tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56494892311577405592024-03-25T07:06:30.179-07:00Not an AddictionBrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-73720077868495369802024-03-01T02:00:00.000-08:002024-03-02T15:15:02.972-08:00The National - Accor Super Theatre<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_FuHlDP2M0VGErEkuPLqBjRRsIHCRU8ZDP3PhdcXuPCFzD3EtYVFwQXA62obKUoLe8YC8CgJ9uzpkpumb_Cn3VNtT5-ubZLw2ABoDWOLyKKGvCZ8q6upeRY3lLRIaaJc84gLFVFmbuaoNcdYDSNb8z8ZAAVbH0SoNi6MmyRVemO-f_KzW6daB-0f-FJX/s2882/National.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1586" data-original-width="2882" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_FuHlDP2M0VGErEkuPLqBjRRsIHCRU8ZDP3PhdcXuPCFzD3EtYVFwQXA62obKUoLe8YC8CgJ9uzpkpumb_Cn3VNtT5-ubZLw2ABoDWOLyKKGvCZ8q6upeRY3lLRIaaJc84gLFVFmbuaoNcdYDSNb8z8ZAAVbH0SoNi6MmyRVemO-f_KzW6daB-0f-FJX/s320/National.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>
</p><h1><a name="_Toc160291758"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The National</span></a><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Super Aware Theatre</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1 March 2024</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Getting a souvenir from a concert is always
special. Usually, you have to buy a t shirt. Sometimes, if you’re really lucky,
you can get a guitar pick, and if you come away with something like a setlist,
you’ve done very well indeed! But sometimes you get even more than that. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I like to think of The National as a bit like the cooler
friends you had at uni who formed a band and played at parties. The difference
is, unlike your friends, the National can actually play and write music
brilliantly. It was the kind of show that you might expect at a uni bar but
writ large. There wasn’t a fancy light show and there were no costume changes. But
the band was loose and happy to be on stage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">When they were starting out, Michael Stipe from REM
told the National in order to have a long career they either needed to have
lots of hits, or none at all. They choose the latter option. But for a band
with no hits, they’ve certainly got a lot of great songs. They’ve had a 20 year
career and the show touches on every point in it. From their early successes to
tracks from the two albums released last year, the setlist features songs from
throughout their catalogue. A sign of how they’ve maintained their quality
control is that the newer songs more than hold their own against the early
classics. They don’t rely on their biggest albums to fill their set.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In the middle of the show, I remember thinking that
this is what all rock bands should sound like. They were powerful. They rocked
hard. But they also had a light melodic touch and they were engaging
performers. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Lead singer Matt Berninger went into the crowd at a
number of points in the show and the excitement level in the crowd certainly
went up a notch. It was a great way to make an immediate connection with the
audience. He didn’t rely on a wireless microphone. He must have the longest
microphone lead in the music business. He walked 100 metres into the crowd and
having this physical link to the stage somehow made this adventure even more
compelling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A side note is that his
microphone roadie must be the hardest working person in showbusiness. How no
one got injured is a miracle. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It was one of the things that reminded me of when
you saw small indie bands playing in tiny venues. The lead singer goes into the
crowd to get your attention. Tick. The guitarists stand at opposite sides of
the stage and try to ‘out rock’ each other. Tick. The lead singer gives away
his shoes at the end of the gig? Tick. The rhythm section stays mostly in the
background, but still look effortlessly cool. Tick. Wait… The lead singer gave
away his shoes? Yes, that’s true. That’s a cool souvenir! That’s hard to beat!
But someone even went home with the mic stand. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It was that kind of gig! </span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p><p></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-72958390740498241072024-02-26T02:00:00.000-08:002024-02-27T21:23:50.741-08:00Taylor Swift - Accor Stadium Sydney<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_f1qs-dUzKDNk5OkcEwA67RpVPxOAS_WRgCs6XDb9k4xAXXC0z1-FVrwsz5CX7hEdKokP6zOS9WNxhPk_MAbyHMH95ByZNPd6GKKBizCcSbBSTrBfNHSaTa_tdReqNAQl7aiwpyO0ZaNFNCBlZKBjdbajO4bf4BSaERbRKlNviLdoW2x4WofDrkNj5Z9/s4032/IMG_8127.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_f1qs-dUzKDNk5OkcEwA67RpVPxOAS_WRgCs6XDb9k4xAXXC0z1-FVrwsz5CX7hEdKokP6zOS9WNxhPk_MAbyHMH95ByZNPd6GKKBizCcSbBSTrBfNHSaTa_tdReqNAQl7aiwpyO0ZaNFNCBlZKBjdbajO4bf4BSaERbRKlNviLdoW2x4WofDrkNj5Z9/s320/IMG_8127.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLnF9JyrQVApkagTlKtgPVt_lTqFln4d6IKnTK86lZ0Cv5JHBom3XWwFHJ1wLiF2o_uTwxCjS2rjdbrmoyWVajxhC8_gTmAZIOXHOQ0RsAfPFG6Au_pmx_NTO7GnZ3tvCjbEkhFNK_ZLGFrCh8lcdGw994tNBgJypW6TNiUE7IeLkKjBLgfLQ76BnCCrgr/s4032/IMG_8089.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLnF9JyrQVApkagTlKtgPVt_lTqFln4d6IKnTK86lZ0Cv5JHBom3XWwFHJ1wLiF2o_uTwxCjS2rjdbrmoyWVajxhC8_gTmAZIOXHOQ0RsAfPFG6Au_pmx_NTO7GnZ3tvCjbEkhFNK_ZLGFrCh8lcdGw994tNBgJypW6TNiUE7IeLkKjBLgfLQ76BnCCrgr/s320/IMG_8089.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwKobaqc_UCqqRef0VS_hNaKYuxIyili3rZTbyHbSbI9K4jrAvrli5yWNeBu-Fo8E5rJpMco4d1j2hEqguLJtVlRH7lZIKJBmKcJa3BJM60M0tHmCmg8J38OdeFbIpfGF9aFfbKfqWXGSPh1En8vZw7NWTl_Sf9YdmlSrVGV7cxCCg2ZPf2sZ8zY5upnDk/s3022/IMG_8018.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2267" data-original-width="3022" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwKobaqc_UCqqRef0VS_hNaKYuxIyili3rZTbyHbSbI9K4jrAvrli5yWNeBu-Fo8E5rJpMco4d1j2hEqguLJtVlRH7lZIKJBmKcJa3BJM60M0tHmCmg8J38OdeFbIpfGF9aFfbKfqWXGSPh1En8vZw7NWTl_Sf9YdmlSrVGV7cxCCg2ZPf2sZ8zY5upnDk/s320/IMG_8018.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>
</p><h1>Taylor Swift</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">Accor Stadium</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">26 February 2024</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There’s nothing that irritates me more than when old white
men (yes, I know…) dismiss Taylor Swift. The secret to Taylor Swift’s success
is simple really. She’s got great songs. And she got a lot of them. For my
money she’s the best songwriter to emerge this century and one of the best of
all time. Don’t take my word for it though, no less a songwriter than Paul
McCartney (a man who knows his way around a song) rates her highly and has even
said that he’s been inspired by her work. Case closed.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Actually, there <i>is</i> one thing that irritates me more
than people dismissing Taylor Swift. It’s people dismissing her fans. Like
they’re too young or too female to know good music. Not only is that factually
incorrect, but let me tell you that the kids know <i>exactly</i> what is good
music They are the first generation that has access to the entire history of
music at their fingertips. If they like a band from, say, the 70s they’ll
listen to them. But they don’t. They listen to Taylor Swift and the reason is
simple. I’ve already said it, but she writes great songs that connect with
them. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The show itself is incredible. Did I mention her songs?
She’s got a lot of them and by now we all know she’s playing them as mini sets
that represent all of the eras of her career. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each of these mini sets is more impressive
than the previous one. She starts with <i>Lover</i>, and the reaction is
instant. It might not even be her best set of songs, but there’s something
about being in the presence of a master that you can’t help but get swept along
with. It’s a bit like Beatlemania. We all know how hard it was getting tickets
to this show and how lucky we are to be there. In that first set of hers, it
hits home! We’re in the room. And she’s right in front of us. All those hours
in the Ticketek queue were worth it! </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Her early country years are covered with <i>Fearless</i> and
<i>Speak Now</i>, both showing her musical prowess. I’m not sure it needs to be
said, but she’s a great musician and she’s got a great band on stage. Yes, that
comment is for the old white guys reading. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In her indie years (<i>Folklore</i> and <i>Evermore</i>) she
turned her not inconsiderable song writing talents to story songs, rather than
personal confessionals. Both of these sets were a definite highlight and also
illustrate that the tour works because each of the Eras has a different vibe to
the others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s got lots of distinct periods
and she covers them all. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The best mini set might have been when she plays <i>Reputation</i>.
I don’t think it’s my favourite album of hers, but the production and song
choices were a real highlight. They took things up a level. That is, until she
did the <i>Red</i> set. That took it up another level again. Amazing!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>1989’s</i> pop gems turned the stadium
into a huge party and then she tied the whole show together with her <i>Midnights</i>
set. Each set outdoing the previous one. It was incredible.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let’s be honest, in my time I’ve seen more than my fair
share of artists. The Eras Tour was easily one of the best concerts I’ve ever
seen. Taylor Swift was as good, or better, than most of the artists I’ve seen.
Yes, even the ones revered by those old white men that dismiss her. </p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p><p></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-54727521212894831912024-02-09T12:09:00.000-08:002024-02-10T15:34:59.350-08:00Simple Minds - Sydney Opera House<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLgoauV-tW9lt0wTSpiSdTE0cVGaFebYKCfWKWpEBkdIV9FI9kYf1kBGQ980MQ8S2dpfijE3W_GjVi2fbsRD-5OapQ-cQFBRufszLKS9RsfKZFj6yrs5XKxCKTkYqM14J4dTQzVi0sie4vXIMOdN1po5m9Jk1fgnwrXCKZdfQOOt6tzoERvjMqMqtjMpr/s2880/Screenshot%202024-02-09%20at%209.35.58%20pm.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1610" data-original-width="2880" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLgoauV-tW9lt0wTSpiSdTE0cVGaFebYKCfWKWpEBkdIV9FI9kYf1kBGQ980MQ8S2dpfijE3W_GjVi2fbsRD-5OapQ-cQFBRufszLKS9RsfKZFj6yrs5XKxCKTkYqM14J4dTQzVi0sie4vXIMOdN1po5m9Jk1fgnwrXCKZdfQOOt6tzoERvjMqMqtjMpr/s320/Screenshot%202024-02-09%20at%209.35.58%20pm.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim8SPtbdtuNb8G1Bujh4oPlQ9jlFoyRxLUdyeMoEa2C5-BVcejXOmRxwLf5XSzMo6qZSmyuzLD1T9BZ-hAWvDCTj-jNeIw9a51K5IxYOeLQdkoeBN_U0S8uC8P-Uy1SoBA0GgYrOzxVquUx2ZxOmU11EvS3PH5op-NSw0tMeO59c5oVkECsq2KyqqDGvmN/s1800/IMG_7754.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1350" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim8SPtbdtuNb8G1Bujh4oPlQ9jlFoyRxLUdyeMoEa2C5-BVcejXOmRxwLf5XSzMo6qZSmyuzLD1T9BZ-hAWvDCTj-jNeIw9a51K5IxYOeLQdkoeBN_U0S8uC8P-Uy1SoBA0GgYrOzxVquUx2ZxOmU11EvS3PH5op-NSw0tMeO59c5oVkECsq2KyqqDGvmN/s320/IMG_7754.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>
<h1><a name="_Toc158451516">Simple Minds 2024</a></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sydney Opera House</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">8 February 2024</p>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal">“Stick with me kid, and we’ll play there”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">These are the words that Jim Kerr said to Charlie Burchill,
pointing to the Sydney Opera House, on the night they first arrived in Sydney from
Glasgow in 1981. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It took 43 years, but they finally did it. Ever since then,
it has been a mutual love affair. Australia have taken the band to heart and
the band clearly love being here. There’s a warmth to the stage banter that is
impossible to fake. If we have learned anything in the last few years, it’s not
to take anything for granted. The band certainly didn’t. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The gig felt a bit like a victory lap.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For a band that have had a 40-year career they did a
remarkable job of covering all the bases. It’s no secret that I think the early
years of Simple Minds were when they were actually cool. Hard to believe I
know. But songs such as <i>Love Song</i>, <i>I Travel</i>, <i>Themes For Great
Cities</i> are all early art rock classics. They remind us what an innovative
and experimental band they were. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then, Simple Minds became a bit like U2 (not necessarily a
compliment) and their catalogue started to fill up with stadium anthems, <i>Alive
and Kicking</i>, Sanctify Yourself and <i>Don’t You Forget About Me</i>.
