Robbie Williams — King of Entertainment Casts a Spell on the Pula Arena with a World-Class Spectacle! (2023)
Robbie Williams (support act: Lufthaus)
Thursday, June 27, 2023
Pula / Arena Pula / Croatia
At the end of June this year, Robbie Williams headed out on the summer leg of his tour celebrating his first 25 years in the business. For that milestone, the man had already released a special compilation of reworked hits back in September last year, called “XXV” — re-recorded versions of his classics, complete with additional orchestrations. Ten years after packing out the Maksimir stadium to the rafters, Robbie managed to sell out two back-to-back nights at the Pula Arena — 20,000 people in total (10,000 a night), though a few extra thousand probably snuck in on top of that.
Rockline caught the first of the two shows. And there was plenty to see and hear. Over two hours and twenty minutes, the legendary British pop-rock star confirmed that he is one of the most compelling live entertainers around. His charisma is something else entirely, and his sparkling, vivacious, mischievous personality was a perfect match for his exceptional mood that evening in Pula.
The opening slot went to the trio Lufthaus — co-founded by Williams himself alongside his mates Tim Metcalfe and Flynn Francis. Inspired by acid music and the techno sampling of the nineties, and the spirit of Berlin. Onstage for the occasion were Metcalfe and Francis, representing the trio’s sound. The pounding electronic beat backed by visuals can pull you into a kind of trance. But tonight the reason for being there was something else entirely, so twisting knobs and busting moves to this kind of music didn’t exactly set the crowd alight.
At half past nine, things got real. The venue went completely dark. At first only the silhouettes of the performers were visible against a blue backdrop — Williams, naturally, at the center. A launch into the opening hit Let Me Entertain You and the Arena erupted to life. A full eighteen-strong crew onstage, Williams included: six dancers, three backing vocalists, a brass section in trio format, and of course two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, and on keys — the legendary Guy Chambers, who is among other things responsible for the production and arrangements on “XXV”.
A ten-metre catwalk extended from the stage into the crowd, and Robbie — surrounded by the dancers — made full use of it all night long. His voice served him brilliantly, no question about it. But before we dig into the music itself, it’s worth pointing out that the real hallmark of his show is the ritual of intense crowd interaction. Not just while the band is playing, but during the breaks too — which Robbie exploits with devilish skill for some very direct addresses to the audience. That evening he basically told you everything about himself. He hinted more than once at how much this loyal crowd — who follow and support him (here in Pula too) — means to him. Right after his family. But he really had them when he let his vivid sense of dark humor off the leash — paired with the no-less-vivid facial expressions of this charismatic performer, it won the crowd over even more intensely. These back-and-forths between Robbie and the audience — in which the star effortlessly transforms into a stand-up comedian — take up a good twenty minutes or more of the whole evening. And they’re an essential part of his live spectacles, because the result in terms of sheer drama and theatricality becomes almost indescribable.
The sound was brilliant. The execution flawless. The Arena once again proved a perfect choice when it comes to acoustics and its refined sonic character. Giant screens at the back, with two monitors left and right that brought Williams right up close even for those watching from further away. The songs on the projection screens were also accompanied by a biographical journey through 25 years of career highlights. The 49-year-old didn’t forget to express his gratitude to his springboard Take That — saying he’d be ready to step back in any time the group fancies a reunion. He delivered the Take That classic The Flood, and he didn’t forget his Britpop mates either, as he and the band tackled the Oasis classic Don’t Look Back In Anger.
During Candy he scattered a round of T-shirts into the crowd, and toward the end of the song the sky erupted in a riot of colorful streamers raining down onto the floor of the Pula Arena. In the second half of the show the star even managed to conjure actual rain, but fortunately it stopped at a few fat drops that nobody really cared about. Least of all Robbie, who kept tearing up the catwalk without a care.
The crowd adored every second of it. Come Undone, Strong, Feel, Love My Life… Not to mention Angels, which closed the obligatory encore. It’s something else — 10,000 people singing the verses back at you in unison in the middle of a Roman amphitheatre, with another night just like it still ahead of you. What must have been going through Williams’s head on the first of two evenings in Istria? One thing is certain: he will never forget the Pula Arena for the rest of his days. During the ‘Broadway-style’ Kids there was no Kylie Minogue onstage, but two of his backing singers stepped in to join him for the duet.
How to wrap it all up? That evening Robbie Williams confirmed that the days and years when he was known as a rowdy troublemaker and baby-faced tearaway — complete with those unforgettable moments of eccentric exhibitionism — are behind him; that he has weathered the storms and the dark demons that hounded him for years, and that in 2023 he delivers performances that radiate extraordinary maturity, ease, and contentment. Or more precisely: inner fulfillment. It’s wonderful to see a singer-songwriter in the kind of form that radiates that sort of power. Vocally, energetically, and despite all the glitz his spectacular shows bring, he shows real accessibility, a common touch, and in his lengthy confessions, even humility. Robbie found it genuinely hard to say goodbye that evening. For the finale he brought the crowd together one more time and sang an a cappella medley of hits with them. Concert tours remain a massive success story for Williams in 2023 too, and his popularity shows no sign of fading. When you’re staring down fifty, what more could a man ask for?
Author: Edita Klemen & Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Setlist:
1. Hey Wow Yeah Yeah
2. Let Me Entertain You
3. Land of 1000 Dances (orig. Chris Kenner)
4. Monsoon
5. Strong
6. Come Undone
7. Could It Be Magic (orig. Barry Manilow)
8. Don’t Look Back in Anger (orig. Oasis)
9. The Flood (orig. Take That)
10. Love My Life
11. Candy
12. Feel
13. Kids
14. Rock DJ
—encore—
15. No Regrets
16. She’s the One (orig. World Party)
17. Angels
18. Let Me Entertain You / Strong / Come Undone / Feel / Angels / Candy (‘a capella’ medley)
