This evening saw the first of my several Christmas concerts, and, having never seen Rob Brydon before - other than his famous television incarnations [Gavin And Stacey / Would I lie To You et al...], I was very interested and curious to see what he would be like as a live entertainer. The evening flowed amiably along with melody after melody of mostly Christmas tunes, and Brydon proved to have a pleasant baritone crooning voice which worked well for the material he chose. We we taken on a journey through (to name just a few) 'Winter Wonderland', 'Sleigh Ride', 'I'll Be Home For Christmas', 'Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer', and 'O, Come All Ye Faithful'.
Backed by an 8-piece band, Brydon entertained for nearly two hours without support; save a brief appearance from Coronation Street's Antony Cotton, who helped him with their rendition of 'Silver Bells' and an unnamed youth choir who came on at the end to help with the denouement's harmonies.
Brydon is obviously a very accomplished entertainer and very at home on stage and in front of an audience. He started with a few jokes at the audiences' expense, which had they been told by anyone else, could easily have been taken as offensive and downright rude, but somehow, the audience members with whom Brydon interacted seemed to take it all in good part; and he came back after the interval with a song which included their names, ages, etc - i.e. all the things he had talked about in the first half appeared in the lyrics of this song. Clever and received a deserved round of applause.
In between songs (and the occasional laugh), there were a few of his more famous impressions and impersonations, and his Elvis Presley was better than some pro Elvis impersonators I have seen! His final incarnation though threw me, since he played Bryn from Gavin And Stacey, and I have never seen this and so was at a little bit of a loss, but it was enjoyed by those in the audience who recognised it.
I enjoyed the running gag with the Maltesers, but perhaps a real Fortnum and Mason bottle of champagne could have been given to either the man whom you brought on stage to play the xylophone for 'Last Christmas' or lovely 94-year old Mavis up in the gallery. That would have been truly appreciated I feel.
A couple of things which did not work quite as well as they could have however. First, the sound levels were all wrong, and the enunciation became muffles at times. basically everyone was over-mic'd and the sound too loud. You chose to perform in the Bridgewater Hall - possibly the most acoustically perfect venue in the whole of the UK, and yet you rigged a huge velvet curtain behind the stage, and put microphones on everyone, making the sound blurred and unclear; the volume was also an issue too sadly, and needed to be several decibels quieter for maximum aural pleasure. The second thing I would suggest is that the band wear a "uniform" of sorts. It would look smarter and certainly appear more professional.
Otherwise a most enjoyable evening in the company of a multi-talented entertainer.
Reviewer - Alastair Zyggu
On - 8.12.25
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