Without them, you doubt they’d still have a career 40 years later, and everyone
was very happy to hear them. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then there’s the undisputed classic album New Gold Dream.
The band are no fools, so about half of this album makes the set. A great
decision as these songs were all highlights. How can you go past the timeless
title track, or <i>Promised You a Miracle</i> or <i>Someone, Somewhere in
Summertime</i>? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There are a few songs from the 90s (not a particularly
fertile period for the band) and, of course, they throw in a couple of new
songs. They’re not bad. They show that there’s still life in the band and while
not reaching the heights of the classics, show they’re still a creative
force.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They must have played every other venue in the city, from
the smallest bars, to the Entertainment Centre and everywhere else in between.
But when they got their chance at one of the most prestigious venues in the
world, they did themselves proud.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p><p></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-29364136723421460552024-01-16T03:00:00.000-08:002024-01-20T14:00:49.182-08:00Gracie Abrams - Fortitude Music Hall - Brisbane<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit8XFyBl2vCH1uCd3meM-VAwKSwnkVcJHmTpmej2LURD_tGA0XO2xLsyEdjHqHejARQowjnEp5vu_1cutiLA6cciEpRwYzYpbP4m9fiXjecHRKy-_DT36P_c7g6dwLbyRo3AExFS_dmGlPGKTQjjxbQu6bVArtDs42Ua9Ff1D55dU-jHLJP-ujTzgNIhbx/s4032/IMG_7261.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit8XFyBl2vCH1uCd3meM-VAwKSwnkVcJHmTpmej2LURD_tGA0XO2xLsyEdjHqHejARQowjnEp5vu_1cutiLA6cciEpRwYzYpbP4m9fiXjecHRKy-_DT36P_c7g6dwLbyRo3AExFS_dmGlPGKTQjjxbQu6bVArtDs42Ua9Ff1D55dU-jHLJP-ujTzgNIhbx/s320/IMG_7261.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>
</p><h1><a name="_Toc156457940"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gracie
Abrams</span></a><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Fortitude Music
Hall – Brisbane</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm; padding: 0cm;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">16 January 2024</span></p>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It was like being
let in on a secret. I was clearly a fish out of water. Gracie Abrams’ audience
is almost entirely teenage or young adult females. What was I doing there? The
answer is, quite obviously, that I was a “plus one” for my daughter. With that,
you would probably expect that my review would be filled with grudging
acceptance – phrases like “she gives her audience what they want” or “she’s got
simple pop melodies” with a barely hidden contempt that this is somehow lesser
music because of her audience. But you won’t find that here. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The best part of a
gig - any gig - is the communal experience. There is nothing better than
screaming out your favourite lyrics in a room full of like-minded strangers.
From the first note, you couldn’t help but get swept along with the crowd.
Everyone knowing all the words and feeling like you were with “your people” is
an emotion that is almost impossible to replicate. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gracie Abrams has
grown up with her audience and it shows. She speaks to them, uses the same
language as them, looks out for them. It’s a feeling that is repaid by the
audience. It was a mutual admiration society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Her show was tight,
but it was also flexible and loose. Slick but not soulless. The special moments
were the ones that went off script. One of these was when the audience got her
to sing a song called <i>In Between</i> by yelling out a request. This was an
unreleased song that somehow they had unearthed (thanks to the internet). She
said that she only remembered the second verse and chorus, so that’s what she
played.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Then she also
played another song she wrote when she was 13. Her mum said that she should
record the song properly and the reaction of the Brisbane crowd was, I think,
the deciding factor. “I have to record that one now… you guys are the ones that
helped me decide”. That’s a direct quote. The audience, of course, loved that! </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">She also played a
new song from her third (yet to be released) album called <i>Cedar</i>. She
couldn’t quite remember how that one went. But that was part of the charm. It
was a really intimate moment. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">She stopped the
concert a few times to help audience members who had passed out and handled the
whole situation with care and attention. That seems to sum her up for me. Lots
of artists say that they love their audience, but you could tell that what she
was saying was coming from her heart. From her soul. The same place her songs
come from. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">All of this might
have stopped the momentum for another artist, it could have taken the wind out
of their sails. But she handled it all with the grace (sorry) of someone with
years of experience. She knew exactly what she needed to do – she turned to her
band and said “let’s play <i>Mess It Up</i>”. A fan favourite that she saves
for special occasions. It was a masterstroke. She had us back in the palm of
her hand. Yes, even me. I was no longer a fish out of water. </span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p><p></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-21588901868911162202023-10-28T01:05:00.000-07:002023-10-28T01:05:02.746-07:00Paul McCartney - Allianz Stadium - Sydney<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfApGgdVWa8aYl5hbUu_dydAQmYjjmsl9rMrmx6Ig-UtxYp2x8Uz8V9VXBdQ8DoT0RXhp1z15jkve2rybp9HWyg5ypmeixnEejV9PgN5DVGaSsW6tVDdzCm8A0nVRb7geyYUzvDvYMOlaDAEp-lqALKWZreBUhgzaS3az7wWFJa6qxh0SBG9UchFwmGtK/s3127/IMG_5438.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3127" data-original-width="2345" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfApGgdVWa8aYl5hbUu_dydAQmYjjmsl9rMrmx6Ig-UtxYp2x8Uz8V9VXBdQ8DoT0RXhp1z15jkve2rybp9HWyg5ypmeixnEejV9PgN5DVGaSsW6tVDdzCm8A0nVRb7geyYUzvDvYMOlaDAEp-lqALKWZreBUhgzaS3az7wWFJa6qxh0SBG9UchFwmGtK/s320/IMG_5438.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix2__AKauvX4qGLHI04H_II2tsDbBZ-kxLlJbsRtKpoabS2iVqyb4IL7q7GTdNHhPhjmF0WqNitrMpTCGM0nVyfoFeCywPCRaOyr3gSe7MS0NpX62e6JAuGkyNYaZZIfayDmVeiu7i9zmgip-ai1P4tBlIDo9Vd04e1AnDNQGI9jfXaqMV3djxICudwG8h/s4032/IMG_5425.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix2__AKauvX4qGLHI04H_II2tsDbBZ-kxLlJbsRtKpoabS2iVqyb4IL7q7GTdNHhPhjmF0WqNitrMpTCGM0nVyfoFeCywPCRaOyr3gSe7MS0NpX62e6JAuGkyNYaZZIfayDmVeiu7i9zmgip-ai1P4tBlIDo9Vd04e1AnDNQGI9jfXaqMV3djxICudwG8h/s320/IMG_5425.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>
</p><h1><a name="_Toc149403439"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Paul McCartney</span></a><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Allianz Stadium – Sydney </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">27 October 2023</span></p>
<div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">You forget. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">You really do.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">You forget how many great
songs Paul McCartney has written. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">But don’t worry. He reminds
you how many songs he has written during the night. He doesn’t just give you
hits (although you get plenty of those – <i>Sgt Peppers</i>, <i>Can’t Buy Me
Love</i>, <i>Jet</i>, <i>Band On The Run</i>… I could go on …) he also gives
you a selection of songs throughout his long and varied career. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">It would have been easy to
just play a bunch of Beatles songs and a bunch of Wings songs, but he does more
than that. What you do get is a proper band playing a set with ebbs and flows.
He says that he can tell when we like a song because all our phones come out
and it looks like he’s playing to a galaxy of stars. But when he plays a new
one it’s like playing into a black hole. He sort of jokes, that he doesn’t care
because he’s going to play the new ones anyway. Who is complaining? One of the
best songwriters of the 20<sup>th</sup> century can basically do no wrong. He
has written so many great songs in so many different styles that even his new
songs are still better than most other artists hits. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">You also forget how long
he’s been doing this. He started the Beatles with John Lennon when he was 15
(which was 65 years ago). So, he knows what he is doing. He knows how to hold a
crowd.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">High points? There are so
many. The encore opened with a virtual duet of <i>I’ve Got A Feeling</i> between
him and John. That’s the closet most of us will ever get to see the Beatles
perform. Just hearing their voices together was an emotional moment. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Hey Jude</span></i><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> was a communal experience. The song is
potentially dulled by familiarity, but it lost none of its power when sung with
a chorus of 40,000 people. It felt as fresh as the day it was written. Magical.
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Get Back</span></i><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> was another highlight. The documentary of the
making of the Let it Be album “Get Back” might actually be the best music film
of all time. Seeing Paul McCartney seemingly create the song out of thin air
right before your eyes is a literal jaw dropping moment. A whole essay could be
written about that one scene. So, to see it performed live was incredible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">And then there was the
tribute to George Harrison with <i>Something</i> or there was <i>Jet</i>… or <i>Maybe
I’m Amazed</i>… or <i>Blackbird</i>… or…, well, you get the idea. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The set ends with the 3 song
suite from Abbey Road and you’re reminded “oh yeah, I forgot he wrote those
too”. They might not be as high profile as some of the other songs in his
catalogue, but they’re all great. Isn’t everything? </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">I’m left with one final
thought. After we’re all long gone and forgotten, Paul McCartney and his songs,
definitely won’t be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-23367594489419617552023-10-20T03:17:00.005-07:002023-10-28T00:55:18.848-07:00The Chicks - Qudos Bank Arena<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitHvLeD97Cl97fD6cCa3xSyhQsYS_8EX_CAjFlEODEXRLMKVSzkE7-1oHPOv2x5y4GHUs16bEc1ZJ3NdNvJELizRla1fwzjCVo5dZyFv8wjCPBHBN5UWGydc_IGyuDKXBenzx2YHgiwZxGQO6tZOx9IBfFd6tbzBaDQF19_PgO2uRxsHdrWB-P7a3YSlX3/s4032/IMG_5259.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitHvLeD97Cl97fD6cCa3xSyhQsYS_8EX_CAjFlEODEXRLMKVSzkE7-1oHPOv2x5y4GHUs16bEc1ZJ3NdNvJELizRla1fwzjCVo5dZyFv8wjCPBHBN5UWGydc_IGyuDKXBenzx2YHgiwZxGQO6tZOx9IBfFd6tbzBaDQF19_PgO2uRxsHdrWB-P7a3YSlX3/s320/IMG_5259.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><h1><a name="_Toc148721964"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></a><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The Chicks <br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Qudos Bank Arena</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">19 October 2023</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">It’s a human thing. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">As you get older you become
the sum of your experiences. Some good. Some not.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">It’s fair to say that the
Chicks have had their fair share of both. In 1998 they sold more CDs than all
the other country acts combined. By July 2000 they had become the best-selling
all-woman band and best-selling country group in the US. They were on top of
the world. But the fall was swift and brutal. They were cancelled before being
cancelled was even a thing. Bad mouthing a president seems quaint now (and it’s
amazing thinking that Dubya isn’t the worst President the US has had by a long
shot… imagine telling us that in 2003… but I digress). But in 2003 it was a
scandal. Radio stopped playing their songs, people burned their CDs. Then came
the death threats. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">This is all documented in
probably the best music film I’ve ever seen (Shut Up and Sing) and I think
their response to being cancelled and their attitude afterwards makes them, in
my eyes, the most hardcore punk rock band in the entire world. They don’t take
shit from anyone anymore. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">In addition to all of that,
Natalie Maines went through a divorce so scarring that the details are
suppressed by court. That doesn’t matter though. All is revealed in her songs. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">A silver lining to being
cancelled is that if you get through it, you don’t have to care what anyone
else thinks about you.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">It’s freeing.
Liberating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The concert was filled with
songs from the Chicks newest album and tell a tale of heartbreak, betrayal, revenge,
rage and love. Pretty much the full range of emotions. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Their rage was not just
limited to songs of personal heartbreak. Tackling topics that might have once
been taboo, especially to their mostly conservative audience (Black Lives
Matter, Gun Control, Abortion Rights), they now have no fear in bringing these
topics up in songs like <i>March March</i> and <i>Gaslighter</i>. They’re on
the right side of history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">That sums up the band to me.
