To see photos of the concert, click on this link:  | | Shane |
I want to get this straight right from the start: I do actually like cool stuff, you know. Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of my favourite bands, I love anything by Elliott Smith, Muse are awesome, Kasabian are an incredible live act, and Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd will, I'm sure, remain brilliant forever. But everyone has a guilty secret, right? Not rude ones, of course (blimey!) - this review's going out on the BBC after all. Some people might harbour a clandestine liking of daytime TV programmes like Doctors or Dial M for Murder, others may not be able to resist the lure of certain 'silver foxes' such as Phillip Schofield or David Gower (yep - you read that right, two of my highbrow friends completely fancy these guys, but take great pains to hide their passion!), whilst others may insist they totally disagree with the celebrity magazine culture of today, whilst hiding the latest copy of Heat inside their Independent. Well, here's mine: I think Westlife are great! Cheese-tasticI'm probably going to regret writing these words for all and sundry to read - no doubt this review will come back to haunt me at some future point.  | | Mark |
But you know what? Right now, I'm saying down with hypocrisy. Everyone has an embarrassing secret, so let's just get it all out in the open and share the honesty. Westlife were terrific when they played The Rec in Bath. There was singing, there were pyrotechnics, there were choreographed dance moves, there were multiple costume changes, there was lots of slow walking in straight lines, and, best of all, there were lashings and lashings of cheese. In fact, the concert was dripping with it. If The Rec had been a cheese and ham toastie that night, the cheese would be pouring out from all four sides of it. It would have been all over both bits of bread, and the sandwich toaster would have been ruined from the excess of melted fromage. Sing it Westlife, sing it! | | Kian |
Everything you can expect from an all-singing, all-dancing boy band, you got. Flying Without Wings was the opening song - cue dramatic fireworks at the end of it, and it was straight into another Westlife belter. When You're Looking Like That, Uptown Girl, When You Tell Me That You Love Me, Queen of My Heart - the list goes on, but you get the picture - were all churned out. I did have a fearful moment towards the end of the concert, though, as at that point I still had not seen that most beloved of Westlife moves - you know the one (and don't pretend you don't) where the band are all sitting on stools singing a heart-wrenching ballad, and they all stand up dramatically in unison at the key change. But I was not to be disappointed - they were just saving the best 'till last, performing the manoeuvre with the utmost finesse during You Raise Me Up in the encore. Genius! My guilty secret's out | | Nicky |
Ok, so I realise I may not have changed your mind about Westlife, but I'd like to finish with a few final thoughts. Yes, Westlife are a commercial pop group. No, they don't play instruments or write their own songs, nor do they have an inspiring political message to make the world a better place. But neither do they pretend or claim to do any of that. For what they are (a good-looking, clean-cut boy band) and what they do (sing cheesy songs, which make the girlies scream), they do it all passionately and brilliantly! And whatever you think, you've gotta give them credit for the amount of hits they've had, and how long they've been around. Plus, believe it or not, they are actually good singers - all four of them! So there, think of me what you will - my guilty secret's out, and it feels good. Why not share yours? Go on, you know you want to... - Westlife played The Recreation Ground in Bath, as part of the Summer Nights Concerts Series. - A contribution from the concert was made to the Royal United Hospital Bath's Forever Friends Appeal - click on this link to find out more: | 
