Concert #42:2010.06.03, Royal Albert Hall, London, England

[Localhero]

Or maybe all the vip's in the first seven rows had been  entertained with a wild party after the show the day before so that they can be blamed for Mark's condition? 

LE

Excellent LE !!! 
I can't imagine MK feel at ease in a "mega aftershow" 

[marky49]

Come on people, everyone has got his ups and downs and we all have our good and bad days in life. And talking about MK it is a matter of concentration. Sure, he had his moments of distraction and his concentration slipped a bit (especially on the lyrics) but he always delivers on a very high standard and therefore we are ...spoiled! It was a great show.

[tunnel85]

I can accept that some shows are better than others, but "live butchery" sounds really excessive don't you think ? I don't think any of his concerts for the past 33 years has deserved such a word, so why start today ?

I agree it should be excessive, Elian is sometimes "hot" with his words 
His french original word was "massacre live", I think we understand his feelings.

I will try to know more from him today. That's also why I am curious to read different reviews.
Maybe MK has suffered a lot yesterday because of the injury and has made many errors ?

Every fan has his own expectations and feelings. And his own words and ratings.
What Elian calls a live butchery could just be "one of the best shows of the tour" for someone else. 
I wouldn't worry at all.
Mark was certainly not well inspired and that's it. 

[herlock]

Marky were you there ? can you tell us specifically how it compares to the available RAH #1, and which, if any, mistakes were made ? was Mark tired ? in pain ? or none of these ? Thanks for sharing your review !

[schmonka]

Agree with Herlock....what ACTUALLY happened???

[pjh3121]

Well, whatever happened I think it's time for a rethink at the end of this tour. Whilst he's still playing well and the musicianship is fantastic, the set list needs a serious shaking up.

It's been pretty much the same since the Shangri-la tour, with the exception of a couple of new album tracks thrown in each time. The core of it is essentially the same, with the same few songs being played to run out the show and R and J and SOS in the middle etc. I deliberately didn't look at any setlists this time in order to be surprised when I went on Sunday, and it ended up being more or less the same as in 2008.

Surely it's not beyond the capability of a band that skilled to learn a load of songs and pick and choose each night to keep it fresh. I can't believe they don't get bored playing the same songs each night too. Yes, I know he occasionaly drops one or substitutes one but that doesn't really make for variety.

It'll be back to the drawing board after this tour, hopefully.

[superval99]

Thank you, Marky, for those beautiful pictures!    

[marky49]

I'm at all RAH shows as they are my home shows, we live here.

Once again, he had some moments of lack of concentration (e.g. on the lyrics during STP) yesterday but who cares, he is not a machine and it is for sure tiring to deliver every night on a very high standard. But he is also a human being, are we perfect everyday? Well, at least I'm not because some days I'm doing mistakes which I won't do on a very good day. That's all, nothing needs to be compared.
BTW, nobody mentioned his huge greeny during BIA the night before. That can happen, but I'm sure he is upset about himself then.

Looking forward to the last night at the Albert...see you there!

[superval99]

Oh, please stop moaning about set-lists!   I really enjoyed all of my concerts and I think he catered for everyone - casual fans and us nerds too.  Of course, it would have been nice to hear So Far From the Clyde, etc, but I am just overjoyed that he is still playing and touring so much at his age and especially with his trapped nerve problem.    I'm sure most of these moaners are nowhere near MK's age - could they do the same?    

[Love Expresso]

Well then, Marky, enjoy it!!!  It will be the last night with Mike McGoldrick, won't it? That is a pity, I wish I could hear him in Hamburg again. His contributions to some songs, especially Marbletown, were great in my opinion! I am so happy to have these great recordings now that I do not care about setlists any longer! It could be more interesting, yes, but it WORKS! And that is the most important thing!

RAH will see me again in the future.... 

LE

[ingridswing]

Thanks for the pics Marky, as always they are great. And I totally agree, he isn't a machine nor are we. But even when he is less concentrated on a particular night he delivers a higher standard than most others. Looking forward to Antwerp and Frankfurt again 

[sjs1978]

Hi - First time poster here but feel I have to comment on this.

I was at the Sunday show and was there last night.  I couldn't tell the two performances apart.  Both were superb and let me tell you MK is the same as always - a true professional.  His health isn't in question (apart from the obvious) he was in fine spirits last night laughing and joking with the audience about the fact he was sat on a stool and said he IS getting better.  To the people who are seeing him in the coming weeks - I really wouldn't worry.  The usual standing ovations again happened and at the end people rushed to the front of the stage -  a sign to me that all is well with the performance.

I took two guests who were over in the UK on a short break.  Whilst being MK fans they'd never seen him live before and hadn't really kept in touch with his solo stuff.  I met up with them afterwards and my guests first words to me was "the mans a living legend, that was incredible" they also were incredibly impressed with the musicianship of the band.  

To finish, i'll also mention that his vocals are much much better on this tour and i've also been really impressed with Danny Cummings, you can really tell he is in his element.

Simon - SJS1978

[marky49]

Well then, Marky, enjoy it!!!  It will be the last night with Mike McGoldrick, won't it? That is a pity, I wish I could hear him in Hamburg again. His contributions to some songs, especially Marbletown, were great in my opinion! I am so happy to have these great recordings now that I do not care about setlists any longer! It could be more interesting, yes, but it WORKS! And that is the most important thing!

RAH will see me again in the future.... 

LE

Next week I'm coming over to the continent. Seeing good old Germany again! ;-)

[herlock]

Well, whatever happened I think it's time for a rethink at the end of this tour. Whilst he's still playing well and the musicianship is fantastic, the set list needs a serious shaking up.
It's been pretty much the same since the Shangri-la tour, with the exception of a couple of new album tracks thrown in each time. The core of it is essentially the same, with the same few songs being played to run out the show and R and J and SOS in the middle etc.

Well let's compare tours on, let's say, a typical setlist (I won't go into the small variations)
GH vs. OES: 8 songs in common, 2 revived songs from previous tours, around 10 new ones; 50% (revived+new;) 50% DS, 50% solo
STP vs. GH: 9, 2, 7; 50%;40/60
SL vs. STP: 13, 0, 4;24%;40/60
KTGC vs. SL: 9,2,6; 47%;30/70
GL vs. KTGC: 10,2,5; 41%;30/70
Based on these numbers, we can safely say that:
1/The DS portion has been constantly reduced to be stabilized at 30%; a list of songs that captures the very best of DS history, SoS the one that started it all, TR the most beautiful prog rock song ever, BiA the most accomplished touching one, and RAJ.. well that's the one I would like to go in favor of ToL as a love song, but I allow things to be not 100% perfect. This reduction is a sign of moving forward rather than senility.
2/The least innovative tour was the acclaimed Shangri-La one, and  the GL tour is in the same line as the KTGC tour as far as innovation is concerned.

[Love Expresso]

Not sure if approaching a musical event like an MK concert by percentage is the right way to judge it... 

The quality of the band is so much better than on the 2005 tour, and it is just one great musical experience! I however feel satisfied ONE HUNDRED % !! 

LE