Take That, Genting Arena, Birmingham - review
It was a weird and wonderful Wonderland.
A fusion of colours, cultures, new songs as well as classics.
Take That's latest show was a marvel to behold - if a tad eccentric.
A chorus of colourful dancers, a sitar player on a magic flying carpet, along with a stilt walker, trapeze artists, a giant unfurling flower as well as fire, rain and a touch of magic.
It was a bizarre but enthralling spectacle.
The show was in fact the opening night of the Wonderland 2017 tour, with the trio of Gary, Howard and Mark taking to the stage at Birmingham's Genting Arena last night.
Due to return to the city for four nights from June 1, the boys certainly delivered what we have come to expect from their shows.
The performance was energetic, extravagant and sometimes a little death-defying - as they sung from atop of an ever extending platform.
But, the band didn’t speak much to the 12,000 people that had packed in to see them, just thanking them for being there.
A bit more banter wouldn’t have gone a miss.
But the showmanship was delivered in the form of what seemed to be a never-ending treasure trove of exuberant props being hauled and hoisted on stage.
Contemporary dancers fastened in harnesses seemed like fluid as they propelled themselves up into the air during new track 'Hope' whilst the boys themselves got the crowd roaring as they performed the classic dance moves to ‘Pray.’
Birmingham-trained musical director Mike Stevens, who is also behind ELO’s tour, impressed too as he played the sax, flute and guitar during the show.
A total of seven costume changes was perhaps a bit excessive, however, the band seemed to pay homage to the quirky style of their early days – Mark wearing purple high-heeled boots, Howard in bright red high-tops at them all donning white fringed cowboy-style leather jackets. Gary also surprised with his bleached-blonde, newly quaffed hair do.
The show also provided much-loved material for die-hard fans, including a rendition of the 1992 track ‘Satisfied’ from their debut album ‘Take That & Party.’
Tracks like ‘Want You Back’, ‘Relight My Fire’, ‘How Deep is Your Love’, meant that those fans from arguably the band’s golden era were not disappointed.
Songs from the band’s latest albums also stood up against the well-known hits.
‘Greatest Day’, ‘Patience’, ‘Shine’ and ‘The Flood’ complete with illuminated falling rain meant that the newer, younger fans, could also sing their hearts out too.
As majestic golden spheres, an enormous fairytale-style bed and gigantic swan appeared from out of the darkness in the penultimate track, it was hard not to become enveloped in the spectacle of it all.
However, amidst the theatrics, it would perhaps have broken the mould of former shows, which were equally if not more spectacular – with a giant mechanical elephant and 70ft man – to just have the band on a stark stage, with their musicians, ready to sing.
It was, overall then, a show with a lot of heart, a feast for the eyes, taking the audience back to the 1990s but getting them up and dancing in the here and now too.
As the closing song reiterated to the audience, Take That showed it is a band that we’ll all "Never Forget."
The band will perform in Newcastle on Monday night before heading to Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield.
Take That return to Birmingham from June 1 to 4.
