Fradam

So, summer has finally drawn to a close: I refused to wear more than a t-shirt yesterday as my own little element of defiance against the elements. Apparently La Nina is to blame for:

- the wettest summer in over 5 years
- the coolest summer on average in over 10 years
- the least amount of daily sunshine in over 15 years
- not a single day over 31 degrees (first time in over 50 years)

Well… and the destruction of many a roof in many parts of Sydney. On the plus side, the dams are up over 65%, which is incredible too, and we’re finally off El Nino’s back.

Somehow in the midst of all this rain, I went to 3 big concerts. Rather than come on here and gush after each concert “THIS WAS THE BEST CONCERT EVER!!”, I decided to wait till I had seen them all, and then at least I could compare between them.

So, first up was Lionel Richie - 7th December 2007 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.

Charlotte and I got to the Entertainment Centre in time to catch half of Marcia Hines opening for him. She was incredible; I’d not heard her sing before, and I’m a big believer that judges of talent reality shows should still be able to do what they judge… she certainly did. It mostly consisted of covers, but her voice did not disappoint. She was an appropriate opening act, being a contemporary who sang in the same style and passion - acknowledged by the crowd of 7146 with much support.

There was a roar when Lionel took the stage. He’s not quite 60, but could easily pass for 30. I mean, he really did look good. Stylish, slick, and moved so well too!

His rapport with the crowd was amazing - I think he was surprised that there were this many fans here in Sydney! But he gave us all quite the show. He received an ovation after nearly every song, and welcomed it with what I’ve now discovered is a signature hand flourish (ask me to demonstrate the next time you see me). I sometimes forget just how… smooth he is. In singing Endless Love (a song traditionally done with Diana Ross.. I secretly hoped he’d bring Marcia back on for it), he serenaded the mostly female audience and had most of the crowd swooning. Afterwards, he consolidated his position with the male minority - “Guys… you know.. I’m not fighting with you guys - I’m just warming them up for you. You’re the one taking them home!”, which naturally elicited much mirth.

Of special note was a Commodores medley he performed in the middle Three Times a Lady, Easy and a few others - and as a special treat, it turned out that one of the other original Commodores was in the stadium! So Lionel got him up on stage - I think it was Ronald La Pread - and they played a few songs together. So unexpected!

Most of the songs were cast in the same style as their album counterparts - so on a pure sound level, the songs were mostly the same. Having said that, feeling his passion exude from the stage definitely made a difference in the songs - the emotion of some of the particularly stirring songs like Hello for example, was quite moving.

The concert closed with his biggest hit, All Night Long, and it was on that note did we leave the Entertainment Centre, heading to Manly for a birthday night out and proceeded to party all night long, wearing our Lionel shirts, and proudly basking in the afterglow of the experience that was Lionel.