Concert Reviews
The 2002 Australian Concert Tour
David Cassidy Live in Brisbane
November 9th 2002.
Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Australia
By : Warren
Saturday November 9 2002. A date I have been counting down for the past 30 plus years. Back in '74 I was not in a position to be able to see David live at the old Milton tennis courts, so the '02 show was particularly important event in my life.
I was one of the die-hard fans that turned up to the airport on Friday afternoon at 1.35pm to welcome Qantas flight 528 (& DC !) to Brisbane. The flight was 15 minutes late and there was a lot of atmosphere in the air. I guess there was about 30 or so ladies there with assorted memorabilia. Local radio station 4KQ had organised the welcome, and were warming things up with a DC/ Partridge quiz and were giving away tickets to the Saturday show. I was the only guy there I think (apart from a few husbands in the background)...I felt a little out of place. The rest is history, David was hustled to his limo after some media confrontation, leaving all those there a little empty.
Saturday morning dawned. I am now counting down hours, not days to the show. My wife and I arrived 1/2 an hour early to check out the merchandise. There was not a lot to choose from....the Then & Now CD, souvenir programme, and tour t-shirts. We made our way to the auditorium and took our seats, third row from the front and slightly to the left. The support act came on to warm up the crowd of approx 4000 fans. They were good, but would have impacted greater if they had a live band behind them, rather than pre-recorded music. After a small interval the lights dimmed and the DC band began to play. The "man" was introduced by lead back-up singer Lisa Mayer, and he bounced onto the stage with all the zest of a 19 year old. The show opened with Heartbeat. In no particular order he played Cherish, Summer Days, Hush, Could It Be Forever, Rock Me Baby, Ricky's Tune, Point Me In The Direction Of Albuquerque, I Woke Up In Love This Morning, I Saw Her Standing There, Ain't No Sunshine, Hollywood Nights, and of course I Think I Love You, which really got the place rockin' with everyone standing and clapping. He sang The Last Kiss, and got really pissed off when there was feedback through the amps at the very end of the song.
He spoke and joked with the crowd a lot and told everyone how good it was to be here. He has the unique ability to manipulate the audience anyway he wishes, and he does it soooo well. From where we were sitting the sound was good and we never lost sight of David. He praised each of the members of his band in a unique way. He sung a tune which mentioned each member, and then each member then played/ sung a solo for about 10 seconds. It must be said that these musicians are without doubt, some of the best in the business.
He (David) done a lot of hand touching, and encouraged everyone to get up and dance. He liked looking at a the 70s' memorabilia that people had brought along and joked about himself........He talked about how the hair falls out of your head and starts growing out of your ears, how your nose and teeth grow longer, but not other parts!
The show was over all too soon. He came out again and played an encore of I'll Meet You Halfway and (I think) Hollywood Nights. I believe everyone in that room went away feeling great. It was a fantastic show. With the minimal leadup promotion that this show has had....I saw no Newspaper or TV advertising (except the round of talk shows), it must be deemed a success, especially when you consider that the general public has not seen anything of him for the past 25+ years.
I have been to many shows at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, including Billy Joel & Fleetwood Mac, and I can genuinely say that this one produced the best "people feel"......I am however a little biased.
Warren
PS..If anyone out there who went to the Briz show was able to score one of those small flyers "The Wait Is Over", I would sure appreciate a copy.
