Concert review
Newcastle University, 4 October 2003
by Karen

It was with a little fear, intrepidation and sheer excitement, that I set off all alone just after lunch for Newcastle, unable to persuade even the best of mates to give up a Saturday in front of the TV for an hour of Texas live! Free at that!
It was the furthest I had ever driven by myself, and having to map-read and drive at the same time in a city I had never visited before was something I was not looking forward to! But for Texas – anything!

The trip up the M1 went well, not much traffic for a Saturday afternoon, and Texas CD’s to keep me company. After a stop at the Washington service area to check that I wasn’t off course, and make a mental note that it was the A167 I needed I set off for the Tyne Bridge.

The trip took about 3 hours, and the map and instructions from the website (thank you Northumbria University!) went according to plan, arriving at about 4.15pm. Finding somewhere to park just a 2 minute walk away from the Stage 2 venue was quite easy – even better that it was free after 6pm!

A trip to the local McDonalds for a Big Mac filled a very hungry stomach, and prepared me for a night of singing, having waited nearly three years for it, it turned out to be well worth the wait.

I started queuing at about 6.15 and was sixth in the queue, the folks at the front having been there since 5 o’clock – and I thought I was devoted!
The queue slowly grew, with students and their obligatory bottles of Coke wanting to know what they were missing.
The concert was by ticket only, to be applied from the BBC a couple of weeks before, but as they had printed more than the venue could hold, there was no way I was taking a chance on arriving at 7.30 and not being able to get in having travelled all that way! As dark fell, it began to get cold, and I was glad that I had taken my fleece – some in the queue just wore shirts or T-shirts – they must have been freezing!

At just after eight o’clock they opened the doors, and the experienced Texas fans at the front dived for standing room in the middle/front of the stage. I managed to get right in the middle just behind the very front row – at least it was warmer now…
The venue filled up, and anticipation rose. The roadies came out and stuck the play list in the usual places, so I knew what a show we were in for – some old, some new, nothing borrowed - and only Telephone X was remotely blue!

The Radio 2 DJ Mark Goodier came on with 3 minutes to go and had us practice cheering – as if….! Not once, but 2 or 3 times!! He then ran through his short intro and Texas came on the stage before the web cast started to huge cheers. We then went live & had to go through the whole thing again for live radio.
Sharleen was her usual resplendent self, in a black flying suit over a black & white striped T-shirt and black boots, and launched into the excellent Telephone X.
Before following it with Inner Smile Sharleen admitted how good it was to back playing live, and how much she enjoyed it.

Another track from the new album Careful What You Wish For was next – Broken - in my opinion definite single material. Two oldies were next Halo and In Our Lifetime, followed with banter with Tony, which led to him proving that his mic was indeed switched on!

My personal favourite from the new album And I Dream was next. Having heard the loops on the Internet over the past few weeks, the full live version only proved my suspicions – I love it!! Very Blondiesque and absolutely stunning when loud and live!

Summer Son began with Shar having to have a new lead fitted to the guitar, but she carried on as the supreme professional that she is. Even new drummer Neil Payne now looked as though he was starting to relax and enjoy himself. A swig from the customary cup of tea followed and a bit of banter with a couple of blokes in the audience followed. They had been shouting comments throughout the concert, and in my opinion had probably had a bit too much to drink, to the point that they were on the point of spoiling the evening for everyone else.
Sharleen asked everyone to be quite for the start of See It Through, but the bloke continued. A couple of lines into the slow ballad, Shar took the situation into her own hands, and despite being live to the world, took the mic away and told him to “Shut the **** up!”
That seemed to do the trick, and two additions to the playlist followed - Black Eyed Boy, followed by Where Do You Sleep, another rocky number - again from the eagerly awaited album.
Shar then introduced Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishal for the superb rendition of the new single, followed by the legendary live Say What You Want, complete with the usual audience participation and Kardinal joining Shar on stage again for the finale.
Sharleen then thanked everybody for coming and Mark Goodier again returned for his outro and the end of the Radio 2 performance. Shar and Eddie then returned and did an impromptu rendition of In Demand just with the keyboards, which she said they had never done live before! Kardinal Offishal then returned with the rest of the band for another rappier version of Carnival Girl.

And that was it. Texas left the stage to rapturous applause, and having seen them at a private Glasgow concert earlier in the week, I have to say that Newcastle was more enjoyable – simply because it was longer, and the audience contained REAL fans, not just Radio competition winners – some of whom had never been to see Texas before!

You can’t beat a live Texas gig!

I was now in Newcastle 150 odd miles from home and absolutely ecstatic. Just had to drive home now….. All the way back to Nottingham with (what else?) Texas on the CD player and me singing for 150 miles. No wonder I had a sore throat and couldn’t get to sleep when I did get home – but well worth it!
Roll on the announcement for the concerts ...


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