Sorry for the delay in posting my report, I've been busy, busy.
It was pure magic to see Damien perform in Bowral. It was a comfortable 23 degrees, overcast and sultry. The venue is stunning. Rolling hills dotted with huge gum trees all encased in row upon row of grapevines. The stage was massive as you've seen in the photos and Damien looked like he'd been gobbled up by a gigantic creature. Damien may have looked small against the stage but his voice certainly made up for it. He launched into Remember June accompanied by Indi on the tin whistle and oh my, it was so beautiful.
I had a visual of his voice taking on a physical form, weaving and slowly dancing through the gum trees. The crowd loved him and with each song the applause grew louder.
I looked around to gauge the crowd reaction when Damien was singing and they were loving it, swaying and singing along. He introduced Annie's Song by telling us it was the first song he'd ever sung in public. He'd fancied his teacher at the time - I wonder if her name was Annie?
When Damien began singing Hallelujah you could have heard a pin drop. It was totally sublime and the bonus was he sang the full version. It received a standing ovation from me at least.
Jimmy launched into Sleepwalk with Damien playing along, just awesome. All of the songs from Remember June were fantastic even without a full band and Beautiful was, well simply beautiful.
The closing number was Wicked Game and a roar of applause went up from the crowd. Damien asked if we'd like to see a bit of Irish dancing and he was answered by another roar of applause. He is just so cute when he gets into the Irish jig
and I think I even saw a little bit of moon walking there as well. The time just flew by and all too soon Damien was gone, swallowed up by that gigantic stage.
Shims and I immediately headed up to the signing tent but we couldn't find Kazza. The line of people waiting to see Damien was huge! Shims, DH and I were getting closer to the tent when Kazza found us. We were trying to encourage her to climb over the barrier so that she could be with us and I think she was very tempted
but she decided to go the back of the line. It was then I realised that I'd left my RJ and TGTY CD's back at the motel!
Oh well, I'd just had to buy another copy of RJ for Damien to sign. The CD's were flying out of the tent flap at $30 a pop and it was great to see. Finally there was Damien standing right in front of us. He looked fantastic, so well, relaxed and happy.
As soon as he saw Shimmery he said "Hello (real name)." and reached out to hug her. Damien introduced Shims to the lady standing next to him saying that "This is (real name) from the DLO forum." I heard Shims say "And Terri." and then Damien say "And Terri." After what only seemed like seconds Shims was gone! She'd been quickly ushered along by the security guy.
They were trying to keep the line moving at a fast pace without being too pushy but I would've liked for her to be there with me so that we could've had a photo taken together with D.
Damien was right there in front of me now and he said "Hello Terri." reaching over and giving me a hug. I told him it was a fantastic show as he was signing my CD cover. He even spelled my name right.
I knew I didn't have a lot of time to chat to Damien but I mentioned his show in Merimbula next month and as it was my home turf (he said "Yes, I read that.") I was wanting to organise a radio interview with him on our local radio station. I asked if he had a new manager yet so that I could pass on the details of the radio station etc. Damien said "Yes, right here." indicating to the lady standing next to him. He introduced me to Jennifer and I explained what I was wanting to do. She thought it was a great idea and immediately wrote down her email address for me. Jennifer is gorgeous. She's friendly, very hands on and great with the fans, answering all of their questions about the tour, the new book etc.
I asked Damien if I could have a photo taken with him and he was more than happy to do so. I plonked myself up on the table and DH clicked away. This is how the smoochy neck kiss pic came to be. I really didn't mean for my lips to connect with Damien's neck but alas they did.
The security guys kept the line moving but we could stand on the other side of the barrier with a clear view of Damien and that's where I took most of my shots. We waited for Kazza to come through and she got her hug and kiss. Sadly we weren't able to get any photos of her with Damien. DH did line the three of us up for a photo with Damien in the background so that we had a 'group' shot with D.
The line was now thinning and we decided to go and stand around the side of the tent where Damien would be exiting. I saw a face I immediately recognised walking towards us. It was Eileen! What a stunning woman she is. There were hello's and hugs all round and I asked if we could have a photo taken with her. She was more than happy to do so and DH once again clicked away for us. We were standing there chatting when all of a sudden Damien burst through the tent door flap and proceeded to bolt up the hill surrounded by security guys. Kazza, Shims and I all yelled in unison "Come back!" He turned around, gave us a cheeky grin and kept running. We were all laughing including Eileen. I was thinking to myself,
Hey Damo, what about your wife, are you going to wait for her? Eils just took it all in her stride. We were debating if Damien would in fact return for Eileen but after a few minutes it was obvious that he wasn't. Eileen started to head off and said "I'll be back soon." We waited a little longer in case Eils did return but we knew that they had to pick up the boys and didn't want to hang around for too long.
I wasn't used to seeing a Damien gig and then having him leave so soon. It was all far too short IMO but we still had Tina Arena and Ronan Keating to perform. Tina was half way through her gig when we finally returned to our seats and I must say that she was incredibly good. Ronan was next up and when he appeared on stage the applause was deafening . He had the big band, violinists who looked like little China dolls and a gorgeous backing singer. He put on a great show and the crowd was going wild - especially a few drunk women down the front.
A big security guy gently ushered them back to their seats. The base notes coming through the amplifier were unbelievable! I could literally feel them reverberate through my body. It felt like my heart was pumping a mile a minute and no it wasn't Ronan causing it.
The clouds had been building all afternoon and it began to rain although it was more like a fine mist. I donned my plastic poncho (good look
) but thankfully the rain didn't hang around for long. Plastic poncho dispensed with post haste!
We'd decided to all meet at the signing tent after the show. Kazza and her DD were heading straight home as they didn't live too far from Bowral.
Shims, P, DH and I were up for a little hut and decided to head to one of the pubs in town for a drink and something to eat. What we didn't bargain on was that being a Sunday night the pubs were all closed.
We found a pizza restaurant still open and grabbed a table. They had a BYO license so the boys went for a wander in search of some refreshment. No luck. Obviously if the pubs were closed, the bottle shops would also be closed.
It was worth a try. We enjoyed our pizzas and the bottle of cold water we ordered. It was so nice to sit and chat with Shimmery and P, they are a gorgeous couple. Shims was explaining to me the ins and outs of using her iphone. Lordy, she's brilliant!
She'd posted photos to Twitter and DLO before our pizzas had even arrived!
It had been a brilliant day and we were all feeling very weary. Shimmery and P kindly drove us back to our motel. Thanks so much guys, we appreciated it very much.
In closing, if you have the opportunity to attend any of The Day On The Green concerts, please do so. You'll love it.
It must be so hard for Damien to pick only a few songs to sing cause he's got such a huge repertoire to pick from.
It must be so hard for Damien to pick only a few songs to sing cause he's got such a huge repertoire to pick from.
Oh well, I'd just had to buy another copy of RJ for Damien to sign. The CD's were flying out of the tent flap at $30 a pop and it was great to see. Finally there was Damien standing right in front of us. He looked fantastic, so well, relaxed and happy. 
We'd decided to all meet at the signing tent after the show. Kazza and her DD were heading straight home as they didn't live too far from Bowral. 
Shims, P, DH and I were up for a little hut and decided to head to one of the pubs in town for a drink and something to eat. What we didn't bargain on was that being a Sunday night the pubs were all closed. 
She'd posted photos to Twitter and DLO before our pizzas had even arrived! 
B/f was over in the seating area minding our picnic things, he really enjoyed the day and the show 
