"Gibb
us more"
(By Marie-Louise Olson, Gulf
News, March 3, 2008)
Bee Gees legend Robin Gibb left fans begging for more.
In the wake of an awesome show by David Gray on Friday night, revellers at the Skywards Dubai International Jazz Festival were left doubting that it could be repeated on the final day of the festival. Certainly, the crowd had thinned out comparing to the almost 6,000 people, who attended the jazz festival the day before.
But the closing night on Saturday was far from disappointing. Indeed, it was nothing short of a night of nostalgia and emotions as the final acts, including Iraqi-born composer Furat Qaddouri, Dubai-based Assaad Lakkis, the Puppini Sisters, jazz great Courtney Pine and the legendary Robin Gibb, took the stage at Dubai Media City's amphitheatre
The air was unusually chilly as people curled up on the red beanbags that had been placed around the arena for fans to lounge on. The venue was cosy and inviting, the enticing smells from the food stands floated through the air and the atmosphere was very relaxed, if not slightly subdued in the early part of the evening.The amphitheatre started filling up as the anticipation to see Robin Gibb spread like wildfire. Beanbags were hauled from all corners and fluffed in just the right way so everyone could be comfortable and ready for the Bee Gees legend.
And then he appeared, breaking the silence with the famous song, Emotions. The singer was all smiles and, as the song ended, he yelled out to the crowd, “Thank you, Dubai!" The crowd screamed back and Gibb said: “I need that." He promptly went on to sing another famous Bee Gees song, How Deep Is Your Love, which he recently told tabloid! is also his favourite Bee Gees song.
Wearing a red shirt under a pinstriped black suit and his trademark blue-tinted glasses, Gibb was looking happy, but slightly weathered. Standing on stage without his brothers Barry and Maurice, the singer seemed lost by himself and his voice started off a bit shaky.
But it didn't take long for him to warm up, and with the help of his three lively backup singers and four-piece band, he was on fire as he belted out one hit song after another, including Massachusetts, Joke Was On Me, How Can You Mend A Broken Heart, Night Fever, More Than A Woman, You Should Be Dancing and Words. People of all ages, cultures and religions leaped from their comfy beanbags and started dancing as they heard all the old favourites.Gibb was wonderfully talkative and interacted with his fans, obviously taken by the warm reception and energetic response from the audience. “Is everybody OK? Not too chilly?" he asked. Later he told the screaming crowd: “Next time I'll bring Barry with me."
As the concert came to an end, there was still one song that the audience was begging to hear and Gibb didn't disappoint. Clutching the microphone with immense passion, he performed the disco hit song Staying Alive and people danced as though their lives depended on it. The singer returned to the stage for an encore with the song Tragedy.
After he left the stage the audience kept screaming for more and to everyone's surprise, Gibb and his band appeared back on stage for a second encore. “We tricked you," Gibb said with a huge grin. “We were just hiding. We're going to play Staying Alive one more time… something to go home on," he said as he once again grabbed the microphone and cemented the reason why he and his brothers became true legends and still are to this day.
