5th September Dapto Leagues Club, Wollongong NSW

[christyl]

So glad you ladies all had a good night. I love that setlist! Alone

Hopefully we can hear more of the blue jeans story soon...

...and looking forward to the pics, even if they are of Damien's nostrils!

[KrisLovesDamien]

Thanks Carla
OMG ALONEEE!!! , i really hope he plays that at the palms!, that must of been so stunning to hear, i've never heard it live so i'm desperate to hear it!.

OOO!! new jeans , but putting on weight? , i agree Carla where?

[Smiley]

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Trilly]

Carla hun, no need to apologise. We understand that sonmetimes it's difficult to report back after a gig. Thanks for the great job!

I'm really happy to hear the Gong audience really got into it this time around..and wanna see these new jeans! He's put on weight? ..about 5 grams, I bet!

Glad you had a ball!

[CarlaM]

Haha yeah weight? Where? I swear I look at food and gain 2 pounds!

He said he has put on a "few pounds".
The new blue jeans are a really nice fit. Not as tight as the black ones (sorry girls) but fitted and they really suit him! ;D
Oh and he had the pointy black shoes on! Very niiiiiiiiiiice!

Yeah Trills, a great crowd in my opinion. Very interactive and really supportive and they giggled at ALL the jokes.
Indi commented after the show that she thought it was a bit too "pubbish" but honestly, from where I was sitting, I liked the crowd and I have seen some BAD crowds!

[thebraff (Braffy)]

What did Indi mean by'pubbish'? were they too noisy or what? Sorry, I just don't understand the expression.

[CarlaM]

Yeah I think maybe because there was a few guys yelling out and singing loud and stuff. But they were doing it in fun. Nothing bad towards Damien at all.
There was a couple that had clearly been drinking.
One guy ran up at the end of the show and hugged Damien...

The same guy came over to us (and yes he was very drunk) after the show and RAVED about Damien and how amazing he was.
Personally I didn't think of it like a pub crowd, I just saw it as enthusiastic. At least from where Womby and I were sitting anyway. I was just glad to be part of a good crowd ;D

[Trilly]

Gettin into it and having a great ime is what it's all about! ;D

[thebraff (Braffy)]

Thanks Carla. I suppose they get a different viewpoint when they are up on stage.
Maybe Indi was being distracted by the fun and frivolity and saw it as pubbish.
I like hearing about males raving about Damien. It takes Damien out of that stereotype that he was put in ...only appeals to middle aged women.
He keeps proving himself over and over that he appeals to ALL ages and gender.

[CarlaM]

Braffy, the funny thing was, it was a guy that you would NOT expect to be a Damien fan. Quite a rough guy, as I said, very drunk. He came over and put his arm around me and was going on and on about how fantastic Damien was. He had a tshirt on that had a picture of a Hot Wheels car on it, so we called him "hot wheels". Funny guy, yes he was very very loud and very very drunk but amusing!

When D asked the guys to sing Wild World on their own, it was pretty bad...hahaha....but he did it a 2nd time and this guy behind it us screamed it out at the top of his lungs and had everyone, including Damien in hysterics!

Also....during D's big note in Wicked Game (I think?...he does so many wonderful big notes)...some lady down the front goes "not bad not bad" and Damien stopped, laughed and couldn't compose himself....but eventually came back to the mic and finished the note!

[thebraff (Braffy)]

;D It sounds so fabulous. I hope there is that sort of fun with the rest of the tour, although with Damien we are pretty much guaranteed that.
He will be great at his end it will be up to the audience to get into it.

Was the venue full? Were Dawn and Nuffy anywhee near you?

Next Sunday is my turn and I can't wait for it, if the set list is anything to go by.

[CarlaM]

No Dawn and Nuffy were towards the back so they saw things a little differently up there.
They came down during the interval and at the end

Matinee crowds are always a little different but lets hope we can make lots of noise

[12ktina]

Thanks for the report Carla! It's always an extra great show when the crowd gets enthusiastic, isn't it!!

New jeans sound good! Maybe because Damien has had a few weeks off from the rigours of touring, he's managed to put on a kilo or two. The first person to get a "squeeze" will have to report if the frame is still "fit and wiry"!!

[Mysterri]

Thanks for a great report Carla and I'm glad your DD arrived home safely. New jeans! Can't wait to see them. It sounds like a great night and I laughed about Hot Wheels. Whatever else he may be into he certainly has great taste in musicians. ;D

[Roxy]

Thanks Carla for your wonderful report. Sounds like a fantastic night you all had.
the Setlist sounds great too.....WOW Shine like the Sun and ALONE!!!

