Civic Theatre, Newcastle
Monday August 5, 2013 :
What can one say about witnessing an Australian legend absolutely own the stage over a near two and a half hour set? Too much – that’s the answer.
Coming into the beautiful Civic Theatre I pulled up my chair in row D, and gushed at my awesome view of the stage. Urthboy, is one of my favourite live acts and so it was great to see him support Paul Kelly with a stripped back sort of set, unlike any of the previous times I’ve seen him. Did I mention Jane Tyrrell has one of the most amazing voices I’ve ever heard?
Soon enough it was time. Paul swaggered out onto stage with his band (which included the likes of Dan Kelly and Bree Van Reyek) and explained the deal to us – he was going to play his new album Spring and Fall in full before blowing us away with a whole bunch of hits, and that was just what he did.
Stand out tracks from Spring and Fall included ‘Someone New’ and ‘Little Aches And Pains’ – Paul joking about how his siblings and him only allocate 15 minutes to talking about their medical problems now.
Next up were the hits, which included the likes of ‘Before Too Long’, ‘To Her Door’, and ‘From St Kilda To Kings Cross’. The part that I found truly special though, was when the whole band plus Urthboy and his entourage joined Paul onstage to play ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’. The whole song was insanely good and had everyone smiling. Though I shouldn’t forget the five piece acappella rendition of my favourite Paul Kelly song – ‘Meet Me In The Middle Of The Air’. The theatre seemed to glow as the five voices resonated.
It was truly great to see such an acclaimed performer play such a long set (which included two encores) at arguably the top of his game. I have no words left. It was simply amazing.
Reviewer: Cormack O’Connor
Photographer: David Jackson
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4nWE-GDbDg