Concert Week #2...

I know!  I've been really busy trying to get my Financial Accounting problems done for my final exam, so cut me some slack!  :-)

Concert #2 was the one I was looking forward to for months - Billy Joel!  LIVE!  At Acer Arena!  We had "OK" seats in that we were pretty square (face on) to the stage, but we couldn't have been farther back.  The seats we had were $130 each and I guess I'm a cheap-o but I couldn't justify paying $200 or more to sit on the floor.  Maybe it's just me.

The show was a Tuesday night and traffic getting across Sydney in work rush hour is abysmal, so Clarice got off work at 4:00 and we drove over early.  The show started at 8:00, but we arrived in Sydney Olympic Park (where the arena is located) about 5:45.  That may seem a bit early, but we both agree if we had left at 5:00 we would not have gotten to the arena until almost show time and had to park who knows where!

We walked around the park for a little bit, I grabbed a hot dog at a little stand, we people-watched, then went in.  First stop...  Parents any guesses???  The T-Shirt stand, of course!  Picked up a "T" to go with the "Only the Good Die Young" shirt I still have from high school.  Clarice passed, and I can't blame her.  There was only really 1 version I liked.  Another was OK, but who wants a grey concert shirt?  Anyway...

Billy played a lot of his hits and a few "album tracks" like Zanzibar, but with over 30 years of songs he was never going to play everything.  Missed out on Pressure, but I think he hit all the ones I really really wanted to here.  The show lasted 2.5 hours with no opening act and the only "intermission" was when one of the "guitar roadies" named "Chainsaw" came out and did Highway to Hell with the band.  Billy played guitar.  Chainsaw was actually pretty good, but he never stood still - just stomped from one end of the stage to the other.

We had a great time, got home late and only Clarice had to get up to go to work the next day!  My kind of evening!

Jon

Concert Week #1...

Wow, we have a lot of things to see this week!

It started Saturday with our first visit to the big "Turtle's Mating" looking building on the harbour for a performance.  We had been looking for something to go see in the Concert Hall (the biggest hall of the 5) and when Clarice saw Handel's Messiah on the schedule when her parents were here we got tickets.

Handel's Messiah is his most well know oratorio, though according to the program it is very different from his others in that the subject, in this case Jesus, never speaks.  The entire program is about His deliverance and our response to that great gift.  It is most well known for the Hallelujah Chorus where tradition has it that the audience must stand because the King stood at that point during its first performance.  Some suspect he stood because his bottom was tired, but after seeing it performed by a world class orchestra and over 420 choir members I can tell you it is very moving.

We loved the entire performance, but the things that stood out were: 1) the size of the hall and 2) the soloists.  The soloists for obvious reasons - they were very good, but being struck by the intimacy of the largest hall of the Opera House was really shocking, especially given that we had been in the same hall during our tour with Jay and Karen.  When we were a couple of months ago, no one outside of our small tour group was in the room and it seemed pretty spacious.  When it is packed it seems quite a bit smaller with seating for only about 2000.  We had excellent seats mid-way back in the center of the floor.

After the show, we stopped for gelato at the little place we like at Circular Quay before taking the ferry back to Manly.  As we were waiting to be served, one of the choir members "rocked up" with her husband and also ordered.  We both thanked her for the performance and gave her our sincere congratulations.  It was neat to be able to thank someone for giving us such a great show.

The only bummer of the day was the heat.  This was the first day it hit 90 and we had a 2:00 show so we were not able to get to the beach.  Bummer!  Wait 10 months for real heat and then when it arrives have to get dressed up and stay inside.  Still, the ferry ride was quite enjoyable, especially the return trip in the late afternoon when it had cooled.  Of course, we went to the beach after church on Sunday but it was only about 80 and we were only there 1.5 hours before it started to rain!  I think we are not meant to spend a lot of time on the beach on the weekend.

Monday was a day off from concert-going, but Tuesday is a biggie!

Jon