Attended the final gig of the tour in Holland yesterday and had a marvellous time. The band had the end of tour vibe, fed by the traditionally very enthusiastic response of the Dutch audience, combined with a cleverly paced set list, a recipe for a great night. As Paul Manzi put it after the applause after the first track: "Now we're home!". It was not sold out, but the turn up was solid enough and both audience and band were determined to have a party. Simply put one of the best Arena gigs I've been to!
After a fitting piece of classical/cinematic intro music (not Rossini this time, but the overture of the musical "Sweeney Todd", Clive revealed afterwards) the band played almost all of Seventh Degree (alas, no Catching The Bullet and also Trebuchet was left out) and then a good mixture of their back catalogue, with the emphasis on Immortal? and Contagion. Of the new material Burning Down, Great Escape, The Ghost Walks, What If? and last but definitely not least Tinder Box have become big personal favourites of mine. During the soundcheck it was decided to close with Ascension and not The Visitor, but in the end the raving audience got both.
Clive's new 360 degrees rotating keyboard was a nice touch by the way, especially in Riding The Tide.
After the last encore Clive praised both the enduring entity that is Arena as well as the support of the audience who stuck with them through all those years and line up changes, with people leaving and in one case "coming back again"
Clive also stated that he and Mick have a saying "remember this moment, you never know when there's going to be another one" and that this was definitely one of those moments. Agreed! Looking forward to next time, guys!
Set list
The Great Escape
Rapture
One Last Au Revoir
The Ghost Walks
Thief Of Souls
Close Your Eyes
Echoes Of The Fall
Bed Of Nails
What If?
Burning Down
The Tinder Box
(the next batch more or less in this order)
The Butterfly Man
(Don't Forget To) Breathe
Friday's Dream
A Ghost In The Firewall
City Of Lanterns
Riding The Tide
Enemy Without
Witch Hunt
Solomon
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Ascension
Crying For Help VII
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The Visitor
