It’s been two long , agonizing years since I last saw Westlife live on tour but, their performance at the CIA on Friday 21st May proved that it was definitely worth the wait.
The show ‘Where We Are’ featured some of the best songs from the album of the same name. They sang ‘What About Now’, ‘Shadows’, ‘Where We Are’ and a jazzed up version of ‘How To Break a Heart’’.
As well as the new tracks, they also played some old favourites such as ‘If I Let You Go’, ‘Uptown Girl’, ‘Tell Me What Makes a Man’, ‘When You’re Looking Like That’ and of course ‘Flying Without Wings’ which had me in tears for yet another year.
As is tradition for a Westlife gig, the boys did a medley of cover songs in the middle section. I look forward to this every time as I never know what they’re going to sing. This year we were treated to ‘The Boys Are Back in Town’ (very appropriate for this tour), ‘I Gotta Feeling’ and ‘Sex On Fire’ – all were huge crowd pleasers.
The encore was definitely one of the highlights of the show as it was full of emotion that could be felt rippling right throughout the audience. The lads sang ‘I’ll See You Again’ as a dedication to both Kian and Nicky’s Fathers both of whom passed away last year. They sang with their eyes closed and with images of both of their dads coming up on the screens behind them. The emotion emanating from the stage was incredible and it was such a moving moment that I bet there was hardly a dry eye in the house. It really was a brilliant dedication and a strong testament of their ability to move between up-beat feel good songs and deep emotional ballads.
The scenery on stage and on the big screens for this tour was very varied which wasn’t always a good thing. The props and images ranged from giant multicoloured inflatable balls, an arch of red roses and an enormous robot with lighting and fireworks attached to a scantily dressed woman dancing sexily on the screens (which was obviously there just to keep the men who had been dragged along by their partners interested in the show) my only criticism of the show is that this wasn’t such a great idea as it was hardly a hit with most of the female fans and seemed a little out of context with the songs they were singing.
The vocals from all the lads were spot on as usual and the banter and chemistry between them on stage is great to watch, they really know how to put on an entertaining show; there are very few acts with the ability to make me laugh and cry in the same concert.
This year’s gig at the CIA really was amazing, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world and I look forward to next year. It’s a relief to see them back and doing what they do best.
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