Unplugged Duet: Brian May and Kerry Ellis Cast a Hypnotic Spell of Intimate, Perfect Music (2013)

Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik

Location: Grado / Diga Nazario Sauro / Italy
Concert date: 16.07.2013
Attendance: 2500
Ticket price: 50,00€

Guitar legend and respected astrophysicist Brian May, who rose to fame as a member of one of the greatest rock bands of all time, the unforgettable Queen, stopped by Grado (Gradež in Slovenian), where a local summer music festival was running these days, together with 34-year-old singer and actress Kerry Ellis on their joint tour called ‘The Born Free Tour’. Compared with the rather pompous previous tour, ‘Anthems: The Tour’, this year’s collaboration unfolds in a much more intimate, acoustic-leaning atmosphere, by candlelight, as May and Ellis present songs from the live album »Acoustic By Candlelight« (2013). At the same time, on the current tour, they try to use the Born Free Foundation to call attention to humanity’s grave crimes against nature, which undoubtedly include hunting wild animals and their sooner-or-later sad end in captivity. To that end, various animals, such as a lion and a badger, keep popping up in the stage projections.

Their tour so far, during which they play some beloved Queen classics along with well-known and lesser-known songs by other writers, has racked up plenty of positive reviews, so it was interesting to see up close how the legendary guitarist and occasional singer works alongside a considerably younger vocal partner, one who complements him very well on the singing side too. As for the third leg of the tour, which includes four duo shows in Italy, the most of any continental European country, it’s fair to say you’d hardly find a lovelier setting than the seaside resort of Grado, just over the border with our western neighbors. A real concert treat for all the music gourmets was in the cards.

After a seriously fun intro, during which a short, cheeky cartoon conveying the Born Free foundation’s core message was screened, maestro May strode onto the stage with an acoustic guitar in hand. In the very next second his younger colleague appeared too, and with her voice she instantly convinced anyone unfamiliar with her work so far why she has been collaborating so successfully with the famous guitarist for years. Ellis can’t reach the high notes the way one of her great vocal idols, Freddie Mercury, could, as she admitted herself, so the vocally more demanding Queen songs were off the table this evening. The beneficial sea aerosols, however, didn’t do much for the tuning of the strings on May’s acoustic guitar, which showed already in the first song of the night, »Born Free«, when the guitar veteran, who’s seen it all, shook his head within the opening seconds because his guitar didn’t sound the way it should. The sea moisture and salt right there certainly played their part, since the stage opened onto a wide view of the nearby sea.

Maybe it was precisely the quiet anger smoldering more and more in the guitar legend that made Ellis forget to sing the next verse of the lyrics. That forced them to stop playing and apologize to the audience for the clumsy start, which May topped off with some typical English sarcasm. From then on, starting with the song »Butterfly (Something That Glitter)«, the concert went according to plan and there were no more major problems, even though the acoustic guitar in question stayed a little less than ‘obedient’ for a while. Master May did have quite a rich collection of electric and acoustic guitars lined up at the side of the stage, though, so he swapped between models quite a few times. On keyboards, Jeff Leach faithfully accompanied May and Ellis, handling the symphonic arrangements that considerably enriched the mostly acoustic nature of the individual performances.

One of the nicest surprises was a successful take on the evergreen Kansas ballad »Dust in the Wind«, which Ellis sang with a very special fire. The crowd, quite predictably, got most fired up by the Queen classics such as the legendary love ballad »Somebody To Love«, while the performance of »No-One But You (Only the Good Die Young)«, a posthumous Queen song from 1997, was yet another surprise. With a cover of the Marvin Hamlisch song »The Way We Were«, May and Ellis carried on with deeply heartfelt interpretations of some beloved classics, including the evergreen Beatles songs »Tell Me What You See« and George Harrison’s songwriting masterpiece »Something«. Quite a stir, especially among the home crowd, was caused by the arrival of Irene Natalie Fornaciari, daughter of popular Italian entertainer Zucchero Fornaciari, as special guest vocalist on two songs. She fully justified her stage presence and switched smoothly between Italian and English while singing, but despite considerable vocal talent she was no match for Ellis.

A fairly pleasant surprise among the Queen classics was a successful version of »Life Is Real (Song For Lennon)«, an otherwise excellent ballad from the album »Hot Space« (1983). The legendary guitarist dedicated it to his late bandmate from the Queen days. The performance of the sci-fi ballad »39« came off especially well, with May once again proving himself the lead vocalist, while on »Love Of My Life« both main vocal stars of the evening shone. The crowd completely ‘lost it’ when May took his famous Red Special guitar in his hands, the one he built himself many years ago and with which he played a solo set. The hillbilly version of the Queen standard »Tie Your Mother Down« was a rather unusual but still fun experiment.

 The official part of the show wrapped up with the comical »The Kissing Me Song« and the rather clichéd but obligatory »We Will Rock You«, just as the vibe between the stage and the roughly 800 people in the audience hit its peak. For the encore, the grey-haired but still recognizably curly-haired, long-haired guitarist and his blonde vocal partner played one last Queen standard of the night, Freddie’s answer to Elvis and their most basic, rock’n’roll achievement, namely »Crazy Little Thing Called Love«, which is primarily meant to get the crowd going. Not exactly the finale most Queen fans were hoping for (the thing missed most was »We Are the Champions«, which should traditionally follow the inseparable »We Will Rock You«), but still a nice ending to a fantastic concert evening, over far too soon, in the company of a guitar legend and his talented vocal partner.

Hanging out with May and Ellis at a gig on the Grado seafront was one more lovely proof of how much more genuine and intimate a concert can feel on a small stage in front of a smaller crowd than at many a megalomaniac stadium show, where huge masses pour in partly so they can brag to their friends about which big name they just saw, while the music is usually somewhere in the background.

Setlist

1. Intro
2. Born Free
3. Butterfly (Somethings That Glitter)
4. Dust in the Wind
6. Somebody To Love
7. The Way We Were
8. Can’t Help Falling in Love
9. Something
10. No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)
11. Guitar Solo
12. Love of my life
13. Tie Your Mother Down
14. The Kissing Me Song
15. We Will Rock You
—dodatek—
16. Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Photo Gallery