Very nice seat in the stalls at the Hammersmith Apollo.

I haven't minded the spoilers one bit. The composition of the show sounds fabulous.

It starts at 7.45 and finishes at 10.50.

Three hours of my life I'm pretty sure I won't regret.

An absolutely stunning performance in every respect. Three hours of wonder and magic, with technical brilliance and an amazing attention to detail. And the warmth of Kate Bush as a performer, with a complete lack of ego. It satisfied on every level. And to witness this in a theatre venue rather than an arena made it even more special.

She began wandering on stage barefoot with her 5 backing singers and launched into 'Lily' from the Red Shoes followed by a few hits (nothing before 1985). It felt like a Peter Gabriel or Stevie Nicks style rock gig. She was smiling throughout and radiated confidence. Her voice was magificent.

Then, and very suddenly, everything changed as a screen came down and we were transported into the world of the Ninth Wave, the second half of the Hounds of Love album, telling the story of a woman drowning at sea. It was extended from 20 minutes on the album to an hour on stage. It was not only brilliant theatre but also emotionally affecting. There were reports in the press of her spending 3 days in a water tank filming segments of this part of the show, which I thought were fabrication or exaggeration, but they weren't. In the programme notes she described coming down with a fever and telling her GP that she'd been in a water tank for 3 days. I can't find the quote, but the GP raised his glasses and asked in a very dry manner 'and what were you doing in a water tank for three days?.

A mark of how she is as a performer was that, when the intense, high drama of The Ninth Wave ended, she came to the front of the stage and said in a sweet voice 'Thank you, you're all so lovely, we're going to take a break and come back in twenty minutes.'

And the second half was 'A Sky of Honey' the second half of her 2005 album Aerial. Another song suite, this time describing an ordinary day punctuated by birdsong and the rising and setting of the sun, very prog rock in an unashamed way. Her 16 year old son Bertie came into his own here, taking on the role of the painter, playedon the record by Rolf Harris.

No one was bothered by the lack of Wuthering Heights, instead there were audible gasps in the audience at some of the theatrical and emotional tricks she played.

And we all stood and danced to Cloudbusting at the end. A hit

How does one post a photo on this forum?

I've only just how to put photos on the Forums, David - there's a box below the text one to add files and images.
Glad you enjoyed the gig. I'm seriously thinking of going.

JK2006 wrote:
I've only just how to put photos on the Forums, David - there's a box below the text one to add files and images.
Glad you enjoyed the gig. I'm seriously thinking of going.

You obviously still have connections in high places, JK if you can get a seat, but go if you can.

It's two days since I was at the show, and I'm perhaps even more in awe of what I saw. When you see something like this, there is just so much to take in that you feel dazzled afterwards. Two days later things are falling into place and I'm remembering wonderful details that had passed me by when I was there.

A friend messaged me today to ask whether the tree in A Sky of Honey really did burst through the piano at the end of the show or whether it was an effect and I don't know, even tho I was not far from the front.

But what I will take away was how warm she is as a performer, totally natural and unaffected, barefoot throughout, introducing her band as 'fucking shit hot', doing a bit of a 'mum dance' from foot to foot and so comfortable in her skin. And the love for her young son Bertie was very touching (he was rather good too).

david wrote:
JK2006 wrote:
I've only just how to put photos on the Forums, David - there's a box below the text one to add files and images.
Glad you enjoyed the gig. I'm seriously thinking of going.

You obviously still have connections in high places, JK if you can get a seat, but go if you can.

It's two days since I was at the show, and I'm perhaps even more in awe of what I saw. When you see something like this, there is just so much to take in that you feel dazzled afterwards. Two days later things are falling into place and I'm remembering wonderful details that had passed me by when I was there.

A friend messaged me today to ask whether the tree in A Sky of Honey really did burst through the piano at the end of the show or whether it was an effect and I don't know, even tho I was not far from the front.

But what I will take away was how warm she is as a performer, totally natural and unaffected, barefoot throughout, introducing her band as 'fucking shit hot', doing a bit of a 'mum dance' from foot to foot and so comfortable in her skin. And the love for her young son Bertie was very touching (he was rather good too).

I'm not jealous at all....not one jot...u *$^^&"£%!!!

Sounds great,love to see any more bits you may have to share.

Pattaya wrote:


I'm not jealous at all....not one jot...u *$^^&"£%!!!

Sounds great,love to see any more bits you may have to share.

Unfortunately I don't have any photos of the gigs, as her wishes were scrupulously respected, and only a couple of sneaky pics or recordings have sneaked out, and they're not that great quality.

It pains me to post a link from the Daily Mail and Jan Moir in particular, but they did print all the official pics of the first night here: (They cover the Ninth Wave and Sky of Honey sections of the show):

www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-27...R-magical-night.html

I'll share some quotes from the concert programme too, which is wonderfully detailed. Just one quote from her son for now:

'I feel so privileged to be able to work on this project, and have tried to earn my place. My mother is the most talented person I could ask to work with. She, and the rest of the Fellowship have created something truly special here.' Albert McIntosh.

They've decided to film tonight's show and tomorrow. Surprisingly a decision only taken a few days ago. I'm really excited that I'll have that memento, tho I do wonder quite how they'll capture the richness of the experience of the show, with so may senses being touched at the same time and so many places to look and listen