"I absolutely love Whitesnake, so imagine my disappointment at seeing a second rate tribute show. I saw this band on the 2004 tour and really enjoyed it, but that night I think I was overcome with nostalgia, last night didn’t even have that. To be fair it was about 50/50 between ‘classic’ Whitesnake and the hairspray albums, which normally would appease me, but having totally indulged myself in Marsden/Moody stuff for 2 weeks prior to the show, I guess I was always going to be disappointed.

David’s vocals are not what they once were, as could be said for many others, except Glenn Hughes of course! But I think he genuinely struggled tonight. To see such a once great singer and one of my all time heroes perform like that is really sad. I think if he went for a job in a Whitesnake tribute band, he would probably not be short listed. The band were really good, Doug Aldrich is exceptional, and he plays the John Sykes stuff really well. Tommy Aldridge is very powerful and great to watch.

The highlights. Well few and far between really. I suppose the band doing so many of the old classics was good to see, but don’t think they did the great songs like “Walking in The Shadow Of The Blues” much justice at all. Also, great to hear “We Wish You Well” at the end, David’s vocals on that were faultless, due to it being a recording as the lights went up. If anyone is thinking of going to see this tour who is a devotee of the classic era, I would say don’t bother, go see M3 instead. However if you like the leotard years and are hard of hearing, by all means fill you boots." review: Ian Dunbar

"This Sunday's Whitesnake show at the NIA Birmingham was abandoned after forty minutes due to David Coverdale suffering ill health. The show opened as normal with "Burn", but it was quickly obvious that all was not well from David's body language. He announced after the first song that he was ill, suffering from sickness and stomach problems (polite version), but that he would try and get through the show.

They then played "Slide it In" and "Love Ain't No Stranger" with David going off stage during the solos. David then requested that "the ballad was played so that he could get his breath back" and the set was re-arranged with "Is this Love" appearing early followed by "Ready An' Willing" (with Hit an' Run intro). After this there was a lengthy Doug Aldridge solo spot. David then came on stage to announce that he could not carry on and promised to return on a rescheduled date. The crowd gave sympathetic applause before collecting tickets for the re-run. Generally the situation was accepted well with just a few idiots moaning and groaning. Get well soon David; We Wish You Well." review: Carl Miller

"Just to let you know that tonight's gig at Hammersmith has been postponed as David Coverdale is still unwell. Full details at David's web site and on Stargreen.com" Terry Boud

"Due to lead singer David Coverdale coming down with a sudden illness, tonight's Whitesnake concert at the London Hammersmith Apollo has been re-scheduled until Thursday June 1st. All tickets for tonight's London concert will be valid for this Thursday. The London concert will start at 7:30 with support. Please note that the Portsmouth Guildhall concert is still confirmed for Wednesday May 31st. On behalf of Whitesnake and Live Nation, we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience.

Thursday June 1 (newly rescheduled date) London Hammersmith Apollo Queen Caroline Street, London W6 www.carling.com Online Ordering: www.getlive.co.uk Enquiries: 0870 606 3400 Tickets: £32.50

Wednesday May 31 Portsmouth Guildhall Guildhall Square, Portsmouth, Hants, PO1 2AB www.portsmouthguildhall.co.uk E-Mail: info@portsmouthguildhall.co.uk Online Ordering: www.getlive.co.uk Enquiries: 023 9282 4355 Tickets: £30.

For further information please contact Tracy Gosling at Noble PR Ltd Tel 020 7272 7772, Email: tracy@noblepr.co.uk, www.noblepr.co.uk Noble PR, 1 Mercers Mews, London, England, N19 4PL "

Stuart Hamilton, www.metal4life.co.uk www.zeitgeist-scot.co.uk www.space-rock.co.uk.

"Dutifully I went along (every tour since "Trouble" folks). Most memorable part of the evening: a large leggy blonde with enormous (and largely exposed) assets stood outside and was seen several times in the bar area. Sometimes your eyes can only look one way, no matter what your brain is saying. She was magnificent in an over the top, comic book kinda way (no offence, whoever you are). I also spotted Doogie White dressed up like a train spotter type of character. The support band were on but I never saw them, preferring to indulge in £3.50 pints of tinned bitter. Ah, what a wonderful bar.

Whitesnake came on and played everything that was expected and this was just the start of the problems. I thought we were getting Mistreated and a new song? Absolutely not. However, completists will be pleased to hear that our ears were "mistreated" by one of the worst live sound mixes I have ever heard. It was all drum and bass for lawd's sake. No midrange, no treble. Couldn't hear that Reb fella at all (is that bad or good?). DC was so low in the mix he was biting my ankle with them dog howls. People walked out because of it and not due to the band at all. It could have been an enjoyable show, but if featured an old greatest hits package, poor sound and nothing new or surprising. A very expensive shame. As "Ain't no Love" played out I fondly remembered the girl at the front and sang along with "in the heart of the titty". School boy mentality? Absolutely." review & ogling: Mark Smith

