This was the fourteenth and final concert of the 'Brilliant' UK Tour, which started mid-September. The venue was the trendy Sage Music Hall, Gateshead, just over the water from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. We were late arriving at the venue due to other commitments, and after parking the Juke we headed across the way to the main entrance. I took a quick look at the Millennium Bridge to my right and couldn't help noticing how still the River Tyne was. The reflections were like nothing I'd seen before, but with no time to waste we entered the Sage and made our way to the concert hall. This was my first ever visit for a live show and I was looking forward to the acoustics that I'd heard so much about - apparently the sound is amazing. With literally five minutes to showtime we took our seats. In no time the band were on stage and belting out the opener, the title track of the new 'Brilliant' album, which sounded exactly that. The band looked a little nervous and full of concentration, which was evident during the first few songs, but as the gig wore on they seemed to get more 'Into' the occasion. The concert was split into two parts, with a twenty minute intermission in between, which was new to me but it seemed to work well considering the amount of songs Ultravox got through on the night. As well as tracks from the new album we were treated to many more songs from their extensive back catalogue, including many of the chart hits that they achieved during their heyday. The light show was eye-catching, with occasional visuals projected on the rear curtain. There were the usual sound issues here and there, but overall the band were tight and played an excellent gig throughout. Midge Ure's vocals were excellent on the night, as was the uber cool vocals from drummer Warren Cann on 'Mr X' and his backing vocals on 'Rage In Eden'. Billy Currie's antics behind the keyboards were very reminiscent of his early day and quite odd at times, like his crouching forward, arm swinging display was like that of an OAP at the local carpet bowls club. He was greeted with deserved applause each time he came forward to play Viola, especially during 'Astradyne' and the classic 'Vienna', amongst others. Chris Cross, on keyboards and bass, was stood very close to our seats in the front row, and seemed to enjoy the dancing queen in the row behind us. The least said about him the better, he he.
A great show from start to finish.
Ash
