You may or may not have noticed I had a few technical glitches around here. I was all set to tell you about my concert goings to find I couldn’t get into my editing site, or the blog at all. My husband found the same problem, I verified I had indeed renewed the domain, so he directed the problem to our server. They just got back to him and informed him it was always in working order. Curiously, it seems that now it is. Neither of us had any idea what went on, but at least I can finally update you all about those brilliant concerts!
So, first one of the bat, the incredible Glen Hansard. I’d seen him perform several times with Marketa Irglova, but this was my first chance to see him “solo.” Of course, Glen is never really solo. He was ably supported by a posse of musicians, including in parts his sublime support act Lisa O’Neill.
What a breath of fresh air this Irish lass was. She began her set brave and bold, standing alone on the stage just singing a capella from her gut. There’s an intensity about her that is so compelling. She’s a tiny wee thing, a bit of a plain Jane, but she had the most amazing presence. Even when she was joined on stage by her musicians and backup singers, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Her songs were also incredible, with just the right mix of kook and heart. I can’t remember being so impressed by a support act as I was with Lisa O’Neill. I’m such a fan, and judging by the hush over the Opera House I wasn’t the only convert.
There was a similar hush once Glen emerged with just his beat-up acoustic guitar. He stood on the very edge of the stage, as close as he could to his adoring crowd, as he sang “Say it To Me Now.” It was such a fitting choice, a song with a history that goes back to his time in The Frames, despite it reaching the masses in his breakthrough musical Once. His set drew heavily from these two chapters of his life, while also featuring some of his solo numbers.
Whatever he sang, he gave it his all. This is why I return to his shows time and time again. He never phones it in. He offers every ounce of his soul to his audience, and leaves his heart raw and bleeding out there. He takes the concept of feeling a lyric to the next level.
I wondered how he’d go performing “Falling Slowly” without Marketa there. Leaving it out would have been virtually unforgivable. But he found a willing partner in April, a gorgeous young thing sitting in the seat in front of me with the voice of an angel. This is the second time I’ve been wowed by the audience volunteers in the Opera House, the first being during Idina Menzel’s performance last year. Thank goodness for audience members who only volunteer to sing when they can! She was incredible.
This was billed as a Glen Hansard solo show, but he isn’t a guy that really performs solo. He was backed by an incredible band made up of members of The Frames and other talents. The instruments helped his songs soar. He brought back Lisa O’Neill towards the end of his set to rapturous applause. Seeing them both having so much fun singing “Mustang Sally” was brilliant. And then he added fellow Irish troubadour Damien Dempsey to the mix for two Irish classics, “The Auld Triangle” and the final poignant song, “The Parting Glass.” I might not have ever visited Ireland like so many of the expats in the audience, but I think I was every bit as moved.
As I woke the next morning, I felt like I’d been run over by a truck. Lisa didn’t take the stage until 8 pm, and Glen is such a generous performer that we weren’t back to the Central Coast until well after 2 am. Getting back to work the next morning was a big ask. But I’d do it all again for a show that incredible.
Image source: Stephen Katulka
The shop will feature hundreds of T-shirts from more than 400 local bands, artists, labels, and venues. It will also host a series of live events, including a performance by Velociraptor’s Jeremy Neale at 2 pm this Saturday, June 6.
We were there in the thick of it once Keith took the stage. Our fifth row seats were incredible, but I must admit to feeling a little out of place. Keith fans seem lovely, but boy are they passionate. I bobbed my head in time to songs I was enjoying while they danced and sang with gusto to every tune.
Keith and his stellar band were more than enough to keep us entertained, but the appearance of a few choice special guests took the energy in the room up a few notches. Benji and Joel Madden returned to the stage to join Keith for a cover of Oasis’ “Wonderwall.” Keith’s The Voice charge Darren Percival made a not so unexpected appearance later on. But when Jimmy Barnes joined Keith Urban for “Flame Trees” I lost my mind. What a special concert moment it was.
Keith’s Sydney show was pure entertainment. He gave us the right mix of upbeat numbers and heartfelt ballads. He chatted easily to the crowd and seemed genuinely humbled by their support. And he looked pretty damn good while he was doing it. Who could ask for anything more?
And it was that something that took me to Sydney’s Allphones Arena on Wednesday night to witness Roger Waters performing the piece in the flesh, so to speak. As I looked at the T-shirts of the faithful fans gathered outside the venue I realised nine years has passed since I last caught his act. However the years have not wearied him.
I’m not someone who typically sees those big spectacle shows. Give me a few guys with guitars and I’m a happy woman. But this production blew my mind. I expected a lot. Pink Floyd set the standard for this kind of thing all those years ago. But I wasn’t prepared for exactly how thrilling this show was. It was a visual feast, with exploding airplanes, flying pigs, oversized puppets, pyrotechnics, and of course, that wall. The projections beamed onto those bricks were like nothing I’ve ever seen.
While the production was slick, it wasn’t all about the gloss. Roger Waters clearly still believes in this piece, and he performed it with everything he had. He inhabited his Pink role, only breaking the fourth wall now and again to remind us how grateful he was for our attendance and love. His voice is still superb, and his band matched him. Replicating David Gilmour’s guitar solo in “Comfortably Numb” is a feat, but the appointed guitarist came close. Seeing present day Roger accompanying his 1980-self on “Mother” was breathtaking. I also loved seeing those personal favourites like “One Of My Turns” and “Nobody Home,” the tracks I’d never hear at an ordinary Pink Floyd or Roger Waters show. Closing the show with “Waltzing Matilda” once those bricks had toppled might have been corny, but it was still a lot of fun.
The show was the perfect marriage of music and theatre. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s early days yet, but it just may prove to be the concert of the year.
Image source: Stephen Katulka
Where has the time gone? A week has passed, yet it seems like only yesterday I was settling myself in at Allphones Arena to catch living legend 
Of course with several hours to play with the hits were represented too. I was thrilled to see “Jolene” trotted out only a few songs in, and ecstatic to hear her end with the Holy Trinity of “Islands in the Stream,” “Nine to Five,” and “I Will Always Love You.” Her backup singer is no Kenny Rogers, but we were so thrilled to hear the duet that it mattered not. I also relished a few songs that I didn’t know before, especially “Coat of Many Colours” and her stunning a capella version of “Little Sparrow.”
I had high expectations, which were happily met. In many cases the performances were better than the ones we saw on the big screen. I guess that’s what happens when you can choose your players based on talent rather than their box office power. Esther Hannaford definitely outperformed Amanda Bynes’ insipid Penny, and while Queen Latifah was no slouch I think Cle Morgan brought added soul to Motormouth Maybelle. I’d also take the all-singing, all-dancing Jack Chambers over Zac Effron’s Link Larkin any day, and my inner teenager went nuts for Tevin Campbell’s Seaweed. I thought Nikki Blonsky was a wonderful Tracy Turnblad, but the Sydney star Jaz Flowers was every bit her equal.