Hi everyone,
Well, what a long (and interesting!) afternoon it’s been!
The trip up was less than ideal as I only just made the beginning of the concert ( I MISSED the exit and was at Palmwoods before the light finally went on…Stressssss city!
). Lynlest was waiting at the door, and said “You’re cutting it fine!” lol
The trip home was also RATHER less than ideal, but let me talk about the middle bit first, because that’s the really good bit, ok?
Darn….I have just realized that I left the piece of paper where I wrote the setlist down on the table up there, but I am pretty sure this is it, if not in exactly the right order: (Do correct me if I’m wrong, Lynlest)
SETLIST
1. Catch the Wind
2. Vincent
3. Not just for the Weekend
5. Guitar Man
6. IF
7. 22 Steps
Interval
8. If Tomorrow Never Comes
9.. Everybody’s Talking
10. Alone
11. Bigger Plan
12. Snippet of Crying, which became Hallelujah
13. Baby I Love Your Way (and Fall at Your Feet)
14. All I Want Is You
15. Danny Boy
16.Wicked Game
Damien was wearing the light and dark grey striped tshirt (that he wore in Adelaide), with black jeans (at least, I think they were the black ones). I couldn't see shoes, sorry.
Alas, there was no piano. I did, however, see a baby grand out in the FOYER of the concert area…what a shame they didn’t move it in for the concert! (But then, I know that every time you move them they have to be tuned, right? )
There were around 200-250 people in the room, at a guess. If there was a word to describe them for the first half of the show, it would have been “quietly appreciative”. At first I was inclined to think they were a bit “flat”(especially after Redcliffe!), but then looking around I could see that everyone was absolutely RIVETED to the stage….they were basically so spellbound they were dead quiet…lol. When he sang “If”, you could have literally heard a pin drop….likewise for Danny Boy.
What seemed to really flick the switch from
quietly appreciative to
noisily appreciative was when Damien asked for the lights to be put up on them so he could see them for the audience participation bit in Everybody’s Talking. That was when they REALLY got into it…almost like they had been waiting for permission! The WHOOHOOOS were very loud, and even the TOOT TOOTs . It just got better and better from then on, and Damien was just soooo relaxed and into it, it was fabulous.
He asked the audience if they were watching Idol, and then asked who was their favorite. Most yelled back “Wes!" , and he said that he, Eric and Indie had known Wes for a number of years, because he had been also around gigging, and he was good value. He then made a comment about Kyle doing the touchdown, saying “somehow it just doesn’t seem the same, does it? Must be the arm action lacking, or something”, and added that with the going price now being $10,000 for a touchdown, that they would not now be wanting to use them lightly!
Which also reminds me: at another point Damien said that he, Eric and Indie had known each other for years and all played in the same rock band (I didn’t realize that Indie had also been in the band with them). He added that they had thought that having Indie along on the tour would be a good influence on them and “make them behave”, but that the opposite had actually turned out to be true!! He looked across at Indie and said something like “This one….you know, this one’s a bit of a wild one here! “ Indie just leaned into the mike and said somewhat coyly “Girls just gotta have fun” .
So there you go...Indie is a rock chick from way back. She really looked the part today, too, with the boots, black fishnets, and very "bondage-like" mini dress....
I was on one a table with two other couples and a guy who seemed to be his early 20s….so the age range at my table was 20 to late 70s. The young guy was really getting into it, the first oldest couple were Irish and totally absorbed (VERY strong accent, much stronger than Damien’s!), and the second couple in their 50s were REALLY excited….whoohooing, calling out (in fact, it was the guy who called out for Danny Boy as en encore – and was thrilled when Damien did it! ). They latter two were so excited, I asked them during the break if they were fans of Damien and had seen him before, and she said “No! I hadn’t ever heard him before, but the other day I heard him on the radio here and thought “What a lovely voice”, and rang up and won tickets….and we are so glad we came! He’s fantastic! “ I also noticed both couples bought CDs during the interval…lol. (Actually, a lot of people did, so it seemed there were quite a lot of NEW fans being made who didn’t already have Damien’s CDs….which is great!)
As Terri said, Damien did indeed say that he usually stands up to sing, but was enjoying being able to sit and relax…only, he really hoped that there were no splits in his jeans where there shouldn’t be to see the leopardskin g-string “only joking, no, [he] wasn’t wearing it, although one HAD been given to him at one stage”
). What you couldn’t see, though, Terri, that what REALLY bought on all the laughter was that straight after saying he really hoped there were no splits in his jeans where there shouldn’t be, he then rather casually deliberately crossed his legs tightly….the comic timing was just perfect.
