Thought you might like a couple more courtesy of Ros


Pretty gorgeous I would say! Thanks Ros

Wowzers! Stunning! Thanks Ros & Cassie!

Stunning indeed!

Thanks Cassie and Ros!

THUD!!

Speechless again LOL.

Thank you ladies.

I am going again tomorrow night so I will put my thoughts here and compare to my last trip.

WOW! I agree, stunning photos.
Thank you ladies.

Thanks for the pics ladies - very nice!

I'm just back from my weekend in London - saw WEM on Saturday night and on Monday night. Loved the show but I can understand some of the comments on this thread when comparing the West End WEM to last year's concerts. I'll try to say a bit more when I'm less tired!

Most importantly, as Lee has indicated in his latest tweets: "Thanks to everyone for the get well tweets this past week. Good to have the voice almost fully back along with the notes! :) x", he is getting back to full vocal strength! On Monday night, he sang CED as well as Fix You and his solo bits in One Day More had been reinstated. He sounded great - maybe one or two slightly husky moments, and perhaps not singing with quite as much power as we know he can, but he's getting there! The duet with Kerry was still missing - perhaps it will be re-instated into the set-list later this week. I'm sure Lee doesn't want to push too hard until he's sure his voice can cope.

Holy Moley, those pics are just squeeeeeeeeeeee! Just so so stunning. THAT stare in THAT Tshirt and THAT jacket. *yelp*

Cassie,
Can I put some of your photos up on the main website please? Especially this stunner above?!!!!

Of course Kirsten. Just bear in mind that the final 2 (The really gorgeous ones) aren't mine. Ros took them and she doesn't post. I will email her and get back to you.

Im back.

Oh wow. What a difference tonight in so many ways. Cant type easily on this phone, will review tomorrow.

This was the first thing I saw when I wokenup this morning. Wowee!

Where do I start!

First difference: I was sat in the centre of row F last night, on press night I was sat in row A or B in seat 4 at the side. The difference in view made so much difference to my experience! Quite a lot was obscured from my view last time which I really hadn't realised.

Second difference: It wasn't press night, I felt more relaxed.

Third difference: I knew what was coming in terms of the changed style.

Forth difference: Stephen was back. Now I'm not putting Glenn down, he did a very good job and his Gethsemane was amazing but Stephen definitely brings something different to the show. He is very relaxed and at ease with the guys on stage and the audience. He looked at the first two rows quite a bit at one point, there was quite a bit of interaction. Lee is also clearly relaxed with him.

Fifth difference: LEE WAS BETTER!!!

OMG his voice is back to how it was before, if there is any laryngitis left, it didn't show apart from the odd cough away from the mic. And with the departure of his illness follows an immense improvment in his whole performance. He was funny, animated and certainly acting in certain parts and very clearly enjoying himself, especially in Act II.

My favourite cheeky bit of the show is where the 'lady' (last night we were treated to Ashleigh Grey who I love), sings At Last and chooses her guy. I just love the way he stands with his back against the side wall of the stage! I just reminds me so much of his Joseph days.
All the songs were very good last night. I will never tire of Stephen's Journey Home, I think that's even better than before. David's Till I hear you sing was so strong and loud it nearly blew me out of my seat!
I don't remember Matt doing his hip dance thing last night, I think its been toned down a bit.
Lee sang Fix You, almost as beautifully as I've ever heard it (Bournemouth takes some beating) and Close Every Door. He had some stage smoke slowly rising from the floor behind him which created a lovely image of him under the red lights (I think they were red).

We still didn't get the Wicked duet, I'm starting to wonder if they have cut it out. The choir was amazing and the final numbers stick in your head for ages. It was very impressive last night. I still don't warm to the set and I feel the lighting is still very dim in some places but it felt really good to be there last night!

