Robbie Williams, known for his electrifying stadium shows, has embarked on a strikingly different tour – one that peels back the layers of performance to reveal a surprisingly vulnerable artist. The Long 90’s tour isn’t about spectacle; it’s about connection, and a willingness to share with an intimacy rarely seen from a global superstar.
Midway through the performance, Williams casually dropped a bombshell: “Congratulations to me for not being in the Epstein files.” A ripple of shock and then laughter spread through the crowd. He quickly followed it with a self-deprecating explanation – his crippling agoraphia, he suggested, would have made him an unlikely participant in such events.
The revelation wasn’t a calculated move for headlines, but a spontaneous offering within a set laced with dark humor and startling honesty. Williams openly acknowledged a past filled with wild partying, but explained how anxiety ultimately reshaped his life, forcing a retreat from the excesses of the 2000s.
This tour isn’t simply a concert; it’s a confession. Performing in venues holding less than 5,000 people – a far cry from the stadiums he commands – Williams feels accessible, human. The absence of elaborate costumes and stagecraft allows a genuine warmth to radiate, captivating the audience in a way his larger shows often can’t.
The setlist began with a bold move: “Angels,” a song synonymous with his career, arrived just three songs in. Instead of performing it himself, Williams stepped back, allowing the audience to deliver a near-flawless rendition, joining in only for the final verse. It was a powerful moment of shared experience, a testament to the song’s enduring impact.
He recounted a recent conversation with his daughter, Teddy, who wrote a song about feeling excluded by friends. This sparked a poignant reflection on his own experiences with abandonment, a theme that deeply informed the song “Killing Me.” The lyrics, “But words cut deep when you’re defenceless/ And they’re killing me, but killing me slowly,” resonated with raw emotion.
A slight change to the running order – swapping the placement of “Let Me Entertain You” – proved surprisingly effective. It injected energy back into the room after the emotional weight of earlier songs, carrying the audience through a couple of less familiar tracks. Williams acknowledged that performing an entire album front-to-back leaves little room for hiding weaker material.
The performance of his older album, *Life Thru A Lens*, proved remarkably resilient, even the spoken word track eliciting a response from the crowd. However, his newer album, *Britpop*, didn’t quite possess the same staying power, lacking the decades of familiarity to elevate its less memorable songs.
Despite this, the two albums complemented each other, sharing a cohesive guitar sound that spanned Williams’s career. He even playfully asked the audience if he could release new music quickly, hinting at more to come. The energy was palpable, fueled by tracks like “Rocket” and “Spies.”
While *Britpop* didn’t consistently reach the heights of *Life Thru A Lens*, the tour as a whole was a compelling experience. Williams’s charisma and self-awareness shone through, reminding everyone that his success is built on personality as much as talent. This tour wasn’t for the casual observer; it was a gift to his dedicated fans.
The show concluded with a slightly underwhelming finale, lacking the explosive energy of a signature song like “Angels.” Yet, even with this minor misstep, the Long 90’s tour offered a rare glimpse behind the curtain, revealing a captivating artist who is as charming and vulnerable as he is undeniably talented.
