Bryan Ferry, Auckland NZ, 2019

Bryan Ferry

7th March 2019
Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Alexis Brook. Photography by Chris Zwaagdyk.

Last night I managed to cross a concert off my personal bucket list, as I was privileged to see the Lounge Lizard himself, Bryan Ferry. Needless to say I was so excited for this show! It’s been about eight years since Bryan last graced NZ’s shores, and the crowd was hungry to hear him play. Performing on a half arena set up to a full crowd Brian Ferry spoke few words but still told many stories with a fantastic 23 song set spanning his entire musical career.

But first, opening this evening were the fantastic local act The Miltones (tonight just founding members Milly Tabak and Liam Pratt performing as an acoustic duo), showcasing the band’s songs including ‘Bye Bye Baby’, ‘1959’ and ‘Carlos’. Milly informs us that they were called in to support the NZ tour last minute, as unfortunately opening act Australia’s Juanita Stein had to urgently return home to family, so it was touching that Milly then dedicated ‘Carlos’, the song about the loss of her father, to Juanita. New song ‘White Mouse’ about NZ’s own “WWII secret badass”, Nancy Wake, is a great tale and I would be keen to hear this again with the full band. Obviously excited to be playing their first gig at Spark Arena, the final song of the set was a superb ‘Hey Sister’. It’s a shame that audience members talked throughout the Miltones set. Yes. Bryan Ferry is the headline but please show some respect for all musicians crossing the stage as well as your fellow audience neighbours.

A quick break and then it was time for the man himself – the Chameleon of Cool, Mr Bryan Ferry. Casually sauntering on stage to whoops and cheers from the audience, looking absolutely stunning in a smart black suit and white shirt, he kicks off the show with Roxy Music’s ‘The Main Thing’ and after blowing a kiss to the crowd, without a word we hear the smooth sultry notes of “Slave to Love”, from his 1986 solo album Boys and Girls while fingers of light caress the stage and the band around him.

Jumping back in time to Roxy Music’s 1972 self-titled debut album, we are treated to ‘Ladytron’ and ‘Out of The Blue’ With over 45 years and dozens of albums to choose from, I was looking forward to seeing if we would be treated to any of the more eclectic songs from his extensive back catalogue so this was a treat indeed as Bryan took to the keyboard to play these songs.

Crowd favourite ‘Oh Yeah’ was next, and this instantly had the audience singing along, while Bryan swayed from hip to hip. The middle section of the evening (including ‘Tokyo Joe’, ‘Wasteland’, ‘Windswept’, ‘Bete Noire’, ‘Zamba’ and ‘Stronger Through the Years’) had many opportunities within to showcase the fabulous touring band, who have all been involved on various albums with Bryan and/or Roxy Music. Special hat tips must go to the amazing Chris Spedding on guitar and Jorja Chalmers on Saxophone for their captivating solos.

As the band exits the stage, and the lights dim, Bryan stands centre stage under a spot light wordlessly commanding the stage again as the beginning notes of ‘Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright’, from Bryan’s album Dylanesque, fill the room. I love this album as it is a marriage of my childhood musical diet of Bob Dylan from my father, and Roxy Music/Bryan Ferry from my mother.

Rounding up the back half of the show we have the classics ‘More than This’, ‘Avalon’, ‘Love is the Drug’, ‘Remake/Remodel’, and ‘Editions of You’. Splendid backing vocals by Aleysha and Hannah bring Avalon to life, and the “no dancing here” aisles began to fill up with many reliving their 70s and 80s clubbing days. Brian Ferry still exudes coolness at 72 and as ‘Jealous Guy’ begins, you can hear sighs of happiness ripple through the arena.

Few words were spoken by Bryan throughout the show. It was clearly all about the story telling of the songs, interjected with the occasional “Hello, How are you”, “Nice to Be Here” and “Thank you”, however he did say he had a fantastic time, and sent thanks out to the Miltones for their opening support. Kudos must go to the sound and lighting team for a fantastic job on this show also. Bryan is well known for his stunning album covers and each song tonight was enhanced by the magnificent lighting displays.

The final song of the evening, “Let’s Stick Together”, had the audience back on their feet dancing and before we know it, with a quick wave to the crowd and blowing another kiss, Bryan exits the stage.

More than Bryan? There’s nothing.

Were you there at Spark Arena for this electric new wave art rock gig? Or have you seen Bryan Ferry perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Setlist:

1. The Main Thing (Roxy Music – Avalon 1982)
2. Slave to Love (Boys and Girls, 1986)
3. Don’t Stop the Dance (Boys and Girls 1986)
4. Ladytron (Roxy Music 1972)
5. Out of the Blue (Roxy Music – Country Life 1972)
6. Oh Yeah (Roxy Music – Flesh and Blood 1980)
7. Tokyo Joe (In Your Mind 1977)
8. A Waste Land (Boys and Girls 1986)
9. Windswept (Boys and Girls 1986)
10. Bête Noire (Bete Noire 1987)
11. Zamba (Bete Noire 1987)
12. Stronger Through the Years (Roxy Music – Manifesto 1979)
13. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (Dylanesque 2007)
14. My Only Love (Roxy Music – Flesh and Blood 1980)
15. In Every Dream Home a Heartache (Roxy Music – For Your Pleasure 1973)
16. If There Is Something (Roxy Music 1972)
17. More Than This (Roxy Music, Avalon 1982)
18. Avalon (Roxy Music, Avalon 1982)
19. Love Is the Drug (Roxy Music, Siren 1975)
20. Re-Make/Re-Model (Roxy Music 1972)
21. Editions of You (Roxy Music – For Your Pleasure 1973)
22. Jealous Guy (Roxy Music 1981) [John Lennon cover]
23. Let’s Stick Together (Let’s Stick Together 1973) [Wilbert Harrison cover – encore]

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