Just remembered. I don't know for sure because it was hard to see but there is a sax section at the beginning of there second half where David sings a solo (I can't see the song in the program). Lee sits on the stool next to the piano with his back slightly sideways and his face away from the audience as he's watching David. Its a song about special people in your lives and at the end, I'm sure Lee wiped away a tear and I thought his eye looked a bit red. He recovered quickly but it was quite lovely to see his emotion. As I said, I can't be sure but that's how it looked.

Thanks for that Jazzy. I love reading all these little details. So good to know Lee is back on song.

Great review, Jazzy!

It has been great to read all the WEM Reviews and to keep up to date with Lee's throat improvement. I went to the matinee on June 1st with VickiS. Lee sang CED beautifully, sent shivers down my spine, but you could see that he was struggling with some of the other numbers. It is such a shame that he was not properly fit for the press review night. The reviewers didn't seem to give him the credit he deserved for turning up to do his best and not disappoint his fans.
It was lovely to be among other LMAS supporters once again. Hullo to anyone who was there the same time as us.
All I have to say now is roll on Bedworth!
Thanks again to all those who post and keep this site alive. Ingrid.x

Hear, hear!! Thanks to you all - a great review, Jazzylou - so pleased to hear that lee is back to his old self!

Thanks for the review Jazzy. Very pleased to know that Lee is so much better.
It was nice to meet you on the 1st, Ingrid.

Thanks for all the reviews; I am going to the show again with a friend (not a particular Lee fan!) on Wed.19th,so am really excited now. Let's hope, as you say, that the laryngitis has gone for good. I will post when I get back!

Good to know who you are Lynne. Hope your journey back home went without any hitches. Ingrid.x

Lovely photo posted by @AnjaliMehra (Stephen's wife)
taken with Lee and Stephen, she was at the concert last night.

Can someone do a link please.

Another nice photo of Lee at stage door last night posted
by @Lawsonjuliaa albeit a bit blurred.

Maggie,

Here's the photo of Lee with Stephen and his wife:

http://instagram.com/p/ahK11QuaXG/#

I like the caption: "Planning very exciting stuff!"

Future UK and overseas tours for WEM perhaps?

Cassie, any confirmation from Ros yet?
Eager to put that lovely photo up!!

Kx

Lovely photo of Lee with all the group on stage tweeted by
@Gemmies_ who was at the concert this afternoon. (naughty but nice)

Jazzy, I am so pleased that Lee was back fighting fit. I went to the evening show on June 1st for my first WEM experience and it was the first time I've seen Lee live since the Symphony Hall in Feb of last year. He was so not himself that I couldn't write a review- I was almost as speechless as poor Lee himself! On the plus side it has confirmed that I don't merely lust after his clenchy jaw, killer eyes, knuckles etc etc as it sometimes seems - it is THE VOICE that seals the deal.

Another lovely photo of Lee posted by @cockneyvik after the
show tonight, looks like they are having an after show meal.
The lady is a friend of Lee and Denise. Hope someone can
do a link to this and the photo I posted about earlier as
they are both lovely photos.

Maggiemay,

I think these are the photos you meant:

http://twitpic.com/cxd82b

and

https://twitter.com/cockneyvik/status/346036308277338113/photo/1

Very nice!

Thanks Greycat they are nice aren't they, I especially like
the second one.

Hopefully Kirsten will put them up in Latest News if that
is possible.

With risk of sounding greedy but knowing you all like updates, I admit that I sneaked in another trip for the matinee yesterday afternoon. I managed to get a seat in the second row, right in the middle. It was the best view I think I will ever have in this run. The feeling of intimacy you pull from this close is amazing. There is no orchestra pit so the guys are so close when they stand at the front!

You see every detail. Lee had one cuff button undone on his suit and the view of his smooth skin from there is quite an experience!

I enjoyed it even more than before. Stephen really does bring something extra to the show and with his interaction with the front rows and Lee's amazing singing, the two of them pull the show together.

