Press
17-04-2003
Civic Theatre - Newcastle, Australia
All photos by CHAIRPAGE
Act
One
After
All These Years
World Upon Your Shoulders
Tuna in the Brine
Luv Your Life
Paint Pastel Princess
Petrol and Chlorine
Across the Night
Ana's Song
Miss You Love
Steam Will Rise
Act
Two
Emotion
Sickness
Without You
Slave
Black Tangled Heart
Do You Feel the Same
The Greatest View
The Door
Freak
Anthem For the Year 2000
One Way Mule
Encore
Asylum
The Lever/Outro
By Leisa
After
the show had been built up by so many other reviews and reports
I had read, I was expecting something extraordinary... I got
it.
Milling around outside the theatre before the gig you could definately sense a home crowd vibe and everyone couldn't wait to see the boys. The actual sizing of the theatre is what amazed me to begin with... It was very small but not too small. It created a feeling of intimacy, but the crowd atmosphere still remained strong.
Daniel's prescence was certainly felt when he entered the stage to begin with a breathtaking version of "After All These Years" followed by a reunion with his band members for "World Upon Your Shoulders". All of them looked very well presented in there attire - Ben in a nice hat.
The
three screens and lights were very well used throught out
this "Act 1" but the sheer sound of the songs was
enough to keep anyone entertained. My personal favourite of
the first half was the emotionally and brilliantly presented
"Ana's Song". Other highlights included the energetic
"Across the Night" (in which Johns was seen guitarless)
and the visually stimulating sequence in "Luv Your Life".
The wrap up of this first act was an extended version of "Steam
will Rise" which perfectly rounded off the end to this
half.
After a short intermission the boys returned (slightly more scantily clad and with a new set-up) for the "heavier" act of the show... It kicked off with a brilliant rendition of "Emotion Sickness" which used a new lighting background to express the song. This was a magnificent opening followed by "Without You" and possibly one of the most energetic songs of the night - "Slave".
A
few more mellow songs followed this including "Black
Tangled Heart" the long awaited "Petrol and Chlorine"
and "Do You Feel The Same". After these were out
of the way - the real metal kicked in with (what I believe
to be the bands favourites) "The Greatest View"
and "The Door". Johns introduced the with such comments
as "This song rocks," and "You'll love this
one."
Another higlight of this half was "Freak" which involved much audience participation as well as "Anthem for The Year 2000" which saw images of Iraq in the background adding a somewhat serious feeling to the song.The half ended on "One Way Mule" which surprisingly fit in very well.
Daniel
returned for a peaceful encore of "Asylum" before
rocking into "The Lever" and then the boys just
went crazy with there instruments in a jam that no one will
forget.
Through the night, Daniels eccentricity shon through, but was adored by the crowd... Especially in his passionate kiss with his beloved guitar at the end of the show.
All fans left talking about the show while not one word was muttered about the terrible weather and the painful drive home. And even during that painful drive- I know from experience - it was the show which was topic of conversation.
Amazing.
