Richard Marx had the audience in Prague wrapped around his finger. Just with guitar, piano and my (absent) sons
The American singer Richard Marx finally had his Prague premiere on the penultimate day of August. In a very decently filled Hybernia Theater, she presented not only her biggest hits, but also a few samples from her upcoming album. He finally earned a standing ovation for his excellently prepared acoustic show.
Live: Richard Marx
place: Hybernia Theatre, Prague
date: August 30, 2022
set list: Endless Summer Nights, Take This Heart, Satisfied, Keep Coming Back, Same Hearbreak, Different Day, When You Loved Me, Hazard, Front Row Seat, This I Promise You (cover’NSync), Edge Of Broken Heart (cover Vixen), Shame On You, Unlimited. Hold On The Nights, Now And Forever, Angelia (unplugged), Should’ve Know Better, Don’t Mean Nothing, Right Here Waiting
© Tomáš Parkan / musicserver.cz
American singer Richard Marx had to wait until he was fifty-eight years old to play in our capital for the first time. His show had to be with regard to corona was postponed twice, which was certainly a little bit behind the fact that the concert was not completely sold out. Even so, the hall was very well filled, with people of all generations. Although in Europe Marx was praised mainly in the late 1980s and early 1990s, in America his popularity never really took off. He was not only a star thanks to his own repertoire, but in the past he also wrote several successful songs for example for Barbra Streisand, Keith Urban, Luther Vandross, ‘NSync or Ringo Starr. Briefly summarizing these successes with a video of several minutes, with which the whole group started.
© Tomáš Parkan / musicserver.cz
The audience, which also consisted of many foreigners, the musician arrived shortly after eight o’clock with a distinct: “Good evening, Prague!“, which the audience rewarded with great applause. It was already clear at this moment that it was going to be a great experience. The energy between the protagonist and the visitor started working already at the first notes of “Endless Summer Nights” and with each subsequent song the connection became faster. And all it took was a modest a stage with one, two guitars, a piano and a microphone. The perfect impression of a unique concert was also perfectly illustrated by the helper Sam, who at the right moment projected photos or videos from Richard’s musical history. And that’s not exactly a short one. In the music industry, the native of Chicago has been active for more than more than four decades and during that time he has released twelve regular albums, but more than twenty different compilations, which mostly offer the same thing, just packaged a little differently. However, the Prague show showed that it is precisely in the acoustic to unplugged presentation that Marx’s songs get a completely new, a very special dimension.
© Tomáš Parkan / musicserver.cz
After the proven hits “Take This Heart”, “Satisfied” or “Keep Coming Back”, during which he urged couples not to forget to end the night with sex, came the first moment to test the audience. The singer played the current radio single “Same Heartbreak, Different Day”, which is already among the twenty most played songs in America, but in Europe it is still almost unknown. Perhaps it will change after the release of the new studio album “Songwriter”, which fans will see on the last day of September. The news was received warmly, even some viewers (including me) were humming it together with Marx. He wrote it with his son Lucas, who inherited his father’s musical talent. Actually, all three of Richard’s sons are not far from music, which was confirmed by the next song. The roughly ten-year-old “When You Loved Me” received an unconventional performance: a video was projected on the screen, where all three sons play musical instruments, and gradually join in singing. And to top it all off, the main star sang live into the microphone. The whole thing sounded fantastic, the voices of everyone involved were in perfect harmony, and it was definitely one of the most beautiful moments of the entire evening.
© Tomáš Parkan / musicserver.cz
The chamber performance, during which, of course, the now legendary single “Hazard” or the hit “Hold On To The Night” also took place, was meant to remind us that Richard Marx did not have many musical successes. So, for example, there was the song “This I Promise You” from 2000, which he once wrote for the band ‘NSync, or “Edge Of Broken Heart”, i.e. the debut hit of the American band Vixen. Yes, it was also written by a charismatic musician who was watched from behind the scenes the whole time by his second wife Daisy, who accompanies him on tour. Overall, Marx was very communicative. Between the songs, they praised Prague and its inhabitants, who are said to be dressed very nicely and don’t wear flip flops on their feet, during the projection of period photos he remembered the time when he had a brush on his head, he dedicated his pick to one of the audience and the song “Timeless” even for one to a fan in the audience for his boyfriend who had just proposed to him a year ago. While reminiscing, he did not forget to look into the future at least once more and draw attention to the upcoming album “Songwriter”, from which he presented the politically tuned “Shame On You”. The main part of Richard Marx’s performance ended with the beautiful ballad “Now And Forever”, which surprisingly he did not include in his selection last year, and then he quickly recommended himself backstage. Of course, it was clear that he would come back and add something. And he began very boldly. He disconnected the guitar from the amplifier, stepped away from the microphone and played the hit “Angelia” completely unplugged. At that moment, you could hear a pin drop in the hall. For well-deserved applause, he added the great “Should’ve Know Better” and his debut single “Don’t Mean Nothing”, with which he entered the charts in 1987.
© Tomáš Parkan / musicserver.cz
But there was still something missing. Yes, of course – the immortal hit “Right Here Waiting” had to come at the very end. For his rendition, the singer switched from guitar to piano for the first and last time, recording his most successful single as lightly as when he recorded the track in 1989. The song has not lost any of its charm even after thirty-three years, and Richard deservedly earned a standing ovation not only for it, but also for the entire performance. When saying goodbye, he promised to return to Prague. It certainly wouldn’t hurt, because he certainly didn’t slouch his debut. He left out only a minimum of his well-known songs (personally, I only missed the three-year-old single “Another One Down”), he communicated excellently with the audience and did not show even a slight disappointment from a few dozen free seats in the hall, and above all he proved that his songs have still after many years ball. And above all, he demonstrated that you can play a really great concert with just a guitar.