Neil wore; Dark jacket with Black satin pattern on cuffs, Black with Black beads pattern on collar, cuffs & shoulders, Dark trousers with silver stitching down sides.

How do you top perfection? Impossible, but the unsurpassed talents of Neil Diamond ensured that this wonderful Arena witnessed a second consecutive night of magic as he turned in another performance at the Ahoy for which the term superlative is simply not adequate.

The play list was slightly changed from last night with Forever in Blue Jeans moved from immediately after Done too soon to immediately after Song Sung Blue. Neil also left out America tonight. Each and every song he performed was a highlight as the fervent fans saluted every bar, every single lyric and kept up a deafening noise level that must surely have convinced the Solitary Man that he still has a zillion devoted fans the world over, and none more so than here in Holland.

We all have our own special favourites and of course want Neil to sing every one of them; even for someone with Neil’s enormous reserves of energy that is not possible, it would need to be a 5 or 6 hour show! But the old familiar favourites were again mixed with songs not heard for a long time in a joyful reunion of superb music and well crafted lyrics of the highest order.

Special mention for superlative songs like Lady Oh, If you know what I mean,( in my view the best song on the Beautiful Noise album alongside the as yet unheard in concert Dry your Eyes) the applause for which could possibly have been heard back in Brooklyn and reminding Neil what a huge favourite this superb song has been for 30 plus years! Brooklyn Roads & the superb Done too soon.

Taking their place alongside the “must do” giants Cherry Cherry,(again part instrumental and featuring the band) I Am.. I Said.. Sweet Caroline, Cracklin’ Rosie & Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show and next to the fun sing-along’s of Forever in Blue Jeans, Song Sung Blue & I’m a Believer this was a potent arsenal to delight fans right across the musical spectrum.

After the wonderful 3-part production that You don’t bring me Flowers has become (complete with table, wine & rose again) Neil joked with Linda that he never bought her flowers and said, “hey this is Holland, they have lots of flowers, after the show we will get you some”. Linda deserves flowers as well as the mighty ovation she received from another pumped up audience.

The performance of songs from the transatlantic #1 album Home Before Dark proved the extra icing on a very substantial and enjoyable cake with the opener One more bite of the Apple, the stark beauty of Home Before Dark, the up-tempo Don’t go there and the excellent Pretty Amazing Grace received with equal enthusiasm to the more established numbers. These last 3 songs from the new album performed from right to Left on the stage courtesy of Neil’s moving island!

Once again Neil was as relaxed as I have seen him in many years and with this incredible band of musicians supporting his every move with their own unique talents he had every reason to be as hugely satisfied with this highly charged and ultra professional performance as were the legions of fans crammed into the Ahoy.

For those fans like me who still feel a little nostalgic for Neil’s more colourful shirts, then check out King’s shirts of last night and tonight, simply awesome!

I Am.. I Said.. fits well in its earlier slot on the play list between those other autobiographical favourites Brooklyn Roads (When the tour comes your way make sure you watch out for the fantastic video footage on the large screens during this classic!) & Solitary Man, all of these done without need of stool as Neil commanded the stage as only he can and allowed every section of the arena to get as good a view of his talents as was possible, and paying special attention to the riser seats either side of the stage; and how those dedicated fans responded, dancing and singing along to their Hearts content!

The impressive Man of God & the emerging giant that is Hell Yeah reminded us all of the depth of quality of Neil’s previous 12 Songs album.

If ever there was a high energy finish then surely this was it, as again the rarely occupied arena seats were empty as everyone bounced along in collective triumphant joy when Neil returned, (resplendent in a change shirt that looked purple, though maybe the lights played tricks on our eyes) to lead us all through Sweet Caroline, Cracklin’ Rosie, and the soul-saving awesome Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show!

Neil left the stage after receiving huge applause; This again allowed the audience to show generous appreciation of the multi talented band; everyone a star, from King with those great shirts, to Linda, Julia & Maxine, the Horn Dogs, who were simply superb, the industrious Tom & Alan, to Ron, surely one of THE great drummers of this or any other generation, and the quiet but effective Reine, not forgetting the duelling twosome of Hadley & Doug

The busy merchandise stalls seem to have another delight to offer every time you turn around and who knows what more there will be before this remarkable journey ends? At last count there were 10 different tee shirts, the tea towel, mug, CDs of course and the must have tour book.

An unashamed hint to the creative merchandise designers; how about a model of the famous Travelling Salvation Show wagon somewhere down the road, that would be fantastic and I feel certain it would have massive appeal!

My apologies to those folk who pointed out my concert times were a little off key last night. The 1^st show started at 8.15pm and ended at 10.24 (not 8.29!) and I cannot even blame jet lag for my error!

As we all drifted out into the cool night air it is farewell to Rotterdam, as welcoming a city now as it was for us 24 years ago; we have an early morning departure for Munich tomorrow and the next stop on this exciting adventure that only the remarkable Neil Diamond can inspire!

Tonight’s playlist;

#1;One more bite of the Apple/Holly Holy; #2; Street Life; #3; Beautiful Noise; #4; Lady Oh; #5; If you know what I mean; #6; Cherry Cherry (part band intro/instrumental); #7; Thank the Lord for the Nighttime; #8 Hello Again; #9; Love on the Rocks; #10; Home Before Dark; #11; Don’t go there; #12 Pretty Amazing Grace; #13; Crunchy Granola Suite; #14 Done too soon; #15; Brooklyn Roads; #16; I Am.. I Said..; #17; Solitary Man; #18; I’m a Believer; #19; You don’t bring me Flowers; #20 Song Sung Blue; #21; Forever in Blue Jeans; #22; Man of God; #23; Hell Yeah; WALK-OFF; #24 Sweet Caroline; #25; Cracklin’ Rosie #26 BROTHER LOVE’S TRAVELLING SALVATION SHOW; Final walk-off Band Walk-off