3 shows, 4 days, 3 cities - it was an adventure alright. I'm tired, I feel hungover, I'm sick and congested but I would not change these 4 days (from Thursday to Sunday) for the world.
Thursday night (as my last post stated) I flew to Brisbane with my sister Crystal to attend the first show on the Andrew McMahon acoustic tour of Australia. I don't think I have to put in any background on my love for this mans music (see previous blog posts here, here, here, here). This was a tour where I didn't really know what to expect - he was playing his music in a way that I've never experienced it before - I was really excited/nervous (IDK why I just was) before the first show.
The nerves were unfounded - he was spectacular EVERY show. Every song that he performed took on a new life when played with just his grand piano (or keyboard in Melbourne due to the Hi Fi Bar having a broken down lift and their inability to get a grand piano down into the venue) and Bobby Raw's acoustic guitar.
What surprised me the most out of these shows is that even without jumping all over the stage and climbing on his piano Andrew has this amazing stage presence. His ability to completely draw you in and absorb every word that he sings is something to behold. He is charming between songs, comfortable to share stories and make jokes. He is a natural onstage - you can tell that it is where is he meant to be.
Every night he mixed the setlist up a little which was nice. Normally on these kinds of adventures we're faced with seeing the same setlist every night but Andrew threw in different songs and played the songs in different orders. I wouldn't have cared if we had the exact same setlist in every city because the songs he played in Brisbane on the first night were great - but that little bit of surprise every night was a very nice touch.
The Melbourne show was easily the best of the bunch. I'm not saying that because I'm from Melbourne and it's my home town, I'm saying it because it's true. There was this energy in the crowd that made it fun, enchanting and deleriously amazing. It was the perfect ending for this adventure for us.
* Me & Crystal in Sydney - My friend Lauren joined us in Sydney & Melbourne too *
I have been to a lot of show in the past few years and not many of them beat the shows I have just witnessed - the bar for this year's music shows has been set by Andrew McMahon and it's going to be very very very hard to beat.
This was one adventure I didn't want to end but I'm so happy that we managed to do it.
From my happy heart to yours,
- Brooke
P.S After owning the documentary "Dear Jack" for almost 2 years I watched it today. I felt inspired after the past few days and I finally felt brave enough to watch it. I cried all the way through but was left completely amazed at Andrews courage and beautiful spirit. It was both shocking and inspiring to watch his battle and survival of Leukaemia. A MUST watch in my humble opinion
P.P.S Thanks Soundwave Touring for taking a chance and bringing Andrew to our shores. It meant so much to a lot of people and you've left us with memories for a lifetime!
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