OK here is the first instalment of my report - sorry if it is a bit long but I tried not to miss anything.
Night of My LifeAfter a relatively hassle free drive, I arrived at Swoon City around 5pm, just as planned. As it happened, Braffy had beaten me there and was already settled in GJ’s room. GJ came down to collect me (you need a key card to operate the lifts) and we exchanged hugs, kisses and girly giggles. She then took me up to her room (photo of Damien stuck to the door – in case she had trouble finding her way back at the end of the night) where I exchanged more hugs and kisses with Braffy, who is now an old friend, seeing as how we have met three times now.
GJ’s room is more like a palace – huge bed, full size bathroom (complete with bathtub), spacious kitchen with all the mod cons, and a dining and lounge area. There is also a balcony with great views of Darling Harbour – we could even see the QE II! The next half hour or so was spent chatting, sipping champers and listening to TWJ whilst we waited for more Damienites to arrive. Crushangel joined us next in her pretty blue party frock – she is such a sweet young thing! BG and Dede fell in the door around 6.30 having battled their way across town through peak hour traffic. Shortly after this, we left to find Carla and Carlene who were waiting somewhere downstairs for us. We eventually met up with them (Morgaine as well) so the only one missing was Shims. A bit of a kafuffle ensued re the backstage passes (I won’t go into this here) but eventually we all took our places in the front row of the Showroom – and yes I could reach out and touch the edge of the stage from my seat!
Mark serenaded us first with a set of 6 or so songs – mainly all his own compositions. He is a hawt young man, not unlike our Damien in size and stature, who plays a mean guitar and can sing to boot. The Damienites were so impressed that we gave him a standing ovation at the end of his set – bet he wasn’t expecting that one!
There was an intermission at this point and it was then that I realised that Shims had joined us and I raced down to say hello. We hugged and kissed and chatted furiously until the lights dimmed and everyone scattered back to their seats. I think the order of seating was Crush, GJ, Braffy, Wombat, BG, Morgaine, Dede, Shims, Carla and Carlene (although we reshuffled the deck later in the performance.) The stage was dark and the band began to play. Then a familiar voice was heard coming from somewhere in the darkness “The world was on fire…………” “Where is he?” everyone was whispering and then……squeeeeees all round as Damien appeared centre stage. I think it was during this song that we got the waving arms going while we swayed side to side – we were in HEAVEN! The next hour and a half are a bit of a blur – so much to take in and remember. I can’t remember all the songs he sang or in what order he sang them – just remember that I was mesmerized by the sheer brilliance of this man! I will try and list some of the highlights as recall them –
• Damien saying that he thought he could dance ok before “Celebration” and giving us a brief example of his moonwalk (a la Michael Jackson)
• Damien announcing that he was going to sing a Leonard Cohen song and Braffy yelling out “Hallelujah”
• Wombat melting during “Waiting on an Angel” and Braffy and BG almost having to pick her up off the floor
• Damienites jumping to their feet and clapping along to several songs. It was during With or Without You that BG and I ran to the other end of the row to join Carla and Carlene who were dancing in the aisles!
• Banana knocking over ice buckets and glasses that were sitting on the floor as she tried to get back to her seat
• Dede trying to look inconspicuous in the middle of the row, hiding her head in her hands and shaking her head in disbelief at the antics of some Damienites (I warned you Dede).
• Me Shims and Carla swaying side to side, arm in arm, singing with huge smiles on our faces - a real fangirly moment!
• Damienites stamping feet and banging their hands on the stage calling for an encore. I discovered a strange bruise on the palm of my left hand this morning which I can only attribute to this (or to overzealous clapping!)
• Wombat crawling onto stage after the concert was over to retrieve Damien’s water bottle (see what a bad influence you are on me Neski!) and the towel that Damien had used to wipe the sweat from his brow during the concert. Unfortunately, a narky stage guy took the towel back “hey you can’t just take things off the stage “ - but I kept the water bottle which I later gave to Braffy. I also tried to get the playlist but it was taped to the floor – we asked but we did not receive!
My favourite songs were –
• Waiting on an Angel - swoon
• Sky – sounded brilliant with the band
• You are so Beautiful – loved it from the first note
• These Days – an old fave of mine
• With or Without You – got everyone up on their feet
• Nessun Dorma – exquisite solo performance
• Hallelujah – superb as always
Some photos follow but unfortunately many of mine were also too blurry because I didn’t use the flash.
This truly was the Night of My Life in more ways than one. I loved meeting each and every one of my fellow Damienites and couldn’t have shared the experience with a nicer bunch of tarts! As Jeff Fenech would say “I Love Yous All!”
To be continued with post show highlights and photos and a special treat for Belinda, Kath, Terri and Tina………..
;D
You painted a wonderful picture and it sounds like you all had a fantastic night. 