Part music concert, but for the most part theatrical extravaganza /cabaret/burlesque, the boy to manband put on a show that will hardly be surpassed by any act headlining Croke Park, not even U2 who play the venue next month.

Take That emerged on stage from beneath a cascade of balloons and surrounded by an entourage of clowns, ballerinas and dancers on a wooden oil derrick.

It was evident from the beginning they were going to, in the words of one of their own songs, Take That and Party and then some.

"I just want to say 'wow'. We never thought we'd be this big," said singer Howard Donald, reflecting how this seemingly washed-up Nineties boy band have morphed into one of the biggest live draws in the world a decade later.

All 80,000 tickets for Saturday night's concert sold out when they went on sale last October.

"This is a very special night," said chief songwriter Gary Barlow, the brains behind the Take That phenomenon. "80,000 people. This is the biggest crowd we have ever played to. Thank you."

The audience, like the band themselves, were of a certain maturity, composed overwhelming of twenty- and thirty-something women who enjoyed a perfect summer's evening for the concert.

As a traditional male bastion, Croke Park had to be made fit for purpose. Every male toilet that could be was turned from Fir to Mná, but even that wasn't enough to accommodate the gender imbalance and dozens of portaloos were brought in for the occasion.

The show was bookended by Greatest Day and Rule the World , two huge hits from their latest incarnation.

In between they rolled out the hits one after the other.

In keeping with the circus theme, there were acrobats, clowns, burlesque dancers, majorettes, marching bands, tight-rope walkers and unicycles.

Every circus needs an elephant and the 15-metre high mechanical elephant was the pièce de résistance.

The elephant emerged from centre-stage and the band were borne from the stage in the centre of the pitch to the front like Indian maharajahs surveying their supplicants. Two dancers waggled the elephant's ears and a dancer hung off the end upside-down swishing its tail.

It was all so uproariously, preposterously over the top and the crowd loved it, joining in a verse of The Fields of Athenry prompted by four Manchester lads who are as English as YR Sauce.

High drama turned to low farce when singer Mark Owen split his trousers from crotch to knees. "I'm not taking my trousers off, right?" "Off, off, off," the crowd responded.

Owen revealed that the Take That entourage consisted of 238 people and by the end it everyone of them seemed to be on stage. The band signed off with a firework display.

"I've seen them five times and this was the best ever. What a show," said Sorca O'Brien from Tallaght. Few would disagree.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspap....10.html

Mark Owen, Jason Orange, Gary Barlow and Howard Donald of Take That perform onstage during the first night show of 'Take That Present: The Circus Tour Live' Photo: Getty Images

Mark Owen, Jason Orange, Gary Barlow and Howard Donald of Take That perform onstage during the first night show of 'Take That Present: The Circus Tour Live' Photo:

Monday June 15 2009

TAKE That's 'The Circus' tour is rumoured to have cost €14m to stage -- which seem like a bargain when you see what they've done with the money.

Featuring trapeze artists, high-wire walkers, a football-squad worth of performing clowns and a life-sized animatronic elephant (no, that isn't a dig at Gary Barlow's waistline), it's a show with something for everyone. Or at least if by "everyone" you mean those who like their throwaway pop served on a souffle of PT Barnum-esque whimsy.

Amidst all the silliness, it would be easy for the music to get lost. But the Take That boys are such self-effacing and exuberant performers, you can't help rooting for them. This is their third stint on the road since the quartet set out to prove that even ageing teen totty could have a second shot at success.

But they give the impression of being deeply humbled that anyone -- let alone 80,000 bawling fans -- should still be interested. They bravely belt out many of their biggest hits right at the start, mugging their way through the gay-disco karaoke of 'Could It Be Magic' and delivering 'Back For Good' behind water fountains (after Mark Owen, pixie-ish good looks holding up well, attempts an impromptu 'Riverdance' jig).

A quick elephant ride to the main stage and it's time for the foursome to demonstrate their rock chops. Alas, this leads into the dullest part of the set as the cavorting clowns are banished and Take That busk through some sweet, if underwhelming, acoustic pop from their latest album 'The Circus'.

With Jason Orange on vocals, they sound, of all things, like pre-'Blue Monday' New Order. But they're soon back in toyboy mode, careering around on unicycles, smearing on clown make-up, and leading a 15-piece marching band through comeback hit 'Patience'.

