Brussels, 11 September 2012 - by Marie Larmour

Twitterlight in the Vorst Nationaal Brussels 2012

Its 11^th of September..."Were in Brussels! #Symphonica"  Tweeted the Dutch Twitter Team and proved it with a pic of 'Symphonica' above the stadium's doors. Good Morning to you too ladies! Nice for some! I was sooo tempted to tweet back...I'm in an Irish traffic jam and post a pic of the big ass tractor stuck in front of me!!!! However my Massoooive state of the art tractor & Tractor Tom, who was busy defying our small town traffic, paled into insignificance with the next few tweets and pics. "When u spot the Redburns you know a show is on its way!  #Symphonica". That is some fleet of articulated trucks! They looked magnificent and immaculate!!! Now those babies I wouldn't mind getting stuck behind!!! The Optimus Prime gang & his red and white cousins Soundwave (Communication hacker) & Lead Foot (the wrecker), how apt, had arrived along with all the other little Throttlebots! Our Hot Rod otherwise known as Rodimus (AKA George Michael) wouldn't be long after them! They would magically transform their 150 tons of metal and high tech wizardry into the hypnotic combination of visual and auditory excellence that is George Michaels Symphonica! If you have another minute to spare, ('cos I know these Twitterlites only take a minute to read!!...a time warp minute!) But if u can, do take a look at @GeorgeMichaelNL’s SHORT article on the George Michael Fleet on their snazzy new Symphonica Tour pages! The driver in the Stadthalle Vienna is something else!! Calm down...I'm referring to his reversing skills!!! Oh behave yourselves and go see what I mean: Symphonica Tour Blog.

Then the barrage of tweets really started; - "weather forecast in Belgium forcasts.....", "Hospitality very British today!......", "THE DAY BELGUIM HAS BEEN WAITING FOR IS FINALLY HERE!!! WELCOME DEAREST GEORGE xxx", "@GeorgeMichael I’m sooooooooooooooooooooo excited!!!!" "#standingovation for George Michael #SymphonicaBrussels, for his commitment, his talent, and his big heart.  I count on you Belgium Lovelies". "Rehearsals in the car this morning #SymphonicaBrussels xxx".  The accompanying picture showed a photo of A George Michael CD in the car stereo!....practicing the world wide, fanatic's tradition of the pre-concert warm-up.....singing George Michael songs at the top of your voice, as all us happy chappies in their nappies do enroute to his concert!!! Talking of happy chappies @themarkmclean tweeted "In Brussels. Here we go!" His accompanying pic was that of a Belgian sweet waffle. Aaaw Mark how nice of you to think of me!!! A sweet waffle(er) served up with decadent cream and a side order of sauce, just like the picture, it's me in a NUTshell. (Me’s all embrasso’d and blushing now, not forgetting delusional!! Ssshh please don’t burst my wee bubble with a side order of reality instead!).

Bev from @GeorgeMOfficial tweeted, "OK time to head to the bus. See you all soon, Bruxelles! #Symphonica - Bev". George Michael tweeted, "Hey Brussels, are you ready...? You were a great audience last time round :)". What do you think folks??? Where they ready?? A little while later Bev tweeted, "Time to resurrect the Soundcheck Contest and win 1 year of AECCESS membership"!!! Oh Goody, time to get AAALLL excited again!!! And then time to get all depressed again cos I didn't win AGAIN did I???? Even though I was right AGAIN!!! Honestly Bev, you really are getting as big a tease as His Nibs!!! "The walls backstage at the Forest National are covered in graffiti", tweeted Bev and posted a pic of very colourful signatures and drawings of past artists who performed there, covering the walls. This large, wide stadium is now small by modern standards with a capacity of 8,000. It opened in 1970 but has been host to many of 'the biggies', including: the Rolling Stones, U2, Queen, Kylie Minogue, Gloria Estefan and interestingly enough for Our George, the late great Ella Fitzgerald.