They are fearless. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Not only are the Chicks old
school entertainers – you can tell they cut their teeth getting the attention
of rooms that didn’t want to know them – they give their audience exactly what
they want. But they do more than that. They let you into their world. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">They reveal themselves to
you. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">They show you their scars. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">They haven’t come through
all of this unscathed. But that’s OK. That just makes them human.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p><p></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-9370525819280131192023-09-15T03:46:00.001-07:002023-09-15T03:46:30.277-07:00Candlelight Concert - Taylor Swift - NGA<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4bGMrL_quE0pbloAQIwV-ijJHnQV_YT31EI6mEc7XmoffZooBRy4QMM0OT4y9TA9L4PjnLX88Tf850iIaIqb_DxvfXM4w0RUE9fxmerdpMqqnNdlXpOvE4oVLEDM5PnWXjjLk6iBTb6kIFVILYLsdqny6JXRstLbT4HGP2JRJdsYRlphce8s62Mj70vq/s2680/IMG_4463.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2010" data-original-width="2680" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4bGMrL_quE0pbloAQIwV-ijJHnQV_YT31EI6mEc7XmoffZooBRy4QMM0OT4y9TA9L4PjnLX88Tf850iIaIqb_DxvfXM4w0RUE9fxmerdpMqqnNdlXpOvE4oVLEDM5PnWXjjLk6iBTb6kIFVILYLsdqny6JXRstLbT4HGP2JRJdsYRlphce8s62Mj70vq/s320/IMG_4463.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-85890663385536326942023-08-04T02:30:00.003-07:002023-08-04T18:44:47.497-07:00Fanny Lumsden - Street Theatre<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmuLMuex2jxrE3NkM7jPd2JAcMWDV2_XESa0qSo26gJRWM9hAgYmCTP3FwujWUqzwENJ6tulFmu-dc44gmNe5trxH6Wb6GlPv6ePAXpsEDBrPjZRHV1faH7Ucs1SNwt8x3ewxjWg9KK21IQ2WN7NVPppQEMaSTbaI4EPUD0xZJnLnyWwNjwDknTU32XBaW/s4032/IMG_3953.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmuLMuex2jxrE3NkM7jPd2JAcMWDV2_XESa0qSo26gJRWM9hAgYmCTP3FwujWUqzwENJ6tulFmu-dc44gmNe5trxH6Wb6GlPv6ePAXpsEDBrPjZRHV1faH7Ucs1SNwt8x3ewxjWg9KK21IQ2WN7NVPppQEMaSTbaI4EPUD0xZJnLnyWwNjwDknTU32XBaW/s320/IMG_3953.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>
</p><h1> </h1><h1> </h1><h1> </h1><h1>Fanny Lumsden</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Street Theatre</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">4 August 2023</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Some gigs are about the big gestures and
others are about the small details. Fanny Lumsden was all about the intimate
moments and making you feel that this was a special moment that was only for
those fortunate enough to be in the room.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">On album release day for the excellent Hey
Dawn album both the band and crowd were happy to be in the room. Ecstatic might
be a better description. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">You’d call Fanny Lumsden a country artist,
but, as the song goes, she’s a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll.
Also, while we’re at it, a little bit pop and a whole lot of energy. You can’t
help but get swept up in her enthusiasm and have a good time!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The best moments were when they broke the band
down to the 4 members who played Glastonbury (yes, that Glastonbury – she said
proudly that she’ll probably never stop talking about it)! and showed how
strong these songs are when broken down to their bare bones. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Or maybe it was when the band gave the
audience a choice (this happened a couple of times) and we chose a song they
hadn’t played in years. You couldn’t tell. It was both flawless and confident. Loose
but not out of control. Intimate, yet universal. That pretty much sums up the
entire performance. One you couldn’t help but get swept up by. </span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-35637848914208017692023-07-28T05:30:00.002-07:002023-07-28T20:45:46.522-07:00Flower Market<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4rDcKjDabLjYbgmTiIDEHoPuHH5EDoeV8QmAQj15K82oflSkM0TIQ7vGcVagVB-G5JCB5sOIZmyt3Ncv6oXnFfgwbJPK03B7rPjHl62TfooNoRi47qHqPppVk81fPEZgcD4TXGchu5ACyUpcms0FsOq-mzLL5W2p-xvud_MY6XDvjZQoIax95HJpmpja/s4032/IMG_3909.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4rDcKjDabLjYbgmTiIDEHoPuHH5EDoeV8QmAQj15K82oflSkM0TIQ7vGcVagVB-G5JCB5sOIZmyt3Ncv6oXnFfgwbJPK03B7rPjHl62TfooNoRi47qHqPppVk81fPEZgcD4TXGchu5ACyUpcms0FsOq-mzLL5W2p-xvud_MY6XDvjZQoIax95HJpmpja/s320/IMG_3909.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> </p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Flower Market</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sideways Bar</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">28 July 2023 </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It’s rare to see the full life cycle of a band
but that’s what we saw on Friday night. We witnessed the first official live
performance of Flower Market at the Yacht Club in 2021 and if, as I suspect that
this hiatus is indefinite, we witnessed the final Flower Market performance at
Sideways Bar on Friday.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The band announced at the gig that they were
going on hiatus because the lead guitarist was moving to Melbourne. On what may
be their final show, it had a bit of a celebratory feel, but mixed with a hint
of melancholy. The band were tight, playing songs they said were “old as fuck”
(amusing given they must be 20 years old at most) to a song that was just
released on Spotify that morning. It was a touching gig. It was nice seeing a
band splitting up without any hint of recrimination. The band were sad to see
their friend leave, but wanted to celebrate their time together. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Unless you’re U2, Metallica or the Rolling
Stones, all bands break up. It’s a sad fact of life. What has been great about
Flower Market, aside from hearing their songs, is watching them grow as
performers. All of the band members are around my children’s age so to see them
develop from being good, but nervous, musicians at their first gig to a
confident band that knows how to work a stage and how to play their songs has
been great. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Each of them are accomplished musicians. There
is no weak link in this band, but the sum of their talents is even greater than
the individual components. The bass player never only plays root notes, the
drummer doesn’t just provide just a solid back foundation for the songs, the
lead guitarist is one of the best musicians I’ve heard and the lead singer
brings it all together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only that,
they have a chemistry that can only come from being old school friends. Oh, and
most importantly all their songs are fantastic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So, should they look back at their time as
Flower Market as a success? How do you measure success anyway? Is it platinum
records? Is it playing to festival crowds? Sure, they are both definitely
measures of success. But what about success on a smaller scale. They made
recordings (93 thousand plays on Spotify for one of their songs!) they sold t-shirts,
they had interstate gigs. That’s success by any measure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I’m not exactly sure what they would have
needed to get pushed to the next level. But they weren’t lacking talent or
conviction. They weren’t lacking songs. Maybe they just needed a lucky break?
We all know that’s impossible to manufacture. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Walking home past a covers band that was
inevitably being paid more for one night’s gig than Flower Market earned for
their entire “career” was a little depressing. I bemoaned the sad fact that
most people only want to hear songs they know, rather than original music.
Here’s hoping that the hiatus isn’t permanent. They had great songs and I’d
like to hear them again. </span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style> <br /></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-18696224428976148462023-07-18T09:03:00.001-07:002023-07-18T14:48:58.164-07:00ABBA Voyage<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">ABBA Voyage –
London</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">17 July 2023</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Does this count?
Was this really a concert?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">ABBA performing as
digital versions of themselves (self-styled ABBA-tars) was always going to be a
unique experience. While it was not perfect, it was almost like going back in a
time machine and seeing ABBA in their heyday. They could easily have put on the
CD of ABBA Gold and everyone would have been happy, but they didn’t do that. It
flowed like a concert, it had audience interaction like a concert. It felt like
a concert. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The best part of
any concert is if you have an emotional connection with the performer. But can
you really have an emotional connection with a performer if that performer is
an avatar? It turns out that you can.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">When the ABBA-tars
were human sized they worked well. When they were blown up and projected on the
large screen (as happens with every modern concert) it was a bit like watching
a YouTube video. There were a couple of animated parts (I mean the whole thing
was animated… but this was like a cut scene from a CGI film) that felt like
filler and using footage of Waterloo from Eurovision in 1974, while a cute nod
to their past, dragged me out of the performance. However, two of my concert
companions particularly liked that part of the show, so clearly this view is not universal.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">There was a live
band on stage playing the music, while ABBA provided the vocals via tape. For
one song the band took over and did a song by themselves while ABBA “walked off
stage” and that’s when the concept actually came into sharp focus. With the
ABBA vocals removed, it was exactly like seeing a good covers band. As talented
as the band was, it was nothing special. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">But with ABBA
performing it was mesmerising – revealing the melancholy heart to these songs.
Few bands perform such sunny melodies with such (bleak) heartbreaking lyrics.
You have to go a long way to find finer songwriters and the vocal harmonies are
unsurpassed. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">For the more
popular songs (SOS, Dancing Queen, etc…) I definitely had a physical and
emotional response to the songs. That was completely unexpected. That’s more
than can be said for some “real bands”. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">So yes, it
definitely counts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was a real
concert. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Highly recommended.
</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Depeche Mode</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Olympic Stadium –
Berlin </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">7 July 2023</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“God, I wish that
guy wasn’t so tall”. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It’s a different
feeling when “that guy” blocking the view of the stage is your son and you’ve
dragged him halfway around the world to see your favourite band.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The last time I
took my family to one of my favourite bands (U2 in Sydney) their response was polite
at best, so I was a little nervous. “it was like seeing a bunch of old men on
stage” “they were running out of breath”. Those were some of the comments. It
felt a bit like U2 didn’t quite reach top gear. Not that they were phoning it
in so much as they were keeping something in reserve if they needed it. It kind
of felt a bit like they were cruising. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It turns out I had
nothing to fear. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Seeing Depeche Mode
in their spiritual home is definitely a bucket list item. They’ve got quite a
history in the city (recorded 3 albums here) and I think the Berliners have
taken them to heart. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">To be fair, it took
the band a little while to get out of first gear. They had a bit of a slow
start by playing a couple of tracks from their (admittedly very good) new album
but the crowd mostly tolerated those songs, rather than give them a euphoric
reception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">However, the crowd really
lifted when they started playing their hits. It certainly felt like both the
band and the audience went up a gear or two. Dave Gahan must surely be one of
the greatest front men ever and you can see how the death of Andy Fletcher last
year has brought him and Martin Gore closer together. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">For a band that
have has a career of 40 years they played something for everyone - 80s pop (Everything
Counts and Just Can’t Get Enough) their black goth phase (Stripped), 90s