Did he sing that Fisherman's song? I thought I read a post by Shims that he did, or was I dreaming.


Perhaps Indy is more use to the upmarket venues?
commenting on a couple of funny but rowdy guys and saying the show sounded like a pub gig is a bit off. I like it when the audience get into it, and as long as they aren't rude then there's nothing wrong with it in my books.


I really want to comment on his weight gain but I won't


Can't wait for our turn soon, hope his portable piano has arrived by then.

Sept 6, 2008 9:16:31 GMT 10 CarlaM said:

We had a FANTASTIC night!

Womby and I were right in the front under Damien's nose...infact poor Womby is going to have a sort neck this morning as it was already sore last night. The tables were pushed right to the front which was great but the stage was high so we had to look up a bit to see Damien! He spotted us almost straight away and we got lovely smiles! ;D ;D ;D

Wardrobe report: NEW JEANS! They are blue but reallllllly nice. Damien made a joke that he has put on a bit of weight (where??) in the last 3 weeks and that his clothes were all too tight so he went and bought some new jeans that day! They looked good and he had the same black belt and belt buckle.
The top looked black, but it was hard to tell if it was a really dark grey....it was a 3/4 sleeve fitted top, with a v neck and small collar.
He looked fantastic!!!

Set list

Firstly, I will put you all out of your misery as I know you all want to know. We didn't hear any of the new songs. Also, Damien's keyboard has not arrived yet so we didn't have any songs on the keyboard/piano.
In saying that, the songs and set list were all brilliant!

Shine Like the Sun
Night of My Life
Catch the Wind
Annie's Song
Unchained Melody
22 Steps (with amazing guitar solo from Eric)
Baby I Love Your Way
Wild World (with sing a long)

Interval...

Beautiful
Alone
Little bit of Crying...and straight into..
Hallelujah
Crying (all of it by request(
Everybody's Talking (with train noises)

Encore
Danny Boy
Wicked Game (with sing along and high notes)

The crowd was really good. I was actually really surprised as the last Wollongong crowd during last tour was really tame.
There was massive claps, yelling "wooohoooing" going on before and after each song. The crowd would cheer as Damien started a song they knew and liked.
There was a lot of random comments and screams and yelling from the crowd.
At the beginning, after Shine Like the Sun, Damien asked had everyone been watching Idol this year. Most people yelled out yes! He asked who everyone's fave's were. There was a few people yelling out "Wes" including Womby and I. Someone said "You" but Damien didn't hear (I don't think) so I repeated it (after yelling out Wes) and he goes "Wes??? ME?"!!!
There was one girl that screamed at one stage, one of those ear piercing fan girl screams! Damien stopped and laughed! Infact everyone did, as it was so random. I think she did it a little later on too!
Damien said there was a funny story about him and Eric buying their new jeans but he started to tell it and didn't finish it. Apparently it is embarrassing for Eric and they were giggling talking about it but we he said it was a long story. So hopefully we will hear this one at a later date
The crowd laughed and reacted really well to Damien's jokes and stories and banter.
Damien did a few dance moves but didn't do the Celebration Pogo dance, although he did mention that anyone who saw Idol will know he can't dance.
He did the Irish Jig in Wicked Game at the end which is always a crowd pleaser!

(I have a mental blank but will post more if/when I remember everything).

We didn't see Damien afterwards but we did talk to Eric and Indi for a while. (by the way, Dawn and Nuffy came down the for the show too which was fantastic)!

Also, when we got there, we had a lovely dinner at the Chinese restaurant and then afterwards sat for a while right near the Show Room and we could hear the sound check!

We heard Shine Like the Sun, Cold Cold Heart and Alone!
I said to the girls "ALONE!!! *squeeeee* I bet he wont do it during the show"....so I was so happy (and so were they) when he did.
He told the story about how he wrote it when a friend was going through a really rough time. I must admit to getting a bit teary during it after the couple of weeks of Mum being so sick and us coming close to losing her!
It's always been my favourite off WWL but it meant even more than usual. Just stunning!

Sorry for not coming on and posting last night. Like I said, I was worried sick when Stephanie had not come home yet and I knew I would not be able to do a post while I was feeling like that. And...I slept in a bit this morning, we all did

Photo's coming a little later on today. The worst thing was, we were too close to get great pics. I had to wait until D stepped back to try to get one. I took a few near the end and I rushed them so I don't have any fantastic ones but I do have a few.

Thank you Womby, Dawn, and Nuffy for a fantastic night from beginning to end and thank you Damien for an amazing show as always!