Westlife: Ashton Gate
THERE are some things you can bet your mortgage that Westlife will do at a concert. Brilliant key changes, numerous costumes and slick dance routines are the glue that has held Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Nicky Byrne together over these past 12 years.
What has changed about Westlife is the appearance of electric guitars in their set, one of which Nicky played during an inspired cover of Sex On Fire by Kings of Leon.
Featuring more electric guitars were Bristol's very own The Fuel, who had won an Evening Post competition to be first support act here and they savoured every minute. With their long flowing hair and confident swaggers, this is the kind of stage these boys belong on.
The second support act was Wonderland, an immaculately styled girlband managed by Kian and Louis Walsh.
Westlife appeared on the stage in front of the Atyeo Stand to rapturous applause, launching straight into Where We Are, the title track from their latest album.
Pyrotechnics were fired into the air, and returned two songs later for When You're Looking Like That, when the band members could first show off their dance moves. These dance moves returned for Uptown Girl, a cover of the Billy Joel classic which Westlife released as a charity single for Comic Relief in 2001.
What followed can only be described as a comedy interlude, as Nicky told a joke about Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary and then read out some of the banners in the crowd.
If people still carried lighters to concerts, they would have been in the air for Flying Without Wings. This is 2010, so a vuvuzela blown by one fan joined the calls for an encore, which Westlife appeared for in Rat Pack-style suits to sing I'll See You Again and You Raise Me Up.
This was a fantastic concert by a band who adapt with the times but never change the aspects that made them one of the most successful and popular acts of all time.
9/10
MARTIN BOOTH
Credit/Source: www.thisisbristol.co.uk
