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Having been a fan of Texas since the "Black Eyed Boy" album in the mid nineties, I finally got to see a Texas gig last year in Leicester and meet Sharleen.
When news of the latest greatest hits album - "The Very Best of 1980 - 2023" broke, Texas also quickly announced that they would play a small number of intimate gigs over 6 days from Monday the 10-Jul to the 16-Jul.
The tickets went on sale mid June and I didn't expect to be successful as some of the venues had very limited ticket numbers. The nearest venue to me was the "HMV Empire" gig in coventry.
Thankfully I was able to get two tickets, even though I nearly forgot that they were going on sale after the initial marketing email.
I had never been to this venue (HMV Empire - Coventry) and I was actually pleasantly surprised. A nice small venue with good bar and terrace to drink and wait. An intimate venue set up nicely for Texas to perform with room for perhaps a few hundred standing.
Texas appeared promptly at 2000 after what seemed like a long exciting wait. As the tickets were extremely cheap at approx £16 each, an hour show is reasonable. The reality was it actually lasted for about 1 hour 20 minutes, so excellent value.
Sharleen was in good form vocally and the band performed 6 songs with lots of Q&A opportunities.
The set list was as follows though I understand as small shows, the listing may have changed slightly for some venues.
Set List
Halo
After all
Summer Son
Keep on talking
Black eyed boy
Inner smile
And "River deep mountain high" acapella during the Q&A.
The band started the night off performing "Halo" which was a strong start. The band and Sharleen are amazing live and the vocals just blow me away.
I also loved "Inner Smile" as so upbeat and it allowed Sharleen to keep showcasing her vocals to close off the night. It certainly brought a massive smile on my face listening to that track.
For any fan of Texas, this was a very special live night. The Q&A was also very entertaining and the group were asked questions like naming their favourite Texas album through to talking about Alan Rickman, James Martins cooking and TFI Friday. Sharleen being particularly funny as the person asked about her TGI Friday memories instead of TFI Friday.
Throughout the evening, Sharleen's personality shines through. Always telling it as it is and being upfront in views.
The only issue during the night was a lack of microphone sometimes for the audience members. Sharleen then sorted out the staff to make sure the mic was out with the audience.
Some merchandise was available. From what I could tell it was just t-shirts promoting the new album for £20 cash.
It goes without saying that I would definitely book to see Texas again. I get the feeling that more announcements will hopefully be forthcoming, so my guess would be for the next album perhaps next year and a tour. Fingers crossed.
Venue wise, I will be definitely keeping an eye on the gigs that are advertised at the HMV Empire - Coventry as some good future acts advertised.
Thanks as always Texas - I hope to see you soon! A brilliant live band with Sharleen and the band members performing brilliantly.
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