Clowns in sky-coloured suits holding bunches of over-sized balloons began the show with the boys emerging from under the huge hot air balloon in the middle of the stadium to sing Greatest Day as hundreds of balloons were released into the sky.

For Back For Good Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Howard Donald, scaled ladders as a stage waterfall soaked nearby fans.

Mark later performed Up All Night and Jason sang Wooden Boat and How Did It Come To This, before the boys donned clown outfits and applied clown make-up as they sang What Is Love?

The jaw-dropping show, named after their smash hit album The Circus, offered surprise after surprise where the songs were nearly second fiddle to the action, as they rattled off classics like A Million Love Songs, Pray and Could It Be Magic.

Jason, Mark and Howard then rode to the second stage on unicycles, and Gary, much to the amusement of the audience, rode a tiny bike with stabillisers.

And just when you thought they could have nothing else up their sleeves, a giant inflatable ringmaster puppet appeared on stage for Relight My Fire, as flames were fired into the night sky.

Acrobats on trampolines, trapezes, and dancers filled every part of the stage to ensure not a minute went by without something spectacular for our viewing pleasure.

The magnificent show was without doubt the best I have ever seen, and ended with a huge firework display as Gary and the boys sang Rule The World.

An absolutely incredible piece of showmanship that fans and non-fans alike could not help but love.

The band will play a second night in Sunderland tonight (Saturday), before moving on to Coventry, Dublin, Cardiff and Glasgow.
http://www.newsguardian.co.uk/enterta....2107.jp

The foursome may be one of Britain’s most successful boy bands ever, but they proved they have leapt beyond the realms of cutesy dance moves and baby-faced grins into the league of established and well- respected musicians.

Sunderland’s Stadium of Light was an amazingly well-suited venue for Take That to debut The Circus Live Tour.

It was a momentous occasion for the band and the stadium, this being the first music concert ever performed at the Stadium of Light.

With a huge red circus tent erected at one end of the stadium and a hot air balloon hovering at the other, the loveable northern lads didn’t disappoint opening with Greatest Day, which sent the crowd wild.

They didn’t waste any time cracking out their classics – Could It Be Magic, Back For Good and Pray, even treating us to some of the old dance moves which, given the 10 year break, I’d be forgiven for thinking they wouldn’t be capable of.

Just when I thought I couldn’t be surprised again, the band suddenly appear to rise up on a metal elephant which slowly walked them through the crowds to the main circus tent stage.

The circus theme really came into play as Shine stirred the stadium into a frenzy. They pulled out all the stops with jugglers, trapeze artists, ringmasters, and so much more.

All the circus-themed grandeur aside, my real joy came from seeing Take That perform as band.

It’s no shock seeing Gary play piano, but add Mark on bass, Jason on acoustic guitar and Howard on drums and you have something which could have changed the shape of who Take That became.

But, that said, Take That are where they are now as a result of their past, and it’s fulfilling to see a band I have followed since my teens move on to greater things.

The four-piece finished with Do What You Like, Patience and Never Forgot and a duet with Loleatta Holloway, the singer on the original version of Relight My Fire. Great stuff, lads!
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-e....3805186

11:51am Saturday 6th June 2009

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By Andrew Douglas »

TAKE That fans packed into Sunderland's Stadium of Light last night to celebrate a concert of true showmanship proportions.

Despite torrential rain dampening spirits elsewhere in the region, the stormclouds managed to stay away as pop superstars Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Howard Donald sang through the bands best loved hits to a crowd of more than 50,000.

“The crowd was in good spirits, it was a successful event enjoyed by all and we’re very pleased with the way it went.”
Chief Superintendent, Neil MacKay

The show itself was a true spectacular - the theme reflecting the title of their latest smash it album, The Circus.

The first-ever concert held at the Stadium of Light was hailed a success.

SAFC Concert Project Manager Gary Hutchinson said: “It was great to see the months of planning and hard work culminate in such a fantastic event.

"This event has shown that not only is there a demand for such large scale events in the city but also that we are more than equipped to host them.”

And the good-natured crowd was praised by authorities for their exemplary behaviour.

Chief Superintendent of Northumbria Police, Neil MacKay said: “This was the first concert to be held at the Stadium of Light and a huge amount of planning on behalf of the club, police, city council, fire brigade and ambulance service went into it.

“The crowd was in good spirits, it was a successful event enjoyed by all and we’re very pleased with the way it went.”

Ken Scott, Chairman of the Safety Advisory Group added: “Those attending were exceptionally well behaved, compliant of all requests from stewards and they came in the right spirit.

"They were a credit to the city and the region and we would welcome them back in the future.”

Take That will play a second show at the Stadium tonight (Saturday), followed by rock giants Oasis on Wednesday.

* For a full review buy The Northern Echo today
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news...._crowds

офигенно...
у меня на бэках странное ощущение по поводу этого шоу... слишком много они показывают всего, слишком много песен, собранных за все года существования.. слишком все помпезно... эх, надо отгонять негативные мысли..
скорее всего они возникают оттого, что никто такой грандиозности не ожидал и, как нам часто кажется, сказка не может быть былью.. но это ошибочно
НАСЛАЖДАЕМСЯ ДЕЙСТВИТЕЛЬНОСТЬЮ!!!

*THANKS FOR THAT NIGHT, SUN *

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arz1ioKkCOE

И уже традиционно:
АААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААААА!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5hDYp4XKD4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q7ZQKejofQ

Perfect!