"Say cheese Brussels I'll be out in a few minutes to take pics for the Face Book Fanclub. #Symphonica - Bev." Our camera shy Bev got snapped herself whilst out and about with one of the Lovelies and the pic was duely posted! Your longer hair style does look nice, lovely photo honey, you suit silver. Oh where's my manners, you wash up well too @GMLovelie67xxx and thanks for all your posts and pics, very much appreciated honey. "Henry Hey is on stage now and also Phil Palmer #Symphonica", "The orchestra is in as well!" Those last tweets told us that The Dutch Twitter Team are in the House!!...and some were even playing PEEK A BOO with His Nibs on stage!!! Don't worry I shall divulge later on when we're sure there's no security about! "And we're off! Through!" "And we're off with a VERY enthusiastic crowd in Brussels. They're itching to stand up during the first song Through! #Symphonica - Bev. I'm Itching to say...BRUSSEL SPROUTS!! But I won't! "Whole of front row up and dancing during My Baby Just Cares For Me"...that's where @Dutchieemy's at! :) "...and next is Father Figure". "From the sound of Brussels audience, all they ever wanted was to hear Father Figure ;) #Symphonica - Bev." "Tweets are coming in a little slower to you tonight because we have no signal" NOT AGAIN...I swear Safe Phone Text was never so popular!! Be careful you don't get cut off mid tweet!!! What's the difference between a tweet & a tweetext? "about 20 charac....!!"

"Cowboys & Angels", "On the Sax, Pavel Dvorak!" "George is wearing a purple suit, black shirt and his necklace". (Silver cross and chain ladies or Sisyphus could well start a hissy f...) Oops Yur tweet was over 140 characters long, it finished at hissy f...Phew that was a close one, I nearly got caught defaming His Nibs!. "George's jacket has flowered lining and has sort of boots under his suit". What do these Twitter Troops be doing at the concerts??? Ladies!! Some decorum please...Its bad enough the @GMSingers are checking out if his underwear every night, without you lot going through his chest of drawers as well!!! While we're being nosey.....And @Dutch_ada2's doing her party piece, keeping security busy, sweet talking them, I'll divulge all, concerning the PEEK ABOO games earlier. @GeorgeMichaelNL spilled the beans for us..."Nice detail...when the curtain was still closed Emy and Soof could look under it and saw George coming on stage for Through...so they waved at him, underneath the curtain...and he waved back! George is cool! :)". AAAHH bless, even before he starts singing his heart out for two and a half hours to 8,000 mad Belgians, he has the time and patience to play with his excited, LUCKY--- FRONT --- ROW--- FANS!!!! Going Green and Hulking here ladies!!! There's another good blouse ripped and ruined, sigh!!!

The rest of the first half seemed to fly by!! "The fast part of Kissing A Fool went flawless! :)". "Going To A Town, 'Written by Rufus Wainwright'", "Brillant Song". "Absolutely beautiful version of Let her Down Easy...#Symphonica". "George is very relaxed, his voice sounds good with a tiny 'raw' edge". Let Her Down Easy via Musicislove67. "You Have been Loved, 'This is dedicated to my Mother and Anselmo'". "Holy cow we're already at You Have Been Loved show is flying but sounding great. #Symphonica - Bev." "His earpiece keeps falling out constantly by the looks of it...so he's busy with that also :)". "Ooh Wild Is The Wind, I expect a wild reaction when we get to the rocking part  #Symphonica - Bev". "Everyone is up!", "George is playing with Wild Is The Wind, making it just a little different version,...at the end repeating 'wind' #Symphonica". "Brother Can You Spare A Dime", "The Symphonica Orchestra"..."And with the final blaring notes, we're on the intermission #Symphonica - Bev." Told you it seemed to zoom at warp speed. Just as well my typing is starting to speed up or I'd still be back playing Peek A Boo!! (I wish!)

"We can tell George is standing on the stage again behind the curtain so we are off for the second set! #Symphonica". The Dutch Twitter Team's X-ray vision is switched on again, so save the @GMSingers the hassle tonight and check his under wear while your there girls!! Me Jealous??? Never!!! "Waiting For That Day".....George is wearing a black suit and… T-shirt! "And everyone in the front row is standing up", "George Michael in concert in Brussels….goosebumps!", "Next up is John & Elvis Are Dead!...Which is a set list change because in the shows before there was patience after Waiting For That Day"..."it's about the end of free thinking". As you can tell from these tweets the Dutch Twitter teams minds are back on the job again thankfully! "Roxanne" came next. "True Faith 'Written by New Order, it's about the nature of addiction'". Credit were credit is due, these Lovelies no matter how distracted they get with His Nibs, they still miss nothing!! As VERY experienced Symphonica goers even the smallest of details doesn't get past them! "Never see him do this before...George walks now from the middle of the stairs, behind the orchestra, to the side #Symphonica". "A Different Corner...Applause during instrumental part!...Again applause DURING A Different Corner, this song remains one of the tour favourites 2011/2012".