classics (I Feel You, It’s No good) their big hits (Personal Jesus, Enjoy the
Silence, Never Let Me Down) and more recent songs (Precious, Wrong). </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">One of the
highlights might have been Violator album track “Waiting for the Night”. Martin
and Dave’s voices combined beautifully and the harmony was carried by the crowd
for minutes after the song was over. We would still be there singing if they
hadn’t put on the afterburners (Sorry, I’ve taken this “gear analogy” a bit too
far) and came home with a wet sail (now I’m mixing metaphors). Anyway, the
closing trio of songs (Just Can’t Get Enough, Never Let Me Down Again and
Personal Jesus) were more than enough to leave everyone happy. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">They left nothing
in the tank and certainly weren’t cruising.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">But never mind all
that. What did that tall guy think about the concert? </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Before the concert I
was pretty confident I could predict my family’s reactions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I anticipated my
“grow your own concert buddy” daughter would be very excited. She was. One
down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The “tall guy” is
the only proper musician in the family and is hard to please. He’s got
very high standards. I was fearing what he would say. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I saw him sing along to the songs and it
looked like he had a great time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s
two! </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">My wife? I feared
that she would probably not be happy having to stand for hours and complain
about having a sore back and not being able to see. This also proved to be
true. So, three from three for my predictions, but probably I’d need to work on
the last one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Let’s chalk this
down as a success. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">But maybe next time
we’ll get seats… </span></p>
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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvaCFy6xVOBlfL1XMzVjswIInd5QQgd5LuNh07l91Mx7s3ZwI_nLllTaQGBKubPnyw9yZ2eRqhM52xSH-Xng-pqILlI2KSxaj44uFzW5tQZF0Kl992dTfJJv93Yp8hA6mSROYDjh8jXZor1HrfITNgK8I3a6r5NjVUhBgw5_ZjDM9NQffSqPTBtP9ALA/s2074/IMG_1120.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2074" data-original-width="1556" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvaCFy6xVOBlfL1XMzVjswIInd5QQgd5LuNh07l91Mx7s3ZwI_nLllTaQGBKubPnyw9yZ2eRqhM52xSH-Xng-pqILlI2KSxaj44uFzW5tQZF0Kl992dTfJJv93Yp8hA6mSROYDjh8jXZor1HrfITNgK8I3a6r5NjVUhBgw5_ZjDM9NQffSqPTBtP9ALA/s320/IMG_1120.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrD-baJhJrC2CfKy86PdOSooba4ZmPq_jQ6vgzQUApVRzJyAvGeio2EzISWXOFCUILb_ggJlezoXzZYZMAROUcEhBqIC2UTUyTWGMN1i9LcgVehRsHeMevb-wTe61phXQNZ7AfwJPyd3QzEu_0vZ-wuDi6zlYCKqKmT3iYlsIucU6Uo1LCY-lrmpLgQ/s4032/IMG_1118.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrD-baJhJrC2CfKy86PdOSooba4ZmPq_jQ6vgzQUApVRzJyAvGeio2EzISWXOFCUILb_ggJlezoXzZYZMAROUcEhBqIC2UTUyTWGMN1i9LcgVehRsHeMevb-wTe61phXQNZ7AfwJPyd3QzEu_0vZ-wuDi6zlYCKqKmT3iYlsIucU6Uo1LCY-lrmpLgQ/s320/IMG_1118.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-84586907027451404352023-05-20T21:00:00.002-07:002023-05-24T01:58:48.377-07:00Chicago - Tim Murray Theatre CGS<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0taIrkumXY2uZVTSELe9Iy3QsLHdWm5hW1PvjWQIocuT3tVK6GClUV_aQoO-GiBfZhiDKVzY5f1Sk0pi9THq1ohmshynafiLBW2byKxkYAO-oimTfzYqxgfZs73zGbQ2XSjFWVVaEkkzCCZcWeTvKKTOBQP6KI_p6zjUSolR2AQapGYwuXeaME43Cjg/s4032/IMG_1088.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0taIrkumXY2uZVTSELe9Iy3QsLHdWm5hW1PvjWQIocuT3tVK6GClUV_aQoO-GiBfZhiDKVzY5f1Sk0pi9THq1ohmshynafiLBW2byKxkYAO-oimTfzYqxgfZs73zGbQ2XSjFWVVaEkkzCCZcWeTvKKTOBQP6KI_p6zjUSolR2AQapGYwuXeaME43Cjg/s320/IMG_1088.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-69226475470015625782023-05-12T01:30:00.001-07:002023-05-12T15:06:48.115-07:00Phoenix Collective - Tribute to Coldplay - All Saints Ainslie<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOH5ptDidlw9rMPe4LHEA__84ozZuPHjXAziLeqDtPgpFvplajbz9RAGSxXit6zaJhfRemu6En9xK3VU8IreyuUGkM0SOJXOi_wDnG05yTpQWCQHgXhP3bdX7-Kug1s6DBjGyLoO2LpBcdRdidmGJ21_-T-nAbbP35QoYZ8JNQ0oN8Z4r4UE7yRCf5QQ/s4032/IMG_1062.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOH5ptDidlw9rMPe4LHEA__84ozZuPHjXAziLeqDtPgpFvplajbz9RAGSxXit6zaJhfRemu6En9xK3VU8IreyuUGkM0SOJXOi_wDnG05yTpQWCQHgXhP3bdX7-Kug1s6DBjGyLoO2LpBcdRdidmGJ21_-T-nAbbP35QoYZ8JNQ0oN8Z4r4UE7yRCf5QQ/s320/IMG_1062.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiefuKUKRghJvVPUcseAP8AsV-5x7xTYKuqJuQj7V6zs5ExP2RWE4meofLRZxqnRboOhrMFjidBzGELpK7H06bCEdK_dd_NI7dB4k7JRckzdEfwlC8Oj_pV6QLajFWsQ6XV7J8MxBs-9J5yEIfAApWql6ypj32jCQ_yRSVYPveocJ9NiJq3TH5LlE4WLg/s4032/IMG_1047.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiefuKUKRghJvVPUcseAP8AsV-5x7xTYKuqJuQj7V6zs5ExP2RWE4meofLRZxqnRboOhrMFjidBzGELpK7H06bCEdK_dd_NI7dB4k7JRckzdEfwlC8Oj_pV6QLajFWsQ6XV7J8MxBs-9J5yEIfAApWql6ypj32jCQ_yRSVYPveocJ9NiJq3TH5LlE4WLg/s320/IMG_1047.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg04OtsXrB1MCjka349XP2LpJMDCUWVNBJ302pdmtmpd5MXIclelzubSSQ6kRkHQV9C1Fuk8qENGcFGNOuA6vHLQOp4B-6kBdOV9lh7iU1FJi_ce0Z9sB7gVF4BAX_j_N8SEvuSMKvCM00Nwsto2g2ycoEdWKAgHjEiRC8_YGtkSSYKHiY1ghVe2RK19g/s4032/IMG_1045.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg04OtsXrB1MCjka349XP2LpJMDCUWVNBJ302pdmtmpd5MXIclelzubSSQ6kRkHQV9C1Fuk8qENGcFGNOuA6vHLQOp4B-6kBdOV9lh7iU1FJi_ce0Z9sB7gVF4BAX_j_N8SEvuSMKvCM00Nwsto2g2ycoEdWKAgHjEiRC8_YGtkSSYKHiY1ghVe2RK19g/s320/IMG_1045.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-28316197948401445022023-04-23T04:00:00.003-07:002023-04-26T00:24:04.206-07:00Groovin the Moo<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzLofF6yI1vFbI5XQ6iyhYHbN0XcTWfCjviwUt7du6sTAP0wGAjg-4jeDkPHTWesxXfAobacCVtt4UDjG5CkDTa_BPa-UEDP9oFeiREde8-jfOrneBjj72x1WvgqPM23QGFd7eOUbFVp7xKR2qtQ_2opz7kpzno2f4fT25bvUAvLolAu4Ui5dHwL-4EQ/s3363/IMG_0945.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3363" data-original-width="2522" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzLofF6yI1vFbI5XQ6iyhYHbN0XcTWfCjviwUt7du6sTAP0wGAjg-4jeDkPHTWesxXfAobacCVtt4UDjG5CkDTa_BPa-UEDP9oFeiREde8-jfOrneBjj72x1WvgqPM23QGFd7eOUbFVp7xKR2qtQ_2opz7kpzno2f4fT25bvUAvLolAu4Ui5dHwL-4EQ/s320/IMG_0945.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>Fatboy Slim, Ball Park Music, Amy Shark (and Russell Crowe) and Confidence Man.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmbKgqpjbFEGc_ngDmKiuyPUHkxY8xCg3XmV9CEzECr4OjFXahScuP4Fdn1bZaeO21COnwe0d2hzWIoynPI0LFF4aVWoy6g5YSOacSMD0iZRljvcc8W1ijO2VFN6s-R1r1WoJlMFIx4nyOoZQVTQSYmTpt_efeXpmr5P_sh5zE_RHqDrIwIWWX2GdW4g/s4032/IMG_0942.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmbKgqpjbFEGc_ngDmKiuyPUHkxY8xCg3XmV9CEzECr4OjFXahScuP4Fdn1bZaeO21COnwe0d2hzWIoynPI0LFF4aVWoy6g5YSOacSMD0iZRljvcc8W1ijO2VFN6s-R1r1WoJlMFIx4nyOoZQVTQSYmTpt_efeXpmr5P_sh5zE_RHqDrIwIWWX2GdW4g/s320/IMG_0942.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEissrxfiEeD9SEAfGdjRnPNwCG6wJEDGTw9uTjI2QctteNYf6V5X0E3KeyaOpMe_MtX4eZFHwYBg5RWV3iny3HdBVSNe2ofjYlgWYcJBVmWYHrSyVA3myWIQURAqIxsXqLQEF12dTT8AInGBheq8hGj9ACDJ2J0HpwaOCg9FBSUGCeChpgYN7robJQVLg/s4032/IMG_0925.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEissrxfiEeD9SEAfGdjRnPNwCG6wJEDGTw9uTjI2QctteNYf6V5X0E3KeyaOpMe_MtX4eZFHwYBg5RWV3iny3HdBVSNe2ofjYlgWYcJBVmWYHrSyVA3myWIQURAqIxsXqLQEF12dTT8AInGBheq8hGj9ACDJ2J0HpwaOCg9FBSUGCeChpgYN7robJQVLg/s320/IMG_0925.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8swLX_NvxvkBkbn_dGyIWlVN-XBDBSgtB3wjpr7U-Ks1--vkmbcolCQiZSQo6x6unhZFwk_CPUpUBAthm4qMYfJfbV4CIg3rQ-BlCz_SdQzfoe8NRnMEqGWUms2f0huhLR-vDIitNwFparxanloSO1FoWTUnhQ30m_sqpHlTNjjFbnZuKZN4YWN0f_Q/s4032/IMG_0876.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8swLX_NvxvkBkbn_dGyIWlVN-XBDBSgtB3wjpr7U-Ks1--vkmbcolCQiZSQo6x6unhZFwk_CPUpUBAthm4qMYfJfbV4CIg3rQ-BlCz_SdQzfoe8NRnMEqGWUms2f0huhLR-vDIitNwFparxanloSO1FoWTUnhQ30m_sqpHlTNjjFbnZuKZN4YWN0f_Q/s320/IMG_0876.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ncjEieBkccrZTSBw8o03Y7W_9gC-GxNVUbr532rkQmq1syi1TyAoAsnCc6D8J2gX2bIRardNPJql3DYg3pCRJFvpS62fYfohgs-6qFomkkjOsPal5_TK9a_whSDLR88oLlYwzMnHXQyaxL5RhDUEXjx9ZFNtu1K7UVpGpdJU1r7fOivG350zTFOEWw/s4032/IMG_0870.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ncjEieBkccrZTSBw8o03Y7W_9gC-GxNVUbr532rkQmq1syi1TyAoAsnCc6D8J2gX2bIRardNPJql3DYg3pCRJFvpS62fYfohgs-6qFomkkjOsPal5_TK9a_whSDLR88oLlYwzMnHXQyaxL5RhDUEXjx9ZFNtu1K7UVpGpdJU1r7fOivG350zTFOEWw/s320/IMG_0870.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Groovin the Moo<br />23 April 2023<br />EPIC Showground Canberra <br /><br />Cover songs can often tell you more about a band than their originals. While not all bands did covers at GTM, the ones that did gave a quick shorthand into the character of those bands.<br /><br />The Chats did a cover of “Rock and Roll All Nite” by Kiss. Kiss are, let me remind you, a band that wear make up, breathe fire and spits blood. Not a band known for its subtlety. The Chats made Kiss look like a band full of nuance and deft touches. They blasted through the song, like the rest of their set, at breakneck speed with little room for detail. <br /><br />Amy Shark had added star power in her set with Maximus himself, Russell Crowe, helping sing one song. I’m still not entirely convinced by the singing skills of the Gladiator. As a singer he makes a great actor. He didn’t sing on her cover of “Mr Brightside”, but while the crowd loved the song, her version, much like the rest of her set, felt a step off the pace. All the elements were there except the magical x factor. <br /><br />Ocean Alley’s cover of “Baby Come Back” by Player was note perfect. Note perfect but impersonal. Six professional musicians playing professionally. Flawlessly. Efficiently. But not much else. <br /><br />Ball Park Music are almost the perfect festival band. I know this sounds obvious, but I think their secret is that they have lots of really good songs in their catalogue that lots of people know. That’s easier said than done. I think part of the reason can be found in their choice of cover “You’ve got a friend in me” from Toy Story. It’s a little bit twee, a little bit clever, done un-ironically and a song that everyone knew and had an attachment to. Much like the rest of BPM’s set. You were in safe hands with them. A highlight of the festival. <br /><br />Other bands that didn’t do covers but are worth mentioning were Nothing but Thieves from the UK. They were great. BBNO$, a rapper from Canada, was really good doing an early afternoon set. He also had a guest on stage, but a drunk punter doesn’t quite match having the Gladiator as your guest. Confidence Man… super entertaining. Bordering on Milli Vanilli territory with their music but they provided something to watch at every moment. They put the show into show business. <br /><br />I could be a smart arse and say that Fat Boy Slim had a couple of covers in his set. But he’s a DJ and that’s the whole point… he sent us all home with a set of classics. Some his own, some borrowed. <br /></p><p></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-87063840673859020812023-03-04T01:30:00.002-08:002023-03-05T12:19:39.665-08:00Harry Styles - Sydney Olympic Park<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY6VitXMPQk8MXK7a6fLeZ6vKR3ESKOnnIp1lVCnDIYYED-Vz-RI7wAEDbgOkGgaanaQXDyGWc5XT52ZfFPtgHSgE4kNERI6PVUDfd-irf0r50cBPOcp60bq4HddmGorZGPAcMhdiMqx8mSQEOU4n0jpLt5Rghx7d2B2B2zgGMKbfQCV1xoluvgGfUew/s4032/IMG_0187.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY6VitXMPQk8MXK7a6fLeZ6vKR3ESKOnnIp1lVCnDIYYED-Vz-RI7wAEDbgOkGgaanaQXDyGWc5XT52ZfFPtgHSgE4kNERI6PVUDfd-irf0r50cBPOcp60bq4HddmGorZGPAcMhdiMqx8mSQEOU4n0jpLt5Rghx7d2B2B2zgGMKbfQCV1xoluvgGfUew/s320/IMG_0187.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMuWkAcD22IZyyKUNOsQSv-KNL8zoagI4yx7mywdHULn3q6hFJYxRJgw9yNTJylXlLp-ekz-NE99lONdOyiOPzduG9RW64wWJqzbfXZfbSslfhaKOaw6wwsPpdNDpWwrTtlG_0q3dbisEibuhWqp2Ycn7_A6sz7YSY7WEA_anp45iKL9f0nCr06ww9Xg/s4032/IMG_0175.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMuWkAcD22IZyyKUNOsQSv-KNL8zoagI4yx7mywdHULn3q6hFJYxRJgw9yNTJylXlLp-ekz-NE99lONdOyiOPzduG9RW64wWJqzbfXZfbSslfhaKOaw6wwsPpdNDpWwrTtlG_0q3dbisEibuhWqp2Ycn7_A6sz7YSY7WEA_anp45iKL9f0nCr06ww9Xg/s320/IMG_0175.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Harry Styles</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sydney Olympic Stadium</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">4 March 2023</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Is that what you’re wearing?”</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The question came from my daughter.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">She repeats it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Is that what you’re wearing. I can’t
go to a concert with you if that’s what you’re wearing.”</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Shouldn’t that conversation be
reversed? Shouldn’t I be saying that to her? But she looks
fabulous. </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I don’t want this to be all about me,
but I don’t think I’m too unstylish. It’s not like I wear the clothes that my
dad wore (socks and sandals are a fashion crime. Let me just leave it at that).