"Powerhouse 105 non stop minutes set mixing new and old. Slide it in (right to the top) indeed! DC was on fine form and needless to say reinacted his recent illness (use your imagination here). Highlights being Slide It In, Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues, Lovehunter and Love Ain't No Stranger. Only real surprise was the omission of Fool For Your Loving. Both Reb and Doug were on top of their game, and yes there is something satisfying getting two guitar solos and a drum solo. These boys need to get in a studio soon. Show finished with just DC singing Soldier of Fortune without band." review: Paul Jones, Worthing

"We travelled over 600 miles from Vienna to Zürich to see Whitesnake in the Volkshaus, and were expecting a great show. The show started with "Burn" (including "Stormbringer"), then continued with almost the same setlist as the fantastic "In The Still Of The Night" DVD. Only "Bad Boys", "Judgement Day" and "Don`t Break My Heart Again" were missing.

The sound was powerful and very, very good. Uriah Duffy did a great job and is now a full member of the band. The 1,500 strong audience were amazing, clapping hands and singing along with every song. It was an awesome show, BUT there was one real disappointment for us. We waited for three hours before the show at the backdoor to see David Coverdale, to get one or two autographs on his records. When he finally appeared he spent some time telling me that he was lacking the time to sign autographs, but would certainly do so after the show. For better understanding - he stood in front of me, eye in eye, a felt-pen in his hand and told me he had no time to sign... "     review: Chris Schoen

"The venue was one of the best I have ever been to -- generous seating with a good view of the stage. Those who wanted to be a little closer to the band had their "snake pit". Everyone seemed to be happy. I arrived just in time to see the opener, Queensryche, and I was impressed by the fantastic, powerful sound that I heard when the band started playing. My first impression was -- "wow -- I can't wait to hear Whitesnake on this stage".

David Coverdale and Whitesnake were welcomed the way they deserve to be. To put the whole thing in a "World Cup mode" (what, here? never...but, did you see Tunisia V Saudi Arabia today? What a finish, and as for the end of the Germany / Poland game, amazing...sorry...back to Whitesnake) -- Whitesnake was the home team and they were gonna win the cup. (it's England V Trinidad tomorrow...) BUT -- I found the sound awful. Absolutely not the quality Queensryche had earlier. And I was disappointed by the setlist. I had seen Whitesnake two years earlier in Munich -- a fantastic concert that left me with a big smile on my face. Back then they had played the entire "Still Of The Night" DVD setlist as well as "Shake My Tree" from the Coverdale / Page album as song number two. And as much as I was happy and surprised to hear "Burn", "Shake My Tree", "Don't Break My Heart Again", and "Take Me With You" back then, I was more disappointed to see a watered-down "Still Of The Night" DVD-setlist omitting "Judgement Day" and "Don't Break..." in Kempten.

I felt that DC was not in a good shape. I had read about his illness a week earlier and perhaps he just wasn't fit for a "full show", which does not excuse not adding new songs to the setlist. I also found his voice wasn't in good shape either, but when I come to think of it -- you couldn't really hear him properly because his singing was drowned out in the awful overall sound. But good ol' David knows all the tricks in the book to win the audience over to his side: charming as ever he makes you close both ears (to the awful sound mix) and realize that it still worth seeing Whitesnake. And I am glad he still tours. Er...and a new album would be nice too!" review: Peter Stickler

"One always can see the things from different points of view. You can speak with the heart and say “what a super show last night… everybody singing... blah, blah blah…” or we can give more critical vision to the subject. And that's what I am going to do, because Barcelona was not a great concert. The concert hall (Annexed Palau Sant Jordi) is not made to listen to live music. Neither the audience nor the group gave 100% as they done at the 2004 Barcelona show in the Zeleste room.

The set list was: Burn ~ Stormbringer / Slide It In / Love Ain’t No Stranger / Fool For Your Loving / Is This Love / Ready an’ Willing / Crying in the Rain (+solos) / Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City / Give Me All Your Love / Here I Go Again. ----- Bad Boys / Children Of The Night / Still Of The Night.

In summary I found that it was an inferior facsimile of the concert two years ago, same decoration, same songs, although it was mssing classics such as Don’t Break My Heart Again. However, dropping the criticl aspect somewhat, David Coverdale is still unique and incredible to witness performing live." review: David Oliveras (http://live.whitesnake-blog.com)

"The band stopped off in Toulouse on their way up from touring around Spain before gigs in Belgium. The Havana Café has a capacity of around 1,500 so it was great to have a clear view of the stage, as the venue is standing only. Attendance must have been around just over 1,000 people (as the gig coincided with the French national music night and many people preferred not to drive the 10 miles out to the gig).

