Nik Kershaw: Me, Myself and I Tour at The Lowry Review

25/09/2014

1,717 3 minutes read

Nik Kershaw:
Me, Myself and I Tour
The Lowry, Manchester

21 September 2014

www.thelowry.com

Reviewed by Debbie Lowndes

My husband and I travelled from Derby to The Lowry Theatre in Manchester on Sunday evening. We had a fantastic evening listening to the most amazing singer/song writer which is Nik Kershaw. I can remember listening to Nik’s tunes during my childhood years. He was amazing then and still is today.

We arrived at The Lowry shortly before the performance start time. This was our first visit to The Lowry and I must admit we were both very impressed. We were greeted immediately and our tickets were speedily produced. Our seats were in the stalls and we had one of the best views! Prior to entering the theatre we had a drink at one of the two bars. The drinks were reasonable priced. When we entered the theatre we were directed to our seats by a member of staff. All of the members of staff we encountered were very friendly and helpful to everyone they came into contact with.

This tour is part of Nik’s solo tour to celebrate his 30 years within the music industry. The tour commenced on time and opened with a visual audio backdrop of two animation characters. These characters were fellow companions from his musical career. The characters made some jokes and introduced Nik to the stage. Nik appeared to a very warm audience welcome. He started by recapping on past events and history from his career/life to date. Throughout the production he played solo on his acoustic guitar with some computer aided assistance via his laptop. His guitar playing was flawless and absolutely fabulous. It sounded magnificent in the theatre.

Throughout the performance the audio backdrop remained showing clips of previous music videos from early years. Following each song a crossword appeared on the backdrop. The name of the song populated in the crossword, by the end of the production the crossword was complete.

The opening number for the performance was Me, Myself and I. He played a mixture of songs some of which he had written but never produced. In between his songs he told tales from the past 30 years, which included things like live aid, top of the pops etc… He also had three question time slots, these were used to answer questions which had been previously written down and submitted by the audience. Nik appeared to be quite the joker. Some songs were very emotional and heart-warming, one of the songs particularly stayed with me. This was a song which was written for his son when he was ten years old. There was another one called ‘Red Strand’ which he wrote for his wife. He advised that this song was played at his wedding reception. The lyrics to this song captured the night they met, again very thoughtful, heart-warming and loving. You could tell this song was very special to him as it portrayed as he sang.

He is the most amazing song writer and when listening to the lyrics you instantly realise the thoughts, emotions, meanings and love captured within each and every song. He played the all-time favourites such as Wide Boy, Wouldn’t it be Good, The Riddle, Dancing Girls and Human Racing to name a few. The lighting effects throughout were great. The closing number for the finale was or course I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me. Following this the audience paid their respects with loud cheers etc… and Nik reappeared and sang two further songs, completely solo just him and his acoustic guitar, no aid from the laptop. This was an excellent evening which we both thoroughly enjoyed. Nik is clearly a highly skilled musician/singer/song writer. Nik also did signings in the bar after the performance.

The production lasted in the region of 2 ½ hours including the interval, but I have to say at no point was I bored. I remained captivated throughout. Thank you Nik Kershaw for the past 30 years of utterly fantastic music and songs lyrics.

The audience was mixed sex with of an average age of around 45, they all appeared to be enjoying themselves.

The venue itself was impressive and in a great located, very clean and tidy, with the most helpful, courteous and friendly staff. The toilets facilities were easy accessible, clean and well stocked. The bar was well stocked, reasonably priced with an efficient service. In fact it is a great place to visit with easy accessible car parking in the multi storey car park, and it only cost £1.50 for the entire evening. What a steel!

We had a great night.

Rating: 5/5