Anyway, I think my outfit is fine. </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You know that you hear people say
that things were better in their day? But what if we are wrong? Maybe (and don’t
say this too loud) maybe the kids are right? They view their attendance at a
concert as a vital part of the show. And you know what? They’re right. On
Saturday night they came dressed the part. Feather boas, cowboy hats, sequins,
costumes. The whole place was buzzing. There’s no doubt that the atmosphere was
fantastic. </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When Harry himself made an appearance
the excitement level went up a notch or two. I mean, of course he looked
fabulous and you might bristle if I call him a singer-songwriter (isn’t he just
an escapee from a boyband?). But his songs really speak to the current
generation. There are modern concerns such as depression and anxiety mixed with
timeless topics like heartbreak, love and loss. <br /></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The current king of pop (Grammy for
album of the year no less) is an old school performer. I don’t know if he cut
his teeth in the working clubs in the UK, but it sure feels like it. He
can dance, sing, do some comedy and act a little. Yes, he’s your all round
entertainer. </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The gig really had it all. Aside from "All singing, all dancing" Harry, it featured a duet with Daryl Braithwaite on Horses, a psychic reading and a gender reveal! No, I'm not making any of that up. <br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Special mention should go to Wet Leg.
It was great seeing an indie band support such a major pop star. But the
star of the show was definitely Harry. And the crowd. They were singing along
to the intermission music. I needed ear plugs not for the band, but for the
crowd. </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So what was I wearing? It turns
out that I was the most underdressed man in Olympic Park. My daughter was
right. Next time I’ll have to lift my game. </span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-72001580806016416442023-02-28T02:00:00.020-08:002023-03-01T01:06:17.591-08:00Del Amitri - Enmore Theatre<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4SldPN2t0494qB-EGsmM-gaEQJyNCV6-MUqahPsjRif7rHjCc03_1x-J7z47ByP08x8tfxWeNqrxaMpVbPHhxt2eivfOz5gVmNQ-D6RbmAyaVy7hZjYI0nTYDkGPDVx29SDIHKSC4HiZgVUb07uRkPMfCI3RaEDMiCG0iSy8JevxHKH-D9zZUGVomYg/s4032/IMG_0062.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4SldPN2t0494qB-EGsmM-gaEQJyNCV6-MUqahPsjRif7rHjCc03_1x-J7z47ByP08x8tfxWeNqrxaMpVbPHhxt2eivfOz5gVmNQ-D6RbmAyaVy7hZjYI0nTYDkGPDVx29SDIHKSC4HiZgVUb07uRkPMfCI3RaEDMiCG0iSy8JevxHKH-D9zZUGVomYg/s320/IMG_0062.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6qjfwvJHBgVHToNWKmofSG4rUiEEaO_zO5FK8wFatrnzTUw7hFdFTIRedEsLF1Rc6IGDl-5ba19o75ukctUjpwfG0lsDRQTxMDW7n0ey4lhTpFjtuLORGO_PFhQ-GSkY_rcEGDJQiVjJ7wke8ctW5f3lwOLMikJ8F0Gyz4zxB0ryifhePHeyiqo9tg/s4032/IMG_0093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6qjfwvJHBgVHToNWKmofSG4rUiEEaO_zO5FK8wFatrnzTUw7hFdFTIRedEsLF1Rc6IGDl-5ba19o75ukctUjpwfG0lsDRQTxMDW7n0ey4lhTpFjtuLORGO_PFhQ-GSkY_rcEGDJQiVjJ7wke8ctW5f3lwOLMikJ8F0Gyz4zxB0ryifhePHeyiqo9tg/s320/IMG_0093.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJgI89u5McQXrXaEgrtW2nrjPlKhqYDIqj2FLxNOArkLWfxXyjXnZdvVwGpt-Dt5YX5wTw6T7KapHA-uXhBmScEi2HBvY7xAUOUDhxoUjEu4E3PsUEBwkgn7ZjphJwF_36BYdkYAylYI8EcVwweVCRkei4w0fahh4ZaK_h9Wgc_04NvVfOYOQ69QRAQ/s4032/IMG_0089.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJgI89u5McQXrXaEgrtW2nrjPlKhqYDIqj2FLxNOArkLWfxXyjXnZdvVwGpt-Dt5YX5wTw6T7KapHA-uXhBmScEi2HBvY7xAUOUDhxoUjEu4E3PsUEBwkgn7ZjphJwF_36BYdkYAylYI8EcVwweVCRkei4w0fahh4ZaK_h9Wgc_04NvVfOYOQ69QRAQ/s320/IMG_0089.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWIdqWyRBhTQnhZspcRSusZrWhmhAkzgi9o0HJhJmIgxkMHtX25Bn7wplU_Kb0b4Ntyj2O_E7Qvu0JOFWh0wk8hbbVdKx_5YtstNe1WYPjOBvPhEoaffsKfYtOFa_Tkx5dr3qUrfFCpEN7Y1vxR5o-v7I97NlBKw2gjkELRy906fq5HgrLlXuqUBWrbw/s4032/IMG_0077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWIdqWyRBhTQnhZspcRSusZrWhmhAkzgi9o0HJhJmIgxkMHtX25Bn7wplU_Kb0b4Ntyj2O_E7Qvu0JOFWh0wk8hbbVdKx_5YtstNe1WYPjOBvPhEoaffsKfYtOFa_Tkx5dr3qUrfFCpEN7Y1vxR5o-v7I97NlBKw2gjkELRy906fq5HgrLlXuqUBWrbw/s320/IMG_0077.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLPB8Md6nq1vYvyOt1JNEE1OQMDAS2ECVy7mqupFwo_1CI91Kj6PAt6chJ25bgm3H5zLz8jSSTXx2fXPU3zJvCYcXQRvN_eJOtTsJZuXeiWKEYTwmzUnVOhZLAEHO0KPiQiObdr5pBvGK1JzoRS7iO1zrXE5mYnqVwJYI1Sag5tLp2comvMdGFi_WVLQ/s4032/IMG_0073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLPB8Md6nq1vYvyOt1JNEE1OQMDAS2ECVy7mqupFwo_1CI91Kj6PAt6chJ25bgm3H5zLz8jSSTXx2fXPU3zJvCYcXQRvN_eJOtTsJZuXeiWKEYTwmzUnVOhZLAEHO0KPiQiObdr5pBvGK1JzoRS7iO1zrXE5mYnqVwJYI1Sag5tLp2comvMdGFi_WVLQ/s320/IMG_0073.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Del Amitri <br />Enmore Theatre<br />28 February 2023<br /><br />I was going to be a bit glib with my opening line … <br /><br />“A bunch of old men trying to relive their youth … but enough about the audience…”<br /><br />However, there is an element of truth to that dad joke. Not the "trying to relive their youth” bit, but trying to answer the question of how does a rock band age gracefully?<br /><br />Del Amitri opened their set, on their first Australian tour in 30 years, with <i>When You Were Young</i>. The lyrics spoke directly to the audience.<br /><br />So look into the mirror<br />Do you recognise someone?<br />Is it who you always hoped you would become<br />When you were young?<br /><br />They knew their crowd. They knew who they were speaking to. <br /><br />Even in their heyday Del Amitri were never cool. They play straight ahead rock music that leans slightly into folk rock territory. So not really cool. But what they do have is a set of songs with catchy hooks and memorable lyrics. Those things never go out of style. The band obviously knew what the audience wanted. While they never had too many hits, they did play all of their most well known songs (<i>Kiss This Thing Goodbye, Nothing Ever Happens, Roll to Me,</i> etc). <br /><br />A highlight for me was <i>Always the Last to Know</i>. In our house we have a phrase called the Justin Currie Twist (TM). It comes from that song. In it he starts the song singing <br /><br />So you're in love with someone else<br />Someone who burns within your soul<br />And it looks like I am the last to know<br /><br />and ends it with<br /><br />Or if he's cheated on you<br />Like I cheated on you, oh<br />You were the last to know<br /><br />I’ll never get tired of that. I never thought I would hear the band sing it live. It was a bit of a moment. <br /><br />The night wasn’t entirely nostalgia. Having released a new album after a 20 year break, they played a good selection of songs from it. <i>You Can’t Go Back</i> and<i> I’m so Scared of Dying</i> were both highlights and showed that they had matured in their outlook and were writing songs for their audience. I hate to say that they were age appropriate… but they were. <br /><br />At one point in the set an audience member yelled “good one boys”. Lead singer JC deadpanned into the microphone “sorry to disappoint you sir, but it’s a long time since we’ve been boys”<br />So not boys at all. I think they can be proud of the men they became. <br /></p><p></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-59726868784716738222023-02-01T03:00:00.006-08:002023-02-01T18:32:36.666-08:00Plini - The Basement<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyNIemjwvtzm_gDyf9X-fkSHk0rz4_HvVxxyj6L_KR3VYjbM02_wQgphw10tkDoRC-8RAb9xh4JMJwgoSPfQnLdTqXx9ytc-OL8TpZjMTyurP43DWrsfw3Yyj1-ZToVs-77rPRYQ6GCul6d6HPeyyS11Zzb4YvNqFlpBWTu5VXxQCwbT_t4j9bgTEpLw/s2322/IMG_9920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2322" data-original-width="1741" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyNIemjwvtzm_gDyf9X-fkSHk0rz4_HvVxxyj6L_KR3VYjbM02_wQgphw10tkDoRC-8RAb9xh4JMJwgoSPfQnLdTqXx9ytc-OL8TpZjMTyurP43DWrsfw3Yyj1-ZToVs-77rPRYQ6GCul6d6HPeyyS11Zzb4YvNqFlpBWTu5VXxQCwbT_t4j9bgTEpLw/s320/IMG_9920.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Plini</span></span></p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Basement </span></span></p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1 February 2023 </span></span></p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />
Sometimes it’s the notes you don’t play, rather than the notes that you do.<br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />
When a friend suggested we see Plini (an artist I knew nothing about)
and described him as an “instrumental prog metal jazz fusion artist” I
have to admit that my eyebrows shot up to my (increasingly receeding)
hairline. <br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />
I feared I would be faced with an evening of endless noodling on guitar.
I imagined an evening of Joe Satriani mixed with Pink Floyd with a tiny
bit of Metallica thrown in. It turns out that I was both right and
wrong. <br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />
The trick with instrumental music is that you don’t have any vocals to
be the focus of the song, so you need to find another way to bring a
melodic idea for the audience to hold onto. I think Plini definitely
knew this. The 5 piece band (aside from Plini himself
there were guitars, bass, drums, keyboards) were all great musicians,
but they all knew that the songs were the important thing, not showing
off their technique.
<br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />
Plini obviously knows the unspoken rule of any guitar solo. It needs to
be something the audience looks forward to, not something that shows how
fast you can play your instrument. You need to make sure that the
listener is interested. In fact the whole set
was structured to keep the audience interested. The danger of playing
just “guitar music” is that it could all sound the same after a while.
