From CGee:

Vanguard Dec 13

This was a kick ass concert. I was in the balcony with a raucous group of mostly Aussies and that led to a different perspective than being down in front. Most didn’t have any clue as to what they were about to see but were curious without too much attitude.

The band was coming about to do their sixth concert in 5 days. Earlier they played a short set at Government House and then rolled into this concert. There was a difference of night and day between the Vanguard concert a week ago and this last one. Russell was much looser, more spontaneous while he was speaking to the audience than he had been previously. It was very much a ‘go for broke’ performance for him as he seemed to be totally into the music. The place seemed to me to be more packed than the other week but in spite of that, they seemed more willing to listen. I think it had a lot to do with his less formal delivery so they were more interested in listening to just what he would say next. As someone who has seen more than one concert, I appreciate that Russell varies his stories, adds more detail or tells them with a different perspective on most nights.

The set list starting with Weight and shuffling One Good Year to a later slot worked with this crowd. The guy next to me kept waiting for “…something with a beat” and was won over when they hit “What You Want Me to Forget”.

I don’t want to repeat myself but I can’t say enough about this band. In 2000 Stewie was an afterthought on the horn because a lot of the material had been written before he was on board. This time around he is a featured member of the ensemble and really rounds the edges out to transform them from a typical solid band to a more sophisticated ensemble group of musicians. In my admitted lack of musical knowledge, I can say I have never really focused on the bass guitar as a separate part of the music I listen to. Bones’ playing is now some of the only ‘sound’ I hear in some songs. DK and Stuart Hunter anchor the bands rhythms so each of the songs sound solid and not indulgent. Alan gives an acoustic aspect to the songs that just didn’t exist before and Dean is just, well, uniquely Dean!

I have to say as someone who has been way ‘around the block’ with these guys since 2000, this band has transformed their musical approach from a good, casual bar band concert to more of an “evening with” an entertainer who fronts a band made up of great musicians that have so much to contribute in their own right. On any given night one component of that band can be what makes the evening for the audience as it’s an interactive experience that is totally dependent on what you want to make of it.

I can honestly say that what I have found to a person at these concerts is that the buzz after the show is one of amazed appreciation for what they heard. From jaded Aussies, to Germans, to surfer dudes, and from more men than women they come as curious spectators and come away with more than an appreciation of the effort, performance and the music. This is way different than the general spotty consensus of previous years. When people working at the Vanguard who have heard so much music over the years come over to your table and explain how good they thought the band was, you know there’s a different type of connection going on.