Alfie Boe in Concert

[John]

Some dates from Alfie's website www.alfieboeuk.com/diary


Tue 17 January
Llandudno Venue Cymru
Bring Him Home Concert (Llandudno Venue Cymru)

Wed 18 January
Swindon Oasis
Bring Him Home Concert (Swindon)

Fri 20 January
Plymouth Pavilions
Bring Him Home Concert (Plymouth )

Sat 21 January
Bournemouth Intl Centre
Bring Him Home Concert (Bournemouth )

Mon 23 January
Northampton Derngate
Concert (UK)

Tue 24 January
Ipswich Regent
Bring Him Home Concert (Ipswich)

Wed 25 January
Leicester De Montfort Hall
Bring Him Home Concert (Leicester)

Fri 27 January
Manchester Bridgewater Hall
Bring Him Home Concert (Manchester )

Sat 28 January
Harrogate Intl Centre
Bring Him Home Concert (Harrogate )

Sun 29 January
Clyde Auditorium
Bring Him Home Concert (Glasgow )

Tue 31 January
Birmingham Symphony Hall
Bring Him Home Concert (Birmingham)

Wed 1 February
Sheffield City Hall
Bring Him Home Concert (Sheffield )

Fri 3 February
Preston Guildhall
Concert (Preston, UK)

Sat 4 February
Gateshead Sage
Bring Him Home Concert (Gateshead)

Thu 1 March
Olivia Newton-John Concert
Guest performance (Sydney Opera House)

Fri 2 March
Olivia Newton-John Concert
Guest performance (Sydney Opera House)

Sun 6 May
An Evening with Alfie Boe
Benefit Concert for The Irish Center in partnership with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City (The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts Kansas City)

Mon 21 May
Watford Colosseum
Concert (Watford)

Tue 22 May
Wycombe Swan Theatre
Concert (High Wycombe)

Thu 24 May
Buxton Opera House
Concert (Buxton)

Fri 25 May
The Orchard Theatre
Concert (Dartford)

Thu 31 May
G Live
Concert (Guildford)

Fri 1 June
Cliffs Pavilion
Concert (Southend-on-Sea)

Tue 26 June
Brangwyn Hall
Concert (Swansea)

Wed 27 June
Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Concert (Aberystwyth)

Thu 5 July
Llangollen Eisteddfod
Music Festival (Llangollen)

Tue 10 July
Aberdeen Music Hall
Concert (Aberdeen)

Wed 11 July
Caird Hall
Concert (Dundee)

Sat 4 August
Lytham Proms Festival
Last Night of the Proms (Lytham Green, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire)


I have booked for Guildford on 31st May

[nicola]

I am going to see Alfie on the 23rd of January with Diana (also known as alarminglady or rattie).

Anyone else coming?

[max1]

I bought Mr. Boe's album "Bring Him Home" from Amazon U.S. I highly recommend the album. The title song alone is worth much more than the cost of the album ($15.99). Beautiful, and Alfie has such a strong voice. This one I owe to you Nicola, for introducing me to him.

[John]

Over the past year, I have seen Alfie in ‘The Mikado’, at the ‘Classic Brits’ and in the London production of ‘Les Miserables’. I have seen him various times on TV and also acquired most of his albums. Yet last night was the first time I have Alfie in one of his own concerts and he still managed to pull a few surprises out of the bag for me.

Alfie is nothing if not versatile, with a repertoire ranging from opera to rock, films and musicals to pop, visiting a few unexpected places along the way. I won’t attempt a set list from last night; suffice to say that it included some songs from his latest albums and others that I have never heard him sing before.

Alfie still has quite a few dates on his current tour and another tour starting in May. Anyone who can make it to any of those is in for a treat.

Here are a few photos.



Alfie invited a child from the audience on to the stage for ‘Hushabye Mountain’


Matt Lucas’s replacement for ‘The Impossible Dream’








‘Come What May’ with Becky Jane Taylor

[John]

From the Bournemouth Echo
www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/leisure/reviews/9486189.Alfie_Boe__BIC/

BRING Him Home from Les Miserables was the first song tenor Alfie Boe ever performed on stage at the age of 14.

And I would imagine it was the number most people at the Bournemouth International Centre were waiting for on Saturday night. Performing an eclectic mix of songs for the seemingly sold out audience assembled in the Windsor Hall, Boe was determined to prove to the audience there are no divisions in music.

From As If We Never Said Goodbye in Sunset Boulevard and Hushabye Mountain from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, his effortlessly haunting voice could not have failed to impress - although personally I could have done without his version of Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir.

Other numbers included First Time I Ever Saw Your Face, In My Daughter’s Eyes by country and western singer Martina McBride, Come What May and The Beatles’ Day In The Life.

And the diversity of songs did not deter the mob of women constantly encouraged to come to the front of the stage, who swayed along to every number.

With such an impressive vocal range and voice, I would have liked to have heard more numbers and less gimmicks, but most of the crowd seemed to enjoy seeing this playful side of Boe as he bounded about the concert hall, meeting audience members and inviting people onto the stage.

He left his signature number Bring Him Home until near the end, and earned himself a standing ovation.

The orchestra were immense and a mention must also go to Becky Jane Taylor and Dorset’s Jazz Morley for their appearances as well.

