no other words to describe it but wow. (long and very self indulgant. sorry) (Take That ... The Circus Live Tour)

Member Name: pania22

Product:	Take That ... The Circus Live Tour
Date:	07/07/09 (148 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: an amazing night out with the most important person in my world

Disadvantages: it had to end. :o(

16 years ago, at the tender age of 15 I am standing in a stable at the yard where I used to ride. We've finished the mucking out, we've ridden 4 horses each and they are out playing in the fields. Which means that, for 2 hours before we have to get them in again we are free to play!!! On goes the tape cassette, up goes the volume and the shaving floor of the stable transforms miraculously into a dance floor and our practice of the best boy band of the eras latest dance commences!!!
This routine formed the majority of my youth years. Take That, or more to the point the delectable and astoundingly cute Mark Owen commanded my waking hours. Dance routines were memorised, right down to the last hair flick. Posters on walls were gazed at lovingly and the bank of mum and dad was regularly hit by purchases of the latest collectable poster or cd. At the time though I was deemed "too young" by the unfair old foogeys to go to a concert despite begging and pleading.


Fast forward 16 years...

And i'm standing in the upper tier of wembley stadium, looking down on an intriguing looking stage set up. My afore mentioned old foogey mother has lost all traces of old foogeyism standing beside me getting ready for what is expected to be the greatest night of my life. I get warmed up (physically and mentally ;o) ) by the delectable Jamie Mccullum in an exceptionally clingy and sweaty shirt (drool!!!) singing his hits, and what a belter it was!!!! At approximately 20.00 clowns start to come out and mingle with the crowds, handing out balloons by the bucket load and performing magic tricks.. The tension mounts for the start of the show and mum and i can barely contain ourselves, the chatter in the audience rises noticeably as spectators point out to each other props that are being bought out for the beginning of the act. And my word what an act it was.
Fairytale music starts to be played by the "ringmaster" and the beginning of the show set the magic and the fairytale atmosphere for the following 2 hours. indeed you get so engrossed in the beginning of the show and what is happening that you do not even notice the band arriving at the centre of the stage only for them to be revealed when all of the balloons are taken away.
Launching straight into "greatest day" the immense volume of wembley stadium erupts into sound. Camera flashes go nuts and the show has started! 2 songs later and I go nuts!!! The boys launch into their first ever number 1 "pray" and the arch typical pray dance comes out. The one I was practicing in that stable all those many years ago. Mark Owen looked bloomin gorgeous then and the passage of years has not dulled my thumping heart when I see him performing the pray dance today.

after a few of the classics the boys moved back to the stage area ON THE BACK OF AN ELEPHANT!!!!!!! a very mechanical but spookily realistic elephant that had a woman with the abdominal strength of an ox hanging upside down swishing around as the elephants tail. The elephant "walked" back to the main stage and then the circus began in earnest and what a treat it was!!! trampolinists, a trapeze artist, people in hoops you name it, every single part of the circus had been thought of. The mind boggles at how much thought and organization had gone into this concert and getting it to the standard it was at.

After a long performance of a massive amount of the take that catalogue the boys moved back to the centre stage to perform a haunting rendition of "million love songs" accompanied by a solo saxophone. Gary's vocal range has lost none of its melodic beauty with the passing of the years. simply stunning.

It was very telling to me that, as per the video, the boys donned clown make up to sing "say it all" Following this they sang their first releases including "do what you like" and "it only takes a minute" in full clown costume taking the absolute micky out of their dance routines frm that era. I found it insightful of how the boys think of themselves in the codpiece and bleached hair days and although this was the springboard to their current success they were still able to look back and laugh at themselves and how cheesy the songs and dance routines now appear.

I noticed throughout that the vocal talents of Jason were used on a number of occasions, on one instance throughout an entire solo cover of a very old classic song that bought a tear to both my mum and i's eyes. Previously Jason was regarded by myself and no doubt a fair portion of the 80,000 strong crowd as the dancer of the group. How he showed another dimension to himself, fantastic, simply fantastic!!

For christmas this year, presumably for want of anything else to buy his 3 extremely wealthy in their own rights mates for christmas, Gary bought Jason, Howard and Mark a unicycle each as their present. I have to say I have never seen such a novel way of getting a christmas present into a concert performance! brilliant!

Moving on to Never Forget. This has always been one of my most rousing take that songs (note the lack of an "a" at the front there ;o) ) and from our position overlooking the entireity of the stadium, seeing a sea of hands being put in the air at the same time bought a big lump to my throat. Gary choked up and started to cry, Jason definately had a moment and the sight of this band in front of an 80,000 strong crowd must've been completely overwhelming.

The show ended with "rule the world" the song that my ex and I were going to have as our wedding song (cue massive floods of tears from me, wembley developed a water fall) so I kinda missed the beauty of the ending. over the roof of wembley fire works were set off and pyrotechnics on the stage just completely and utterly wound up an amazing, awe inspiring, emotionally provoking evening spent with my favourite person in the whole wide world, my mother. As the fireworks were going off and the stage was lit up my mother pointed to a plane flying directly over the stadium from Heathrow. my good ness what a view they must've had! and even though any other time I would give my eye teeth to have a seat on that plane, at that exact moment all the money in the world would not have convinced me to change places.

Summary: Bravo boys. Don't ever leave us again you hear!!!