Nottingham (2nd June)
 
After witnessing Vanessa-Mae the previous night at the Royal Albert Hall, when I was seated towards the back, I decided this time to watch the concert on the very front row, to see at first hand what all the fuss was about.
 
I was pleased to see that the concert hall was full (probably holds in the region of 1,500 - 1,600 people). Anyway, the show started and the first number was Blessed Spirits which is a great moving track to start off with. Then "I feel love" was played and out came Vanessa-Mae from one of the two exits at the back of the stalls section. Unlike the Royal Albert Hall there was very little room to play with (i.e. the seats were close together and only two alleyways), but this didn't stop her fascinating the audience with her friendliness. I love the way she gets the crowd so involved and excited at such an early stage in her pop fusion concerts. Anyway, when she did get on stage she started dancing with the dancers, and the dance steps were truly magnificent.
 
Vanessa then thanked everybody for coming and we were all going to have a storming show. After the nice opening speech, Hocus Pocus was played (which is not one of my favourites, but it is a different "kettle of fish" when heard live) and then moving onto the unforgettable Retro number. After Retro, the moving number of Aurora was played. After the beauty of Aurora we were treated to Poet's Quest (which the string quartet must be given a special thank you).
 
Then we were treated to a beautiful classic section, the first piece Midnight Bells by Kreisler was dedicated to Frank Sinatra and was a truly moving piece. The next piece was Tzigane by Ravel (again a majestic piece). Both these pieces received a great ovation for which they so richly deserved.
 
The next number was (I) Can, Can (You ?) which was a great crowd pleaser (like the previous night) and the atmosphere in the crowd was electric. She also dedicated this piece to the England football team and also wished them the best of luck in the world cup .
 
After the interval, Leyanda was played and tonight "Gizmo" didn't go out of tune. Then she played Contradanza (which I'm glad she included on this tour, because it's probably my favourite pop piece). Moving on, the next number was Bach Street Prelude which was so elegantly played by both Vanessa and the band.
 
The next number was the piece that made Vanessa-Mae famous, Toccata and Fugue followed by the famous and unforgettable Red Hot, loved by so many on the list.
 
The next number was "I'm a-Doun for lack O' Johnny". Vanessa started playing the piece on the piano for the opening vocal lines and moved swiftly onto the violin for the rest of the piece. It was such a nice touch to see Vanessa-Mae play the opening lines on the piano. This is such a great moving piece and never fails to create a deep impression.
 
Then Vanessa talked about how she felt playing at the Hong Kong handover. She then went on to say that the next two numbers would be a combination of the old and new times in modern day China. Butterfly Lovers Concerto was played for some four minutes and then the music transferred straight into the Happy Valley piece (which is probably my favourite Vanessa-Mae piece). A truly great piece with so much happening on stage.
 
Then Vanessa-Mae thanked everybody for coming and said we'd been a fantastic audience. Then she finished with Storm (and what a Storm it was!). After the Storm had finished, I stood up and applauded but I didn't realise I was the first person to stand up in the whole hall (Vanessa actually thanked me! At this point I went all shy, which is unlike me, and I could feel myself blush).
 
She then went off stage and came back on for the encore. Vanessa then said she wanted to see everybody clap and get into the spirit of things for the last number, (I) Can, Can (You?) (encore). She then went darting around the narrow alleyways again with most of the people out of their seats clapping and dancing. Then the amazing concert ended and I didn't want to go to bed :( Oh well, Liverpool in three days time.
 
You have to give a great deal of credit to the band, singers, dancers, classical section, the crew, Mel Bush Organization and everybody connected with delivering this unbelievable tour of concerts. All I can say is, thank you very much