2 posts tagged “sydney entertainment centre”

Bob Dylan

Earlier tonight we had the good fortune of seeing Bob Dylan and his band perform at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.

The verdict - fantastic!

This is the 2nd time I've seen Dylan live.  The first time, in 1992 at the State Theatre in Sydney was bewildering to say the least.   We didn't really recognise anything, due largely to the awful acoustics at that venue.   (The State Theatre is a lovely building but it didn't seem to handle this event well.)

This concert was hugely different.  The music was well  thought through, and performed with gusto and (whew) clarity.  His band has gusto and professionalism.

Modern Times

Bob Dylan

The music was a mix of some new versions of older material - such as A Hard rain's a-gonna fall and Tangled up in blue - and new material from his recent album Modern Times.

There would be something rather unimaginative of Mr Dylan if he was singing The times they are a-changin' the same way as he was 40 years ago.  But no - tonight's rendition was very different and still very enjoyable.

Mr Dylan played keyboards for most of the event, after initially using the guitar for his opening items.  His band very much made up for this with their arrangements of his music.

All in all, this has restored my faith in this artist.  I was prepared to remember the 1992 event on the grounds that I had at least seen an historic figure - and there is no doubt that Bob Dylan is an historic figure - in person.  Unfortunately then, that was about all I could say in favour of that event. 

This event was so much more satisfying.  The historic aura continued, but we could actualy sit back (or sit forward in our seats - Dylan's lyrics really grab the listener) and enjoy what's going on.  I can now say that I have personally heard Bob Dylan sing Masters of war and A hard rain's a-gonna fall.  But not just heard this - but enjoyed it immensely.  His band is very good (but the 2 guitarists look like the Blues Brothers), and the  performance was very focussed and energetic.

The newer material, especially from the album Modern Times, really had me in.  We had previewed this at home in the previous few days, but to hear Mr Dylan's interpretation was spell-binding.

People grumble that Mr Dylan never talks to the audience.  (In his 1992 State Theatre concert he barely sang to the audience.) Pauline has a very common-sense response - no need to say any more with the sort of songs he sings!  I mean, just listen to Masters of war.

As a bonus, his side-on stance to the audience as he played the keyboard for most of the concert meant that he was directly facing us in the el-cheapo side-of-stage seats.  Whacko!

Pauline spruiks Bob Dylan

All in all, now i can really see why people get so excited by this artist.  Pauline's faith in Bob Dylan has been restored, as wasthat of the other 18,000 people who witnessed this concert.

• Newspaper reviews of this concert will be linked here as they appear.
• Melbourne concert review, Herald-Sun, 19 August 2007

• Set list for tonight's concert, from the website Bob Links.
• Reviews of the concert, from the website Bob Links.

• The picture of Bob Dylan at the top of this post is from the weblog  All Along The Watchtower.

Hugh Jackman in The Boy From Oz

Today, Pauline & I had the good fortune to see the arena production of The Boy From Oz at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.

This event literally took our breath away.  All the hype surrounding  Sydney lad & Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts graduate Hugh Jackman (local lad made good) bringing Peter Allen (rural New South Wales lad made good) back to life in this event is entirely justified.

Whilst it might be dificult to define a person's "star quality" - an ability to hold an audience, be it 6 or be it 18,000 (as it was yesterday) - you need look no further than Hugh jackman to witness this.

Certainly the production lifted this, but I would daresay that every performer and every crew member in this show lifted his / her individual game through the association with Mr Jackman.

And part of the feat achieved is his interpretation of the life of another famous Australian, Peter Allen.

When I wasn't being sucked in by his living breathing rendition of Mr Allen (and the fact that Mr Jackman looks nothing like him is entirely irrelevant - in fact, this is further testimony to Mr Jackman's powers), I was marvelling at being in the presence of Mr Jackman.

Normally, one might expect one view to conflict with another;  however, yesterday, this did not matter.

Another bonus of this show is to have Mr Allen's output of songs contextualised as being autobiographical.  Whilst Not The Boy Next Door seems obvious, the autobiographical point others like I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love was missed by your humble reviewer until yesterday.

Its a dreadful shame that Broadway audiences were deprived of hearing Tenterfield Saddler;  the amount of autobiographical background, together with the poignancy of this song, is quite moving.

Mr Jackman also has a great wit.  At least some of the repartee with the audience could not possibly have been scripted in advance (either that or he is an even better actor than I even now realise);  yet it was hugely funny and he never dropped his character for a moment.

Yet another big show-stopping momen t was provided by Colleen Hewitt (people of my vintage will remember her as the TV Week Queen of Pop in the 1970s).  She played the part of Peter's strong mum, standing up to a brutal husband and accepting he rson's homosexuality. 

Her rendition of Don't Cry Out Loud (another Peter Allen song, much to my surprise) also had us on our feet.  (Usually I am suspicious of standing ovations, but I did not begrudge any here.) Ms Hewitt's version of this was far superior to the Broadway cast recording version (which we had blasting at home all today); the American singer is plainly uncomfortable with replicating an Australian accent, and it shows - with her performance vacillating between Eliza Doolittle and the Mother Superior from The Sound Of Music.  Her preoccupation with the accent stymied her from putting her heart into this song - something with which Ms Hewitt had no problems.

(In fairness to the Broadway album, the Australian accent is very hard to replicate.  We usually end up sounding either like Cockneys or New Zealanders. Even Meryl Streep, usually an expert with accents, couldn't get this in Evil Angels [ re-titled A Cry In The Dark in the USA].)

Peter Allen's mum sounded rather ballsy (if i ma y say that on Vox).  When he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia, he phoned the news through to his mum who, he reported, had tears in her eyes - but that may have bee nfrom the onions in the dog' dinner she was preparing at the time of the call.  (This anecdote is recounted from Stephen Maclean's book Peter Allen: The boy from Oz, from which much of the show was drawn.)

Peter Allen originally played the Sydney Entertainment Centre for its official opening in 1983.  This venue was also the scene of his final concert on Australia Day (January 26), 1992.  These facts are exceptionally appropriate for an exceptional show featuring a highly exceptional talent

The review in The Sydney Morning Herald stated that this is the best musical you could ever hope to see.  Usually I am suspicious of such hyperbole, but for this I can but helplessly and happily concur.

• News item in The Australian newspaper (link in NewsVine)
  
• Review in The Sydney Morning Herald (link in NewsVine) (access might be conditional upon registration)