However, no two songs sounded the same. There were different rhythms,
all of the instrumentalists had a turn at being
the “lead” instrument. In fact some parts of the set went into jazz
territory (while your milage may vary, I thought this was a good thing) and other
parts of the set confirmed my initial preconceptions (Pink Floyd,
Metallica). So, all in all, it was quite a varied
set. </span></span></p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
I was pleasantly surprised. </span></span>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-21454578466184807312022-12-23T03:30:00.003-08:002022-12-23T14:17:12.433-08:00Cell Block 69 - The Basement Party Stadium<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW0nPNw6D3KMv5cPEg9He604Xawg7k4xKEynt3ZH1OlhYBa9X4ReJrpLNKfvoMyLApr988TL1f4dMYryoKtvxW3ExqeGMxLr_Kn9YaznpDLas44zSQmIL7uHgoNuZL09B5dToaSe66U3TpNEvgvxqrPyLX6-Tz4C1UOOzwuGiAA-g0oCuq__1KLHnozA/s4032/IMG_9302.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW0nPNw6D3KMv5cPEg9He604Xawg7k4xKEynt3ZH1OlhYBa9X4ReJrpLNKfvoMyLApr988TL1f4dMYryoKtvxW3ExqeGMxLr_Kn9YaznpDLas44zSQmIL7uHgoNuZL09B5dToaSe66U3TpNEvgvxqrPyLX6-Tz4C1UOOzwuGiAA-g0oCuq__1KLHnozA/s320/IMG_9302.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwgSByslvKIVhlmDFpmS0VItzfd9VOV3QzhN0WsKo1pKIvNcrUgElXs7uQTVR2ypLGzYh4_qamjXA5_a2Ntf3hpUzUUNaLI_vT1NrLrEGB5qFUu4jpmlMxd3-gPBahJNSi-hN2YbdyqUVeXF0SiJ5CfivVYF4Es8s_ru40AzzyeVqUeqs5ndoDbJez-w/s4032/IMG_9297.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwgSByslvKIVhlmDFpmS0VItzfd9VOV3QzhN0WsKo1pKIvNcrUgElXs7uQTVR2ypLGzYh4_qamjXA5_a2Ntf3hpUzUUNaLI_vT1NrLrEGB5qFUu4jpmlMxd3-gPBahJNSi-hN2YbdyqUVeXF0SiJ5CfivVYF4Es8s_ru40AzzyeVqUeqs5ndoDbJez-w/s320/IMG_9297.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Cell Block 69<br />The Basement Party Stadium<br />23 December 2022<br /></p><p>Is there anything better than seeing the original artist doing the original hits? <br /><br />Music in the 80s were all about fun and Cell Block 69 certainly know all about fun. But first a bit of background. Cell Block 69 are an 80s covers band. The thing that separates Cell Block 69 from other covers bands is the conceit they bring to the show. You enter an alternative universe when you go to a Cell Block 69 concert. The story is that they wrote all the songs and then they were brazenly stolen by the famous artists who made them (insert booming voice) “international number one hits”. <br /><br />Everyone in the band is called Corey or a variation of Corey. You’ve got Duanne Le Corey Micheals, Corey Sambori, Corey RoKK-SiXXXxxXXX, Corey Anne-Kennerly, Kori the Artist formerly known as Corey, Corey Baden Baden Baden Baden Powell, Corey Ography. Not only that, but the band have all the moves and all the costumes straight from the 80s. They’re pretty authentic. <br /><br />It’s this schtick that brings the audience into the joke and into the show. The band had the audience in the palm of their hands from the first bar. Side note… it’s handy having a back catalogue of all killer, no filler hit songs. Anthemic hits like Girls on Film, Walk Like an Egyptian, Electric Blue. You name it they wrote it! <br /><br />It’s quite something being in the audience and knowing all the songs and being able to sing along to every word. Not only that, but the whole audience knows every song. I think that’s really the key to this gig. The audience really lean into the 80s vibe with everyone dressing up in 80s gear. I’ve not seen so much neon and taffeta outside of a blue light disco! <br /><br />So, is anything better than seeing the original artist doing the original hits? This. This is better. <br /></p><p></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-77262141153905274002022-12-18T18:37:00.006-08:002023-01-10T21:44:46.045-08:00The Killers - Qudos Bank Arena<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiov13l76-Po12QQ3kmoUWUD9mdLURnKLHpbaMuos9pxHLFDnY1z34sGXJKgvolz5AneYraxJWW_KWxiJaCIqL5g9F-YGNN-DJTDdIxu-zJAYUbl8K1n9ley2i-kIeLjGtbSWTOOQziPIY2TsvyNkVR1DZ57LGktaKZwx9ngEHDGk-T4JYZLqc3Ui7rnQ/s4032/IMG_9175.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiov13l76-Po12QQ3kmoUWUD9mdLURnKLHpbaMuos9pxHLFDnY1z34sGXJKgvolz5AneYraxJWW_KWxiJaCIqL5g9F-YGNN-DJTDdIxu-zJAYUbl8K1n9ley2i-kIeLjGtbSWTOOQziPIY2TsvyNkVR1DZ57LGktaKZwx9ngEHDGk-T4JYZLqc3Ui7rnQ/s320/IMG_9175.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsiQe1sljkcnnnljkX-jzG7QVgTG2U9f39LX26mJQqk8fWc7xEOIs-ulY31bb6vwKaT47hYFO37V0j65POoMuWKTxZSXRY22OG3UgkQnVBZbgqWWPRmHIk6WmgcJzDWFPJSR5WhvkdTxI5BgXoikhVqr_ouEwTOfp_jiQrB2PdLqPoBGCEv34Wl58dPQ/s4032/IMG_9252.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsiQe1sljkcnnnljkX-jzG7QVgTG2U9f39LX26mJQqk8fWc7xEOIs-ulY31bb6vwKaT47hYFO37V0j65POoMuWKTxZSXRY22OG3UgkQnVBZbgqWWPRmHIk6WmgcJzDWFPJSR5WhvkdTxI5BgXoikhVqr_ouEwTOfp_jiQrB2PdLqPoBGCEv34Wl58dPQ/s320/IMG_9252.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgySxngcNglI8L9twmYmgZ9z98MJq3hN0gPVQ_EqBdkMAepbNMLtCx2Sc46lr2il2BtddDdA7i9RthA4aBITjamjFgRdlZ7-ZtoBTP91hE_ZxXpswFtRGAhiE1W3rgDS4X0N_45pOyYWKAMhuBTnlvIlERVunkN2K0sXP9nQYOiCLLiSVbdaOdtkZRw/s4032/IMG_9261.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgySxngcNglI8L9twmYmgZ9z98MJq3hN0gPVQ_EqBdkMAepbNMLtCx2Sc46lr2il2BtddDdA7i9RthA4aBITjamjFgRdlZ7-ZtoBTP91hE_ZxXpswFtRGAhiE1W3rgDS4X0N_45pOyYWKAMhuBTnlvIlERVunkN2K0sXP9nQYOiCLLiSVbdaOdtkZRw/s320/IMG_9261.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKMam0H5udB3bQy2rfTbubEFEs3DJOsEKlnNuemEJ8QbZLkg-oO6wMgnuBnysbUbmCo3EHtyFIxBbf6RGeTBuns_J-0H9Apt05k-vS8PG4RxDeoW-YNqZ6XpF3nMX-f9B3qakQRZUVBRqdL5RiXpjMD3x8AUFGLWlLfDbgvZ6AWc92fvYGwKLmlPdsVA/s4032/IMG_9239.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKMam0H5udB3bQy2rfTbubEFEs3DJOsEKlnNuemEJ8QbZLkg-oO6wMgnuBnysbUbmCo3EHtyFIxBbf6RGeTBuns_J-0H9Apt05k-vS8PG4RxDeoW-YNqZ6XpF3nMX-f9B3qakQRZUVBRqdL5RiXpjMD3x8AUFGLWlLfDbgvZ6AWc92fvYGwKLmlPdsVA/s320/IMG_9239.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8A11QeXFkJucm-RgDKBtvtEjSCsKgJfUl-Lmr-R5J-CV7ztXDi1B2cdEuZBWKTQ9OZ-wAfbCUx1ohykrRc-ud0oYOXuBA3XelVKADHU1S8fqAKd3fjHY8b9fyb3cEBSH2YfXI7i6YtlbpbMNq1m5wYSBmL15VVQI3eacb_5EHG4aFSMNv1uZ_mqVvOw/s4032/IMG_9274.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8A11QeXFkJucm-RgDKBtvtEjSCsKgJfUl-Lmr-R5J-CV7ztXDi1B2cdEuZBWKTQ9OZ-wAfbCUx1ohykrRc-ud0oYOXuBA3XelVKADHU1S8fqAKd3fjHY8b9fyb3cEBSH2YfXI7i6YtlbpbMNq1m5wYSBmL15VVQI3eacb_5EHG4aFSMNv1uZ_mqVvOw/s320/IMG_9274.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Killers<br />Qudos Bank Arena<br />19 December 2022</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Comparing The Killers to a school speech is a stretch but hear me out. <br /><br />It takes a certain confidence to start your show like other bands finish theirs. The Killers opened the final show of the Imploding the Mirage tour like most other bands play an encore. Streamers, confetti, explosions. Most importantly lots of big hits! It was an impressive opening.<br /><br />The Killers are one of those bands that span generations. In fact they’re one of the last of the big bands. Around 2005 when streaming started to take over as the medium of choice the number of bands that were able to make a mark across the wider culture seemed to diminish. That’s not to say that there weren’t great bands that came after this date, but bands like Coldplay, Arctic Monkey and The Killers were some of the last bands that had a cultural impact beyond just music fans. Not many bands since have been able to do that. <br /><br />The Killers, at their best, are a mix of U2 and the Smiths, with a dash of Depeche Mode and the Cure thrown in. You can see why I like them. It’s no surprise that I’ve indoctrinated my children into liking the band and they were (more or less) willing participants in attending the concert. I guess it goes to my main point that the Killers are one of the last intergenerational bands. The crowd was full of people of all ages. Sometimes I feel that it is more important who you go to a concert with than who you go to see. <br /> <br />If, after such an impressive start, the show flagged in the middle I guess that was understandable. But as my wise companions said, how else do you get to know the new songs if they don’t play them? They had a fair point. <br /><br />However, when you’ve got songs like <i>Human</i> (given a new electro treatment), <i>Somebody Told Me</i> and main set closer <i>All These Things That I’ve Done</i> in your kit bag things were never really in doubt.<br /><br />The actual encore of <i>Spaceman</i> and <i>Mr Brightside</i> was enough to make the crowd go wild and have me reminded by my children of some advice that I gave them "when giving a speech as long as you start well and finish well, it doesn’t really matter if you get a bit lost in the middle”. That kind of summed up the show. <br /><br />There was something great about sharing this gig with my newest gig buddies. As the Mastercard ad goes, ticket price = hundreds of dollars. Going with your adult children = priceless.<br /><br /></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-85755592543427358652022-11-28T22:15:00.004-08:002022-12-16T12:19:22.934-08:00Nick Cave - Canberra Theatre Centre<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihYoRzAndE5iYvgrPfczdQW9t71MzdRXVxAL23VXyXcEah8PmE4hsOfT1SQrcNVQv-aUWLW0CNy7ps8yzRMuzQdR-Dy0JYoA7nvODJgoA1pSDAdFMZM8F_5FBOAAjmaBaEx5t0lbgSb8iOJrNHfz5M4aX3GidhDLaiUAS_9JnXJ6uJGAEi8zkLjx_GXg/s3343/IMG_8973.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3343" data-original-width="2507" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihYoRzAndE5iYvgrPfczdQW9t71MzdRXVxAL23VXyXcEah8PmE4hsOfT1SQrcNVQv-aUWLW0CNy7ps8yzRMuzQdR-Dy0JYoA7nvODJgoA1pSDAdFMZM8F_5FBOAAjmaBaEx5t0lbgSb8iOJrNHfz5M4aX3GidhDLaiUAS_9JnXJ6uJGAEi8zkLjx_GXg/s320/IMG_8973.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibt3OP23665wvFtIINfClJ-rReTREh7iJfVHQKSbNey6WtQAwEd1ydBjtDUZl7U1AZPu5iOyGodZQh2jlTLt9lzBUnKfzPA6qz76ORuwhLrzJ97ijrlBqJjAjPsGSSmCT1oTSUhTFUVFUILmV3a63KsyiP0e7xs8W2xcZSy4LgQZClctYB5qU97oPcvw/s4032/IMG_8978.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibt3OP23665wvFtIINfClJ-rReTREh7iJfVHQKSbNey6WtQAwEd1ydBjtDUZl7U1AZPu5iOyGodZQh2jlTLt9lzBUnKfzPA6qz76ORuwhLrzJ97ijrlBqJjAjPsGSSmCT1oTSUhTFUVFUILmV3a63KsyiP0e7xs8W2xcZSy4LgQZClctYB5qU97oPcvw/s320/IMG_8978.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipSq1x17lixFHxjQ6HxuNkaQq2toOKL3ZXVccaC6YSQYWQyYMJbWvYZkkPUCNulyuMU4xZadsYszYqzz7nWUPwU875mwwpNOIFozp8me-fQziNi3PnTtlUYP98UM1heikssi5MhbxMUjPRCa82RtGLNT5FZm0xyuq-2MF5HE1lAWImm7Ta2CoY-P-1Cw/s2346/IMG_8984.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1760" data-original-width="2346" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipSq1x17lixFHxjQ6HxuNkaQq2toOKL3ZXVccaC6YSQYWQyYMJbWvYZkkPUCNulyuMU4xZadsYszYqzz7nWUPwU875mwwpNOIFozp8me-fQziNi3PnTtlUYP98UM1heikssi5MhbxMUjPRCa82RtGLNT5FZm0xyuq-2MF5HE1lAWImm7Ta2CoY-P-1Cw/s320/IMG_8984.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="il">Nick</span> <span class="il">Cave</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Canberra Theatre Centre</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">28 November 2022</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I used to see <span class="il">Nick</span> <span class="il">Cave</span>
everywhere. When the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra opened, they
seemed to have only one painting. A graffiti portrait of <span class="il">Nick</span> <span class="il">Cave</span>. It became a bit of a joke between my wife and me. “There’s bloody <span class="il">Nick</span>
<span class="il">Cave</span> again”. Every exhibition seemed to find a way to jam in that <span class="il">Nick</span> <span class="il">Cave</span> painting.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The thing was that neither of us liked <span class="il">Nick</span> <span class="il">Cave</span>. <br />
<br />
He was never really my thing. It’s not even that he did nothing for me.
