There was a time, before Spotify and Apple Music, where we all had CD collections and many of these had at least one Roxy Music CD. To be able to experience seeing Bryan Ferry live was quite the throwback.
If I had to assign one word to the evening, it would be: Distinguished
This applied to the crowd that attended the event, many of which probably had the early bird special and stayed out much later then their bedtime. That’s cool. Bryan, age 71, started to make hits when I was yet a wee boy of the tender age of two. Distinguished also applied to the music, the venue and atmosphere tonight. Bryan along with 9 other musicians graced us with 24 songs covering a variety of albums, most notably the Roxy Music classics.
Before the show, we met a woman from Australia who was just beside herself, being able to see this show. By the end of the performance, she was so grateful being able to experience this slice of musical history.
The show started from one of the most memorable Roxy Music albums, Avalon and the song “The Main Thing” got us on our way. One of the songs I was hoping to hear was next, “Slave To Love” which was from his solo Boys and Girls album. I wasn’t the only one to appreciate this, as the Montreal applause welcomed this choice as well.
It was interesting to see one of the guitarists, Chris Spedding, well beyond the retirement age, sport a Flying V guitar, but to his credit, he could make it smoke. Chris produced the Sex Pistols first demo, so has rock heritage behind him. That just goes to prove that rock-n-roll is ageless and having a mixture of the old and the new on this tour was refreshing. The thing about Bryan Ferry, he’s quite the showman, yet throughout the night, could share the spotlight with the different members of the band. Each talented musician took the spotlight and strut their stuff. The most appreciated member was Jorja Chalmers who would sway the crowd with a dreamy Saxophone that could grace any Pink Floyd album.
Other outstanding members of the band was Jacob Quistgaard who would solo with an odd left-handed Fender being played right-handed and Neil Jason could slap that Bass like it was a misbehaving child (Montreal Rocks does not encourage violence towards children, but won’t let that stop them from “going there” with some humor).
Bryan took the room to a mellow mood with “Bitter Sweet” from Country Life along with that infamous album cover that would make the most urban guy consider a Country Life. “Windswept” kept that mellow atmospheric sound going.
One of the moments of the evening was “Tara” which started as a clarinet solo, followed by a piano solo, guitar solo and finally violin solo.
The disco ball came out for “Remake Remodel” which started getting the energy going in the room.
The set was tight and Bryan rarely spoke, but he did introduce “If There Was Something” by saying this was a song he wrote as a young man, full of what young men think about.
The gems shinned next with “More Than This”, “Avalon” which got a standing ovation and “Love Is The Drug” back to back. I remember watching Depeche Mode 101 Live and Dave Gahan singing to Love Is The Drug in his dressing room. If he would have been here, I’m sure Dave would have danced like the rest of us to this classic.
At this point, everyone was standing and an encore was given with two covers, the best being “Jealous Guy” from John Lennon. The evening closed with one last encore, and “Editions Of You” was chosen to end the show.
Bryan proved that his distinguished music still was relevant today and allowed those that attended a trip through some deep memories that brought smiles to our faces and let our feet tap to the beat throughout the evening.
Review – Randal Wark is a Professional Speaker and Business coach with a passion for live music. You can follow him on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Photos – Arianne Bergeron
