Fradam

Recently, Kellie and I visited the latest venue to be graced by Guy Sebastian’s musical talents, one of the places where all performers can be humbled: the Sydney Opera House. It was very much a case of ‘returning to the scene of the crime’, as this was where it all started, where Guy was crowned the first Australian Idol. Being at the Opera House demanded a bit of fancyness, and upon arrival, it was clear that the audience at this concert was far older than the usual Guy fanfare, almost on par with the Elton crowd!

The seats we had were awesome (hats off to Kellie! ). Dead set centre and one level up; it afforded a view of the entire stage, and the choir behind. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. To top it off, it was quite a way through the concert that people even sat in front of us, so the view was mostly uninterrupted. Looking around, there really wasn’t a position in the entire hall that I’d have preferred… except maybe right on stage

The first half of the concert was Guy’s music, ‘remixed orchestral style’… I mean, the tunes were largely untouched, but hearing these tunes created by about 15 violins was pretty amazing! Song selection basically consisted of most of his singles, and a few of his personal favourites that were suited towards his backing. Hearing “Climb Every Mountain” was always going to be a powerful one to experience, this time with a full orchestra behind him… whilst he’s never been able to hit that final note the way he did in Idol, it was still intense and elicited a standing ovation.

What really impressed me during this entire section was the control of the conductor. I’ve honestly never seen much orchestral music, save for school bands, but keeping a tight rein on 30 or so people spread across that area can never be easy. Keeping in mind that Guy’s usual band is a group of like-minded individuals who are very flexible and can work around his constant adlibbing of lyrics and trills, and therein lies the potential for chaos; or at least, a restriction on how much leeway Guy really had. Or so I thought. It didn’t stop Guy from being his usual self with his music, and the power the conductor wielded as he kept the entire orchestra in time with Guy with his song changes was amazing! It was almost like improv classical as all the music paused with an instant’s notice, and then quickly rejoining the fray as Guy returned back to song. Just amazing.

Following the intermission, Guy took up a few of the Beatles’ classics - throwing the gauntlet across time and space at Shannon, he performed a wonderful rendition of Hey Jude that garnered much praise from the audience. He moved onto Elvis and whilst I don’t know Elvis’ music that well, he definitely had some good choices there that suited both his voice and the orchestra behind him. Guy then made a tribute to his dad, and belted out some genuine classics - old blue eyes with ‘The way you look tonight’ (possibly my favourite Sinatra song ever!), and Nat King Cole too!

In a strong move, he also chose to perform a few gospel songs — all quite strong ones, and even a few that I knew! :p So quickly however, it seemed to come to an end, an exhilirating ride that brought an amazing evening to a close. All in all, an awesome concert To witness such talent, in such an inspiring locale… well, you kinda wonder if you can ever get there too!

I discovered that the experience had renewed the vigor for my Australian Idol campaign (remember, vote 1 Fradam!)… somewhat sadly, it appears I’m not the only one.

Idol 2007 has already seen 30,000 singers try out for the show, the same as last year, and thousands tried their luck at Sydney’s Australian Technology Park over the weekend.

Australian Idol began in 2003 and sifted through 20,000 hopefuls in capital cities to find its first winner, Guy Sebastian.

Doh… not as much chance, but we can always hope!

A recent visit to glitzy Star City to see Guy Sebastian on tour with Kellie netted quite an amazing evening. First of all, it was a very different concert to previous ones. There appeared to be less flash and bang… definitely less dancing, yet, an overall richer experience.

It began with, as many people immediately labelled, “a kid”, by the name of Tom Jordan. I kid you not however, the guy had an immense talent for a 13 year old. Given the opportunity of a lifetime in being able to tour with a star like Guy didn’t appear to perturb his lyrical waxing, as he sang a few covers and also a few tunes he had written by himself completely! I especially loved the “I’m too young to have a girlfriend, but too old to cry about it!” song

As for Guy… Quirky humour and silly anecdotes filled the gaps between songs — and as always, preceeded by the inevitable “Can I have the houselights up..?”. Kinda funny in a way, at other concerts, the lead singer often tries to talk to the audience, but it is only after a concert like Guy’s do you realise that the people on stage can rarely even see those who aren’t on stage!