"We have a loud audience here in Brussels! #Symphononica". Next is "You've Changed". "Bang Bang.  Now playing an increasing crowd favourite...Russian  Roulette #Symphonica - Bev". "...is also a good time to go forward to the stage...by the way when we rushed to the stage during Russian Roulette, George looked as though he had expected that!" His Nibs is fast getting back into the Symphonica swing of things!! I'm waiting for the come back of his "L'Oreal Smirk!" You must remember it from last year?? It's were he gives his cheeky, boyish, grin amidst all the rapturous crowd reception as if to say "Ha, You know I'm worth it!!!". "Time flies when you're having fun. The crowd already waving their arms to Praying For Time #Symphonica - Bev". @GeorgeMichaelNL tweeted, "Did you also by any chance just hear George say...'Vienna, are you feeling good?' Or do we see things flying?", @GeorgeMOfficial tweeted back "Both! B". Here we go again folks, the Flying Dutchmen are back are they?? Naughty Dutch Twitter Team, distracting His Nibs and leaving him all confused on stage, playing PEEK-A-BOO again were we???!!

"...waiting for the encore after Feeling Good!", "George almost fell off the stairs on his return to the stage :)". It looks like stage props are making a come back as well in Symphonica Part II! They were doing their best last year to get the better of His Nibs on stage but he managed to keep the auto-cues and his chairs in their proper place so hopefully this tour will be no different! He damaged his ankle badly on stage during the Last Wham concert, landing wrong on it...no repeats please!! "Brussels, you're going to bring the roof down with all that noise. (Keep it up!) ;) #Symphonica - Bev." "'Like to dance and shake some ass?...this one is for you!'"

"The crowd lost their minds for the encore medley! #Symphonica - Bev". "George was so much into the 'arms in the air' on Freedom with us, that his shirt has come out of his trousers :)". A Fan tweeted that "looks like the @GMSingers/@George Michael sandwich has turned into a meal!" Such irreverence and defamation of people's characters!! Who would tweet such a shameful thing?? Oops it was me!! Check out the medley video clip at the end of the review if you don't believe me!! "By the way during Freedom the left part of the orchestra participated...There's only one concert left to have the other half do the same :)"..."Since of course in the UK, the Czech National Orchestra is replaced by the UK Symphony Orchestra". Aaawww our wee zany swingers have only one concert left??? It won't be the same without you! I will miss you much my honey's!

"Chant, chant, chant, ear-splitting cheers! White Light time. #Symphonica - Bev." "George is on his knees on the stage!". "And there is the end...orchestra is playing concert outro Free". "Thanks again for your lovely messages, hope you felt a bit like you were with us!". "We will get you the snippet of our view of George when the curtain was still closed...just a sec". "A Snippet of Through - view from row 1 - curtain still closed but doesn't reach the floor #Symphonica" was duely posted. "Thanks for your kind words, all. I'm very happy to hear you enjoy the updates. xx Bev". "Your wish is granted I shall be indeed joining the team in Oz - Bev". Now that's great news for all us on-liners Bev...Our new 'Wizard of Oz' will be there tweeting us...ooops I mean treating us...ooops no tweetin...apols TW-REETING us! (all this high techno language is sooo confusing!)

"Blooming heck...that was a good show!" "George Michael was Top Tonight #Big Shot #Symphonica Forest National". "George Michael Forest National: Still my favourite Greek. Angela Merkel would be sick!  #callmeanythingyouwanttobaby". "Thankyou, thankyou very much for everything and this fantastic evening!  You rock man!  Love to you!", "I just landed the show yesterday. Magical moments, emotional...unforgettable...Thankyou so much George xx". "Thanks for yesterday in Brussels it was fabulous!!! Love Chris". "Thank you for giving me a night to cherish foreverXxx". "One word comes to mind of the show"...And a pic was posted of the newly added Burning LOVE visuals.

