Early on in his Tuesday night set at Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Andy Bell employed the classic stage banter tactic of pandering to the audience with the line, “I don’t know what it is, but every time we come to Toronto, the Blue Jays always win.”
I can’t say I blame him. Referencing local current events is a tried-and-true method for getting a crowd on your side, and Bell’s nod to the Jays’ recent success also served as the perfect lead-in to his next tune, “Blue Savannah.” Of course, a quick look at setlist.fm confirms that he’s played that song as the second number for every show so far on the tour, but not every city has a winning baseball team that also has the word ‘blue’ in their name, so it was a nice cosmic convergence. Or something like that.
Bell is currently on tour in support of his latest solo release Ten Crowns, recorded in Nashville with producer Dave Audé, who also serves as a member of Bell’s backing band for the live show. It’s a solid collection, and in concert, the new tracks blend in quite nicely with the more familiar Erasure hits.
And yes, they did play all the hits, with classics like “Always,” “Chains of Love” and set closer “A Little Respect” standing out as some of the highlights. Of the new stuff, “Heart’s a Liar” was the absolute standout. Bell was joined by bandmate Chelsea King for that tune, though on the album, it’s performed as a duet with Debbie Harry. Introducing the song, Bell spoke of how great it was to get the opportunity to sing alongside the legendary Blondie frontwoman, a longtime influence of his.
Blondie wasn’t the only ’70s era act referenced during Bell’s set, with one of the most memorable moments coming via Bell’s cover of the ELO/Olivia Newton-John hit “Xanadu.” It felt like a bit of a spiritual successor to Abba-esque, Erasure’s 1992 tribute to ABBA, though unlike the covers on that EP, which saw the duo putting their own spin on things, Bell’s take on”Xanadu” was a fairly faithful adaptation. But, as they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and “Xanadu” is pretty much perfect as is.
Check out the visualiser for Andy Bell’s version of “Xanadu” below.
