Daphne and I had a great position near the stage - Daphne was in 7'th heaven with hero 1 Rob filling her eyes and hero 2 Steve banging away in her left ear. Steve was in top form, by the way, and Rob's singing was the best of all the shows I've seen.

The show started with "Bolero" which was, in my opinion, a great decision. Much as I love Pray Lewd we've heard that at all the previous shows so this was a welcome change.

After that, straight into Angels' Arise sung just like in the demo (as God intended) instead of what ended up on stage at the Minskoff. Wonderfully sung by Adrienne and Nicki.

Adrienne stayed on to show the range of her talent with a performance of "Safe Sex". No, I mean she sang it. She's a star in the making, no doubt about it.

Next, "Objects" sung by Rob, Elaine, Nicki and new-boy in a similar way to what was done at the Mohegan. However a disappointment here was that Neal, whilst having a nice enough voice, really didn't have the power to do this song justice.

By the way, Objects had better be included again in the March shows ... I'll have Mrs Dave (my Julie) with me and I don't want her to miss out on hearing her name mentioned :-). And with any luck I might get a birthday surprise but hopefully not in the back seat of the taxi on the way back to the hotel ...

"Break It" gets better with each (non-Meat) hearing, proving that it is a song that can be sung without breaking it.

After that, a monologue which was a bit of a mish-mash of old lines and new anti-war lines. I'm not getting into the whole political argument on the board, but the mix didn't sit well with me. Same deal with "Braver Than We Are" which I'd much prefer back onto the original lyrics.

Next, Elaine introduced special guest Bonnie Tyler who came out and rocked the place with Total Eclipse. I thought her voice would just crack but she did a sterling job. I met her briefly afterwards and she was very happy to sign my CD of "Faster Than The Speed of Night" which I just happened to have with me (well, it wasn't a big surprise considering the clues!). I bought the CD just the day before, since I
didn't want to have to carry my vinyl copy to the show!! She was a bit distressed that her voice had only lasted 2 songs (or a bit less than that to be honest) when she can normally manage a 90 minute set. Must be down to the cold New York air!

Now, onto the part of the show that us Brits might call an "Own Goal" - "What Part of This Song Sucks The Most?" - the answer being Bova-esque crappo-synth programmed percussion, that's what. As soon as the song finished I turned to Daphne and asked her "What, has Bova just entered the building?!". Daphne pointed to her running notes which had pretty much the same comment. Unanimously hated in our group, this arrangement really needs to go.

OK, I'm fast-forwarding Body now (the unfortunate memory in my head that is, not a boot, oh deary no). So, next comes "Future". Excellent, this was my choice before for something to be added to the songs that OTT had covered already. Just missing the acopella ending, which was a shame, but otherwise great.

After that, all vocalists together singing new song "We're Still The Children" with Steve on piano. This one will need to grow on me I think.

Next was a short reprise of Future, followed by "Speaking in Tongues" which Rob sang to "our Daphne". I think Daphne has been walking above the ground since then (just as well considering the amount of snow and slush now in NYC). Compared to what we heard at the Mohegan, this was an, er, extended version with Jim managing to get yet another boner line into it :-). Daphne was thrilled to be singled out by Rob for the boner lines, and was still floating above the ground when she walked back to the hotel. Just as well really, considering that (ironically) the streets had been laid with several inches … of snow.

After that little excitement, Bonnie joined Rob on stage for "Loving You's A Dirty Job". I understand some people don't care so much for this song, but I think Todd and Bonnie had great vocals on this. Rob also did an excellent job and actually sounded uncannily like Todd at some points.

"Not Allowed To Love" was next. Excellent. After that Steve and Rob left the stage so the audience did an impromptu standing ovation with everyone turning towards Jim and clapping at him very loudly. Very touching.

Finally, Rob sang what he said was Jim's favourite (and is also mine) - For Crying Out Loud. Unfortunately the chilly New York Snow must have got to his head because about half-way through Rob lost track of where he was in the song and messed up a few lines. Or maybe his mind was elsewhere after pointing out to Daphne the rip in his faded Levis :-). Anyway, he did recover and finished off on top form.

Some other points ... first, what's with ending the show with just Rob and Steve on stage instead of everyone? And no almost no introductions either. Strange. Also, Elaine was relegated to background vocals with neither her nor Nicki singing the lead anytime. Hopefully this was down to a combination of Adrienne having the chance to sing the lead on several songs, Bonnie Tyler as the special guest, and a general lack of time. I really missed Elaine singing IACBTMN and Hero.