12/05/09 - STATE THEATER, KALAMAZOO, MI

Review by Helen Barton:
Just a few words on Kalamazoo while it's still fresh in my mind. It was in an amazing theatre, probably one of the most ornate inside that I'd ever seen, with lots of gothic statues all over the walls inside.

It seemed as though it would have a good atmosphere from the start as the crowd seemed really into it and gave a standing ovation after each song. But it soon became clear that the reason these people were so loud was that they were all drunk and it soon got quite annoying, with people heckling, walking in and out to get more drinks and go to the loo, and just talking all over the songs. I felt it spoiled what would've been an otherwise great end to a week's gigging. We saw Gary on the street afterwards and he told us how annoying and distracting the crowd were...he said he expects to see that kind of behaviour at a big outdoor gig in the summer, but not in a small venue, and how rude he thought it was.

Anyway, apart from that, the show had some great moments, Gary's solo in "Not Romeo" being one of them, and some funny interaction with Bryan and the crowd - there was a guy who came down to the front without his wife and he kept saying "is that how you treat your wife?" (you had to be there, the guy not knowing what to say, and the rest of the crowd laughing, made it funny). There was also a fair share of smut...in 'You're still beautiful to me' Bryan sang the line 'I just wanna run my hands across your...' and then paused with a suggestive look before quickly singing 'face'...cue lots of women squealing.

I was sitting next to a guy who told me he'd just met Bryan at the meet & greet before the show and he'd told him he saw him with Journey in the 80s. That's been a running joke all week - BA has said every night on stage that every time he comes to the US he meets someone who saw him with Journey. So tonight he told the story and pointed out the guy next to me, who was made up about it and continued to holler at Bryan about Journey for the whole night... His wife was very drunk and kept yelling for 'Run to you', and asking me if he was going to play it. Telling her it he'd already played it and it was the first song, didn't seem to make any difference... A cool surprise in the set list tonight was 'Take me Back'. Quality.

People yelled out for 'When a man loves a woman' (the Louis Armstrong song not HYERLAW), and bizarrely, 'Christmas Time'. He sang one line from each.
It was a great gig to end the tour on, but I just wish the crowd had been a bit more respectful.

Setlist:
Run To You
Tonight We Have The Stars
Back To You
Here I Am
Let's Make A Night To Remember
Can't Stop This Thing We Started
I Thought I'd Seen Everything
When You Love Someone
Heat Of The Night
You're Still Beautiful To Me
Not Romeo Not Juliet
Everything I Do
Cuts Like A Knife
Mysterious Ways
This Time
Please Forgive Me
Summer Of '69
Walk On By
Freebird
Heaven
Take Me Back
When A Man Loves A Woman (one line)
Christmas Time (one line)
Hearts On Fire
The Right Place
The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You
Somebody
Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?
Straight From The Heart
All For Love

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