A Monday night trip to the City Hall in Sheffield, suffice to say it was well worth the effort for the first night of Midge Ure’s much anticipated and Covid delayed ‘Voice and Visions’ tour.
First up were a band previously unknown to me by the name of India Electric Co. A three piece namely Cole Stacey and Joseph O’Keefe, featuring Midge’s drummer Russell Field on drums. The band played what I would describe as an eclectic mix of jazz / latin / fusion / folk style music. Complex arrangements and stellar musicianship take centre stage, Cole’s soaring vocals and heartfelt words immediately winning over the Sheffield early crowd. Joseph’s violin cutting through the music, adding tonal colours to the overall dynamics of the sound.
Russell played an electronic drum kit for the Midge set which I can understand given the sound required for that particular material, however in my opinion he really shone through on the acoustic set up. An excellent drummer, complementing the music perfectly.
If you haven’t seen India Electric Co seek them out on YouTube and see for yourself, even better go and see them live, they are excellent.
So onto Midge Ure, I will start by saying that if anyone doubts that Midge touching 70 has still got what it takes then think again. Tonight’s show was superb both vocally and musically, with a set full of hits from Visage and Ultravox and some lesser known but equally as strong material.
Opening with ‘Dear God’ and straight into the huge hit ‘If I was’ Midge clearly has a loyal fan base judging by the amount of people singing along. In fact, I was singing along taking the photos, what a track that is!
Midge has talked about the cost of touring the UK in some of his recent social media posts, which is as he observes ridiculous and becoming prohibitive for homegrown and international bands. The band therefore was understandably stripped back to a quartet with Cole and Joseph providing the music along with Russell. However that didn’t detract from the overall sound which was excellent.
Closing with the now legendary ‘Vienna’ (surely everyone knows that song!) and ‘All Stood Still’ I came away really impressed by the evenings offering. A great show, if you haven’t got a ticket yet for the tour I would urge you to do so.
Well done also to the lighting and sound crew all excellent.
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