s again with Solitary Man, greeted with huge
affection by this knowledgeable crowd and followed by the perennial favourite
I'm a Believer that again left every seat in the arena untouched by human
bottoms!
The arena then went quite as a small table, bedecked with red & white chequered
cloth appeared at the Left of the stage. It held a half drunk bottle of Red Wine
(well maybe it was Cranberry juice!) and a glass as well as a single red rose.
Neil then sang sitting down You don't bring me Flowers. He was greeted from the
far right of the stage by Linda Press who delivered her part of this superb duet
in the high quality style that has become her personal calling card over the
years. As they met on the small moving island that is the front piece of this
superbly designed stage they danced together for a while as the band played the
instrumental version of this classic before Neil & Linda finished off the song
in style.
Generous as ever Neil thanked Linda and she deserved the huge ovation given her
by the audience. Neil then asked Linda to stay and sing with him and said that
"maybe this crowd will sing with us too" and then, for the first time in at
least a couple of tours we had the fun sing-along of Song Sung Blue. Neil
inviting Maxine & Julia to join himself & Linda at the front of the stage to
lead the massed chorus in welcoming the return of this classic US chart topper.
It is impossible to do justice to this impressive stage in words alone, but it
was almost like an additional band member, all singing & dancing and Neil then
had fun with the moveable front part. Basically it could move the entire length
of the front of the stage and looked like a small baseball Diamond or even a
tiny island, though that is probably far too simplistic a description. Neil
pretended to call it back and forth, the way you would when training a new
puppy, and surprise surprise, it obeyed his every command!
Then Neil stood on his personal little moving island and gave us an exquisite
version of Man of God followed by a show-stopping Hell Yeah that had to be
experienced in the flesh to fully understand the hairs standing up on the back
of several thousand necks!
After soaking up a deserved standing ovation Neil left the stage but the cheers
were so loud and long that he simply had to return and did so, having changed
into a dark grey shirt with a different design and some more subtle sparkles.
And what a return! The universally popular Sweet Caroline brought yet another
full scale party sing-along and hot on its heels came the greatest of all #1
hits Cracklin' Rosie. America followed featuring the same superb video footage
we had seen in US shows in 2005, that wonderful black & white vintage developing
into modern day with the great soaring Eagle, Old Glory and Lady Liberty coming
together at the climax!
But how can Neil finish such a magnificent show with anything other than the
peerless Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show. And he stood proudly atop his
personal moving island to take the acclaim! I don't want to upset folks, and
over the decades there have been other show closers, but this giant is a show
within a show; OK so it is my #1 song too, but all those thousands of people
can't be wrong either! After saving all our souls Neil took the deafening final
ovations and then, generous to the end he left the magnificent band to take
their own bows before they too left the stage for the last time, for tonight at
least!
After over two hours of the highest quality we were all coaxed out of the arena
by the friendly security staff. Of course there was still time to spend even
more money at the merchandise stalls, with numerous great tee shirts, a tea
towel even, a great Home Before Dark mug and a tour book that takes its place in
the history of high quality world tour books Neil has enriched us with over the
decades.
A last word about that magnificent stage. I am a technophobe so don't understand
the intricacies of such a magnificent design but when it comes to your town or
city it will simply blow your socks off!
Now we are already desperate for tomorrow to come and more of the same as Neil
delights everyone lucky enough to have a ticket for this spectacular show in
this vibrant and friendly town. And one thing is for sure, great though the
title of this magnificent new album is, I guarantee that none of us will be
"Home Before Dark"!
Ian Graham.