Art On Ice Sheffield 17.02.08 - By Christine G
Ronan was sensational and spellbinding at Sheffield in Art on Ice. He kicked off his set with the quirky and cute "Lovin each Day" which sounded electrifying and full of bounce and fun. Ronan looked casual and ice cool wearing a pale grey linen suit with a sharp white shirt and his hair stylishly coiffured in the new longer bohemian style (oh so arty). Ronan sang eight songs, seven of which were classic Ronan singles, plus the now familiar cover of "Brown eyed Girl".
He appeared happy and relaxed bantering with the audience in between songs in his loveable Irish style. It did appear that there were not a great deal of Ronan fans in the audience, most it seemed coming to see the skating, however, the Ronan fans that were there, including myself, gave him a really rousing reception to make him feel really special. One fan shouted out "Ronan I love you" to which he gallantly replied "I love you too" (oh so sweet). Ronan gleefully announced "I will be coming back here on the 19 June with Boyzone" and I am sure a great deal of us will be sharing the experience with him (oh lovely).
Ronan's set was sprinkled with his loveable and cuddly ballads and his high energy anthems such as "Rollercoaster", "Lovin each Day", and the cheeky "I love it when we do". These songs displaying his diversity and impressive vocal range. After the high energy entrance with "Lovin each Day" a mellow mood was created in the arena by Ronan's performances of 4 classic Ronan ballads; the simply irresistible "When you say nothing at all", the poignant "Father and Son", the oh so dreamy "We've got tonight" and the haunting "If tomorrow never comes". The blissfully romantic "When you say nothing at all" was delicious as always; Ronan here displaying his vocal expertise by holding the final note of the song for eternity, well done Ro. "We've got tonight" showed the ease with which Ronan and Janet Ramus’ vocals gelled together beautifully. Ronan's vocals on "Father and Son" were intense yet soft and tugged at the heart strings and sounded beautifully resonant whilst the lovely "If tomorrow never comes" was a real tear jerker.
The final song of Ronan's set came all too quickly and was the rousing Van Morrison track "Brown eyed Girl", a song which is fast becoming iconic in its own right as a Ronan cover.
The performances of the skaters and Icelandic opera singer Cortes were enjoyable and professional, but for me the one who really stole the show was Ronan.
Roll on the Boyzone summer concerts when we will all see the return of the beautiful and vocally stunning Mr K.
- Go here for photos from the event.
