When the doors to Skyscape opened, we all made a break for it to the front rows. It meant cutting people off left and right, tripping the elderly, dodging ushers, one of which actually made me flash my VIP ticket at her ;-). There was no stopping us! Got excellent seats on the second and third rows. Before the concert started, Ine, Janet and Sherrie had already decided I was going to write this raving review.

Kennedy was introduced by Malcolm McLaren, who made quite a few funny remarks. None of which I can remember at this point. What I do remember is that I wanted him to get the hell off the stage and make room for Nigel! And THERE HE WAS. Looking happy, excited and ready to rock the house!!!

Kennedy's concert started very lively with Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20. The mood was set right there! And what a fantastic bonus to see Nigel and his band projected on the large screen at the back of the stage, filmed from many different angles. Showing his face even when he had his back toward the audience and producing close-ups of those fabulous musicians accompanying him. Next Nigel introduced the "Meditation from Thaïs", joking about how classical music can have unpronouncable titles. He was so inspired when he played this, I was already in tears. And it was only the second piece! Kennedy then launched into the "Flight of the Bumble Bee", which had me on the edge of my seat. After this, Nigel said this piece has only been played properly if it's no longer than one minute and eleven seconds and he asked if anybody kept the time. "One minute fourteen!" someone shouted. "Well, we were shit tonight!" Nigel laughed and decided he could do a better job. MY GOD, we were treated to another rendition of the "Flight of the Bumble Bee" in break-neck tempo. I don't know about the others, but I was floored! "Gymnopédie No. 1" from Eric Satie was next. Kennedy told us he really loved this one and it showed. Beautiful, tranquil piece of music. Then they played Monti's "Czardas" which lit up the hall. Bright smiles all around the band on stage equalled by the bright smiles on our faces, so very happy to be here to enjoy all this&ldots;

The "Four Seasons" were up as soon as the piano had been replaced by a harpsichord. Nigel said this beautiful music will always be dear to his heart, because it brought him to fame and made so many people become fascinated with classical music. It meant a lot to me that Nigel said that, for it was the "Four Seasons" that brought him to my attention in 1989 and I've had an obsessive love affair with his music ever since. It was taking a while for the harpsichord to show up, so Kennedy invited a friend on stage (from the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra) to play Handel's "Passacaglia". Delightful to see them whipping each other up in this fiery piece! Janet was panting in the seat next to me. We were still catching our breath when Nigel and his band began Vivaldi's "Spring" concerto. So inspired, it made me so happy. All through the "Four Seasons" I was welling up, because it was my first time to hear this performed live and after Kennedy's comments it made me very emotional. The audience applauded heartily after each 'season' and we were deeply touched by the marvellous atmosphere among the band on stage.

Time for the intermission. We were quite hungry and thirsty from all the excitement, so we ventured out to the hotdog and ice cream stands. There were Kennedy Experience t-shirts and CDs available, as well as Classic Kennedy and The Four Seasons CDs. But we have all those already, of course (what do you take us for???). When we got back to our seats, I was a bit quiet, my heart racing with anticipation, because I was going to hear The Kennedy Experience live. Was I in for the show of a lifetime&ldots;

Nigel came back on stage all revved up along with his band. Doug Boyle, John Etheridge, Rory McFarlane and Dave Heath were there. And whereas Kennedy has cellos and an oboe accompanying him on the CD, he had now brought an excellent accordeonist and that gorgeous blonde viola player who had also been with him the first section of the concert. Soon they started playing "Third Stone from the Sun". Throughout this part of the concert special light effects were colouring the big screen behind the stage, creating a wondrous psychedelic sphere around the band. A man roughly twice my age sat on my left with his wife. They seemed a bit uneasy, when the Kennedy Experience really took off with this exhilarating piece. But magnificent "Little Wing" got my gray-haired neighbour going. His feet tapping, legs moving, it made my seat dance&ldots; The musicians' love for their work and their strong relationship on stage really shone through the music. During "1983&ldots; (A Merman I Should Turn To Be)" I actually had an out-of-body experience. Nigel's drumming the bow on his violin and Rory's amazing bass drumming followed by breathtaking sounds from Nigel's violin, took me to a place I hadn't been before. "Drifting" made me weep again because of its sheer beauty. The mood between Kennedy and Dave Heath turned electric on "Fire", that intense crossfire between violin and flute was sensational. It blew my mind to see Kennedy's bow strings coming loose, flying in the air (probably a familiar sight to you regulars out there). When they were playing "Hey Joe", Janet smiled at me: both our seats were moving again because my gentle neighbor couldn't control his feet. So we just followed the beat. With a flaming, climactic rendition of "Purple Haze", Kennedy's concert at Skyscape was concluded. My ears were ringing, my head was buzzing, I didn't think I'd ever been this happy. Little did I know how much more happy I could feel&ldots;

Ine, Janet and I met Nigel at the party after the concert. What a magical experience to be able to embrace this wonderful man and tell him how much he has touched my life. I will cherish this moment forever! Kennedy grabbed his violin and played with Caleb Clark singing songs that lifted me up. What can I say? I spent the whole night on cloud nine. After two half pints of Guinness, I was ready to go up to this guy who was on the dance floor a lot, to tell him he had a gorgeous smile. Found out it was DJ Ricochet (frequent visitor of Kennedy's London after-concert parties). At 3 AM we said goodbye to Caleb and Nigel with a warm hug and walked out into the pouring rain. But I didn't feel a thing&ldots;