Concert Reviews
David Cassidy Live at the Edinburgh Playhouse
Sunday April 28th, 2002
David Cassidy's UK tour kicked off on the evening of his 52nd birthday at the Hammersmith Apollo, London. But for me, it didn't start until his very last gig at the Edinburgh Playhouse, a fortnight later.
For two weeks I read the experiences, and looked at the photographs of friends from the UK fan site. My turn couldn't come quick enough, but the longer I waited the more nerve racking it became. Especially when I had managed to secure front row seats.
I had seen David only twice before this year; at Shawfield Stadium, Glasgow in 1974, when he was but a dot on the horizon, and last November at the SECC, also Glasgow. That time too, he was to me, a world away, my seat being in the upper circle. For the first time I was going to see David close up.
Before the gig I met up with many of the friends I have made through the UK fan site. Up until then they had been names on the message board or voices on the end of the telephone. That in itself was a wonderful experience.
Inside the theatre I discovered my seat was at the end of the front row and to the side, the P.A. system hiding one side of the stage. But worse, the false floor had not been placed over the orchestra pit, there was a barrier and a net separating us from the stage, so there was no way we would be able to have contact of any kind with David. This was a bitter blow to all, and I'm sure to David himself, you know how much he likes personal contact.
Eventually, the lights went down and the band struck up the intro. It seemed to go on forever. Suddenly David was on stage and launched straight into "Heartbeat". I was on my feet and yelling at the top of my voice. I was shaking, laughing, cheering and crying all at the same time. I could not believe how fantastic David looked in his red shirt and black jeans. His hair perfect and his smile so dazzling. The side view of the stage did not inhibit my view of David at all.
As is David's way, he used all the space available to him on the stage, walking, running, jumping, and of course, waving his hands whilst singing. He sat on a speaker at the front of the stage to sing "I Am A Clown", he made us hold our breathes forever for the "but" when singing "Could It Be Forever", and man did he rock when he gave us a mind-blowing version of "Hush". (Editor's Note: This is a hard rock song done by the band "Deep Purple" in 1968 which reached number 4 on the US charts.) I love all the funny faces David pulls when he plays guitar, and he pulls some crackers! From quite early on in the set, it was obvious something was wrong with David's voice. He kept motioning to his throat, and seemed to drink a lot of water. David said his voice was almost gone, but he would give it everything he had, and he did.
As usual, gifts were thrown up onto the stage, and even though there was an eight foot gap with a fourteen foot drop between David and us, he made every effort to retrieve each one that didn't make the stage, but landed on the safety netting. A friend of mine threw up a thong with her name, the name of her hotel and her room number attached. David was highly amused by this and asked her where the room key was! He laughed and joked, and as usual had a little chat with us. He was very poignant and serious when he said that because of September 11th and our military now fighting side by side, our two nations were bonded together.
The two hours were gone in no time. I knew from friends who had been to other gigs David was doing three encores, and that he duly did, topping the whole show off by doing them wearing a kilt and a tartan scarf.
Did David deliver all I had expected him to? That and more, he was a true showman, giving us every last note perfectly, even though his voice was obviously troubling him.
Now the UK tour is over, and David is back with you guys in the US. But it's not over quite for us here, we have our memories, photographs, tour tee's, T.V. and radio interviews and incredible experiences to keep us going until the next time David Cassidy - showman extraordinaire, graces our shores.
Article & Photos By Cat McCluskey (aka HandyCat)
Please do NOT copy photos without permission from HandyCat.
