A buzz of anticipation filled the sold-out P&J Live arena as the crowd anxiously awaited the arrival of Michael Ball and Alfie Boe.
Ball and Boe’s latest visit to the Granite City was part of their Together At Home tour, promoting the duo’s new studio album, released in November.
The one-night stop in Aberdeen was one of 12 UK dates.
And Aberdeen showed up in style for the pair, with a very well-dressed crowd filling every seat in P&J Live.
Ball and Boe at P&J Live: Vibrato, green lasers and Top of the Pops
The pre-show song choice set the mood for what was to come, with the theme of 1985 series Moonlighting playing through the speakers.
After an introduction listing their successful albums, the Top of the Pops theme tune followed.
The curtain fell dramatically, revealing the band, and the duo we’d all been waiting for.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the pair I saw wow as Javert and Valjean in Les Misérables back in October last year.
One of my first experiences with the musical was the 25th anniversary performance, where Boe of course played Jean Valjean, alongside Nick Jonas’ Marius back in 2010.
Since then, Boe has been synonymous with Valjean for me as he is, I’m sure, for many of us across the country.
It was strange then to see him take to the stage without the grave expression of an imprisoned man.
Instead, their performance roared to life with a cover of Solsbury Hill.
The harmonies from these two were effortless, and Boe ended with the vibrato he is so well-known for, to raucous applause.
Ball and Boe warmed up the crowd with golden oldie hits like Proud and Baker Street, the latter of which featured bright green lasers.
You might’ve thought you were visiting TECA on the wrong day and watching Sean Paul instead.
Alfie Boe: ‘How the hell do you spell my name?’
After a few opening numbers, Ball and Boe addressed the crowd.
Ball mentioned they’ve got six albums together, to which Boe replies: “I don’t know how we’ve got away with it.”
They’re a witty duo, with lots of comedic back and forth, which the crowd eagerly lapped up.
Ball picked out a woman from the crowd who he says has been “distracting” them by waving a picture frame back and forth.
The woman, who we learn is called Debbie, walked down the aisle to music from Boe and Ball – adorable.
Boe, however, was quick to point out an error on the picture frame.
“How the hell do you spell my name?” Boe demanded. The crowd went wild with laughter.
“To make the effort to know how to spell my bloody surname would be nice,” he added, laughing.
Ball quipped: “Oh, it’s your husband’s fault? You’ve got to trade him in.”
‘Alfie Boe, he’s very big down under’
The interaction with the crowd was well-timed, hilarious and cheeky, not what I had expected from two musical greats I’d seen go toe-to-toe in The Confrontation, an argumentative duet in Les Mis last year.
After the next song, Hero, Boe was still calling out poor Debbie.
He said: “That song was called Hero, H-E-R-O.”
More witty remarks came throughout the show. They teased an audience member nipping to the loo.
“Had enough? You off?”
“He needs a wee, we’ll wait for him.”
They genuinely pause for a moment, before cracking up and carrying on with the set.
And when they mention their upcoming trip to Australia, Ball proudly announced: “Alfie Boe, he’s very big down under.”
I’m sure you can imagine the response from the crowd of Ball and Boe fans: girlish giggles, shrieks, and shouts of “I bet he is!”
Boe and Ball are masters of musicals
As well as several golden oldies – including a pitch perfect rendition of Simon and Garfunkel’s tight-knit harmonies in Homeward Bound – Boe and Ball treated Aberdeen to some songs from musicals.
This included a duet of You’ll Be Back from Hamilton, originally sung by icon Jonathan Groff.
Ball nailed the pompousness and arrogance of King George III, while Boe showed off his famous falsetto.
And there were plenty of emotional crescendos in He Lives in You from The Lion King. Their duet of You’re the Voice felt like a call to arms.
Other highlights included Love Lifts Us Up Where We Belong and The Gambler, which got the crowd bopping and singing along, and the grit and energy of The Greatest Show.
Awe-inspiring taste of Les Mis
But they couldn’t have ended it any other way.
With Ball having played Marius in his younger years and Javert most recently, and Boe so well-known for playing Valjean, they of course had to give the audience a taste of that Les Misérables magic.
They gave us a heart-wrenching duet of Empty Chairs and Empty Tables, made all the more emotive with their harmonies.
Ball easily snapped back into his role as Javert, with a perfectly stoic and bitter rendition of Stars.
It felt like watching a completely different person when he sang this number, compared to his cheeky chappie persona during the rest of the show.
I count myself lucky that I have seen Alfie Boe perform Bring Him Home twice now. The performance was just as spellbinding as it was the first time.
It felt as though the whole crowd held their breath, fearful of making a sound and missing a single note of an awe-inspiring performance.
I spied a few not-so-dry eyes around me. I think it’s safe to say Boe will always be the ultimate Jean Valjean.
The pair got everyone up on their feet singing Rule the World by Take That – what a throwback.
They bid us all goodbye before coming back with not one, but two encore tunes.
Ball and Boe finished with a cheeky, energetic rendition of Viva Las Vegas.
There was dancing in the aisles, and women scrambling for t-shirts that the duo shot out of cannons.
People were still grinning and dancing as they left, Aberdeen truly dazzled by Michael Ball and Alfie Boe yet again.
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