Robbie Williams needs to be referred to as the king of leisure. “Life is hard; the world’s gone mad. We’d like a spot to return collectively to have a shared expertise,” he explains in the beginning of his second headline gig at London’s Emirates Stadium. The whole present, he continues, is his love letter to leisure. “So neglect about being cool and simply commit.”
For the following 100 minutes, Robbie does every little thing in his energy to provide the group the most effective night time of their lives. Early outings for the rowdy ‘Let Me Entertain You’ and the boisterous ‘Rock DJ’ set the tone, whereas a medley of stadium-sized hits from Foo Fighters, Blur, The White Stripes and Bon Jovi flip the venue into the most important rock disco round.
There’s no signal of Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi for brand new single ‘Rocket’, the one observe from upcoming album ‘Britpop’ that makes the set, however he’s joined by The Lottery Winners’ vocalist Thom Rylance and Lulu for a searing ‘Relight My Hearth’ and there’s some critical dad dancing when Wiley, Deadly Bizzle and Scorcho carry out their collaborative observe ‘Can’t Contact This’. Sure, Robbie raps as properly. There are additionally AI skits with previous and future variations of himself alongside jokes about his turbulent historical past and the dimensions of his penis.
The entire thing would really feel tacky if not for Williams’ charismatic mix of bravado and self-awareness. “You higher be good as a result of I’m phenomenal,” he smirks at one level. “Embrace your cringe,” he encourages just a little later. And for the primary half of the present, Emirates Stadium is handled to an over-the-top run-through of among the best pop songs ever written, with Robbie, the cartoonish all-singing, all-dancing ringmaster.
Later, although, he admits to the group that earlier than heading out on his first stadium run since 2017, he acquired extremely anxious and nonetheless doubts his relevance. He additionally reveals that his dad and mom now have Parkinson’s and dementia, which makes him fearful about his personal future. It results in an emotionally charged rendition of ‘My Approach’ that’s each defiant and gut-wrenching. The prickling, heartfelt vitality continues by means of the hovering ‘Really feel’ and tender karaoke basic ‘Angels’.
Earlier than Robbie takes to the stage, a video talks concerning the dying of conventional leisure as a result of rise of social media and synthetic intelligence. It’s not simply a straightforward set-up for a nostalgic run-through of the best hits, although, with the identical video speaking concerning the irreplaceable human component as singers, dancers, and musicians prowl the stage. They’re a constant presence all through the night time, giving tracks comparable to ‘Millennium’, ‘Children’ and ‘Sturdy’ a snarling vitality. Then there’s Robbie, the rebellious, determined showman who’s at his strongest when he’s susceptible about what these timeless classics now imply to him. It’s a daring transfer, contemplating numerous Britpop Summer season is being championed by bands hoping to relive their glory days, but it surely makes for a sensible, foolish present with numerous coronary heart. It’s been 34 years since Take That’s debut single, however there’s nonetheless nobody else who wears the crown fairly like Robbie Williams. All hail the king of leisure.
