Concert Reviews
The 2002 Australian Concert Tour
David Cassidy Live in Melbourne
November 11th 2002.
Vodafone Arena, Melbourne, Australia
By : Alison McRae
I arrived at Vodafone stadium at 7.30 pm. I was very excited to finally getting to see David Cassidy live in concert. There didn't seem to be much excitement amongst the other fans. But that was to come in an hour and a half's time. I went to check out the merchandise, I was a little disappointed because there were only three items for sale which were his latest CD 'Then and Now' which I already have. They also had a T Shirt and program for sale. I decided to buy the program which was fantastic with lots of colour photos from David's private collection. I really think they should have had more CDs available such as the brilliant 'Old Trick New Dog' which I have, but a lot of fans wouldn't.
The concert started with the opening act 'Teal'. They had great voices and entertained the audience for about half an hour and sang classic songs from the 60's, 70's, and 80's songs and one of their own that they wrote, it sounded as good as any of the latest girl singers.
Then finally it was 9 o'clock and the fans were getting anxious and screaming for David. The band came out and the lights went low and before I knew hundreds of people ran to the stage. Then there was a loud bang and before I knew it David Cassidy was standing centre stage singing 'I Can Feel Your Heart Beat'. He looked incredibly sexy. The crowd went wild, he thanked Melbourne for being so polite and then he grabbed his guitar and went into 'Do You Believe In Magic' and after that the hits just kept on coming, Summer Days, I Think I Love You, Cherish, Could It Be Forever, No Bridge I Wouldn't Cross and one of my all time favourites Rock Me Baby. In between songs David took time out to chat with the fans, he held up their scrapbooks, posters and photos. He seemed to be having a great time and thanked us for waiting 28 years for him, he was very sincere about it too, but of course there is a wicked side to him, I think he gets it from his father Jack.
Women threw their black G Strings onto the stage and women threw her black sexy lacy bra. David bent down and picked it up with one finger and asked whose bra is this, the women confessed and he asked 'are you wearing one now' she said 'no' he replied 'Yeah you are' she insisted that she wasn't and he said "you are a bad, bad girl". The audience loved it.
Another fan had a sign which read 'I am still single' which David noticed and said 'Oh, your still single, I am so sorry for you' with a devilish grin. He also had great interaction with his band and had one of the funniest band introductions I have seen. It all ended so quickly and after an hour and a half it was over or was it? The stage was empty of David and band and the fans screamed out for more and stomped their feet and refused to leave their seats. So the band came back and David came back. He grabbed his guitar and somebody threw a baseball cap on stage which David picked up and put on his head and went into a great version of Bob Seger's 'Hollywood Nights'. It must have lasted at least 10 minutes and then he threw the baseball cap up into the air and let it fall into a sea of hungry hands of the fans. Then for the final performance of the night he sang everybody's favourite 'How Can I Be Sure' at the conclusion he said 'I Love You Melbourne' and ran off the stage.
What a fantastic show and what a wonderful performer, he moves around the stage like a 20 year old and is singing I believe the best of his whole career. The highlight for me was his performance of 'Last Kiss'. It was spell binding and David can weave such magic still. All in all he left 8,000 fans very, very very happy. It was great to see that the love was still there for David and vice versa.
A David Cassidy concert is one that you can't miss, whether your a fan or not, he gives his all to please the audience and I wish he would come back every year.
I hope you like the photos, I took a whole role of film but here are some of my favourites I hope they capture some of the magic.
Yours Sincerely
Alison McRae
