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Westlife Concert in London
Perhaps it’s apt that westlife chose Dreams Come True as the opening track for their gig, becos it certainly was a dream come true for the fans who got to see their idols in the flesh on their first world tour.
The Westlife hysteria began when Sugarbabes’ Overload was blasted and the video screens showed clips of other boy bands and hunks. Yes, it sure was weird to see the likes of Ben a1, Justin N Sync and Ricky Martin on the screens when it was a Westlife gig we were there to catch! But, of cos, interspersed between this were glimpses of the boys themselves - Shane, Mark, Kian, Nicky and Brian - and it was hard to judge who got the loudest screams.
Then, more madness on the video screens - scences of the Westlife boys being "resurrected" in a lab, by five very good-looking women. After this resurrection, the boys were well and alive, only to walk onto stage a couple of minutes later.
Dressed in futuristic-looking black outfits, this didn’t last long, as they were stripped down to some rather interstingly-designed white ones before the first song was over.
Then it was time for the boys to take turns to say hello. We got a glimpse of Shane’s charming smile, Mark’s shaved head, Kian’s friendly banter and Nicky’s new haircut.
But Brian summed up what was to come in the following hour-and-a-half by joking that they were initially going to call this the "No stools tour", as there wasn’t going to be any signs of their trademark sitting-on-stools-and-singing. And he sure was right!
The boys kept up the pace with up-tempo numbers No No and If I let you go, proving that they could go for a bit in a concert without singing a ballad!
But ballads are what they’re best known for and, to prove this, they turned the Arena into a karaoke joint - without any prompting! - after just the opening piano bits of Swear it again. They didn’t have to sing a note, as the more than 11,000 people in the venue did it for them, sending chills down our spines in the process.
Instead of stools, the boys made use of chairs next, in Somebody needs you, doing some fancy moves with the furniture, never seen Britney’s Stronger video. Who says they can’t dance?
Then it was time for a custume change and a rather innovative performance, as they sang Seasons in the sun while walking on a treadmill! And the video screens displayed beautiful scenery of the four seasons. As if that wasn’t interesting enough, they started ripping off their clothes too! Yes, the clothes came off,piece-by-piece, starting with a sleeve and then to entirejackets. They throw it into the audience but, before you think you could go home with a piece of Westlife - or their clothes, anyway - the security guys catch them before the crowd could lay their hands on them. The song ends with kian jokingly unzipping his pants, but no, no suck luck, girls! A few songs later and it was time for Nicky to take over lead vocal duties, on You make me feel. Perhaps it was the deafening screams at the mere sound of his voice, but we could hardly hear him! Whatever the case, we were convinced by this point of the show that Shane really is the best singer in the group, with Mark trailing at a close second.
The fancy dance moves made a comeback on When you’re looking like that, as the boys were dressed in tight, shiny pants, accompanied by five female dancers. There’s some nifty footwork on show here- watch out, Nsync! Next up was My love, which Brian - with a very visible ring on his wedding finger - dedicates to their mothers. Altogether now --- aaawww!
 After leaving for yet another custume change, Kian comes back on stage by himself and announces that the other guys have left after an argument backstage, so he’s going to carry on doing the show by himself. He strums his guitar and does a short rendition of Wild thing, before the other four return and interrupt him.
"He’s just showing off to his Mummy and Daddy!" says Brian of his bandmate. With Kian stood there with his guitar, it was only a matter of time before they launced into More than words. And if you didn’t believe that Kian was actually playing it, you could take a look at the video screens, which had a close-up of the blond strumming the right chords. Good job, Kian! Next up is a Motown medley, which begins with a good acapella version of My girl and ends with What becomes of the broken hearted, and a sea of swaying arms in the venue.
Nicky introduces Fool again as the song that put us in the Guiness Book of records, so this one’s for you." Cue another karaoke session.
Their latest number one song is next - Uptown girl - and they’re dressed as mechanics for this one, in red overalls and with a yellow sports car on stage, just add to that macho factor.
It’s at this point that we spot an apt banner in the crowd - "Shane I’ll be your Uptown girl". Nice.
Mark then thanks the crowd for putting them at number one yet again and proceeds to perform their previous number one hit- What makes a man. It’s the end of the show and Brian leaves the stage with a thoughtful comment- "If we stay in your hearts, you’ll always stay in ours." But it’s obvious that this isn’t exactly the end, as they predictably return for two more numbers. They manage to put off some dance moves regardless of their long white coats on Lay my love on you and then, the finale is rather breathtaking.
It’s Flying without wings and they start off on stage, but soon end up "flying" on a platform, midway through the stadium. Unlike N Sync, who usually hang from above the venue with string attached, the Westlife boys stay on the platform, while teasing the audience with an occassional stray leg or two. If they were looking for a memorable way to end the show, they sure found it! And then it really was over, as the video screens showed the boys being "put back to sleep" in the lab. For the rest of us, it was time for that long, cold walk to the train station, with strains of Westlife songs ringing in our ears.
Click here to view the whole collection of concert pics.
All articles courtesy of Westlife Online, none of these may be used without written permission of the webmaster.
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Instead of stools, the boys made use of chairs next, in Somebody needs you, doing some fancy moves with the furniture, never seen Britney’s Stronger video. Who says they can’t dance?
After leaving for yet another custume change, Kian comes back on stage by himself and announces that the other guys have left after an argument backstage, so he’s going to carry on doing the show by himself. He strums his guitar and does a short rendition of Wild thing, before the other four return and interrupt him.