Take That and THAT

At the weekend, we went to Wembley to see "Take That" in concert.

I have a confession to make -

- it was my first ever live pop concert.

A few things struck me from the experience.

Firstly, the sound quality was terrible. The music was distorted, presumerably due to the number of speakers involved and the fact that they were all at different distances from where we sat. I was surprised - I didn't expect that.

Even when Gary Barlow and company talked through their microphones, it was hard to understand everything they said.

However, the atmosphere was fantastic.

Every time one of the fab four moved, the crowd of 80,000 went wild and the resultant noise was a physical wall of sound, that boxed your ears, leaving them ringing in the aftermath.

The event was akin to a religous experience.

In a time when churches and organised religion are reporting falling attendance numbers on Sunday's, it seemed that the worship of music was taking its place.

The cathedral of Wembley Stadium was well attended.

Thousands turned up to worship Jason Orange, with their hands raised in supplication to the cloudless sky, visible through the open dome.

The loyal following wore the clothes, made the moves and moved their lips to the familiar prayers of Take That.

The technical show was awesome. A huge, 40ft high, robotic elephant rose from the ground and sashayed its way to the big top, with the group riding on its back.

The Circus theme was maintained throughout the whole show, supported by lasers, wall screens and a cast of big top performers.

The drumming toy soldiers sequence in the show could only be described as tribal, with the beat making the whole stadium throb to a rhythmic, staccato heartbeat.

However, the fickleness of the public is sobering.

It transpired that the lads from the boy band, JLS, who appeared on X-factor, were sitting about ten feet from us. As people started to become aware of their presence, they were mobbed with spectators starting to photograph them and seek autographs.

For a moment, Take That were ignored and all eyes were looking towards the rear of the stadium, with a sea of backs being turned to Gary and the boys.

Then the moment was gone, the security closed in and JLS were forgotten again.

Fame is as brief as a candle flame and flickers equally unpredictably. 

The concert finished with a big finale and TT sang "Rule The World" as their final gift.

They said their goodbyes and the last night of their UK tour was over.

As the stands cleared and the 80,000 ants trickled away to the streets, the audience was already whispering about the forthcoming Oasis gig, with memories of Take That fast receding.

Moths to the flame indeed..

Fame and riches ? - I wouldn't ask for either..