Note to the rest of the world's chart stars: you're going to have to try harder, because with 'The Circus' tour, Take That have raised the bar for pop extravaganzas. At Croke Park, they're ringmasters of all they survey.
http://www.independent.ie/enterta....51.html

Elephants, giant inflatable men, tightrope walkers, fireworks...
That elephant... so impressive!Take That's latest tour is a non-stop gasp-fest. I went along to Croke Park expecting to have a good time (after all I've loved them since I was about ten-years-old) but the show that I saw completely surpassed all my expectations. It was just such a spectacular visual experience. Everything about The Circus was amazing. Yeah, last week I wrote about Beyoncé's gig being one of the best I've ever been to, and it was. She has an amazing voice and brilliant natural presence, but Take That just took my breath away. I found myself gawping at the stage like a child as all the circus acts kicked off the show and I kept a silly grin on my face right up until their final goodbye. This, folks, is how comebacks are done.

If you're a fan of Take That then you were always going to enjoy the show. Most of their new stuff from The Circus album is in there but they've also hung onto the elements that worked from their last tour, like Jason Orange's amazing performance of Wooden Boat - and, for good measure, all of the old classics from their first time out (like Relight My Fire, Could It Be Magic and A Million Love Songs) are included too. It's total sing-along fare.

Could there be a better show this year? The opening to the show was spectacular for me. First the clowns come mingle in the crowd (nice touch... particularly if you're the kind of person who feels the need to drag one of those colourfully dressed characters into a picture with you!)... then there's the entourage of circus fun - the balloons, the bright costumes, the dramatic music and a surprise entrance from the lads on the B stage - nice touch. And then it's almost all a blur. There was just too much going on to try to remember it all.

The best bits
Humour, hits and lots of fun.Afterwards you were on such an annoying high that you couldn't stop talking about the concert - but what was your favourite part? Was it the giant people-powered elephant? (Too impressive for words - go creative team!) Or was it getting hosed down with a mini-shower if you were close enough to the stage? (If anyone else had sprayed water on me at a show I might have been a little peeved but I was more than alright with that on the night). Or maybe it was the comedy touches whether intentional (some great unicycle moves) or unintentional (like poor Mark Owen's trousers splitting after a costume change - not that anyone seemed to be complaining... roughly 80,000 people were of the opinion that it was a sign and he should just shed them!).

Spectacular in every way!Or was it watching the lads dressing as clowns on stage or almost having a heart-attack watching that very brave tight-rope walker or maybe it was just reliving all the memories of their songs from down through the years or watching the pyrotechnics and fireworks display at the end? I honestly couldn't pick a stand-out highlight myself... unless I'm going to be totally biased towards Jason and pick Wooden Boat but that would be unfair, right? Mark carried on performing with a giant split in his pants. Gary held the show single-handedly at the piano churning out all the old classics that had everyone singing along. And Howard came up with the unicycle idea, which was so funny on stage.

All about the colour!When I tried to describe the concert to other very jealous people who weren't there I just couldn't seem to explain how big it all was. That's why it worked. No detail had been overlooked. It was just such a spectacle. Credit has to go to the massive crew who work on staging, choreography, special effects and all the tiny elements that together make this the kind of circus you'd never forget.

Several days later, after sleeping on it like my mother advised, I'm still not for changing my mind. Now where do I sign up to run away with this amazing circus?!
http://www.rte.ie/ie/entertainmentmusic/entry/music_blog_roll_up_roll

Вот что бы я поменяла, вероятно: Greatest Day и A million love songs... Мне кажется, есть песни получше. *Это я не к тому, чтобы поменять Газа на кого-нить, пусть были бы и в исполнении Газа))) тока другие... Некоторые помнят, наверное, как я нежно "люблю" Greatest Day*

Здорово, что сделали поппури: Medley: Do what you like, Promises, It only takes a minute, Take That and party! А вот насчет Relight my fire сомневаюсь... Чесгря, меня никогда эта песня особо не заводила, просто они ее обыгрывали всегда интересно... Но за столько лет уже поднадоело - почти одно и то же, только костюмы другие. Я вот до сих пор не могу особо отличить RMF в Ultimate Tour от его же BW Tour... Кажется, тут снова та же фигня... Понятно, что от BFG и NF они отказаться не могут, но RMF никогда как по мне не был на уровне этих хитов. Еще и не их песня, а перепетая... Но в целом, конечно, программа шоу здоровская. Раньше меня куда сильнее расстраивал список песен.

Don't let your demons pull you down, 'cause you can have it all

Thanks to Carmen!

Croke Park Dublin.. Marks split trousers and the Fields of Athenry!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-K1mtV6Q-g