Love seemed to carry through as a theme, sometimes warmer than others for the Belgium press reviews.  "George Michael almost reborn in Brussels". "It's all about the music". "Back To Health And In The Flesh", "Had Them Hot And Bothered Effortlessly"..."flawless and convincing performance". Nieuwsblad.be reported that..."his own songs sounded magnificent, augmented by a symphonic orchestra. His voice sounds powerful and flawless. George Michael was clearly touched by the welcome of the Belgian fans and came back again for an additional encore. Still a powerhouse, he turned into a prince of dance with I'm Alive". De Morgen talked about the concert in the main "being tailored to the Orchestra"...as opposed to his last dance orientated 25 Live Tour. They said that with "over 100 million records sold worldwide he doesn't need to tour." (nearer 150 million I think boys!!)..."he is in terms of British airplay among the likes of the Beatles and Elton John. His Symphonica Covers concept was not a cheap cash in...with the production and labour costs such a lavish show incurred, typical of George Michael concerts. Such a demanding choice of repertoire (his covers), could have easily been his downfall, if it weren't for his flawless and convincing performance." "An extraordinary songwriter himself and technically the best singer I've seen standing on a stage. He was not using his full vocal ability but never missed a note, sounding still as pure and perfect...True Faith wasn't so much of a success as the autotuner (vocoder?) was unnecessary, as it raped his voice. Autotune was invented for popstars who couldn't sing...But fortunately it remained his only faux pas. George Michael took the helm, the orchestra was silenced and his tiny band had the audience euphoric by the end." "Even the short piece by Knack.be talked about "the craftsman, skilfully camouflaged the slight weakening of his voice as a result of the tracheotomy...That was only slightly audible in the first songs...the rest he sang effortlessly...at times from his chair."

  

But somehow wee Bert had a different opinion AGAIN!! Yes wee Bert's back! Do you remember wee Bert from last year? You know the reviewer from Concertnieuws.be...'No gossip just facts'!!! Yes you do, Dita tickled his artistic funny bone with her feather boa and switched off his auditory nerve cos didn't hear the same concert as everybody else and remembered absolutely nothing else other than Dita!! Wee Bert is definitely back and not a Happy Belgian Camper AGAIN. I know, I DOOOONT...BEEELIEEEVE...IT either!!

Bert admitted he only went to the concert cos all the other press were going and he didn't want to be left out or miss anything! (Honestly I'm not making this up). He grudgingly admitted that the crowd went bonkers and George was a master craftsman...at working the crowd and pleasing the audience. That's a lot for wee Bert to admit to, trust me! STOP THE PRESS!!! Then he said, now sit down folks cos I nearly fell down..."George has one hell of a voice after life threatening pneumonia, giving a powerful performance...just about every instrument in the orchestra gets  a moment of glory...loved Rihanna's song and so did the audience and George loved the audience's interaction. Dedicating Amazing to the Brussels fans, knocked them for six."...However he didn't like the vocoder with the orchestra but (wait for it), loved all the visuals, especially Dita Von Teese's nipple tassels!! Ahem I'm saying nothing more about wee Bert other than he has taken his eyes off Dita long enough, to take into account the audience's reaction this time! Very professional Bert, Thank you. I will now leave you alone, (until the next time knowing me!) and leave you lot with George and the Brussels audience in Vorst National. This medley excerpt takes you right into the Vorst National and the emotions filling the stadium.

Oh by the way folks while its still in my head, (trust me nothing stays there long!), don’t forget to keep voting for both the Grammy awards for your favourite closing act of the Olympics and to get George Michael in the list for next years honours. Aren't I a helpful MUL-TIT-TASKING reviewer??? Just call me Meme 1 click!!!

My thanks as always goes to @GeorgeMichael, @GeorgeMOfficial, @GMSingers, @Henryhey, @themarkmclean, @benbutlernye, @Edthejazzman, @LISAsOLIVE & @Marshallarts,

@GeorgeMichaelNL, @GMichaelNews, @SymphonicaTour, @FamilyForums, @Dutchieemy, @Dutch_ada2, @HappyS74, @MagdaGmFan, @MissHoefje, @Mollyke, @Sjr, @GmLovelies, @Brittmax, @LassUnslaufen89, @LORELLALORENZET, @Wimdenolf, @Wauthier_claude, @Marijkevw, @VOKA_berul, @LILA_GMFAITH, @ElainwvanDongen, @phollenfeltz, @TheSint70, @InaDTweets, @KiKiGMLovely & @Gmoremoretry

De Morgen Bart Steenhaut, Knack.be Wim Denolf, Concertnieuws.be Bert Hertogs (wee Bert), CuttingEdge.be & Nieuwsblad.be