On Saturday 14th March I continued my Aussie music education at the Sound Relief concert at the MCG. I moved to Melbourne from the UK about 18 months ago, and have seen a few local acts since, but this was going to be a one off chance to see some legendary groups. We didn’t quite make it the MCG for the noon start, but that meant we got to hear Coldplay’s set from Sydney on the radio, including John Farnham joining them for You’re the Voice. We were happy to find our seats had some cover when we got to them, as it wasn’t the driest of days. Soon The Kings of Leon came on stage, and apparently as is normal when they play in big stadiums, it started raining. They played 4 songs, and the crowd got going.
Paul Kelly played a more laid back acoustic set, the highlight’s being rendition’s of Leaps and Bounds with it’s references to the G, How to Make Gravy and Meet Me in the Middle of the Air.
Augie March were a new one to me and I enjoyed their set.
We went for a wander into Richmond during the next couple of acts, and returned to hear the sounds of Crowded House drifting out of the stadium, we rushed in and caught most of the brief set – my Aussie other half has a small obsession with Neil Finn, and it was great to here Weather With You in the sunshine with 80,000 people singing along…
The rain returned with Jack Johnson, who again brought things back down a little with his more mellow sound.
Wolfmother certainly weren’t mellow, the lead singer/guitarist is certainly entertaining to watch! Next came the minute’s silence, a message from the two Princes in London and then Kylie, who did a good job singing I Still Call Australia Home without any backing, quite different to her usual fair too!
I hadn’t heard of the Hunters and Collectors until my wife dug out her vinyl collection a few months ago, and I’d only listened to the album a couple of times. They were great on stage and most of got something right if Do You See What I See out of my head a few days later. The crowd loved them, and it was hard not to get carried along with it.
Split Enz are a bit more familiar to me, we’d seen Tm Finn play a small gig a couple of weeks before, but the full stage show was excellent, and a bit different from the other bands.
Again there was a lot of singing along, and I even I could join in with I See Red.
As a recent arrival I’m more used to seeing Peter Garrett in a suit and tie than fronting The Oils, but The Beds are Burning is a tune I knew, but didn’t perhaps realise its full significance until the hype during the week before the concert.
That, along with the Hendrix style guitar solo rendition of Advance Australia Fair were the highlights of the set for me, the whole thing was pretty special though, knowing this was a one off as well. By the end off the night we had made it on to the hallowed turf, it was amazing to look around and watch the massive crowd at the MCG going off to the music, and all in such a good cause. It will certainly be a day I remember for a long time…
Augie March were a new one to me and I enjoyed their set.
We went for a wander into Richmond during the next couple of acts, and returned to hear the sounds of Crowded House drifting out of the stadium, we rushed in and caught most of the brief set – my Aussie other half has a small obsession with Neil Finn, and it was great to here Weather With You in the sunshine with 80,000 people singing along…
The rain returned with Jack Johnson, who again brought things back down a little with his more mellow sound.
Wolfmother certainly weren’t mellow, the lead singer/guitarist is certainly entertaining to watch! Next came the minute’s silence, a message from the two Princes in London and then Kylie, who did a good job singing I Still Call Australia Home without any backing, quite different to her usual fair too!
I hadn’t heard of the Hunters and Collectors until my wife dug out her vinyl collection a few months ago, and I’d only listened to the album a couple of times. They were great on stage and most of got something right if Do You See What I See out of my head a few days later. The crowd loved them, and it was hard not to get carried along with it.
Split Enz are a bit more familiar to me, we’d seen Tm Finn play a small gig a couple of weeks before, but the full stage show was excellent, and a bit different from the other bands.
Again there was a lot of singing along, and I even I could join in with I See Red.
As a recent arrival I’m more used to seeing Peter Garrett in a suit and tie than fronting The Oils, but The Beds are Burning is a tune I knew, but didn’t perhaps realise its full significance until the hype during the week before the concert.
That, along with the Hendrix style guitar solo rendition of Advance Australia Fair were the highlights of the set for me, the whole thing was pretty special though, knowing this was a one off as well. By the end off the night we had made it on to the hallowed turf, it was amazing to look around and watch the massive crowd at the MCG going off to the music, and all in such a good cause. It will certainly be a day I remember for a long time…
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