Lee's first suit was black yesterday, with a fine pin stripe. (Or it may have been dark grey, the lights change the colours). Stephen's suit is a very dark plum colour.

It was Kerry's last day and she was obviously feeling a bit sad that it was ending, they had a little extra hug before she turns round and leaves the set for the guys to sing the last line of the song.

In the section after the West Side Story Medley, David called Lee 'The Nations sweetheart'. Awww
And after CED Lee joked about leaving his loincloth at home. Somebody immediately shouted, 'shame', which Lee ignored but the band thought is was funny!!

Excuse my mug!! I took it myself with a very shaky hand. The other was enjoying Lee's back


Photo credit: Jazzylou

If anyone know how I can remove the photobomber from between us I'd love to hear from you!

He had a lovely shirt on with a collar with a black strip detail at the back.

There was a sizeable crowd at the stage door!

Sorry for disjointed posts!

Bhoemian Raphsody, Lee did a massive jump off the piano stand. And Stephen was straddled between the two blocks from the middle and the side forming an arch under his legs! They were definitely hamming it up yesterday!

Thanks Jazzy...Lovely pics and show updates.

and

a very nice shirt Mr Mead too...

Lovely to catch up with this thread - great SD photos too!

Thanks Jazzy for lovely review and photos, really appreciated.

There is another lovely photo of Lee from last night posted
by @abs2222 who is on the Lovelees forum. Sorry I cannot do
links to the photos I find but again if someone can do a link
it is another brilliant photo.

Thanks for the observations Jazzy. It really does sound as if Lee is back on form. No jumping around when I went last weekend:-( Love the photos but I see what you mean about the background in the last one!!

Cassie they will be swinging from the lights by next weekend
I need to email you and I keep forgetting!

Those are stunning photos Cassie and Jazzy, thank you - and I do so love his back, so expressive somehow

I was there on the 8th June, and felt really worried for him as he was obviously not well, not as bouncy as usual and having to cough and take frequent drinks of water. Having said that, everything he sang sounded perfect to me. I have to say that I thought the wings on the left hand side of the stage needs a curtain or something to hide what I assume are bits of props, and chairs, which does rather spoil the overall impression.

We decided to stay for the Unsung concert on the 9th even though Lee had said at the stage door that he would need to rest his throat so wouldn't be singing his "two big solos". It was a really fun night. As has been said Brian sang Lees songs, and he joked at one point that "Lee wasn't really suffering from laryngitis but had been arrested for throwing eggs" We assumed this may have been a tongue in cheek reference to the eggs thrown at Simon Cowell at BGT the previous evening.

Those who know us will recall that we have had many "experiences" while staying at hotels on our Lee travels and this was no exception. The fire alarm went off at 12.30 just as we had nodded off... and it kept ringing, so obviously not just a practice. So we made our way outside, luckily we were on the 2nd floor not the 13th. The hotel next door was also affected so there must have been a few hundred of us in various and interesting states of dress and undress following hotel staff with flags to an obscure little park somewhere in Southwark. A fire engine arrived, and after an hour in the freezing cold, we were allowed back inside. What we go through for our man!!

Really looking forward to WEM next weekend with Lee back to his normal and sublime self.

Hi Ruthie - I had a look at the left side of the stage last time I was there. I wonder if the bits and bobs aren't a deliberate part of the set, to be honest. It's all arranged behind the canvas (?) which they keep banging on in the 2nd set. Slightly bizarre set, IMO. Not that it matters as our eyes will, no doubt, be on something (or someone) else most of the time.

I quite liked the 'nakedness' of the set. To me all the odd props strewn about kind of represented what the show was about- not one particular musical or genre but a medley of odds and ends. A mish mash of times past. A little bit of this , a little bit of that- some old classics, some nice comfy songs, some that needed the dust blown off them , some a little obscure, a few more modern contributions,some that had been renovated ...and each one represented by the bits and bobs that could be seen lying around in the wings. Almost as if they were relics from shows past, or shows that had been deconstructed and left in storage, and each one holding the memory of a song. And the 'ghosts' of those shows (the West End Men and Kerry) had returned to the stage and jammed together, appearing from behind those back flaps as though they themselves were part of the scenery.

