From
Deborah H:
OK -- as promised...
Arrived at the Grand Central
last night just before 6:30 to check in and get our table
for dinner. My husband Mark and I were the 4th group
in line, all the other groups were larger, and we were taken
straight to the FIRST row of tables next to the stage. There
were four tables for two set up there and the waitress laughed
when I said that it was a nice surprise and answered, "See? First
in, best dressed!" (that's Aussie speak for first come, first
served)
The dinner was quite good. We'd
been expecting "pub grub" but it was a nice meal. I
glanced around to get a feel for the mood, age, general tone
of the crowd and those of us who were dining were usually
accompanied by husbands or partners and there were a only
a few tables that were women only. I'm noting that
because several of the papers here in Australia have occasionally
implied that Russell's primary audience is middle aged women. Granted,
the average age of last night's audience was over 40, but
it was a splendid mix of people and was not dominated by
women!
Right at 8:30, the club
opened the doors for the people who had standing room tickets
and a large group of people of all ages came into the side
section of the room. Again, it was lots of men and
women -- not a women only crowd.
When the velvet curtains
were pulled aside prior to the opening act, I realized
that our table was going to be about 12 feet away from
Russell all evening. Another nice surprise since we'd have an unimpeded
view of the entire group while sitting comfortably with
a glass of wine instead of trying to see through waving arms
while standing for hours the way we did the last time two
years earlier.
The waitress said they weren't
serving coffee with the desserts, so my husband Mark went
out to the lobby and around to the side bar to bring us back
an expresso. No luck! The machine wasn't turned
on. But he was grinning broadly when he sat back down
at our table because as he had traversed the lobby,
Russell had been standing on the stairs and Mark had said
hello and gotten a hello back. See??? It isn't
just the women who relish those little moments!
The opening act came out
and he was fabulously funny and had a splendid voice. It
was a novelty act where he sings a segment of a song and
has some sort of digital recording device that loops it back
and he can then sing with his own track. I'd never
heard so many variations of sounds come from one single man's
vocal chords! Mark and I both wished that there had
been an announcer (there was none all evening) because we
never even heard the man's name. He just came on stage
and began performing.
Mark and I had been to the
show at the Mercury Lounge here in Melbourne 2 years ago
when Russell had the Prince Valiant blonde bob right after
he had cropped of the long blonde locks from Master and
Commander. So
we "knew the drill" and when Stand By Your Man began playing
over the sound system, followed immediately by Weather With
You, we knew they'd be coming on straight away.
This show was SUCH a contrast
to the Mercury Lounge show! The gentlemen in the band
all looked just like that -- like grown up gentlemen in lovely
suits -- very polished, very confident, in a different "space" in
their lives. And the music sounds tighter, more refined,
and more cohesive. The addition of the new members
is a definite plus and Russell's voice sounds like Russell's
voice on a new level. I had already downloaded
the new album and listed to it several times so I knew that
the overall "sound" had changed, but the live-in-person act
more than lived up to our expectations. And they
were having a good time, seemed playful, and Russell
looked relaxed and happy.
Mark and I had heard some
women with American accents sitting behind us and I had
introduced ourselves to them prior to the start of the
show. They
had flown to Australia and were attending multiple concerts
while here. Many of the readers of this site will recognize
the names Cathy, Neicie, and CGee. I noticed their
American voices straight away because as an ex-pat American
married to an Aussie fellow, I don't normally hear American
voices except in the touristy spots around the country. Perhaps I
should cease being amazed that they'd flown half way
around the world to attend these concerts! Russell
and his band of merry men seem to create that type of fan
loyalty.
There are always one or
two idiots in every crowd -- and last night was no exception. Amongst
the diners, there was one white haired man who just would
not shut up until several people told him to pipe down. And
when Russell was telling the touching story about his parents
prior to singing Raewyn, he asked a purely rhetorical
question about whether anyone in the audience had been touched
by suicide and several people started listing (for heaven's
sakes!) famous people who had committed suicide.
Other than that small kerfuffle,
it was a perfectly wonderful evening. When Russell
asked everyone to come on down and dance if they felt like
it, that postage stamp sized space between our tables and
the stage filled up quickly and I even got my own handsome
honey up to dance -- much to the delight of the three American
fans sitting in back of us! I think it was a good turn
out too for the Monday after Easter which, here in Australia,
is part of our long 4-day holiday weekend. The crowd
had a nice, warm, relaxed vibe.
One note about the sound
system -- it was ever so much better than the show we had
seen before two years earlier. I could actually understand the
words to every single song instead of being awash in music
and percussion. And the levels were such that we did
NOT leave the club with aching, ringing ears and I was quite
pleasantly surprised at that given that we were on the front
row right in front of these huge speakers.
We were immensely pleased
with the whole evening and we exchanged email addresses
with the lovely women in back of us. I'd like to
say we'll see you gals next Monday night, but I can't promise!
For anyone who has the chance
to hear the group perform live, just go DO it!
Deborah |