I actively disliked him. I always thought that he was just too
pretentious. I felt that he was an artist I
<i>should</i> have liked but didn’t. Every artist that I like cite him
as an influence but he left me cold. However, one of the things that
occurred in lockdown was that I re-evaluated his back catalogue. The
excellent Skeleton Tree album was the gateway which
then lead me to explore his entire back catalogue. A strange thing
happened. I first started to admire his work and then I slowly started
to really like it!
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Seeing him at the Canberra Theatre was a revelation. It’s a bit of a cliché to say that <span class="il">Nick</span> <span class="il">Cave</span>
is like a preacher from an alternative secular universe. But he
certainly brings a religious fervour to his performance. It was
mesmerising.
The performance was very much like being in a church in the deep south
where all the emotions that a human can experience have free reign to be
expressed. Not only sadness and grief, but surprisingly joy, levity
and wicked humour were also on display.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">His latest albums deal with the tragic loss of his
son and the show leant heavily on this material. If on record the songs
seem like they have the most personal lyrics imaginable, in a live
setting the slight changes of delivery bring them
to another level. The holding onto notes and emphasising certain lines
make you feel you are literally watching someone process the grief that
losing a child must bring. It is almost too much to bear witness to.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There were other moments where you felt you were in
the presence of an evangelist preacher and you didn’t want to do
anything that might break the spell and others where you felt like if
this charismatic front man would ask for your soul,
you would willingly give it to him. Yes, it was that powerful. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It feels like a cliché to say that I’m converted. But nothing about the performance was a cliché.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
I feel that I’m a new convert to the Church of <span class="il">Nick</span>. <br /><p> </p><p></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-52670772780790143322022-11-26T13:31:00.007-08:002022-12-16T12:45:56.651-08:00Spilt Milk Festival<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZaM25khZ5cuqhz4v9PlLEpzHkItaWeYigbiPumaKou0xcp7vYZtfIIa9jkN0ofbdNdro-piMzLDJiNtpMISL-cVXHRJs-FFPC_igkoNwMVtaLXMnnKdOpk9cH_16iBHB4p7mK8h0fzlBggWObv9UyNquzZp3kR6w7Mbw8KXA-XrXtQO_Wfwlnd5Xhpg/s4032/IMG_8897.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZaM25khZ5cuqhz4v9PlLEpzHkItaWeYigbiPumaKou0xcp7vYZtfIIa9jkN0ofbdNdro-piMzLDJiNtpMISL-cVXHRJs-FFPC_igkoNwMVtaLXMnnKdOpk9cH_16iBHB4p7mK8h0fzlBggWObv9UyNquzZp3kR6w7Mbw8KXA-XrXtQO_Wfwlnd5Xhpg/s320/IMG_8897.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The Wombats, Spacey Jane, Genesis Owusu <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDy5Mi-rUvrTJJ4lvfh7DlxTf4jd_ADRt5PAewaC9TfpVS8ssld11tcKafPeIQOS9ACTsA9op0JffEuLiKFrGPjQWn8BN3fNf1QTZRbwqLjqoJAMxepsR2Le-Be9Lg4h2pY1z7SRm-3jPzxhEPJAKKDRE_rEkv-JYOpkILSG4zXdZDvyNMMICVTv-2w/s4032/IMG_8923.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDy5Mi-rUvrTJJ4lvfh7DlxTf4jd_ADRt5PAewaC9TfpVS8ssld11tcKafPeIQOS9ACTsA9op0JffEuLiKFrGPjQWn8BN3fNf1QTZRbwqLjqoJAMxepsR2Le-Be9Lg4h2pY1z7SRm-3jPzxhEPJAKKDRE_rEkv-JYOpkILSG4zXdZDvyNMMICVTv-2w/s320/IMG_8923.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFNSkFSgEU4rsJbNilBN47iAbrmXuzgPQIrQoFVtewK9phfMvPe75yOn6rGyD1ABQbti5pHnQakVwxGSnDX4DuUjS6_6yySmI_d1oTsRz2i--cxEO7goYTwSBF9XW24S41vF8tnxgGTIQvgavyZgXFXQvvXfZX343wwqlqnGZHp1E6FtLmK1XXBWq8cw/s1582/IMG_8887.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1582" data-original-width="1187" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFNSkFSgEU4rsJbNilBN47iAbrmXuzgPQIrQoFVtewK9phfMvPe75yOn6rGyD1ABQbti5pHnQakVwxGSnDX4DuUjS6_6yySmI_d1oTsRz2i--cxEO7goYTwSBF9XW24S41vF8tnxgGTIQvgavyZgXFXQvvXfZX343wwqlqnGZHp1E6FtLmK1XXBWq8cw/s320/IMG_8887.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLKv9_AV1uqRODlH60lOmEqf7DiYtcJSYelLcO9Fkq6ez9AzHGizu6ZJT_kiBl_AnHcpz11Z77E2x7TCVVoOdgcyvf3Q5iQGHuedLDLL2yIRlyaII1ywvdZb9zqpHRuvi1XGH0pYPtsP6oRPljydLEdirDoEKjC8cCVX3Od88zke3lGWkFqxfK02QmOg/s4032/IMG_8869.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLKv9_AV1uqRODlH60lOmEqf7DiYtcJSYelLcO9Fkq6ez9AzHGizu6ZJT_kiBl_AnHcpz11Z77E2x7TCVVoOdgcyvf3Q5iQGHuedLDLL2yIRlyaII1ywvdZb9zqpHRuvi1XGH0pYPtsP6oRPljydLEdirDoEKjC8cCVX3Od88zke3lGWkFqxfK02QmOg/s320/IMG_8869.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Spilt Milk<br /><br />Warning… Old Man alert.<br /><br />Do you know the problem
with the kids these days? it’s that the like the same music we liked
growing up. Queen, Fleetwood Mac, Journey. They’re all good bands (Ok,
maybe not Journey…) but something feels a bit off. <br /><br />What they should be liking is music that makes their parents say “Turn off that NOISE”. <br /><br />Which
leads me to Genesis Owusu. Canberra’s own superstar performed at Spilt
Milk to a packed tent in the early evening and… how do i say this
nicely … as much as he has rock star charisma (and let’s face it, he
does. in spades) I really couldn’t tell much difference between what he
was doing and karaoke. There were no musicians on stage and while I
don’t equate “guitars = real music” I feel that you need something more
than just a singer. Sure, he had 3 dancers - or vibe merchants - that
brought a particular “male energy” to the performance. That’s me trying
to say it was quite aggressive. Maybe i just don’t like that kind of
music. <br /><br />Also, the sound mix was terrible. All bass. Distorted
bass that overwhelmed the vocals. I guess that might be a problem if
you’ve pre recorded your backing track. there’s not much a sound mixer
can do on the night. <br /><br />But the packed tent showed that the kids actually loved it. So in a weird way that made me feel good. The kids are alright! <br /><br />I
worked my way to the main stage to see Spacey Jane and they’re a really
good indie rock band. Definitely a cut about the standard indie rock
fare. Sure, we’ve heard this a million times before, but that’s not a
bad thing. They were very good. Obviously it wasn’t just me who liked
them as the arena was packed. The kids are alright! <br /><br />It’s
terrifying to think that the Wombats are not a new band (they released
their debut album in 2007) but a band who have a long catalogue of
hits. The great thing was they played most of them. A band that knows
how to please a festival crowd. They were really great. The Wombats,
much like the kids, were alright! </p><p></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-29790929680164441812022-11-12T00:26:00.004-08:002022-12-16T12:17:51.391-08:00Crowded House - Stage 88<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbId0vIx0NPeakFjMU2DqMOwSo_BJCfIRvXByYNKVEDh7JHZQ1xq-bKiLpgcBeCJX6hv2q0t_UH2y4AK5gZyvYPookFKf8ZL8r5FUqCoLFkEwZ_kgLjtYKcd9FTPJ4FmZKJQ-H_otYdcy_DRj7PVMNLC4_QbC0iGltNXSg7sC2HDgFgvwwPfM8eDxzAg/s4032/IMG_8732.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbId0vIx0NPeakFjMU2DqMOwSo_BJCfIRvXByYNKVEDh7JHZQ1xq-bKiLpgcBeCJX6hv2q0t_UH2y4AK5gZyvYPookFKf8ZL8r5FUqCoLFkEwZ_kgLjtYKcd9FTPJ4FmZKJQ-H_otYdcy_DRj7PVMNLC4_QbC0iGltNXSg7sC2HDgFgvwwPfM8eDxzAg/s320/IMG_8732.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioRUFvIqN6GGlXBF9OcE2yUyVOC8nKO4-Xkrc-yLc9urYEXsm9IJXJpQ0GHineYBUgnB_GHZO1Ks5kkXFch4Xg0PIV6YYNY3BTouhYak6Jre28_nfiWuFMvZmsL799tBxB5-38-Q0fa1dGb6mkdhfO8hwiFGDiwbV8-1FkneuQud6CXnFvhZkYQeh4Eg/s1564/IMG_8728.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1174" data-original-width="1564" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioRUFvIqN6GGlXBF9OcE2yUyVOC8nKO4-Xkrc-yLc9urYEXsm9IJXJpQ0GHineYBUgnB_GHZO1Ks5kkXFch4Xg0PIV6YYNY3BTouhYak6Jre28_nfiWuFMvZmsL799tBxB5-38-Q0fa1dGb6mkdhfO8hwiFGDiwbV8-1FkneuQud6CXnFvhZkYQeh4Eg/s320/IMG_8728.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOd_G-avWZvN8Q0ELPv8TdAs6NTsefip2ZiydfmqvdCbXqUM0e5tikyMJHTBTauIPBkp8WcXt7S8vRCvlX5bItsFvDYT6XCHd3imeycYWAga-1O6VUOX3aK-IiKSKylhKsvWm4hqOSSzJ2Z4SDP0a2yXDjX7VUiUY9aJ_wrLXqBPzZ9jzeiZ7NGivkkg/s4032/IMG_8718.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOd_G-avWZvN8Q0ELPv8TdAs6NTsefip2ZiydfmqvdCbXqUM0e5tikyMJHTBTauIPBkp8WcXt7S8vRCvlX5bItsFvDYT6XCHd3imeycYWAga-1O6VUOX3aK-IiKSKylhKsvWm4hqOSSzJ2Z4SDP0a2yXDjX7VUiUY9aJ_wrLXqBPzZ9jzeiZ7NGivkkg/s320/IMG_8718.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="il">Crowded</span> <span class="il">House</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Stage 88</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">11 November 2022</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br />
In the end, there was nothing to worry about. It all worked out. We were in the hands of a master.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
It is well established that a great <span class="il">crowd</span> feeds a great band to bring them to a great performance. It’s a positive feedback loop. The seating arrangement at <span class="il">Crowded</span> <span class="il">House</span>’s show at Stage 88 did the band no favours. At the end of the
day there was really no doubt that we’d all leave very, very happy having listened to an incomparable songbook of hits.
