Roxy Music in DC

First the bad news. The Roxy tour for 2022 is going to go down as the worst booking of the year. At the Capital One Arena, the top ring was closed off and I heard estimates that only 6000 tickets sold for a place that has a capacity of over 20k.

Now the good news. It didn't matter. The 6000 strong crowd was loud enough for 20k. If the band was disappointed in the number of people in attendance, they didn't take it out on the audience with a desultory performance. Roxy Music came out blasting with "Re-Make/Re-Model" and played for almost two hours before ending it with "Jealous Guy". The first half of the show concentrated on the earlier edition of Roxy while the second half was almost exclusively later Roxy. I could have done without six songs from Avalon but I know that is probably the most popular album of theirs and when they played "To Turn You On", even I was transported back to my college days and how Avalon was THE makeout album.

There were 12 people on stage, the four core members and the rest members of Bryan Ferry's band. I got a thrill watching and listening to Phil Manzanera going to town on his guitar on numbers such as "Out of the Blue" and "In Every Dream Home". As a matter of fact he tore it so much during the latter song that he left the stage for "Tara" and (I guess) to give the spotlight to Andy Mackay, who played an extended version. I really like Manzanera's album Diamond Head so I was psyched to final be able to see him play and he didn't disappoint (except he didn't wear outrageous sunglasses like he did back then). Dressed in a silver dinner jacket with a small mustache he even looked more dapper than, dare I say, Ferry. Would I have liked to hear "The Thrill Of It All" and "Both Ends Burning"? Yeah but I couldn't really complain about the song selection.

This is a pretty short tour and I met people from Richmond, Pittsburg and Oregon who came to DC because that was the only way to see them but if you've seen Ferry in the last few years, you probably got a similar experience (minus Manzanera, Mackay and Paul Thompson). Having said that, if you have a chance to see them, I would highly recommend it.

St. Vincent opened and while I've heard of them, I haven't really made the effort to check them out. They put on a show that like they were the headliners. Augmented by three back up singers the band sounded and looked like the were playing in the `70s but not in the dress up way. Opening for Roxy Music, the band seemed a natural and logical choice. If you get a chance to see them, I would check them out.

Setlist
Re-Make/Re-Model
Out of the Blue
The Bogus Man
Ladytron
While My Heart Is Still Beating
Oh Yeah
If There Is Something
In Every Dream Home a Heartache
Tara
To Turn You On
The Main Thing
Dance Away
Same Old Scene
My Only Love
More Than This
Avalon
Love Is the Drug
Editions of You
Do the Strand
Jealous Guy

Last time they played in LA it was at the Greek Theater, which has a capacity of, yup, 6000. Which is why this stadium tour was so baffling to me. Hope they’re not losing their (designer) shirts on this tour.

My general dislike of “Avalon” has been noted here before, but still, looks like an awesome night. “The Bogus Man” is an odd choice, i don’t dislike it but I would have gone with your suggestions, or “Mother of Pearl,” but the final batch of songs would have launched me into mad glee.

Oh, and: what were TWELVE people doing onstage?

I'm hoping to see this show here in Austin. It looks like I'll finally get to fulfill my dream to see Roxy do "Ladytron" live.

So: the four members of Roxy, plus what, probably 3 backup singers, then an extra guitarist, bass, percussion, and probably two keyboardists?

I caught Roxy Music at Madison Square Garden a few nights ago and Heff's review is spot-on! Roxy was fantastic and St. Vincent was surprisingly good. Make an effort to see this show. (MSG, by the way, was only about two-thirds full. But those present were rabidly enthusiastic.)

As expected, there are plenty of seats available. But the best ones are going for over - ouch - $300! How much did you guys pay?

My friend and I lucked out, we were given free tickets through a mutual friend who had a connection in the industry. We were to the side of the stage, but only six rows back.

A friend sent me photos of MSG and the video screen overkill would have been oppressive to withstand. How is one supposed to even see the band onstage when all of this multimedia overkill was blitzing our cranium?


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Sounds like a great night, Heff! Thanks for the review.

The closest Roxy is coming to Seattle would be San Francisco ... and as it happens, I will be in Philadelphia on business when their California dates roll around. Arguably, if I have to travel anywhere in the U.S. for a show, it might just as well be to one of the dates back east, or one of the shows in Texas. But I just can't make that happen. (I've heard from knowledgeable friends that ticket sales in Dallas are turning out to be a bloodbath.)

The video screen wasn't that overwhelming. Most of the time it was just shots of the band. During one song. there were several mini TV sets on the screen and live shots of the different band members were superimposed on the sets.

I was in row P on the floor so I was pretty close and the tickets at the level were fairly expensive (some things are worth it, just don't tell my wife how much I spent) but I heard some of the higher up seats were going for $7 day of the show, so I think the deals are there.

The band consisted of:
Bryan Ferry
Paul Thompson
Phil Manzanera
Andy Mackay
and the backup band was another guitarist, another saxophonist, percussionist, bassist, two backup singers, two keyboard players. I recognized the saxophonist, the bassist and the backup singers from previous Bryan Ferry tours.

The end was a little unusual. After "Editions Of You", Ferry said thank you and walked off the stage while the rest of the band stayed onstage. After a few minutes he came back and they launched into "Do the Strand". A weird sort of encore.

The Boston show on Saturday has been downsized from the 20,000-capacity TD Garden to the new 5000-capacity MGM theater at Fenway.

Great for intimacy, obviously, but has to be brutal on the tour economics.

> The end was a little unusual. After "Editions Of You", Ferry said thank
> you and walked off the stage while the rest of the band stayed onstage.
> After a few minutes he came back and they launched into "Do the Strand".
> A weird sort of encore.

He did the same thing, last time I saw him with his band.