Ronan Keating: Live - Destination Wembley `02 (2002)

Former Boyzone member Ronan Keating is one of those performers who parents love their kids to listen to - and given his penetration of "adult contemporary" radio station playlists, that may well be because the parents want to put his CD on while the kids are at school. Keating, or Ronan to his fans, is the well-dressed, all-round nice guy that has clean lyrics, a young family of his own and sings music generic enough to engage audiences both younger and older. If all that sounds a little patronising, then it shouldn't, because in addition to being all of the above, Keating has put together a band of talented performers who know exactly what their jobs are, and has chosen a musical style that is eminently likeable - you can't help but tap along and smile.
This concert features Keating performing live at Wembley Arena, close to the start of his Destination Everywhere world tour, a tour that took in Australia during the middle of this year (2002). The concert is lively, with Keating and band hitting every mark with perfection, never leaving room for doubt or worry, and keeping the (mostly female) audience in raptures for the entire time. The progression flows easily from faster, more energetic songs to the slower ballads. The only real problem in this regard is that the concert finishes with two very slow songs, giving it a somewhat anti-climactic feel.
There does appear to be a problem with the presentation of the concert in terms of the lighting. When a concert is shot for video, it is not unusual to use considerably more lighting than otherwise would be the case. For this recording, it appears that the lighting technician must have had shares in a light-manufacturer, as the entire stadium is lit to resemble broad daylight. This is a concert - do we really need to see the audience at all times? The effect of this extreme brightness (and not in terms of the visual quality - see below for that) is quite disconcerting, and makes the whole feel of the concert "cheaper".
Overall, this is a fantastic concert, delivered by a performer who is one of the nice guys of the musical world. It is certainly a must-have for any die-hard fan, and the generous running time (the concert last just shy of an hour and a half, and does not include much in the way of dialogue) makes it a very worthy purchase for the casual fan.

Tracklist:
01. My One Thing That's Real
02. Blown Away
03. Lovin' Each Day
04. The Way You Make Me Feel
05. Someday We'll Know
06. Time For Love
07. Nothing At All
08. As Much As I Can Give You Girl
09. Come Be My Baby
10. You Need Me
11. We've Got Tonight
12. Love Won't Work
13. Joy & Pain
14. If Tomorrow Never Comes
15. Brown Eyed Girl
16. Love It When We Do
17. Rollercoaster
18. In The Ghetto
19. The Long Goodbye

Extra:
- 'Destination Everywhere' Documentary.
- Photo Gallery.
- Weblinks.


Features:
- Direct Scene Access
- Interactive Menu