<br />
<br />
The stage set up had seats in front of the stage, with a general
admission area up the back. People literally had picnic blankets and
chairs. I know that CH are a nostalgia act… but really what have we
become? Are we all that old (spoiler… yes). It was initially
hard for the band to make a connection. Not only was there a seated
front part of the <span class="il">crowd</span>, there was a huge gap
between the stage and front row of seats. It was about 5 metres. Maybe
more. However, near the front of the stage, but to the side of the
chairs, was a small area where I was standing. Let me rephrase that.
Where I was dancing. Along with, surprisingly, not that many people.
Let’s say there were twenty people initially. That <span class="il">crowd</span> grew as the night went on and we were having a great time.
The band definitely noticed and complemented us a couple of times. <br />
<br />
In the middle of the gig, Neil Finn came down from the stage and stood
in the middle of the vast gap. Right up against the barrier he
performed a song to the front rows. The gig was transformed. The seated
area finally stood up. I don’t blame them. If you’re
paying hundreds of dollars for a seat, you don’t want to be a d*ckhead
and stand in front of someone else who has also paid hundreds of dollars
for a prime seat. Having said that, by coming to the front himself,
Neil Finn gave permission for everyone to stand.
It was a great moment. He had the whole <span class="il">crowd</span> in the palm of his hands for the rest of the evening.
<br />
<br />
As I was saying before, he’s a safe pair of hands. That might sound
like a band handed compliment. But it’s not. It was a great night. A
great gig. Safe in the hands of a master craftsman.
<p></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-47467768564150451792022-08-06T04:00:00.003-07:002022-12-16T12:24:04.198-08:00Gang of Youths - Sydney<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCq65wFwFoU3MkpzgSQEaoHkQlvFpgtaqB0mixP3p4J7BtsYhLdCVXy-RBjeGrV0tRcDIkj7xkNIRYf5qUfhTIBoeOQx6554iKO_XEE6bUAYHjTaMPJP3fvjGoQMIFgFvMbZxTuGj-mK-6K6YPNlbU0rw5xj3SSHy_OJ2rATygbr_l0wnwKE9bjIiGhA/s4032/IMG_8051.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCq65wFwFoU3MkpzgSQEaoHkQlvFpgtaqB0mixP3p4J7BtsYhLdCVXy-RBjeGrV0tRcDIkj7xkNIRYf5qUfhTIBoeOQx6554iKO_XEE6bUAYHjTaMPJP3fvjGoQMIFgFvMbZxTuGj-mK-6K6YPNlbU0rw5xj3SSHy_OJ2rATygbr_l0wnwKE9bjIiGhA/s320/IMG_8051.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUUPxnDxpOS_-hDWZNBNV2ghhXde7_PAWFK_QZTwBy7arbCtD816KJpMT6V1mu-rQiD-4fKI-YMfYgDoRjH8WjJUzgmht2fEY-GVhjo9Z_9jCAriGGh9NvnF5acuNm8NOV7csfSon0myRrAD8WQDJMKO9eUYu2eZwERUBdybmndaQA6teHeCLTnGTcjg/s2589/IMG_8027%202.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2589" data-original-width="1942" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUUPxnDxpOS_-hDWZNBNV2ghhXde7_PAWFK_QZTwBy7arbCtD816KJpMT6V1mu-rQiD-4fKI-YMfYgDoRjH8WjJUzgmht2fEY-GVhjo9Z_9jCAriGGh9NvnF5acuNm8NOV7csfSon0myRrAD8WQDJMKO9eUYu2eZwERUBdybmndaQA6teHeCLTnGTcjg/s320/IMG_8027%202.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lTdFH1p1E4tUbUH_yMqDkhp2RQ2_jiu4FHyEna8KT8skiwWl3h-_eHJUCqMhIA-h7DIkDHsZNqy-1UsnD21iqUa-l-YsjfBLt1YUYyXXcAhrDc6A5hZcRGoJXsBvU5i08KW5dzOfANQQ1HqDsD96kUVy5tZ8oEtM_2cMrpjxz9j8ADEnlTYsbIwEbA/s4032/IMG_8016.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lTdFH1p1E4tUbUH_yMqDkhp2RQ2_jiu4FHyEna8KT8skiwWl3h-_eHJUCqMhIA-h7DIkDHsZNqy-1UsnD21iqUa-l-YsjfBLt1YUYyXXcAhrDc6A5hZcRGoJXsBvU5i08KW5dzOfANQQ1HqDsD96kUVy5tZ8oEtM_2cMrpjxz9j8ADEnlTYsbIwEbA/s320/IMG_8016.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="il">Gang</span> <span class="il">of</span> <span class="il">Youths</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Qudos Bank Arena Sydney</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I didn’t realise that I had a vacancy in the "best concert’s I’ve ever seen” list. But it turns out that I did.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Have you ever wanted to attend a “local show” from a
band? I’m thinking U2 in Dublin, or Springsteen in New Jersey. Well,
this was very much like that. But it was maybe a little better than you
can imagine. Not just seeing a Sydney band
in Sydney, but seeing a band in Western Sydney just miles from where
they first formed. While I don’t live in Western Sydney I certainly get
the local references they make during the night. And you kind <span class="il">of</span> know the inside jokes. When he mentioned the West
Connex you nodded in understanding. This was a hometown show. And you felt at home with them.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You can tell that playing the biggest indoor arena
in Australia, just 15 minutes from where lead singer Dave Le’aupepe grew
up, is a big moment for him and the band. He mentioned being in the
room at various points <span class="il">of</span> the night and you
could tell it was part <span class="il">of</span> his consciousness for
a long time. This wasn’t just another gig. You could tell this meant
something. DL has been quite open about being part <span class="il">of</span>
a mega church (Hillsong?) when growing up, which was a traumatic
experience for him.
In fact, he seems to be still recovering from the whole church
experience. He mentioned that he got paid to stack chairs after
attending that church in this very building… so to be playing the same
arena must surely be a mind blowing experience for him.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There was something about seeing a band in their
prime that is truly special. And there’s something about seeing a band
taking a step up to being an arena band that feels satisfying. Not
everyone can do it. It’s a different kind <span class="il">of</span> space
than a small venue. You need to reach all the way to the back <span class="il">of</span>
the room and make everyone feel included. But if anyone has the
personality to pull that off, it is DL. Not to take anything away from
the rest <span class="il">of</span> the band - they were far from being an anonymous
backing band - but the real star <span class="il">of</span> the show
was the lead singer. He made the jump to playing arenas look
effortless. His banter, his stage moves, and his charisma made the
large room feel intimate.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Just by comparison, when we saw U2 Iz said that it was kind <span class="il">of</span> like seeing your grandpa singing. Ouch. But also, and I don’t really want to admit this, it’s a bit true. There’s no chance <span class="il">of</span> this happening here.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The performance is filled with songs from their
great new album, Angel in Real Time, and you can tell they feel
confident playing them. But more than that, they also they have enough
older, well loved, songs in their arsenal that the audience
can sing along to. Frankly, I’m struggling to think <span class="il">of</span> a louder crowd that I’ve been part <span class="il">of</span>. I think they were singing along to every word. And yes, it felt a lot like a communal experience.
<br />
<br />
</p>
For a guy who says that he had a traumatic
experience with a church and has rejected formal religion, Dave L
certainly learned a thing or two. It was a near religious experience.
<p></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649489231157740559.post-69347944567823407122022-07-08T23:33:00.002-07:002022-12-16T12:21:53.514-08:00Ball Park Music /Archie<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSEsNXE6szFitQpFIHf7T85fHERBN2mQ0_Ch53COAE1-20Nf0XPI7AmrZ81gYoZ960_wDUZzuIG4f8-qU2VtBm07TeQa-5JalUuDamNEQWRMxYroBS4V4zKBXzg6T9GHrgW1uhcIeYZklkvpugakiP4RZJUZyHSo8m9uRHZ16gA5bhE0ipoStj3QVxMw/s4032/IMG_7852.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSEsNXE6szFitQpFIHf7T85fHERBN2mQ0_Ch53COAE1-20Nf0XPI7AmrZ81gYoZ960_wDUZzuIG4f8-qU2VtBm07TeQa-5JalUuDamNEQWRMxYroBS4V4zKBXzg6T9GHrgW1uhcIeYZklkvpugakiP4RZJUZyHSo8m9uRHZ16gA5bhE0ipoStj3QVxMw/s320/IMG_7852.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyUgtCBFGoZp05Iek-GHeQL-JnGiw5K51WXMf_tkFe9KjvLlcTHuaXOHuDe1MT3AEriC3igNfb2OFd9Rf_i3oQphRBrQAmsIZlSfup0G1c1O99X0yc6bFIx2l4oDBOAKW5RIBESmIN_mSy3uHkIeJJe_9tiX1YWnK3--JDK8JPFCKWwScFcZf86TjJxg/s2533/IMG_7823.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1900" data-original-width="2533" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyUgtCBFGoZp05Iek-GHeQL-JnGiw5K51WXMf_tkFe9KjvLlcTHuaXOHuDe1MT3AEriC3igNfb2OFd9Rf_i3oQphRBrQAmsIZlSfup0G1c1O99X0yc6bFIx2l4oDBOAKW5RIBESmIN_mSy3uHkIeJJe_9tiX1YWnK3--JDK8JPFCKWwScFcZf86TjJxg/s320/IMG_7823.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttdQFwfyYaqXw4an3teVcVF-jLajbbdORV7EloNDQCfmmwU8DmA4xSmydEZhg-mP3-xA44oTKardCj3UT_ufwvtbayL_Nn9eVzFg6t7TJifnb4lqdMjsCG9x4c2vTAjZdXJJqWITBoKIunOLL4TB80TAYaUKqFZRut2NZKJ_ufREjQpA0-_kegIvVRg/s3253/IMG_7818.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3253" data-original-width="2440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttdQFwfyYaqXw4an3teVcVF-jLajbbdORV7EloNDQCfmmwU8DmA4xSmydEZhg-mP3-xA44oTKardCj3UT_ufwvtbayL_Nn9eVzFg6t7TJifnb4lqdMjsCG9x4c2vTAjZdXJJqWITBoKIunOLL4TB80TAYaUKqFZRut2NZKJ_ufREjQpA0-_kegIvVRg/s320/IMG_7818.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-AU"><span class="il">Ball</span> <span class="il">Park</span> <span class="il">Music</span> / Archie<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-AU">UC<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-AU"><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-AU"><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-AU">What’s the difference between being very
good or being great?<span> </span>Sometimes it comes
down to stage banter. <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-AU"><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-AU">Local Canberra band Archie (Colette works
with the lead singer Grant’s mum – how very Canberra) had the confidence, after
a very strong start, to stop their set and tell a story about trousers. It was
the first time on the main stage at UC and they went to buy some special
trousers for the occasion.<span> </span>The lead
guitarist thought his online order wasn’t going to turn up, so went to the shop
and bought some, but, of course, his order did turn up on time and it was all
good. <span> </span>It was all under control and
everything worked out well. It took a lot of confidence and stage presence from
the band to deliver this story. It was a perfect metaphor for their set of
groovy dance indie rock. I was so much of a fan I literally bought a t shirt
after the gig! <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-AU"><span> </span></span></p>
<span lang="EN-AU"><span class="il">Ball</span> <span class="il">Park</span> <span class="il">Music</span> have such a strong back
catalogue of 2010’s indie hits that they could never play all of them.<span> </span>It was a pretty great set from start to
finish, they had light and shade, singalongs in pretty much every <span class="il">song</span> and the
room was jumping. Their stage banter, however, does leave a lot to be desired.
I can handle one “Hey Canberra are you having a good time”<span> </span>but by the 8<sup>th</sup> time, it was
getting a bit wearing.<span> </span>Also, I’m happy
to be called a “mother*cker” every now and then but, again, does it need to be
repeated all night?<span> </span>Should a band have
scripted stage patter?<span> </span>There’s certainly
a strong case for that in <span class="il">Ball</span> <span class="il">Park</span> <span class="il">Music</span>.<span>
</span>A bit better stage banter would have taken them from from being very
good to being great.<span> </span></span><p></p>Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973253340622123576noreply@blogger.com0