Concert review: Bee Gees' magic enchants the valley

Barry Gibb kept his brothers and extended family close in his concert. Photo / APN

Before he took to the Mission Concert stage, Barry Gibb was delighted to hear the great crowd enjoyed adding their vocal chords to a few songs.

And so they did on Saturday night as he ventured into a set-list of songs which embraced the musical legacy of the Bee Gees.

It was on the 21st of the 26 songs he and his band of family and friends turned in that the voices from the valley really caught his attention.

The song Words means a lot to him, so when the audience roared into the final chorus, he stopped and listened.

He tried to complete the song his way twice but the audience took over. Then he smiled and said, "It's my turn", and completed it in a voice with all the power and emotion it had more than 40 years ago.

The show was powered into life by visions of the early days of the Gibb brothers. When Barry and the sharp band launched into Jive Talkin', the voices rose, and so did the dancing bodies.

The familiar songs just rolled on. With a back catalogue that stretches to hundreds of fine compositions, he couldn't do them all, but his selection was pretty well on the mark.

Between songs he chatted away to the crowd and introduced his niece Samantha, the late Maurice Gibb's daughter, who joined him in a very special rendition of How Do You Mend a Broken Heart.

There was a glistening in his eyes - it was a song he said meant so much to him, having lost his brothers Maurice, Robin and Andy.

The highlight of the performance was a remarkable duet of I Started a Joke. Barry Gibb started the song, and then, to the delight of the crowd, the image of Robin Gibb appeared on the big screens as he took it over.

Robin was there with us. It was sheer magic.

Concert

What: Mission Concert
Where: Mission Estate, Napier
When: Saturday
Review: Roger Moroney of Hawke's Bay Today.