Teatro Cervantes, Málaga Spain

I must admit that I had very high expectations when I went to the concert at Teatro Cervantes in Málaga. I have never had the chance to see David Sylvian live and I have been a fan for at least eleven years. But I was also afraid that the show would be cancelled as they told me at the ticket office that they had not sold many tickets. But the day arrived and the show was on, though it was not sold out. The theatre was the perfect place for a David Sylvian concert. It created an intimate and warm atmosphere. When I arrived, most people were still outside because it was a rather warm night. I entered and saw the screen on the stage showing strange patterns in blue and green and heard the music from Ember Glance in the background. About quarter past nine the lights went out and there was an instant silence. And after a short intro (The Beekeeper´s Apprentice) the band entered the stage. Though the audience was small it was fairly enthusiastic during the concert but completely quiet during the songs. Steve Jansen, Matt Cooper, Timothy Young and Keith Lowe came in followed by David himself. He seemed both fragile and confident at the same time wearing a white suit and a yellow tie. During the first song David had a lot of eye contact with the audience, he looked around the theatre and smiled slightly. The rest of the concert he was more serious but there was an occasional smile at the audience and his brother behind the drumkit. A lot of the time he remained seated and in some of the songs he played the guitar. He did not talk much but mumbled "thank you very much" when the audience cheered and introduced the Secret of the Beehive songs and Zero Landmine. He also introduced the band and surprisingly Matt Cooper seemed to be the most popular member. I thought most of the applause would be saved for Steve. The band was very relaxed and extremely professional. Some of the songs were even better live than on record, especially since David´s voice never falters but stays rich throughout the whole performance. There was a very jazzy feeling to most of the songs and it suits his voice. There were four song I had never heard before: Zero Landmine, Linoleum, Rooms of Sixteen Shimmers and Bhajan. Very good songs, my only complaint being the lyrics of Zero Landmine which are very plain, though the message is beautiful. The most appreciated song seemed to be Forbidden Colours but personally I liked Waterfront best. It is a wonderful song and the arrangement was absolutely stunning. It was also great to hear two of the best Japan tunes: Ghosts and Nightporter. Another highlight was Blackwater where David´s singing was very soft and hypnotic. There were two encores: first Nightporter (a real jazz version) and then Bhajan. The audience wanted more but the band unfortunately did not appear a third time. They smiled politely after the last song and David bowed pressing his palms together.