REVIEW: 'Magical' Kenny Rogers in Belfast
COUNTRY superstar Kenny Rogers strutted the Odyssey Arena stage for just 70 minutes, but the 9,000-plus of his fans were treated to a magical performance.
The 70-year-old bearded Texan may not be as sprightly as in his halcyon years - at times he shuffled across the stage showing signs of back problems, but the sweetly raspy vocals instantly identifiable as Kenny Rogers are still as resonant as they always were.
Kenny, backed by a superb eight-piece band with a highly accomplished female fiddle player, made it clear from the outset that he would sing all of his classic hits and his downhome, one-liner patter went down well with the Belfast audience.
The show was supported by Savannah Jack, a slick three-piece modern country group from Nashville.
The most sustained applause of the night came after Kenny's rendition of The Gambler and this was complemented by big screen re-runs of the classic western movie of the same name, starring Mr Rogers himself.
In the singalong with the music icon, the massed fans sang: "On a warm summer's evenin', on a train bound for nowhere, I met up with the gambler; we were both too tired to sleep. So we took turns a starin' out the window at the darkness, 'til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak . . ."
This was vintage Kenny, who also delighted the fans with Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town, Lucille, Rueben James, She Believes in Me, and Coward of the County - on each take the audience were delivering vocal support with gusto, at times even moving ahead of the singer.
Noting the lyrical content of his most popular songs, Kenny quipped: "Sometimes I feel my career has concentrated on singing songs about dysfunctional families".
Kenny spoke of the joy of having two identical baby sons, now aged four-and-a-half, and the big screen footage showed the family man in his most personal and private capacity.
Islands in the Stream, a number which Kenny duetted with Dolly Parton, was slotted in at the finale of the show and, while there was no call-back at the end, the fans left the Odyssey well satisfied with a performance from an ageing, but still incredibly talented and warm entertainer.
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Weather for Belfast
Wednesday 15 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 5 C to 10 C
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Wind direction: North west
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Light rain
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