So sorry to cut you off before Hallelujah, Terri, but I had promised someone else they could hear that one. lol. So glad you enjoyed hearing what you did, it was nice to share it a little since I was on my own. (Lynlest was at another table with her sisters)
When Damien did the high note and had Eric continue it while he drank…and drank….and drank…(Eric was really starting to waver there, and even started to look a tad desperate, I thought
), some bright spark from up the back finally had the light go on and said loudly “He’s not singing that note!!” geee…..ya THINK??!!
It made that little gag even funnier.
At one stage, a woman called out “I LOVE YOU!”, and Damien was a bit stuck for words in response, I think…lol. I mean, what CAN you say…ummm…thanks?
Oh, and at another point Damien did a moonwalk, which was greeted with laughter and a bit of amazed applause…
The audience really clapped hard all the way through All I Want Is You and participated very enthusiastically in the high notes (probably even more than Redcliffe!).
It was just super, and Damien was beaming.
The atmosphere in the room was so great (people calling loudly MORE MORE for an encore, on their feet and banging tables) that I suspect he would have liked to stay a bit longer if (as he had already informed us) they hadn’t needed to rush off to catch their flight home.
It really was just lovely…one can only hope that with these sort of responses, Damien will want to come back again and again to Qld…we can only hope…
Damien THANK YOU SO MUCH for an absolutely lovely afternoon! I think everyone who was there went away thoroughly satisfied with their Sunday, and you made a lot of new fans as well!
Ok…now, that’s the concert over, and this is where things went a bit downhill…this is the bit where I vent, ok? So don’t read on if you don’t want to hear a sad story..
First thing I had to do was get petrol on the way home, right? So I filled the car up, and was walking back after paying, passing behind this 4 wheel drive that had just pulled in (Have I ever said how much I dislike 4 wheel drives??! ) Anyway, just as I was nearly past it, it reversed REALLY abruptly, and hit me….and down I went. She (it was a woman driver) realized straight away and luckily stopped…with me half under the back of the car and about 6 inches from being run over. Luckily, I seem to have only been rather bruised….(the extra padding on the backside does occasionally have its uses it seems!), but to say I was rather shocked is probably an understatement. Of course, she was very apologetic….said she realized she had pulled in too far from the bowser and was reversing back to go in. I gather she was cross about it, which is why she reversed so fast…(gees, no wonder I hate four wheel drives!! Ok…one might argue it was the driver, but I do think their visibility sucks!)
I felt like I was ok to drive (just rather sore), so continued on my way home. You would think that little nudge might have been enough drama for one day, right? But noooooooooooo….!
When I got to Brisbane, it had been raining just a bit and the roads were pretty slick. I was going through Bardon, when I had to stop at a red light halfway up a very steep hill. I was first to go through the lights, but there must have been some oil spilt on the road, because when I went to take off (slowly, fortunately!), it was like the tyres couldn’t get any traction and just started spinning and the car was sliding out of control! I ended up halfway across the other side of the road on an angle, and could see traffic coming fast towards me down the hill, with the couple of cars behind me furiously trying to reverse back or pull off. I think it was one of the longest 15-20 seconds of my life (it could have been less, but felt like forever!) before the car finally found traction and I had control again and was able to get back over the other side of the road. IT WAS SCARY!!
I have to admit that I was a bit of a mess after that, and tended to jump at everything on the way home, driving a fair bit below the speed limit. It was just so good to get home finally, and a glass of bourbon never looked so good….so I must confess to having a couple of stiff drinks (VERY unusual for me) before I started this report. Do forgive me if it’s a bit jumbled. The panadol is working a treat too…feel nooooo painnnnnnn…..
Ok, I must take this sore and weary shell of a Damienite off to bed soon, and hopefully will recover from the big weekend for work tomorrow.
I did manage to get a few videos, but do bear in mind that I was a fair way back so they were on ultra magnification and therefore a bit jerkier than usual. The sound seems pretty good, at least. They are uploading now to Youtube, so I will post them in the picture gallery thread when they are done.
Thank you so much Chris. 
Damien sounds exquisite! 
). What you couldn’t see, though, Terri, that what REALLY bought on all the laughter was that straight after saying he really hoped there were no splits in his jeans where there shouldn’t be, he then rather casually deliberately crossed his legs tightly….the comic timing was just perfect. 
a much as you need to... and you definitely needed to after the accident and that wild ride. I'm so sorry to hear about your mum's awful news - I guess it's a poignant anniversary of sorts for you now. 
