Fradam

Last night, Kellie and I experienced Guy once more.. and whoa. The guy does not disappoint. He’s still the same kinda Guy he always was - ready to intersperse random chatter about his boots, jeans falling off and what not, in between his songs. This was a rather unique concert; he played a few songs that are unreleased at this point, i.e. we got to hear the makings of his next album. There was a rather different sound, as there was a violinist on stage. Something that has always impressed me is just that Guy has sung with a variety of things behind him - just a guitar, a full rock band, an orchestra, a marching band, a combination of the above, or sometimes nothing at all.. and has always sounded brilliant.

So some of the new music has a different sort of groove to it, there was one song in particular I really liked, which was a duet.. definitely looking forward to hearing more of that. I don’t think there was a definitive set list for the rest of the night. The night was marketed as a “Guy, live by request” night, and he had asked the Internet for it’s wishes.

Obviously, the band and he had prepared for certain combinations of songs and knew from the online polling, what sort of songs were generally going to be most requested, so at many points, he simply turned to the audience and asked us what we wanted to hear - and not just his own music either! At one point, he sung a bit of Umbrella, and in true Guy fashion, integrated some of his own lyrics in.. “Chris Brown is lucky… I wasn’t there.. “. His ability to improvise and spin lyrics out that actually fit the the tune never ceases to amaze me. One fan had got in contact with Guy and persuaded him to sing Sweetest berry as a dedication to his wife who was in the audience and happened to be celebrating her 50th birthday that evening. In the seat to my right. So she was integrated into the song too, and had an experience she’ll probably never forget.

There was a trip down memory lane, as Guy did a medley of songs from his Idol days, which I much enjoyed.. although, two that I really enjoy; Hello and The way you look tonight weren’t part of it. He also did a few songs from his first album, which brought back a lot of thoughts for me, as that was around when I first was introduced to Guy and began digging his groove. Still one of my favourites, My beautiful friend was dedicated to a sick girl in hospital that was listening via a phone link up. He tailored it especially for her and it was quite stirring. On that note, we were privileged to hear Perfection, a song he wrote for his wife, Jules, and sang to her on their wedding day. That was simply amazing; it basically was about the idea that God had got the angels together and decided to make a perfect woman, and went on to describe some of his characteristics, and how the angels wanted to keep her but someone on earth needed her.. ahh beautiful. Some of the final lines “When she was 21, she changed someone’s life… when she was 28, she became his wife.” She was in the audience too, I cannot imagine how she felt.. I was trying to picture it, to know that you’ve moved someone that much, to mean so much to someone. Just wow.

The night ended really well too - a massive encore, where he went and played the drums for a while and encouraged his drummer and bass guitarist to take the mic and the limelight for a few songs. I love that he pushes his band up whenever he gets the chance. He finished with a series of soul songs, mostly from his Memphis album, which was some good grooving! I realised afterwards, the entire set was 3+ hours - probably the most Guy I’ve got to experience in a single session, woo! Thanks to Kellie for an awesome night

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!