the whitlams

Ok, so I just got home from seeing The Whitlams with the Queensland Orchestra. I enjoyed it, more than I thought I would. I'm hardly what you would call a Whitlams fan - I like Blow Up The Pokies and have a copy of Torch The Moon sitting around the room which I had hardly listened to. It was different to any other gig I had been to - being at the arts centre with the orchestra meant no mosh pits and people were generally quite subdued (not to mention generally older...). The music was good, and the orchestra made it even better. Their normal drummer was actually on tour with Missy Higgins (who also happened to be playing on the coast tonight), and so they had some young guy who looked like Stephen Curry in The Castle. I only wish that I was better at controlling the urge to join in on my air drum kit...

A few people seemed to think it would be okay to use flash photography in the theatre, idiots... It was really annoying, and several people were doing it so it was proving to be difficult to catch them. However, after a few warnings from the ushers, they seemed to get the point.

Anyway, a few highlights of the night:

1. One of the best bits was actually a five minute section in the middle of a song where The Whitlams actually did nothing, and the strings took over and did their thing, they were great.
2. A rapper who wrote a song with Tim Freedman actually came on and performed, it was cool seeing this unlikely mix of rap, The Whitlams and the Queensland Orchestra. It sounded really good, though I'm not sure what the oldies thought about it. There was a huge applause for it though.
3. Tim's chat in between songs - he's quite a funny fellow, in a way I find amusing anyway. Occasionally the odd comment about politics etc, but only ever a quick passing comment, nothing like what you'd expect from, say, Bono of U2. He did get a "Kevin 07" yell from one person in the crowd though (in case you didn't figure it out, the band are named after former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, have a song called Gough and are supporters of the Labor Party).
4. Some crazy girl sitting near the front right hand corner stood up and danced along beside the stage like a madwoman to the final song of the night, You Look Like Louis Burdett.

I bought a concert program for $10, I usually buy one when I go to a performance like a play, musical or ballet, though this one was quite a ripoff I reckon. However, I thought I should stick to tradition, plus I didn't pay for my ticket so why not. Got it signed by Tim afterwards, he came out to the foyer to do signings and photos, and I somehow ended up pretty much at the front of the line. So I didn't have to wait long, but long enough for the traffic to disappear.

Anyway am off to bed, I can smell the weekend already, and it smells good.