Alfie Boe Wows Leeds and Manchester

Wow is the word for Alfie Boe’s current UK Tour!  This was my first concert since the Newcastle opener on 29 November and it is good to see that the show is now much slicker and smoother.  Gone are the disjointed set changes which marked the first show, in fact, they are now so slick that I didn’t even notice them.

This week of course saw the official confirmation that Alfie is to appear in the premiere of Classic Quadrophenia next year and us lucky fans got a preview of two songs, I’m One and Love Reign O’er Me, as part of the encore. How on earth Alfie sings those two songs at the end of a two hour concert is beyond me – spine tingling is the only to describe them.  It is evident how excited Alfie is at the prospect of the role.  The addition of these two songs means that others had to go: Luna Malinconia, Parlami D’amore Mariu, Serenata Celeste and Glory, Glory, Hallelujah were the songs that made way but I don’t think the set list is any worse off.  Once again, Caruso was the first spine tingle, goose bump moment (so fantastic to hear Alfie sing these songs live) although I am a bit hard pressed to choose between that and Danny Boy.  Indeed, Cecelia, experiencing her first concert of this tour was moved to tears by the beauty of Alfie’s performance on that song.  You left the arena thinking it impossible to think of anyone singing it as well.

The musicianship of Alfie’s band (Murray, Matt, Richard, Dan and John) is simply outstanding; Richard’s piano accompaniment to Recondita Armonia and Nessun Dorma is breathtaking, whilst Murray and Matt’s guitar playing is stunning and leads perfectly into the rockier part of the show.  The audiences is Leeds and Manchester were a bit livelier than Newcastle and didn’t need much encouragement to dance and sing through Trust, Keep Me in Your Heart, Volare, Mambo Italiano and Buona Sera.  A highlight of this section was Alfie bringing Sol3 Mio onto the stage to sing Volare with him.  They did well (with what seemed like zero rehearsal) but Alfie easily outshone them.  It will be interesting to see how they fare next time, if there is a next time. Thanks Linda for the video:

Sol3 Mio are the support act for this tour and a very entertaining trio they are.  Having said that, their banter between songs didn’t change at all between Newcastle and Leeds so it was a pleasant change to hear them change it up a bit for Manchester.  Two tenors and a baritone comprise the group and they gave us a lovely insight into what audiences for their headline UK tour next year can expect.  My Way, Sole Mio, Yellow Bird and Nella Fantasia were good but the highlight for me was We Are Samoa which was by far their best song.

On the evidence of these two concerts, Alfie is going from strength to strength and I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us next!

Don’t forget the Royal Variety Show Monday 8th December 7.30pm!

Alfie Boe’s new album, Serenata, is available below:

serenata

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