Cutty's Blog

I've never been a big fan of Kasey's - up until she and husband Shane Nicholson released their "Rattlin' Bones" album earlier this year.

Consequently I've never been to one of her shows. Jeez have I been missing out!

She started the show by walking on stage to a huge reception from the parochial Adelaide crowd. She then sang "I Still Pray" - no accompanyment. Half way through the song she was joined on stage by Bill (her Dad) and Shane singing the harmonies. (See picture).

Then Bill, Shane and Kasey took seats on the stage to play an acoustic set of mainly Kasey songs like Not Pretty Enough, Pony and Paper Aeroplan.Shane did a couple of his own songs.

In between songs, Kasey and Shane (well mainly Kasey - she could talk underwater with a mouthful of marbles) kept us entertained with some husband and wife banter. One of the first things she told us was that the acoustic set was pretty much like what it is like in their lounge room. That's just what the show was like, very casual and full of light-hearted humour

Then the Band came on, featuring the best bass player in Australia, James Gillard. Kasey asked the crowd what songs they wanted to hear of the Rattlin' Bones album and they obliged. Definitely wasn't a set up as she had to get out the words for Sleeping Cold. They also did Rattlin' Bones, Monkey on a Wire, One More Year and Jackson Hole. I could have listened to the whole album if they did it as it is one of my favorite albums.

Bill is a great guitarist and he had at least 15 instruments on stage with him. During one song he played 3 different guitars. He was also the butt of quite a few asides from Kasey when he forgot which songs he was supposed to be playing in.

At the end of the night, the crowd demanded an Encore and Kasey returned saying she would play all night if people stayed to listen. She finished off with The Captain.

A great show, looking forward to seeing Kasey next time she's in Adelaide.

Roger Waters performed at Adelaide Entertainment Centre on the 7th February. A normal Adelaide crowd is very reserved and it takes quite a bit to get them excited. Roger got a standing ovation just by walking on stage - before even a note was played!

The ovations continued after almost every song, deservedly so. It was an amazing journey through Pink Floyd and Roger's solo material.

There were some amazing video and effects. When I walked in the video back-drop looked so real I thought they had a gigantic replica of a bottle of Johnnie Walker on stage. On Set the Controls, they pumped smoke into the Centre, and it smelt like sulphur. The remote controlled Astronaut and the giant Pig were amazing.

The first half was a mix of classic Floyd and solo gear. Shine On had a great video tribute to Syd. A great video clip to The Fletcher Memorial Home, Rog is definitely not a fan of George Bush or Ronald Reagan. Loved the clip also to Another Brick in the Wall. Great juxtaposition of the Berlin Wall to the Israeli monstrocity dividing them from Palestine.

I gotta say, I don't like the new song, Leaving Beirut. Nothing wrong with the song or the sentiment but I felt that I could have written it myself. It was just a bit too cheezy to be a Roger Waters song, nothing subtle about it. Still, that's just me. Glad he did Perfect sense though. I have loved that song ever since I saw it on the In The Flesh DVD. That's classic Rog lyrics.

At the end there was no getting away without an encore. The crowd demanded it like I have never seen in Adelaide before. And I reckon they almost would have got a second one if the crew hadn't started dismantling the computers by then.

So glad he left us with Comfortably Numb. My favourite Floyd song. I just wish my best mate had been there to sing it with me like in the good old days. Maybe when Floyd reforms and does a world tour in a couple of years time....always live in hope!