Bryan Chow, bryan@loudcloud.com
Strolling onstage in an outlandishly ornate red vest and dark auit, Bryan Ferry tossed glitter from his pocket and sang "I Put a Spell on You" with an unexpected magnetic charm. His buoyant attitude - and his boyishly goofy thank-yous - defied the arrogance of his day in Roxy Music. Yet, Ferry attracted his vintage '70s material - glam-rock anthemes like "Virginia Plain" and "Do The Strand" - with shattering ferocity. Vigorously disproving his reputation as a complacent dandy, Ferry pursued edgy interpretations of his solo and Roxy works.
The stage set did resemble Rudolph Valentino's dressing room - complete with a smoking caldron of frankincense. Ferry treated his audience like an attractive woman. He flirted with the bedroom-eyed "Your Painted Smile", seduced with the moody "Windswept" and scored with a vociferous "Can't Let Go", climaxing with an Elvis-like lurch of his pelvis.
Ferry's voice, an impassioned wail that shudders with false bravado, provided a volatile companion to the terrble sadness of his lyrics. The marriage of the two in live performance created a messy, exhilarating spontaneity. Languid but pretty songs from Ferry's recent "Mamouna" LP were invigorated by the nine member band's gritty arrangements. As Ferry tumpled through his repertoire, from the savage hush of "In Every Dream Home a Heartache" to the staccato of declaration of "Love Is The Drug", his shout grew increasingly bolder and his smile broader.
The nearly two-hour set was loosely structured around a depressing boy-meets-girl relationship saga, including spats of jealousy and a bitter breakup. So it seemed coyly appropriate that Ferry reconciled the evening with an encore of "Let's Stick Together". With that simple request for unity, he threw back his shoulders, looked skyward and sang with the sweaty, straight forward passion that befits only the most ecstatic rock&roll.
Bryan Chow, bryan@loudcloud.com