2018 – Sydney

I thoroughly enjoyed Michael Bolton on Friday night at the State Theatre on his Symphony tour. Michael performed with the Sydney Lyric Orchestra, and also had Australian singer Silvie Paladino join him on stage for a series of duets.

From his first song you knew Michael hadn’t lost any of his voice. Below is the setlist from the evening.

Stand By Me

To Love Somebody

(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay

Said I Loved You But I Lied

You Don’t Know Me

To Make You Feel My Love

How Am I Supposed To Live Without You

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

The Prayer

Nessun Dorma

Georgia On My Mind

Hallelujah

You Are So Beautiful

When A Man Loves A Woman

How Can We Be Lovers

Steel Bars

Time, Love And Tenderness

Soul Provider [encore]

It was great to see Michael had a great sense of humour, working with the audience throughout the night, from Marriage proposals, to raucous laughter.

In the end I would definitely see Michael again, I’m still considering buying a ticket to see him again this Wednesday night at the State Theatre.

Ice Cube – Sydney Opera House – 27/05/2018

Last night I went and saw Ice Cube live at Sydney Opera House in the Concert Hall. I loved it.

From the moment Ice Cube came on stage, he had the crowd on their feet and he brought it! No support acts just Ice Cube and WC.

Though Ice Cube’s son O’Shea joined him on stage for a few songs, the audience loved it. O’Shea acted as his father in the movie Straight Outta Compton. O’Shea even did the Aussie catch cry with the audience, Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi.

It was a phenomenal walk through Ice Cube’s earlier music from NWA to AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted. He would provide an introduction to the song, including the audience from the time it was released to now.

I would definitely go see Ice Cube again!

Radnor and Lee – Sydney 20/05/2018

Last night I saw this duo live at The Metro, and I loved it. I was up the front and enjoyed their music live.

They are a great duo band, and if you enjoy folk music or even if you don’t, check them out you won’t be disappointed.

I’ve enjoyed Ben Lee’s music for years, but I’ve only discovered Radnor and Lee band this year.

Looking forward to their next album and tour.

The support act was an Australian singer, songwriter who I hadn’t heard of before. Sally Seltmann was great and really set the mood and had the crowd. I’ll be looking out for her music as well.

Jimmy Barnes Working Class Man (Songs and Stories) – Sydney 02/05/2018

I’ve listened to Jimmy Barnes on and off for many years, but never seen him live. So I was happy to get a ticket to his current show Working Class Man Songs and Stories.

This was the first time I’ve been to the Sydney Town Hall for a show. I can’t say I particularly liked the venue, not for a show (no leg room in the seats!)

After so many years, Jimmy’s voice hasn’t lost anything. He came on at 8pm, no support act just Jimmy and some musicians.

He takes you on a virtual tour of his life beginning with Cold Chisel To now. From videos, photos, telling stories and performing songs throughout the evening.

There was an intermission halfway through, which was good if you wanted to stretch your legs, get a drink etc. In the break we spotted Peter Fitzsimmons and Lisa Wilkins in the crowd, pretty cool.

After intermission Jimmy was back to it.

He spoke of his first book working class boy.

I’ll definitely be reading both of his books now. I loved hearing the story behind the man. He pulled no punches, took the blame for his bad decisions.

It was great how he spoke of his past, and getting help. I think this was truly brave, and should happen more often.

You forget how many people he’s worked with over his career.

If you were expecting a concert you may have been disappointed, but man he can still sing like he used to.

At the end of the night, you join him in thinking how lucky he is to be alive. But most importantly you love him just a little bit more than before. The love for his family and friends shines through.

The show was supposed to finish at 11, but we got a little bit more leaving at 11:30.

Nothing Compares 2 U – Sydney Opera House 28/04/2018

Wow what a great show! In the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, with members from 5 Prince bands, all eras and a lot of Prince artists are shown. Featuring Tyka Nelson, Princes sister.

The bands are: New Power Generation (NPG), The Family, The Time and Purple Rain.

I was lucky enough to be 5 rows back from the stage. We were on our feet dancing and singing for most of the show.

It was as close to seeing Prince as you could get now.

The costumes and energy was fantastic!

It was a very tight show, with an intermission and no support act. They had you involved and loving it from the first song to the last!

Their voices were amazing, though my favourite would have to be Shelby J!

Throughout the show you got to meet and see each of the members perform solos either vocals or instrumentals.

I would go see any of the bands separately or together in a heartbeat.

Do yourself a favour and see these guys live if you have s chance, you won’t regret it!

Here is a link to the website for Nothing Compares to Prince.

The Script – 20/04/2018 Sydney

My very first time seeing The Script live, and I will now be going to see them every time they come to Australia!

We had General Admission tickets, and they were great (off to the left just one person in front), not as good as my friends on Saturday night in Brisbane (she was front & centre).

You see some bands live, like them but prefer their music off the album, not so with The Script. They are full of energy and are better live.

From surfing the crowd, to singing two songs from the stands amongst those sitting, they truly engage with the audience.

I even managed to get a guitar pick from guitarist Mark Sheehan!

Check out Danny’s crowd surfing below.

At my favourite venue Sydney’s International Convention Centre (ICC), Theatre. They folded back a section of the chairs/stand and gave more room to the floor for General Admission, first time I’ve seen them do this, though to be fair it’s only my 5th time there seeing a concert.

New Jersey Nights 11/04/2018

Last week I had the pleasure to see this magnificent show, performing the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

The show gets you on your feet and singing your heart out. I thoroughly enjoyed the show from the singing to the dancing and the band.

If you enjoy the music from this era you’ll love it, and be pleasantly surprised how many songs you’ll know.

This show is currently touring Australia check out this website to see if it’s coming to you http://www.mellenevents.com/new-jersey-nights.html.

I now can’t wait to see Jersey Boys later this year.

New Power Generation – Sydney 28/03/2018

I went to see this iconic band New Power Generation (NPG), at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney. A great tribute to Prince, loved it!

I’ve never seen Prince live but I kind of feel like I got the next best thing.

These guys had such energy, and what voices. With multiple people taking lead vocals depending on the song, it was brilliant.

They played all the hits, and I sang my heart out! Though I should have got a general admission ticket so I could sing and dance next to the stage, next time for sure.

Lionel Richie, Chic & Nile Rodgers – Sydney 29/03/2018

I saw Lionel Richie live for the first time, the support act was Nile Rodgers & Chic.

I have to say I really enjoyed Lionel Richie, and loved his music and performance, if you are a fan of his music you will enjoy.

However I have to say I absolutely loved Chic & Nile Rodgers, they blew my socks off. They are full of energy and have some fantastic songs like We are Family. But then they performed some songs that they have written and collaborated with other artists on and I have to say it was amazing!

I can’t wait for them to tour Australia again!

Make Rock Great Again – Sheryl Crow and Melissa Etheridge – 07/04/2018 Sydney

So Saturday night I had the pleasure to see Sheryl Crow & Melissa Etheridge, on their Make Rock Great Again tour. I’ve listened to their music now for decades and so pleased I got such great seats, 4th row in the stands!

They played all their hits and some new ones, performing a song together towards the end of Sheryl’s set.

It was held in my favourite venue, Sydney’s ICC theatre. The only disappointment was they didn’t have any screens up for those sitting further back, yet they’ve had them up for other shows here…

The show started at 7:30 and finished at 11, no support acts just two headliners with a full set list each.

Do yourself a favour if you haven’t seen these artists live, get yourself a ticket when advertised. I’ll definitely get a ticket for their next tour!