[Gary S]

I love Zep's Kashmir, but I really can't imagine Alfie doing that one!!

[John]

Jan 23, 2012 9:31:06 GMT Gary S said:

I love Zep's Kashmir, but I really can't imagine Alfie doing that one!!

Who needs imagination when you have YouTube?



It wasn't my favourite of the evening.

[Gary S]

A brave attempt but not to my liking. I can think of a few Zep songs that would have suited him better.

[nicola]

I really enjoyed the Zep song last night! He was *awesome*! XD He sang a few dreary ballads which bored me a little but I enjoyed everything else! It was a real honour to hear him sing live. <3

[John]

Ah, I like some of those 'dreary' ballads . Isn't it great that we are all different?
I enjoyed Kashmir too, especially the orchestral bits, but Alfie's vocals in that bored me a little . But then I was never into Led Zeppelin either; The Beatles and ABBA were more my scene .

[bogi]

Jan 23, 2012 9:31:06 GMT Gary S said:

I love Zep's Kashmir, but I really can't imagine Alfie doing that one!!

Here it is: Alfie Boe as rock star ;D


I also love Led Zep's Kashmir, both the original version and the orchestral version from the album 'No Quarter' (broadcast about 17 years ago on MTV as 'Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded').

There seem to be few more videos from the event on
www.youtube.com/user/MrAlfieBoe

[Gary S]

I think John has hit it for me. Great orchestration, but not suited to Alfie's vocals for me however.
But as a 70's teen and a rock and blues lover, I am a BIG Zep fan, so I will naturally be biased towards Plant.
I'm trying to find it, but sometime ago there was a CC version of Kashmir recorded with a female vocalist that blew my socks off. Anybody remember it?

Anyway, back to Alfie.

[John]

Jan 24, 2012 19:40:40 GMT Gary S said:

sometime ago there was a CC version of Kashmir recorded with a female vocalist that blew my socks off. Anybody remember it?

Could it be this? Gregorian with Amelia Brightman

[John]

Okay, really back to Alfie this time.

Here is a review from his Northampton show
www.northamptonchron.co.uk/lifestyle/what-s-on/the-guide/theatre/theatre_review_alfie_boe_1_3451533

Theatre review: Alfie Boe
By Anna Brosnan
Published on Wednesday 25 January 2012 10:29

I HAVE never seen the Royal & Derngate as packed as it was on Monday night when tenor Alfie Boe arrived to perform a concert as part of his Bring Him Home tour.


To be honest, I was going because my mum loves him and I cannot emphasise this enough, she LOVES him, she has his albums on CD and plays them constantly. But, to my shame, I had never properly concentrated on appreciating his songs and voice until this week’s concert.

The theatre was absolutely crammed with people even more enthusiastic than my mum; ladies sporting Alfie Boe sweaters and T-shirts and beaming at the prospect of seeing the lovely Alfie performing in person.

And as soon as he started performing, I could really appreciate the appeal he has for so many fans across the world. His voice is absolutely incredible and he sings with such energy and power, I would not be surprised if he could happily perform without the aid of a microphone.

Having interviewed him a couple of weeks ago, I was left with a strong impression that Alfie does not like to be pigeon-holed. He can sing opera, but he is not an “opera” singer; he can sing major hits from West End musicals, but he doesn’t do this exclusively. As he told me, he simply loves “good music”.

I read online audience reviews from previous concerts he had performed elsewhere and actually read complaints about the strange mix of songs he performs and I cannot believe that anyone who really understands this singer’s work would utter such rubbish. The song mix was eclectic, ranging from the stock favourite Bring Him Home, from Les Miserables – something expected because of Alfie’s stint as Jean Valjean in the West End show – to a version of Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir, The Beatle’s A Day In The Life and Ewan MacColl’s The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.

One never quite knew what was coming next, but everything was performed with such energy and vocal ability, it was difficult to care.

Does Alfie Boe need to define himself more clearly to be successful? Judging by the standing ovation given by the Northampton audience, I don’t think he does.

As with the majority of solo vocal artists, Alfie was joined by a support act in the form of singer Laura Wright. He kept introducing her as “the beautiful” Laura Wright which I found strange . . . until she walked on stage. Perfect looks aside, she is an absolute delight to watch and her voice so exquisite I am sure she is going to be one of the big stars of the future.

She forgot to mention that you were there, Nic.

[vhazza]

2013 dates out (fan pre-sale here otherwise general sale 16th March 2012)


Birmingham National Indoor Arena
Friday, 22 Mar 2013 at 6:00PM

Manchester Arena
Saturday, 23 Mar 2013 at 6:00PM

Edinburgh Playhouse
Monday, 25 Mar 2013 at 7:30PM

Glasgow Clyde Auditorium @ SECC
Wednesday, 27 Mar 2013 at 7:30PM

Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
Thursday, 28 Mar 2013 at 6:00PM

Brighton Centre
Saturday, 30 Mar 2013 at 7:00PM

Plymouth Pavilions
Sunday, 31 Mar 2013 at 7:00PM

Bournemouth Int'nl Centre
Wednesday, 03 Apr 2013 at 6:30PM

Royal Albert Hall
Monday, 08 Apr 2013 at 6:45PM

Royal Albert Hall
Tuesday, 09 Apr 2013 at 6:45PM

Huggles
Vhari x