Themetphilly

Philadelphia has a new must-experience concert venue. The Met, a recently refurbished opera house/theater, is nestled elegantly on the west side of North Broad Street, festooned with flashing marquee, red velvet ropes and tidily attired parking valets. It stands as a beacon of urban refinement in an otherwise gray and unassuming neighborhood. Upon entering, we were taken with a dark yet inviting lobby with white masonry staircases at either end. A full bar of flashing crystal and dark wood beckoned and Concert Gear merchandise areas were set up in alcoves. We ascended the left stairs, per a misguided attendant, for our seats were at the top of the right stairs in the richly designed loge. Not an issue, since the long walk behind the loge afforded us opportunity to take in an expansive upstairs bar, nearly extending stair to stair. Drinks are no bargain, of course, and water $5 a bottle, but city prices are what they are. We navigated down the concrete steps of the loge, which, between veiled lighting, cumbersome turns and varying size of the landing steps, required some nimble footwork. Fortunately, there was a handrail from top step to bottom. We took our seats, which were comfortable but could of used more legroom. Our sight lines for Bryan Ferry, former frontman of glam-rock pioneers Roxy Music, were excellent. The right loge curled toward the side opera boxes, perching us ever so closely stage left, which, fortuitously, was where Ferry set up at the keyboard. As you would expect in a restored opera house, the acoustics were splendid, strongly carrying the crooner's still rich baritone to our fifth-row seats in the loge. Ferry sampled his extensive Roxy Music and solo catalog, spanning innovative glam, club dance and, in entirety, the 1982 masterpiece "Avalon," a textured blend of synth-oriented soundscape and moody ballads ("More Than This" "To Turn You On" and the title track among the most notable). The Met's acoustic design served the intricacies of "Avalon" well, the languishing saxophone solos and lilting viola fills washing over the audience. A mid-show cover of Dylan's "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" was a rollicking affair, punctuated by Ferry's harmonica. And he was not done resurrecting covers, ending the show with his two most well-known Lennon's "Jealous Guy" (Ferry's biggest seller) and Wilbert Harrison"s Mississippi Delta footstomper "Let's Stick Together." Note: A couple of accommodations of which you should be aware 1) Parking ranged from $30 (lot about a four-block walk) to $50 (a union hall across the street from the venue) to $60 valet. Or if you arrive early enough, you can try your luck in the back streets for free; 2) the bathrooms are not gender-specific and my wife had to step around a puddle of urine in a stall.