They hit the stage to a huge reception with the ever-powerful Burn (what a riff!), interpolating (!) Stormbringer and the sound was reasonably good but a little lacking in bass. This got better as the gig continued however. DC was on fine form (for these days anyway) - quite a relief following some of the recent press reports. The crowd was with him from the start although we are more than a little gig-starved down here!. The crowd was a real mixed bag of rocker kids (who must have learned the lyrics from their dad's LPs!) plus some crusty old DP fans. The set list was fairly standard for the tour, but unfortunately with a couple of songs 'trimmed' from the set (no 'Take Me With You' for example). The band were very tight and professional as you would expect, but given the size of the gig vs the size of their ego's, there was a feeling of them 'going through the motions' to some degree. However with the obligatory 'We Wish You Well' playing out from the PA everyone left with a big smile on their face. No meeting the crowd round the back after the gig either. Highlights for me were the opener, Don't Break My Heart Again, Ready and Willing, Lovehunter, plus Aldrich & Alrdridge were excellent and both put in great solo spots. Next gig down here will be DP in November at the local 10,000 seater arena." review: Mark Reddick

"Great first night show in Newcastle, opening with 'Burn' / 'Stormbringer' (although not quite up to Glenn Hughes standard). Highlights were a superb medley of 'Walkin' in Shadow Of The Blues', 'Slow'n'Easy', & 'Lovehunter', and a sublime 'Soldier of Fortune' as final encore.

The Sheffield show once again found David in good voice but none of the songs above featured, apart from 'Burn' / 'Stormbringer'!!! An excellent 'Take me with You' was the highlight of a seemingly truncated show."
review : Mikey Dowson

"The interminable solo spots also ruin the flow of the show, which means you have to pick yourself up all over again when "Crying In The Rain" eventually resumes. Which is probably why "Ain't No Love In the Heart Of The City" is next in line. Wakey wakey, it's singalong time. Oddly, "Give Me All Your Love", a song I loathed on release has taken on a life of its own recently getting a more fervent audience response and participation than "Ain't No Love...". "Here I Go Again" brings things to a close for a couple of minutes before the band plays on. I keep on worrying that "Take Me With You" will get dropped from the set but, thankfully, there it was, first track of the encore, still the best song Whitesnake ever did. Although there were a few blank looks from people expecting "Fool For Your Loving" or something else more familiar...." read Stuart Hamilton's full review

"Just got back from seeing Whitesnake in Cardiff with my 18 and 16 year old sons. The gig was full of highs and lows for me. With the opener Burn, what I looked forward to being a massive high ended up being a bit of a disappointment for two reasons: the guitar histrionics of Doug Aldrich, (he irritated me for most of the night to be honest but more on that later), and the other was David doing a Joe Pasquale impression!!! Having bought the DVD I feared this and my fears were realised. What I realised tonight is that it's time for DC to ease off on the screaming and start singing again. When he does he's still untouchable. As we walked out at the end my son said "My God, how charismatic is that singer!" and he was right, he's still the very best frontman you could ever find. All confidence and swagger while totally at ease with his audience, who were in the palm of his hand all night. His mike stand was like a cheer leaders baton and you end up being transfixed by his performance.

Of the material it was the lower key stuff that came over best tonight with Here I Go Again a particular highlight. A major negative as a few have commented was the solo spots. (Come on guys take the hint). Doug Aldrich just blasted off into the ether playing a zillion notes per second and ended up with nowhere to go. We all know you'r ea technically great guitarist Doug, but please slow down and say something. After that came Tommy Aldridge's blitz, he sure can bang a drum or two but I was left thinking the show stalled during these spots. I would much prefer to have heard Walkin In The Shadow of the Blues or Lovehunter instead.

David introduced a new song "Here's a new song for ya" and what promise it shows. (It isn't Lady Luck as someone mentioned in a previous review but is actually called 'Ready to Rock'. Cheesy title but a great song nevertheless.) All in all then a bit of a mixed back for me as an old diehard but I must admit the crowd went mental and the band seemed to thrive on it. It was summed up during a fantastic 'Soldier of Fortune' when after the first verse some guy screamed out "I love you David!!". It stopped David in his tracks for a second and all the crowd laughed. The song was everything he's been my hero for in all these years. A real high note of the right kind to finish. I live on with dreams of seeing DC stood centre stage flanked by Messrs Blackmore, Hughes, Lord and Paice. Unlikely I know but everyone has the right to dream don't they?." review : Kev Roberts

"Urged on by a lively and appreciative audience, Whitesnake turned in a powerful performance. David looked in good shape, and sounded great. The set followed a familiar pattern to Cardiff, and yes, the solos did go on a bit. Mind you, during the four song encore it looked as if David was having such a good time that I don't think he wanted to leave the stage. Soldier Of Fortune finally rounded off the night, with David on his own at the front of the stage... ''Thanks for a cracking night Liverpool''

Set list: Burn ~ Stormbringer / Slide It In / Love Ain't No Stranger / Ready To Rock / Is This Love / Ready and Willing ~ solos ~ Crying In The Rain ( inc. drum solo) / Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City / Give Me All Your Love / Here I Go Again. Encore: Take Me With You / Still of the Night / Fool For Your Loving / Bad Boys / Soldier Of Fortune.

review: Antony Jenkins