No? Did I read into those discarded bits and pieces too deeply???

LOL I sound like a nutter!!!

Sounds as good a theory as any Toni!

I sat in the second row of the dress circle last weekend for my first WEM show and then in row B of the stalls on Monday night. I had quite a different reaction to the set from each location! From the dress circle which gives a good overall view of the stage, the set looked great. I thought it was supposed to give an impression of 'backstage' during rehearsals - to lend an informal, 'cool' air to the proceedings.

From the front stalls, however, the set just looked a bit messy. The two men sitting behind me obviously didn't realise that it was actually a carefully designed set. They were discussing how the stage was in a bit of a mess because the theatre were already getting ready to set up for their next production, The Ladykillers.

It'll be interesting to see if they revert to the old set from last year's concerts for future tours. It was a lot simpler and, in some ways, more effective.

Oh, bless you Toni. That makes perfect sense as well as being quite poetic. Still doesn't quite work for me, I'm afraid, even though it makes a little bit of sense now. I'd prefer less clutter and a bit more space. And slightly more light on the proceedings, not to make it uncomfortably bright though. However, the gloom fits in with your ghost idea.

Just afew things to add to the latest reviews. Decided to try for a "cheapie" yesterday and managed a row AZ for £19. !

Waited on my own at the stage door as I had been told Lee arrives about 1,ish
Sure enough he was walking towards me Loved the show , One thing I remember when he first put inan appearance someone let out a wolf whistle which brought a smile to his face.He sang CED with his usual skill but "Fix You" which he sang sitting on a stool really close was perfect it actually nearly made me cry he sang it with such emotion.
He did not sing the duet with Kerry Ellis I think maybe this has been taken out as it really dose not somehow sound right sung as just a song without the "Wicked" show. HE seemed to enjoy being with Stephen again , and was much more relaxed than the last time I saw the show.
It ended much to quickly in spite of the audience being on their feet and shouting for an oncore.
Sorry I only have last night to go now as funds wont streach for another visit. But have enjoyed it very much

Toni you don't sound like a nutter. It was interesting to read and I think that is probably what the person who created the set was trying to get across but as you said, the people you heard thought it was in between shows, that doesn't sound good. The wood blocks have got what looks like spilt paint lines running down the sides and the closest step has a reflective side which makes it look like the step isn't really there and the actors are about to fall off! I just don't think the set reflects the luxurious brand that West End Men is trying to create. I hope they go back to the old one, I liked the bright steps and light blocks.

I've never 'got' the stage design either, but I like your theory Toni, kind of makes sense. When I saw the show on Opening Night from the front Stalls I just thought someone had forgotten to put up the curtain to cover up all the clutter they store backstage at theatres, but having seen it a couple of times since from a similar position, it's still there, so assume its meant to be. I too preferred the shiny steps and light blocks.

I agree Toni. The set is designed to look like the backstage clutter of a theatre or a rediscovered theatre but I am not sure it works totally. When the men come on later in the show done up to the nines, the contrast is particularly acute. I think the old set with a few tweaks would have been more appropriate. It added a bit more class to the proceedings. But hey...how much time do I spend looking at the set!!!!!!!!

Just to clarify, I didn't mean that the Men and Kerry themselves were ghosts, more that they were resurrecting the 'ghosts of the songs'.


Another thoery could be of course that they don't actually need a set. The whole point of the show is the songs, which stand completely on their own and therefore do not need a backdrop, or props of wings or anything else. Even within all the clutter and junk of a makeshift stage they can perform magic and transform the space into a worthy West End performmance. Just the men, the music and the emotion. They provide all the decoration the show needs.