APIA Good Times Tour 2016

I was lucky enough to attend the APIA Good Times Tour for about the 3rd year running. I usually go with my lovely friends E and C but due to some last minute issues they were unable to attend so Mum and Dad came along in their place. The three of us had a rockin’ good time, but I missed E and C.

 

We took our seats at the beautiful Civic Theatre early and got some splendid people watching in before the concert started. A concert of that type attracts some remarkable people! There were the cutest little boy and girl sitting the row in front of us, they ended up being JPY’s grandkids!

JPY began the concert with a bang. Oh my, it may well have been the best start to a concert ever that I have seen. He came out and delivered a supreme cover of Down Among the Dead Men (Flash and the Pan). It’s a pretty loud, powerful song and JPY just slayed us with his version. I love that song and I love JPY so I was thrilled and that alone was worth price of admission. But he just kept on going, delivering a sublime set of greatest hits {Pasadena, Keep on Smiling, Do Wah Diddy, Standing in the Rain, I Hate the Music, Yesterday’s Hero} and the band was tight and he sounded better than I had ever heard him sound. He was simply on fire and killed! And he knew it, but not in a cocky way, just a way a good musician knows his stuff. His banter with the crowd and those he knew within was funny and humble and sweet, he smiled or rather grinned the entire set.  I have no idea how the others came on after him, he was without a shred of doubt the star of the show.

Next up was Kate Ceberano, she was on the bill last year (each year someone hangs over a year to steer the ship so to speak). I do love Kate’s voice but can take or leave her pop stuff. The first half of her session was that {Brave, Pash, Bedroom Eyes, Let Me In} but then she moved to the keyboards and did a stirring rendition of First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. This sort of ballad, along with blues and jazz it what suits her voice best. She followed that up with Songbird, I Don’t Know How to Love Him, Help and had the audience in raptures.

 

After intermission Daryl Braithwaite came on, now I grew up with Sherbet, Dad was a huge fan, so I knew all of those songs, but I can really take or leave his solo stuff, especially that awful Horses song. I know it was a great Ricki Lee Jones song, but he just spoiled it. Anyway, his set list was as follows; Rise, Something about the blues, some new crap song, Days Go By, One Summer, Horses. So yeah, I was less than impressed, but the thing is he does have a good voice and he wasn’t even cutting it with that. That lovely falsetto was sometimes there and sometimes not.

Jon Stevens rounded out the four and rocked us all home. I saw Noiseworks many times back in the day and they were always a great loud rock band. He hadn’t changed much, in voice and in looks. Still a rock god. Dad did say that he could tell that he had a good voice but why did he yell so much, and I do tend to agree. He did knock Never Tear Us Apart out of the ballpark in the middle of his set, reminding us he toured with INXS for some years. INXS is the one band I have never seen and that is my favourite song of theirs, and it was unexpected so I admit to shedding a tear or two during it. His set was Take Me Back, No Lies, Woman, New Tear Us Apart, Hot Chili Woman, Reach Out.

 

After a short break Kate Ceberano came back on stage singing Everything’s Alright  from Jesus Christ Superstar. Her voice was born to sing this song, Jon Stevens joined her to reprise his role, and JPY and Braithwaite shared Farnham’s role. To say this was outstanding would be an understatement.  After that they all sang Howzat followed by Love Is In The Air much to the audience’s delight. Both sounded fabulous.

The finale was a joyous and raucous version of Good Times by The Easybeats and we really didn’t want it to end.  Days later I still have Down Among The Dead Men and Everything’s Alright going through the jukebox in my head. They were the highlights for me. And I eagerly await 2017s tour.