I guess that kind of honesty/taking-the-mickey-out-himself is part of what made it a great concert. At one point, he had his guitar swapped for another one, and quipped with something along the lines of, “apparently, all big rock stars just get their guitars swapped for no particular reason…”. Crazy!

A truly amazing thing to witness, was one dedicated fan and her boyfriend being called onto stage. Turned out the boyfriend had a question for her, and soon, he wasn’t just a boyfriend anymore. I think that is the first actual proposal I’ve ever witnessed… which in hindsight doesn’t actually seem that surprising — I mean, how many people follow other lovers and listen to them as one proposes to the other!? So, that was quite a magical moment, and certainly a night neither of them will ever forget. Especially amazing to consider, it all came from the boyfriend-turned-fiancee emailing Guy, earnestly seeking this chance to show how much he cared for the one he loved… How many artists would reply to a person’s email and allow such an opportunity to unravel on stage? I’m sure it’s not unheard of, but wow.

Another truly special part of the evening was a tribute to Australian music. It seemed like something else… almost intimate, hearing classics like Burn for you (Farnsy) coming from Guy and his band. Certainly rewarding however!

Other interesting parts of the night included sitting a few metres behind the “celebrity table”, i.e. Guy’s girlfriend, her friends, and the other names that support Guy — e.g. Mark Furze from Home & Away and Jennifer Hawkins from.. somewhere, not quite sure I remember where She was sneaky though, and didn’t stay too long in the open. Interestingly enough, given the option of kissing her, Guy declined. What a Guy!
So, I think the conclusion of this post is clear: I will need to grow a fro, enter Australian Idol and win. Malaysian Christians have a good chance I hear!

P.S. If you’re reading this, I expect you to vote for me!

2006 has been a year marked with many big name celebrities visiting Sydney, touting their audio wares in large celebrations of light and sound. U2, delayed by a number of months, Kylie, delayed by a bit longer. Billy Joel and Elton John rounded out the oldies group, and Robbie Williams represented for today’s pop. That’s not even mentioning Coldplay and Live either. For an area that is often musically entrenched in a drought, we’ve done rather well… but have we enjoyed it?

One friend remarked to me that one concert they went to a few months ago had the lead singer high, and lasted a brief 40 minutes. The Sydney Morning Herald recently ran an article on Robbie Williams’ recent sojurn, describing it as “indulgent and selfish”. That seems a pretty harsh criticism, but it does raise a question — what does it take for an artist to be satisfied with their performance? Is it the money? Is it the splendour of the concert? Is it the adoration of the fans?

If my friends are considered a microcosm of society, it seems fans are beginning to respond when their favourite artists aren’t performing for them, and that difference of happiness is resulting in some unhappy people.

I think myself quite lucky. Kellie took me to the Elton John concert a few weeks back for my birthday (thankyou!), and I was amazed by the performance…. sometimes you forget just how many hits someone has. Some of his more poignant ballads were ever more powerful when listening to just him and his piano, watching his aged fingers stroll across a plateau they knew all too well. He finished with ‘Your Song’, dedicating it to Sydney, to a throng of joyous fans. Whilst I know you can’t please everyone, I think he would have come as close as he possibly could have to it. He truly demonstrated what a showman he is, with all the style and flair we expected, and none of the uglyness that the media often portrays him in.

At one point, in the middle of the concert, he stopped to sign every single thing that anyone brought to him. It was clear that some people were disappointed as they were at the stage with nothing to sign — until one clever individual handed his ticket to Elton to sign. And sign it he did. Suddenly, the mass surged forward, tickets extended out to him. He signed them all; every single one of them. This is the same person who has had much publicised scuffles with the media, often reacting quite rudely and harshly to those who take up his time. But for his fans, he had all the time in the world.

Perhaps that is the difference between the old school artists; those who made a melody with a voice and a piano, and today’s pop-driven frenzy: people who made time for their fans, and people who sell to their fans.

Out of curiousity, what have your concert experiences been like? Have they changed over the years?