If you have the opportunity to see Texas live, don’t miss them!

Scottish rock band Texas performed at Irish Village in Dubai this weekend, and it was a night to remember. Fans turned up in droves to enjoy the group’s signature sound and high-energy performance – and what better venue than the Tennis Stadium, with food (including pork!) next door, drink, the open air (albeit on the warm side, now summer is rolling in) and a clear view of the stage.

By big concert standards, gobby Glaswegian Sharleen Spiteri’s performance at the tennis stadium on Friday night was an ‘intimate’ gig.

A tennis stadium is, after all, designed so that every single seat can see that little yellow ball in the middle of the court, meaning every viewpoint is perfect.

Lead singer and guitarist Spiteri was a force to be reckoned with, belting out powerful vocals that resonated throughout the venue. She engaged the audience, encouraging them to sing along and clap to the beat. At times admonishing fans with a cheeky comment or two. 

“Took you a while to get going, but you’re getting there,” she chirped in reference to an earlier observation about the crowd being an older bunch.

“Look, there are a few younger faces in the audience,” she said after surveying the front rows of eager fans. “Oh, but not you,” she quickly followed this up with, and I squirmed for whoever she was pointing out.

But slapstick suited Spiteri. She had comic timing, suggesting she’d be equally at home at a stand-up comedy night. 

The band played a mix of old and new songs, and each one was met with thunderous applause. It’s not often that bands start their set with their most popular song, yet Texas chose to do just that. ‘I Don’t Want A Lover’, the lead track from their 1989 debut album Southside, served as a fitting opening number and set the tone for the remainder of the concert.

After that, highlights included ‘Say What You Want’, ‘Summer Sun’, ‘Halo’, ‘Once In A Lifetime’ and ‘Mr Haze’, all sounding timeless and Spiteri’s voice as sonorous and magnificent as when she first began her career three decades ago.

The band’s rendition of ‘Black Eyed Boy’ had everyone dancing, and mixed among the hits were some absolute gems from their most recent album, Hi, which I loved as much as the ‘oldies’.

Spiteri wasn’t afraid to be openly honest with the audience too. “It was raining in London when I left,” she said. ‘That’s why I’m wearing this suit – and now I’m just SO damn HOT.” With all her bouncing around stage, I wasn’t surprised. “My thermostat is completely shot,” she laughed (she’s 55, with a 21-year-old daughter, Misty Kyd, who she joked would #cancel the men chanting for her to “Get it [the suit] off.”

After thirty years of producing fantastic music, Texas continues to perform with a genuine sense of merriment – and, thanks to spirited Spiteri, with a remarkable connection to the audience, who went home buzzing.  

Lady Gaga toes the line in Dubai

Lady Gaga arrives in Dubai (pic courtesy of Time Out Dubai)

Lady Gaga arrives in Dubai (pic from Time Out Dubai)

A quick confession – I’m a Lady Gaga fan. There I’ve said it.

So when I heard she was coming to Dubai, for her first ever concert in the Middle East, I told DH we were going.

We don’t always have a lot of luck with this – the last concert we were meant to attend together (Eric Clapton – my taste is eclectic!) was looking good, until DH suddenly got called out to New Zealand at the last minute.

This time, it was all systems go, and we made our way to the venue, the impressive Meydan racecourse – timing our entrance so as to minimise standing around melting in the energy-sapping, hair-curling humidity, but not wanting to miss the fanfare of her arrival on stage.

Well, let’s just say we could have gone out for a four-course meal, thrown a few shapes on the dancefloor, and still made it on time.

9pm came and went. 9.30pm. 10pm (Yawn). 10.15pm. And on a school night, too. By 10.25pm, with beads of sweat making a trickly descent down my forehead, I was getting a bit fed up.

“It wasn’t like this at Jesus Jones,” said DH (he doesn’t get out to many concerts!) I had to laugh, because Jesus Jones must have been performing in the late 80s.

“Well, it is Lady Gaga,” I reminded him. “She can get away with being a diva.”

(And requesting black satin drapes in her hotel room, silver satin sheets, an oxygen tank and peanut butter containing flax seed and no more than 4g of sugar, if the Daily Mirror is to be believed.)

Gaga's wardrobe contains latex, sequins and tentacles (pic from Emirates Woman)

Gaga’s wardrobe contains latex, sequins and tentacles (pic from Emirates Woman)

But you know what, when she did finally come on (at 10.30pm), wearing suitably eccentric golden wings, she was adorable and instantly forgivable. “Marhaba Dubai. My name is Lady Gaga,” she called out, kicking off an hour and a half of high-energy, crowd-pleasing hits, bizarre wig and costume changes, and plenty of emotionally charged audience interaction.

“They used to tell me I was crazy, I would never come to the Middle East … I have waited so long…begged,” she shakily told her legions of fans, one of whom held a sign picturing Gaga in a burqa with the words, “My mum made you a burqa – will you wear it?”

She seemed ridiculously pleased to have made it to the Arab world – repeating messages of gratitude, acceptance and tolerance – and stuck to her word to tone down her performance to respect the UAE’s conservative sensibilities. “I want to speak Arabic so badly but I’m terrible at it,” the 28-year-old pop star giggled, before stammering her way through the Arabic for: “Hello, how are you my little monsters?

There was no nudity, no on-stage costume changes or pole dancing; instead she dazzled with her artistry, panache, glitz, great voice – yes, she can sing – and all-round randomness (her most “way out” costume being a cross between a dalmatian and an octopus).

Shooting laser beams, a colourful and equally eccentric dance troupe, and an extravagant stage added to the mélange. Then all too soon, it was over. Her last song – Swine, complete with pig masks – was perhaps not the best-advised. But she followed this with an enchanting encore – my favourite song, Gypsy, belted out under the stars and bringing an unforgettable show to a climactic end. Lady Gaga beamed and took a final bow, leaving us with one more Arabic word: “Shukran… I love you.”

Come again soon Lady Gaga! It was our pleasure.